The Latest Fake Lewis Quote

I saw it on Facebook, so it must be true! And if it is in all caps with lots of exclamation points afterward, I can rely on its authenticity.

I trust those statements don’t reflect your perspective.

Why focus on that today? There’s a supposed C. S. Lewis quote floating around that people are sharing incessantly because it seems so apropos to our current political situation. We are told it comes from his classic work, The Screwtape Letters, and goes like this:

My dear Wormwood,

Be sure that the patient remains firmly fixated on politics. Arguments, political gossip, and obsessing on the faults of people they have never met serves as an excellent distraction from advancing in personal virtue, character, and the things the patient can control.

Make sure to keep the patient in a constant state of angst, frustration, and general disdain towards the rest of the human race in order to avoid any kind of charity or inner peace from further developing.

Ensure the patient continues to believe that the problem is “out there” in the “broken system” rather than recognizing there is a problem with himself.

Keep up the good work,

Uncle Screwtape

Then, to make it real official, it says it comes directly from Lewis’s book. It even gives a 1942 date. That should make you believe it for sure.

Now, I’m not saying there isn’t some truth in that “quote,” but I have major problems with anyone making something up and then attributing it to a famous author who said nothing of the sort.

What kind of person does that? The goal may be laudable, but the method is disgraceful. Ever heard of the ends justify the means? That’s never acceptable.

We should all keep in mind this cautionary word from Abraham Lincoln:

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