In The Narthex

(with gratitude for the inspiration and in the spirit of C.S. Lewis)

June 25, 2018

Dearest Dark One,

We bring good news to you today, master of malice.  It appears that the world is as dark as it’s ever been and getting darker by the passing moments.

A quick glance at the headlines shall confirm our representations to you, sir.  On all fronts, in all levels, love is most definitely in decline and nearly at rock bottom.  One might suggest that love has reached the depths of our own domicile – a perfectly charming though somewhat heated location.

There is bitterness, wrath, hate, resentment, selfishness, quarreling, vengeance and much eye-rolling and shaming at every turn.

The people up here are quite divided into tribes, camps, corners and orders.  They hate for the usual reasons, but this is a most inventive generation and they have in fact discovered new formats and functions to spread their loathing and dislike.

Whilst once hate could only be communicated face to face, these creative fools now are able to telegraph their anger and disgust through brief missives called “tweets,” often sent in the middle of the night in ALL CAPS so as to demonstrate the totality and assurance of one’s negativity and rejection of fellow man.

Sir, you must take great comfort in their destruction of one another as it truly requires so little of our time and energy as they engage in endless virtual attacks and insults.  They have indeed found a new war to wage, apparently called a “Twitter War” in which potentially millions of these weak and prideful humans attack, insult, retweet and weigh in, choosing a side and creating great chaos and dissension among themselves.

I and my fellow demons have taken advantage of our increased downtime by indulging in some much-needed rest and relaxation in distant locales.  I dare say we deserve it given our millennia-long efforts on your behalf and we trust that you won’t begrudge us what resulted in a surprisingly productive and intel-gathering working vacation.

You see, sir, in the course of our travels, we discovered that hate is found in the most remote corners of the globe.  Hate is on school campuses, in homes, on the highways and byways, in state and national capitals, in idyllic settings and in the midst of poverty and suffering, at the borders of nations, in the workplace, in neighborhoods, and even in recreational areas.

We wring our hands with glee and are delighted to report that there is even an abundance of hate in the churches!  Can you imagine, dear master, that they have dared to foment hate, resentment and anger in the very place that gave birth to love?  We could hardly believe it ourselves, but our extensive series of road trips confirms that love is most definitely dying in this land and may in fact be nearer to extinction than ever!

Now, our Enemy warned them that these days would come throughout His days on earth, and His Father did so through prophecy throughout that most fearsome Book that some of them occasionally look through.  We are pleased to report that many of them have discarded the Book given by our Enemy to these people and they rarely refer to it. When they do so, it is often taken out of context to hurt and insult one another!  Can you imagine, master, using the Enemy’s Words of love to bring about such hate and disunity?   They hate each other for their nationality, their race, faith, gender, beliefs, the color of their skin, their political parties – I do believe that they find new things to hate about one another with the dawning of each new day!

The sheer joy of such behavior brings tears (happy tears, of course) to my eyes, and I do hope to yours as well.

Rather than coming to one another’s aid in time of need, these pitiful people gang up on one another, often blaming the victim for their suffering and sorrow.  They mock one another and make tremendous fun of each other, wielding words as weapons as they bash and torture each other mentally and emotionally.

Recently, we have learned of one nation’s devious and cruel activities of separating little children from their parents at border crossings.  Imagine, master, the pain and suffering that shall result from such a callous and cruel plan – all because of a desperate people longing for asylum and safety from relentless violence.

Clearly we are turning a corner and winning a war against our Enemy, as evidenced by this most cruel and heartless behavior they are exhibiting against the least of their brethren.  You must certainly recall when our Enemy left His throne, came down to this land and talked of the first being last and that it is better to serve than to be served.  He spoke of caring for the needy, the hungry, the thirsty – and most certainly caring for the little children.

It does appear that even the church-going humans are coming to our dark side, dear master, and they are gleefully advocating that these people who are not of their nation be treated ruthlessly and cruelly.  It certainly does the hearts of demons good to see that the humans are becoming more like us than like our Enemy, that great lover of all people.  Just writing those words makes me quite ill – as do the images of caring and concerned people protesting and standing up for the downtrodden and the children wailing for their parents.  We exuberantly report that the officials of the land in question appear to be in full support of our policies and we find that they may even be emissaries or ambassadors of our own province.  I was practically giddy when I heard their own representatives cite the Enemy’s Book out of context and demand that there be total and complete obedience to whatever laws or edicts are passed by the humans in control of government.

To think that these so-called lovers of the Enemy do not know – or perhaps do not care – what His Word says is so delicious to our demon minds that we lack sufficient words to express our delight.

Imagine.  They recall not the stories taught them on Sunday mornings and at Vacation Bible School!  It is so very encouraging that they did not retain the stories of Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Esther, Joseph, Mary, their own Savior Jesus, Peter, Paul, John, Stephen – and on and on through eternity.

They don’t even remember their own nation’s history and the stories of their Founding Fathers.  Apparently, their hatred has blinded them to their own story of standing up for truth, justice, equality and liberty.

