Our Dear Gremory,
Your charge recently awakened to the enemy and discovered so-called “new life,“ which we know to be a grotesque death. No doubt your patient already thinks of many old things as worn and unpalatable, and has discovered new, ribald activities like singing and praying to the enemy with others.
The enemy poisons his mind with talk of unity. No doubt the subject believes he is “one of them.“ But there lurks in him something old, awaiting opportunity to take control. Become familiar with this old man, and you may seduce your subject to abandon the enemy’s “new humanity.“
Let him think only of his “own people.“ And when he does think of others, make him feel discomfort with them. The old man already feels alien. Exploit that. Make him proud of who he was, blind to who he is, and ignorant of what he may become. Coax him into assigning negative meaning to group differences. It doesn’t matter if the meaning is “true,“ as these wretches imagine “truth.“ As long as differences come to mean “other“ -- better yet, “inferior“ -- you can cause him to forget the enemy’s work altogether. This is very easy, especially since he’ll never want to think of himself as harboring real prejudice.
Convince your wayward patient that all of this is “natural.“ Ah, then you have him. He’ll then resist the adversary’s work to make him one with “others.“ He’ll even defend this resistance as a good thing, since he will blame the enemy for making him that way. You see, pride of belonging -- not to the enemy, but to the old self -- will keep him from more fully becoming one of the enemy’s people.
Listen. Strife and alienation are tools we have used with great effect since our lord’s grand rebellion in the garden. With these you may keep the enemy’s followers separated, accusing, suspecting, blaming, hating, resenting, and even attacking one another for a lifetime. Train your subject by unexamined assumptions until these delicious responses become reflexive, instinctive.
The enemy supposes to bring Himself glory by unifying these vagabonds. He thinks He achieved this in that repugnant trick at the Hill of the Skull. But you may expose the falsehood of that trick by fostering just a little race hatred.
Your Master,
Legion
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Thabiti Anyabwile
Rev. Thabiti Anyabwile is a pastor at Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C., and author of many books, including The Gospel for Muslims.
