On August 14, 1959, the American satellite Explorer 6 took the first photo of the Earth from orbit. For the first time in our existence, humanity could gain a glimpse of our size in the material universe under the stars.
Later that year, using the Screwtape character, C.S. Lewis highlighted our tendency to shrink ourselves even smaller under the light of celebrity stars who hold cultural sway. He recognized how eagerly we snuff out our own light to serve as a mirror for those in the spotlight.
Lewis frequently said he had no intention of returning to The Screwtape Letters. Yet, he rediscovered his fictional demonic voice after almost two decades in a December 1959 issue of The Saturday Evening Post with “Screwtape Proposes a Toast.” Part of Screwtape’s speech focused on the burgeoning celebrity culture.
As the great sinners grow fewer, and the majority lose all individuality, the great sinners become far more effective agents for us. Every dictator or even demagogue—almost every film star or crooner—can now draw tens of thousands of the human sheep with him. They give themselves (what there is of them) to him; in him, to us. There may come a time when we shall have no need to bother about individual temptation at all, except for the few. Catch the bellwether, and his whole flock comes after him.
Four years before “Beatlemania” ever swept the United Kingdom and the United States, Lewis rightly understood the persuasive power celebrities would hold. He saw a world coming that would not try to empower you to be yourself, rather it would seek to enslave you to be like everyone else.
Many blame Christianity for trying to force people into conformity and strip people of their individuality, but the opposite is true. Following Christ enables us to be ourselves. We can never truly be who we were created to be while we remain enslaved to sin. Christ frees us from those chains and allows us to follow a paradoxical truth—one of many—in Christianity. From Mere Christianity:
The more we get what we now call “ourselves” out of the way and let Him take over, the more truly ourselves we become. There is so much of Him that millions and millions of “little Christs,” all different, will still be too few to express Him fully. He made them all. He invented—as an author invents characters in a novel—all the different men that you and I were intended to be. In that sense, our real selves are waiting for us in Him. It is no good trying to “be myself” without Him. … There are no real personalities anywhere else. Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self. Sameness is to be found most among the most “natural” men, not among those who surrender to Christ. How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.
The tyrants and conquerors, the dictators and demagogues, the actors and rock stars, they lure us into cultural sameness and away from Christ-centered individuality.
The time Screwtape predicted is now. Individual temptation is often not needed. Through mass media and social media, those who hold cultural authority can influence virtually everyone at once. We crave likes from our friends, retweets from our acquaintances, approval from the cultural tastemakers. We craft our lives to be Instagram-worthy.
Even among those who name Christ, the temptation is real. We will discard our ethics and moral standards for the chance to gain political power. We will disregard historic theological and moral teachings when culture shapers shame us into doing so.
Much like “IT,” the villain from A Wrinkle in Time, cultural influencers in our world seek to drown out any true uniqueness. As Meg Murry discovered in Madeleine L’Engle’s fantasy classic, only self-sacrificial love can conquer the overwhelming temptation to uniformity.
We will all surrender. The only question is “To whom will we surrender?” Will we follow the cultural bellwethers into the snare of this world or will we follow Christ into the true freedom purchased by His sacrifice? Lewis returned to the world of the demonic to help us make the right choice.
Not Safe But Good
C.S. Lewis quote of the week
[God] has room for people with very little sense, but He wants every one to use what sense they have.
Door Jam
Interesting articles from others
Unknown C.S. Lewis poem on whisky and warm blankets discovered — The Telegraph
How the World Met C.S. Lewis — Breakpoint
Why Was C.S. Lewis So Popular Among American Catholics — Relevant Radio
Hogwarts Named Most Beautiful Fictional World of All Time — Attractions Magazine (Narnia was fifth and Middle Earth ranked eighth.)
Lamp Post
Additional recent articles from me
Americans Aren’t Looking to Argue Over Politics, Religion — Lifeway Research
Most Pastors Are Healthy, And That’s Good for Churches — Lifeway Research