It is nearly safe to say that brotherly love is a relic of the past, tossed in the trash heap of this world.  While we cannot yet declare victory of hate over love, we demons are indeed doing our part – and the humans we walk among are contributing mightily to your cause, master.

Indeed, given the state of things up here on earth, we worry that we may not have prolonged and dependable job security if situations continue in this manner and the people lose their humanity at ever-quickening rates.

Assuredly, it is a most excellent problem to have, Sir, but still, it has robbed us demons of the soul stealing delight we workers of evil treasure — that of turning people to your side, particularly when they are so willingly and easily going to the dark side with little to no involvement of the demons.

I beg you, dear master, to inform us if certain offices and agencies have been infiltrated by some of our associates working covertly within certain areas and whether they may be the cause of the marvelous mayhem and maleficence.  It seems nearly unworldly for this type of uncivil and inhumane treatment to have been the brainchild of a human being, given the sheer horror of separating a parent and child, but we trust that you are hard at work in your efforts to divide and conquer this land north of our own.

Dear master, we have reports that young people are quite unhappy and angry, which may be the result of society’s incessant comparing of themselves to one another and all humans using their rectangular glowing devices which constantly demonstrate their perceived inadequacy and insignificance.  Adults and children use their pocket-sized weapons to sully one another’s reputations, to insult and attack their peers, to share what is designed to be personal and private in a misguided effort to impress and to find all manner of objects that would bring them satisfaction, if only they might acquire them.  Our travels to communities across the globe demonstrated a growing sense of depression and dissatisfaction among young people who have been raised in this toxic climate of greed, rage, revenge, violence and pettiness.

Many of the Enemy’s followers are initiating outreach efforts in the schools and communities and they are earnestly seeking to love and help the young people of the world.  Some of the young people are even uniting and forming coalitions and lobbying groups to make the world better, safer and kinder for all.  We do worry about their strength and power, particularly when they exhibit such love and kindness in their rallies and demonstrations.  These young people are spreading a message of hope, possibility and change which should cause you and all of us demons great consternation.  Some of your adult followers are making you proud, however, and they simply mock and ridicule the young people even as they selflessly serve and help their peers and all of society.

Indeed, it is the young people that we ought to worry a great deal about since many of them are rallying and uniting around the causes of love, compassion and peace.  We can only hope that they will become disillusioned and join in our plan of despair and despondency, however I fear that they are a formidable force and we may be overwhelmed by the optimism and irrepressible joy that these young people are spreading in their world.

With regard to lawlessness, we bring excellent reports of tensions among law enforcement and the populace.  You see, sir, it only takes a pinch of evil to poison the stew, and you will be quite pleased with the effects of a few wicked and corrupt police officers who are single-handedly destroying the trust and bond between law enforcement and the communities they serve.  There are frequent reports of abuse of power, racial profiling, sexual assault, brutality and discrimination committed by members of the law enforcement community, which only heightens the mistrust and effectively destroys the fabric of their civilization.  Oftentimes, the ones that the populace should be able to call on in times of trouble have become the purveyors of trouble, creating conflict, tension and stress between the people and the law enforcement community.  Indeed, most police officers and law enforcement officers are honorable, hard-working and upstanding members of their communities.  Yet just a few of the bad ones undo all the work and legacy of the innumerable good and virtuous, ruining their reputations and planting seeds of mistrust and fear in communities all over the world.

If all of this were not enough good news, sir, we revel in this people’s destruction of their own planet!  You would think that they would care for the land that the Enemy has given to them and they would be good stewards, as He calls them to be in His Book.  Yet much to our delight, we find that they are on a fast-track of dismantling their own lands, waters and air – and even are polluting these very things that they and all living things up here desperately require for survival.  News arrived recently that there shall be further drilling in their precious arctic lands and upon their coasts and that there shall be minimal protection of lands or migrating birds, which is sweet music to our demon ears!

I dare say we quite enjoy the warming climate as it reminds us fondly of our home with you, dear master.  The tragedies that their myopic behaviors are creating – flooding, droughts, melting of ice sheets in their planet, the extinction of animal, flora and fauna – are quite spectacular and something we demons never could have accomplished without their intentional destruction and disregard for their own home.  Oftentimes I abruptly ask another demon to pinch me, for I fear these tragedies and atrocities are but a dream.  I am delighted to report to you, master, that they are not a dream but rather they are the nightmares the Enemy warned these people would come before He returned.   They are so content to be discontented and so loving of hatred that they pay His Word no mind and they concern themselves instead with opposition, fighting, advantage gaining, insults and the like.  Indeed, some even deny that they are affecting the climate and destroying their world – as though they refuse to believe the reality in front of their eyes.

The servants of the Enemy try in vain to focus the peoples’ attention on love, being a good neighbor, kindness, generosity and the “Fruits of the Spirit,” but we are ever-grateful to report that these are summarily rejected by so many here – and hatred spreads like a virulent disease, seeking and finding willing hosts of hate, bigotry, anger, violence and shame.

