parables of a prodigal world

In this second installment of this what-might-or-might-not-be-a-series-but-now-it-looks-likely-or-maybe-it'll-stop-at-just-two Series ( here's Part I , if you missed it), Screwtape, the guest of honor at the annual dinner of the Tempters' Training College for young devils, is addressing the new graduates. After a brief summary of the great strides that have been made at the meta-level over the last few centuries, he introduces the rookie tempters to their task: ...You, who are mere beginners, will not be entrusted with work of that kind. You will be attached as Tempters to private persons. Against them, or through them, our counterattack takes a different form. Democracy is the word with which you must lead them by the nose. The good work which our philological experts have already done in the corruption of human language makes it unnecessary to warn you that they should never be allowed to give this word a clear and definable meaning. They won't. It will never occur t...

The Screwtape Letters , as most of you already know, is a brilliant, mesmerizing, work of Christian satire by C. S. Lewis . Published in 1942, at the height of Britain's engagement in World War II, the story takes the form of a series of letters from a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior tempter named Wormwood, so as to advise him on methods of securing the damnation of an earthly man, known only as "the Patient." As I was reading Screwtape for the umpteenth time, some of Screwtape's letters to Wormwood struck me as especially appropriate in this hot political season, when factions abound and perspective is not an especially sexy concept. Here's one of them. More to come..or maybe not..I'm kind of getting burned out on this theme..gotta move forward, ya know? Anyhow: MY DEAR WORMWOOD, ...I had not forgotten my promise to consider whether we should make the patient an extreme patriot or an extreme pacifist. All extremes, except extreme devotion to...

A reader left the following comment in response to my attempt to reconcile (or, rather, to admit the irreconcilability of) my faith and my occupation . I imagine many occupations are like what you describe as an attorney. However, I wished you had gone into more detail as how you handle contradictions between your "lawyering" and your faith. Fair enough. Maybe a good story will help. For the second time in my life, I was awoken from my sleep with a deep sense that I had to write something. Over the last few days, I had learned of an incident involving a seven-year-old boy and the junior football program in which he played. He had been cut from the team, but the circumstances under which this occurred had greatly angered his and some of the other players’ parents. The circumstance were explained to me in the hopes that, as an attorney, I might be able to broker, or force, a solution. I assessed the situation as an attorney. Should we sue? Should we threaten a lawsuit? Who was ...