AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the tenth of The Screwtape “Text Messages” in Today’s AI World. Although the basic C.S. Lewis Screwtape Letters vehicle of communications of a senior demon to an apprentice is retained, I have made a few changes:
The method of communication is text messages instead of letters. The apprentice demon, Wormwood, has been replaced by Phishhook and Screwtape has been replaced by Mephisto, named after a demon from German folklore and Faust. The target to be tempted by the demons is referred to as “The Lostling.” The demons refer to hell as Meta-Dystopia. Finally, there are observations about the text messages from a “good team” fact checker and analyst, Clarion Veridiel.
The following are Mephisto’s text message and Clarion Veridiel’s response. As they say on TV, warning, some of this content may be disturbing.
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TO: Phishhook (101-001-1010) + OTHERS URGENT
FROM: Mephisto
LOSTLING DOSSIER: This is a group text being sent to you and many of your compatriot demons because so many Lostlings are susceptible to this temptation. Their online activities have the potential to cause them to be desensitized to sin and we need to aggressively promote that tendency. The focus should be primarily on males, but women are also part of the target group. There should be no lower age limit on your efforts. The younger the target the better.
Dear Coven #616:
The more often we can expose the Lostlings to inappropriate online content, the more effective it will be. The wonderful thing about the internet is that everything can be accessed anonymously and there is little ability to restrict adult content to adults. Gone are the days when high school students brought smutty magazines to school and surreptitiously shared them. It’s all out there for everyone. There are so many opportunities for us to erode any sense of right and wrong. Let’s focus on normalizing behaviors such as sexual deviance, violence, and unhealthy lifestyles. The following are some time-tested strategies you should pursue. I salivate at the prospects for our debauchery.
Sex sells. Always has, always will. I remember David’s peek at Bathsheba on the roof and the delightful events that followed. The difference in this digital age is that prurient content is so widely and easily available in its most graphic and deviant forms. For anyone so inclined, pornography of the basest kind pervades the internet. And once the target starts down that road, he/she will be flooded with additional viewing opportunities. It amazes me how “inventive” the mortals are.
What is effective for our purposes is that viewing pornography can have impacts that go far beyond just causing sexual arousal. Often, it objectifies women as things, rather than real individuals with feelings. They are reduced to their physical attributes and presented as just tools for the gratification of others.
At the extreme, deviant sexual portrayals may be coupled with acts of violence. If the victim is perceived as just an object, then the connection between sex and aggression is easier for the perpetrator and even onlookers to justify. We’re having some impressive online successes that you should consider. There is money to be made by linking sex and violence, such as by offering online voyeurs the opportunity to pay to observe specific acts. The “customer’s” anonymity is protected by making payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Get acquainted with the “dark web” because that’s where the real action takes place. These examples are the standard of excellence I expect you to attain.
Another advantage of virtual porn is that it may inhibit the target from having normal sexual relations. Online portrayals typically involve participants (either real or AI-generated) who are so physically perfect that a real partner can’t compete. The target finds himself/herself comparing a real-life partner to perfection and is disappointed because of the unrealistic beauty standards. This affects his perspective and may be emotionally devastating to his partner who now views her body as undesirable. In the Handbook this is referred to as the “Barbie effect.”
But it gets even better for us! Once the target is hooked, his life may revolve around pornography. He will spend less time on important and wholesome pursuits, such as family and work. But we’re not done. A good porn site exists to make money. They are designed to increase revenue by maximize viewing time. We have good examples of Lostlings who have used their credit cards for pornography so often they can’t meet their everyday living expenses.
For a select few, even the most salacious encounters between the most attractive adults get old as they are desensitized by continually viewing. So, they seek new adventures. The pinnacle of our aspirations is if their boredom causes them to turn to child porn. Not only is their depravity multiplied, but they may also find themselves afoul of the law.
Promoting desensitization to violence is another tool that should be in your kit. Video games can be useful, but they aren’t nearly as effective as more realistic gore. The first time a target sees a head lopped off or body parts flying around in a video game or movie can be shocking, but the impact diminishes with repetition. After the 100th human body desecration in a good hard R-rated movie, the reaction may be “oh”, instead of “yuck.” The gore becomes incidental to the story line and the perceived value of human life and well-being is diminished. This effect can even exist for real life events. The first school shooting shown on TV is extremely disturbing, but it may be perceived as less awful as it becomes a regular occurrence.
Another effective strategy is to normalize immorality. We lost the battle about glamorizing smoking, but that was only a small setback. Alcohol consumption is so appealing when combined with a guy in a tux and woman in a seductive gown. Even better, add some gambling at a high-end casino with an element of international intrigue to follow. Here’s a variation, I personally can’t imagine anything more boring than watching poker on TV, but it seems to have its following. Maybe, one more. Years ago, even married couples weren’t allowed to sleep in the same bed on television. I still can’t figure out how Lucy and Dezi were able to produce Little Rickey back in the 50s. Today, sexual encounters between unmarried couples of different or the same gender go unnoticed and are expected. This may be the most effective of our efforts to normalize immorality.
Let me let you in on a secret. For years we have been promoting a language normalization conspiracy, and no one seems to be noticing. Most profanity has been acceptable in movies and TV for years, with one exception–the so-called “f-word.” For a time, the standard was that more than one occurrence got a movie an “R” rating and it wasn’t ever used on network TV. But we have broken down this final language barrier. The streaming services, such as Amazon and Netflix, have been our willing allies. A huge portion of their offerings are rated as “Mature.” Sometimes that means nudity and violence, but often it just reflects the frequent use of the “f”. We have become so successful in our endeavor that it is now being used as part of normal speech and not just as an expletive. The f-word can now be used as an adjective to modify any noun. The Amazon or Netflix viewer is left with the choice of foregoing what might be an otherwise fairly innocuous show or being f-bombed into insensitivity. I bask in how effective this covert conspiracy has been.
Here’s the bottom line. If we can desensitize the Lostlings to what they see and read online and try to disconnect them from perceiving the consequences of sin in their own life and from accountability, we have eased them down the path to joining us in Meta-Dystopia. As a memory aid, here is your mantra–“Normalize immorality.”
Your coven leader: Mephisto
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TO: CK (110-111-1000)
FROM: Clarion Veridiel
Our often-misguided brother Augustine got a lot wrong about gospel principles, but he hit the mark when he wrote, “Right is right, even if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it.” Unfortunately, the distinction between right and wrong is blurred by much online content.
The scriptures anticipated the desensitization to sin that Mephisto is trying to promote. In I Timothy 4:2, Paul wrote of those who would depart from the faith, “having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” The metaphor is perfect. Living tissue becomes numb and loses feeling when it is cauterized with high heat. The conscience reacts the same way when it is repeatedly exposed to sin and hypocrisy. The Light of Christ is diminished, and the person becomes less able to detect spiritual promptings and loses the ability to discern right from wrong, much like tissue whose nerve endings have been injured and can’t transmit pain signals.
Alexander Pope’s classic quote illustrates the slippery slope to being desensitized. He wrote, “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, as to be hated needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”
Your loving servant: Clarion Veridiel
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If you found this message insightful, explore the rest of the Screwtape Text Messages series below for more behind-the-scenes strategies of the adversary’s in today’s digital world.
12. Help, I’ve Been Abducted by AI (Alien Intelligence)
11. Trading Religion for Politics
9. Superscams, Fake News, and the Korihor Effect
8. Strategies for Tempting Teens, Girls and Boys
7. Virtual Validation, Cancer Culture, and Cyberbullying
5. Instant Online Gratification
4. Digital Distractions Away from God
1. The FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Crisis