Indeed, they busy themselves throughout each day with disputes over all manner of issues, and given their divisiveness, they have frequent squabbles and confrontations both in-person and online.   With their access to technology, they quickly escalate the disagreements which results in a cacophony of everyone hating everyone else, which I must admit we demons absolutely love!  We add our voices to this chorus of hate and I dare say we are getting close to being able to drown out those wretched songs of love and peace the Enemy has given to them.

There is little charity amongst this generation and they are quite consumed by acquisition of gadgets and gizmos.  I am pleased to report that there is a great disparity of wealth and that policies are regularly enacted to further this chasm, which certainly serves to strengthen the hate and resentment among the classes.  Those who do seek to be philanthropic are oft-ridiculed and mocked, particularly when there is a partisan leaning to one way or the other.

I do warn you, dear sir, that we have found ourselves in a scrap or two while navigating the roads here.  It seems that nearly everyone is glued to those glowing rectangle devices, which prevents them from properly operating their motor vehicles.  We have learned to detect those sorts who use their devices behind the wheel and are now able to circumnavigate them a bit more adeptly.  You see, it is against the law for many of them to use their glowing devices while driving down the lane.

Yet many of them adhere to a buzzword of “hacking” in which they find ways around following the rules or otherwise following conventional behavior.  These little life hacks often result in them gaining an illicit or untoward advantage over their peers and pridefully gloating over their victory.  A quick glance in the rear view will allow you to determine if you have a device user behind you, which should allow you to take preemptive measures to avoid a rear-end collision, as often occurs with these sorts.  I dare say you will likely have a car and driver on your next visit north, but I offer this wisdom as a voice of experience as I and my fellow demons have been the victims of several such crashes recently.

All in all, the present days are quite productive and I trust that we are serving you well in our efforts to bring about hate and discord on earth.  There is little love among the people we have encountered and the tension and animosity seems to grow by the day.  We have found many humans who are selfish, though I am sorry to report that we have also observed displays of grace and mercy between the people groups here.

We continue to work actively to sow seeds of hostility, resentment and anger and I dare say we are enjoying a good deal of success.  There are some workers of the Enemy who seek to spread a message of love and peace, but we have found novel methods to discourage and defeat these Pollyannas and will continue to do so in the days ahead.

I do believe that we can confidently and unequivocally report that the State of the Disunion is as strong as ever, and that our unit will continue to work for the destruction and dissolution of all that is good, hopeful and profitable for these people as we continue our often fruitless effort to destroy the Enemy.  We continue to be unsuccessful in totality, but we remain optimistic that this generation will allow us to work through it to wage war and ultimately emerge from this battle victorious, regardless of what the Enemy’s Book tells will happen in the End Days.

Whilst there is much good news to report to you, Sir, I also must offer the prospect that the hate and anger will lead to a rebound of love, mercy and grace amongst the people here, which perhaps may require a doubling down of resources and agents up here.  In the latest episode of ruthlessness at this nation’s border crossings, it seems that there has been an uprising of good and kind people who are seeking to counter the hate and harm we demons have worked so diligently and faithfully to manifest throughout humanity.

They are gathering in little corners and outside shelters, speaking up in their virtual and real worlds and this is giving us demons a bit of angst and discomfort.  We were quite enjoying the evil that was being perpetrated against the innocent families and thought that perhaps it might continue without abatement, destroying the fabric and foundation of people and ultimately causing a dearth of compassion and empathy amongst the people.

However, it appears that the Enemy is working among them and causing them to feel strong obligations to feed the hungry, give drinks to the thirsty, welcome the strangers, visit the prisoners and even care for the children and least among them.  This surge of love and empathy is most concerning to the demons and we beseech and respectfully request that you send reinforcements to counter these acts of mercy and compassion.

Some of the Enemy’s followers are even praying to Him, seeking His wisdom and guidance and lifting up their fellow men, women and children in prayer and asking for God’s blessings and protections for them.  They are gathering in circles and in churches, online and in neighborhoods, uniting together and quoting the Enemy, claiming that when two or more are gathered, that He is there with them.

I dare say that this is most unacceptable and that we must infiltrate further their churches, communities and homes with messages of hopelessness, hate and intolerance.  We must besiege them with fear, loathing and a spirit of bigotry and prejudice.  We cannot allow the Enemy to prevail here and we must not permit His people to unite in strength and solidarity for others – we must press on with messages of greed, selfishness, scarcity and isolationism.  We must seek to discourage their prayers, discredit the Enemy and show disdain for their love for their fellow man.  We must not allow the Enemy to gain even a foothold here, Sir, but we must defend and indeed go on the offensive in this war.

With all due respect, Master, we must protect our position and will require assistance at the battle lines of this border conflict if we are to defeat the Enemy’s efforts of love and salvation.  We humbly request reinforcements of additional troops as well as any supplies and fortifications you might be able to send up to us.  We assure you that we will work tirelessly and unceasingly for your mission and believe that we can certainly prevail against the Enemy if we can muster enough anger, animosity and fear among the humans with whom we are in close and regular contact on earth.

We shall report back to you post-haste with updates and briefings as time allows.  Until then, I remain your faithless servant working tirelessly on your unjust, evil and immoral causes.

Loyally,

Odium et Invidia