Fellowship & Fairydust

Part of an ongoing web serial perhaps inspired by The Screwtape Letters. Unless otherwise noted, “the Ex-CEO” refers to God, “the opposition” to the side of the angels, and so on.

Read the previous installment here.

To: Deception, Overseer of Ekron Initiative (American Evangelical Division)

From: Malice, VP of 8th Circle of Hell (Global Initiatives Branch)¹

Date: [Exact Date Redacted, Circa 1960]

Subject: Congratulations on Appointment

Deception,

First, let me congratulate you on your promotion to Overseer of our American Evangelical Division. I can hardly think of a better candidate for this particular work.

You are already familiar with the Ekron Initiative’s mission statement from the file my associates sent you upon your appointment. Therefore, I will not recite all of the technical details. Essentially, your goals are as follows:

1. Mingle with your targets and propagate various ideas about “good art,” ideas that will impede their ability to create compelling, intelligent work. This art could propagate certain ideas about the Ex-CEO. 
2. Introduce discrimination, bringing in ideas that will convince your targets to ostracize any followers who do not agree with their new ideas.

The word “art” can include a wide range of things, of course. We are usually quite pleased to muddle the definition. Nothing is quite as amusing as seeing toilet bowls being framed on spotless museum walls as “works of art.” For the purpose of this initiative, focus on targets in the traditional arts (i.e. music, filmmaking, sculpture, architecture, theater, or any kind of storytelling). 

Knowing you as well as I do, I imagine your first question will be what this program’s name signifies. In brief, Ekron was the name of a Philistine city. The opposition’s sacred text mentions Ekron briefly, and while I prefer not to quote it, our records of the place are insufficient. Sometime soon I must have the Archive staff investigated, and thoroughly audited. Perhaps even flagellated, for good measure.

At any rate, we see a fairly accurate entry in the opposition’s text about an Israelite king who responded splendidly to our input. In fact, he responded so well that when he suffered a crippling accident, he consulted Ekron’s patron god rather than the god he was required and bound to serve.²

I do not mean to suggest that this initiative will convince evangelicals to follow paganism. That would be pleasant, but outside our current scope much. I do believe that with strong leadership and ardent fervor, this initiative will lead our targets toward a different sort of idolatry – an idolatry where they are duped into seeing art in certain ways. Where they reject certain standards and follow new, progressive, more amusing views.

My next message will describe how you can introduce this mindset to your target audience. In the meantime, continue preparing your staff, and feel free to ask me for any assistance. We all stand or burn together in this business.

Infernal Regards,

Malice

Vice President of the 8th Circle of Hell

(Global Initiatives Branch)

Editor’s Notes:

1. In Dante’s Inferno, the eighth circle of hell is for fraud.

2. See 2 Kings 1:1-6.

Come back next week for the next installment of this infernal serial.

Cover Photo by Craig Whitehead on Unsplash