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Screwtape on Churchgoing
There is a brief health update at the end of this message. ===================================== Max McLean's THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS comes to Louisville on November 6-7, 2009. www.fpatheatre.com/screwtape ===================================== THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. In the same way that a photographic negative shows black as white, white and black, dark gray as light gray, and light gray as dark gray—so, Lewis's brilliant book teaches biblical truth by having us hear from a master devil (Uncle Screwtape) as he coaches a young tempter (his nephew Wormwood) in how best to lead the young Christian astray. Today's WORSHIP QUOTE is from a deceiver and a liar. [CAUTION: Read with care and understanding. This is the voice of a devil. His "Enemy" is Jesus. His patient is a young Christian man.] SCREWTAPE ON CHURCHGOING Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that "suits" him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. The reasons are obvious. In the first place the parochial organization [neighborhood church] should always be attacked, because, being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires. The congregational principle, on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and finally, if all goes well, into a coterie or faction. In the second place, the search for a "suitable" church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil. —C. S. Lewis. (1898-1963) THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. New York: Time Incorporated, 1961, p. 52. Highly recommended. [Did you know that THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS was dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien?] [There are so many valuable things one can learn from this diabolical study in spiritual "negatives." This book has been a huge blessing in my life. In the preface, Lewis says, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight. . . . Readers are advised to remember that the Devil is a liar (p. xxxi).] ===================================== ===================================== Max McLean's powerful dramatic production of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is coming to Louisville's Brown Theatre on November 6 & 7, 2009. There are also upcoming performances in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. Please take a look at these sites and learn more about this great opportunity, including the availability of group rates and student tickets. I am a great fan of this actor and his work through Fellowship for the Performing Arts. www.fpatheatre.com/current/tickets/Louisville www.fpatheatre.com/reviews www.fpatheatre.com/video ===================================== ===================================== ===================================== HEALTH UPDATE & PRAYER REQUEST FOR CHIP STAM, RECOVERING CANCER PATIENT ===================================== Dear Praying Friends, There are longer journal entries and pictures at www.caringbridge.org/visit/carlstam . We are still waiting patiently (and prayerfully) for the next PET scan, now scheduled for November 18. Thanks for your friendship, interest, and faithful prayers to our merciful God. In His care, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Ministries The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.wqotw.org www.sbts.edu/icw =========================== WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK: To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view a complete index of worship quotes, please visit http://www.wqotw.org. =========================== |