Following in the vein of The Screwtape Letters, Greg Morse posts a letter from a senior demon to his underling with instructions for undermining his patient’s Bible study. The demon first needs to have no fear of allowing his patient to attend a Bible study, as they are so easy to turn toward evil purposes.
Then the senior demon, Wormwood, proposes a course of action that ought to convict us all:
Keep the Bible study merely that: a study.
Bring the Enemy’s word out to be dissected, examined, and (if at all possible) critiqued — but make sure to divide the three strands. They must never read devotionally, theologically, and ethically all together. Keep them to one lane. If your man tends towards a theological bent, give him a heavy head, a shriveled heart, and uncalloused hands. Make him the first to debate, the last to worship, and the first to excuse himself from service.
If devotional, make him sentimental but shallow in his understanding and ignorant to any further application. Let him be deeply affected by his personal devotions but never enough to think too hard or to take the Enemy’s commands too seriously.
And finally, if ethically inclined, let him build his social-justice house without any real love for the Enemy. Let him imagine that he does wonders to advance great causes in the world, all while leaving behind the most significant command: love the Enemy with his all. And his highest mission: Make disciples of all nations. “Lord, Lord did we not . . . ” is one of the most satisfying refrains for our Father Below to overhear just before the patients are placed before us for good.
This is challenging stuff. The rest of Wormwood’s letter to his nephew Globdrop is worth your time.
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