He will persecute the remaining faithful, abuse women emotionally and, because they fear losing their jobs, they will take it lying down, if you'll pardon the pun. In time he will make the diocese look like the last days of Sodom and Gomorrah. If a secretary should happen to pass his office and hear him singing a verse of "Blessed Assurance Jesus is Mine" please make sure they call the white coats and have him carted off.

The self-destructiveness of Episcopal Church leaders is hard to fathom even by our standards. From Vickie Gene Robinson to Mary Glasspool, they keep throwing themselves off the cliff face in droves. They do so much harm to themselves that it requires very little from us to make them roll over. In fact, they seem to WANT to roll over and jump right into hell. They do it with so much double talk and high-sounding phrases like this choice morsel: "Instead of debating the covenant, then, I believe we would better spend our time rebuilding the foundation -- laying aside our rigid positions and stereotypes of the "other side" in favor of authentic dialogue. Then, when we have made significant progress in that direction, we can reconsider the covenant, this time as an affirmation of our restored bonds of affection."

This kind of claptrap, compromise language and endless talk of dialogue thrills our hearts. We want them to dialogue themselves to death, spiritual death that is, with no hope of redemption. They reject the Law of Non-Contradiction in favor of a watered-down, wishy-washy, "why can't we all stay together" mantra that has our father in stitches.

We are delighted to see that the Diocese of Springfield has whittled its field of candidates down to three, none of whom pose a serious threat to us. We would prefer the Stevenson fellow. He is so ambitious and a team player to boot. He is very much to our liking. See that he gets the nod. We will have so much fun watching the orthodox get betrayed...one more time.

The newly reinvigorated Anglican Consultative Council with its near total liberal takeover was a stroke of genius. That Secretary General Kearon fellow is very much to our liking -- an institutionalist wonk and a moderate man of all shades of opinion but always to the left. He's a real charmer, flatterer and loser, the perfect man for the job. He's recovered well from his bout in Maryland with the TEC liberal leadership and is firmly back in the saddle just in time to kiss Jefferts Schori's checkbook and the rest of the liberal appartiks in London. That Asian attorney briefly upset the applecart with his broadside, but we feel sure he will resign like the orthodox Anglican Archbishops leaving the field wide open for Kearon to fill the void with institutional appartiks and revisionists.

Which brings me to the main thrust of my note to you, Wormwood.

We have a strong sense that the Anglican Communion is truly coming apart at the seams with Rowan Williams unable to hold it together for much longer. Women's Ordination will undo the Church of England. Sodomy will continue to beat at Lambeth Palace doors with the Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics looking for sanctuary and refuge elsewhere. Pansexuality has the Global South theologically and emotionally unglued.

We have loved state churches. Their religion is as phony as a Timex watch hit by a light rapid transit train. Countries across Europe that have tied church and state together in an unholy alliance have always been sweet music to our ears.

Modern trendy culture with a large dollop of Islamic Fundamentalism will in time topple them all. They have all confused that beastly kingdom talk by Him with nationalistic, utopian visions of a revived state Christianity. We hear that the Russian Orthodox Church is once again reviving itself as a state religion to make people moral. Keep them on the path to reviving the state with a veneer of religion but keep them from the Man of Nazareth and reading the New Testament for themselves. On no account must faith be seen as personal. Keep the religious institutions and churches going by all and any means. See that they prosper, but on no account must they talk of faith in any meaningful terms. Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, Ryle, Ridley, the Wesleys, Graham and others have done it with terrible losses to our side. Any revival of faith in Him would amount to a catastrophe of the worst order.

Mind how you destroy it, Wormwood; do it carefully, slowly and with deliberation. Any sign of a revived faith must be nipped in the bud immediately. Remember to use jealousy and slander of godly people as a weapon. The Internet has done wonders for our side in this respect. Destroy character as quickly as possible with innuendo and, if that doesn't work, with outright lies.

We are particularly enamored with the British approach to anyone who opposes sodomy and wears their faith around their necks. Individuals are losing their jobs. In time, they will go to jail for opposing what the state, and, by its silence, what the church now embraces. However, mind how you go, Wormwood, it could backfire.

The most important thing you can do is to create a counterfeit faith that mimics the real thing but is not faith at all. Keep up the appearance of things. Let the religious leaders talk about morality, the environment, women's ordination, but keep them from entering into a personal faith that trusts solely in Him who lived and died for them. On no account must they entertain such thoughts.

Hammer justice for all, peace in our time, no fear of Islam, justice for gays, women, wombats and whales, if need be. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to reflect on the Sermon on the Mount or meditate on John Chapter 1 or the book of Colossians and the exaltation of The One who was before all time and in whom everything co-inheres. We cannot bear a repeat of the "darker" side of history.

We have almost won the Culture Wars, Wormwood. Individual battles over sodomite acceptance and same-sex marriage are being won in country and after country aided and assisted by the US State Department and the help of that Clinton woman. The battle is almost over. When Proposition 8 is finally overturned in California, traditional marriage will slowly die in America. Best of all, when state policy dictates that there are no differences between marriage and same-sex relationships, those individuals and organizations who oppose it become enemies of state policy, and state power will be brought to bear to make their consciences bend.

That is precisely what we want, Wormwood - the total annihilation of orthodoxy of faith and morals. The cults and mega churches with their understanding of the faith is now so wishy-washy that it is barely distinguishable from the culture and Unitarianism, Biblical faith is an inch deep, and the state will rule with a rod of iron over opponents to the cultural zeitgeist.

We already have seen this dynamic at work in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, where Catholic Charities was driven out of the adoption business because it prefers to place children with man-woman married couples. Judge Walker's decision on Proposition 8 has escalated the culture wars by officially labeling traditional religious believers and bodies as enemies of the core constitutional value of "equal protection."

A stroke of genius on your part, Wormwood. Now is the time to drive home the wedges that divide (while continuing talk of dialogue of course) and keep in mind that our father is watching. The numbers that daily fill our devilish mansions tell the story. Keep the unfaith, Wormwood, we are almost there and soon those true believers will have to lay down their lives for what they believe. It will be a sight to behold.

I remain your affectionate uncle,

Screwtape