UPDATE: This is a repost (with certain edits/improvements) of my most popular blog series in honor of the 50th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’ death.
Click here to get your copy of the 50th anniversary annotated edition.
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Chapter 7
All extremes except extreme devotion to the Enemy [God] are to be encouraged. Not always, of course, but at this period. Some ages are lukewarm and complacent, and then it is our business to soothe them yet faster asleep.
In this excerpt, Uncle Screwtape is teaching his nephew the art of discerning the times. What he wants Wormwood to understand is that at times it is better to direct the Christian’s attention toward absolute devotion to a cause, even a “good” cause, rather than toward God.
My observation is that usually in the beginning, the cause is justifiable because it generally fits within the framework of being a “biblical responsibility.” For example, many times I have seen Christian men become so engaged in their jobs that they eventually lose both their spiritual life and their families because of chronic absenteeism at home. They presumably devoted themselves to their job in order to fulfill their biblical responsibility of providing for their family (1 Timothy 5:8), but their devotion to their job became increasingly larger than their devotion to their family, or to God. The demands of the job grew to the point that there was no time to pray or meditate on Scripture, or spend time with the family. Next thing you know, the husband/father is hardly ever home and is trying to fill his absence with stuff. Of course, it takes more money to buy more stuff and more time on the job(s) to make more money. And the cycle starts spinning out of control.
Sadly, many pastors fall prey to this, putting their devotion to “ministry” above their devotion to God. The results of this are staggering: no prayer, no meditation, no spiritual life, and no joy – only rigorous, legalistic efforts at ministry. Unfortunately, the examples of extreme devotion to a cause being destructive to a devotion to God are legion and are not limited to dads or pastors. I’m sure that anyone reading this can think of several examples of their own. Beware, lest we too fall prey to extreme devotion to something other than God!
The second point that Uncle Screwtape makes about discerning the times is that of mediocrity. In other words, if a Christian is lukewarm about his devotion to God there is no need to spark his devotion to become extreme toward another target. From a demon’s perspective, it is sometimes better to “let a sleeping dog lie.” The dysfunctional state of popular Christianity is, I think, the result of the Wormwood & Sons of the underworld simply allowing lukewarm Christians to continue in their slumber. The Apostle John gives us a warning of the danger of staying comfortably lukewarm:
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I ill grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (Revelation 3:14-22 NASB)”
To be continued . . .
Tragic and Ironic: Israel Expands Abortion in 2014
This article from Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper ends the year on a downer for me.
Beginning in 2014, Israel will fund all abortions for women 20-33. While such news isn’t surprising for me, it is certainly heartbreaking and tragic. The “progressive” attitude of Israelis toward abortion is ironic in at least four ways:
1. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts a very famous Jewish dictum sourced from the Talmud:
Adam was created alone, some suggest, to demonstrate the value and potential of a single human life.
According to the article, because of the new rule “another 6,300 additional women are expected to have state-funded abortions next year.” Therefore, in Talmudic terms, the expansion of abortion in Israel will destroy the whole world an estimated 6,300 additional times in 2014.
2. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts the Israeli mantra “never again.” One outcome of the holocaust in which some 6,000,000 Jews were murdered is a social/national/military commitment “never again” to allow others to come close to destroying the Jewish people. Yet, Israeli Jews are doing it to themselves.
If this number of additional abortions weren’t bad enough, state health officials say “they hope to make eligibility for state funding universal in the future.”
3. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts the demographic concerns of Israeli Jews. It is common knowledge that many Israeli Jews are concerned about the low Jewish birth rate as it compares to a relatively higher Arab birth rate in Israel because of the democratic nature of the government of Israel. In other words, if Jews continue to kill their children in increasing numbers before they are born, the Arab population will continue to inch forward as a result of a higher birth rate, and theoretically could surpass the number of Israeli Jews. And thus, endanger the existence of the only Jewish state in the world.
4. The expansion of abortion in Israel contradicts the Jewish principle of Tikun Olam (“repairing the world”), which is appropriately credited as a motivating factor for the many positive contributions of Jews to the betterment of the world (see Michael Ordman’s Good News From Israel for examples).
Of these additional 6,300 children who are expected to be killed through abortion in 2014, how many would have become educators? Scientists? Doctors? Good neighbors? I wonder how many children those 6,300 children would have had, and among that generation, how many would have been educators, scientists, doctors, and good neighbors? Of course that 2nd unborn generation would also have had children. How many is impossible to know, but I wonder how many of them would have contributed to Tikun Olam. That question can be extrapolated out endlessly as is explained in point 1 above . . . saving a life equals saving the world.
To this point, I have only considered those babies that are expected to be killed in 2014. What about those killed through abortion in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, . . . and their generations of descendents?
This decision may appear to some to be both generous and an expansion of women’s rights and protections. However, a quick scratch of the surface reveals that it is only fool’s gold.
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