Satan needs better PR men.
After all, the role of the prince of darkness is supposed to be to seduce the human heart into committing evil. I understand this is a TL;DR version and skips over a whole lot of questions about free will, predestination, compatibilism and all that, but the point is that Satan is supposed to make sin and the subsequent rejection of God look alluring.
At present, the lord of darkness’ most visible self-declared emissaries in the United States are the folks with the Satanic Temple, a trollish group that revels in using the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in ways explicitly designed to denigrate Christians.
Their latest handiwork to win converts is at the Illinois State Capitol, where the group decided to counter-program the traditional Nativity scene and Hanukkah menorah with an anti-Nativity, featuring a crocheted serpent and apples.
According to Fox News, the display, assembled by the Satanic Temple of Illinois and dedicated on Saturday, is meant to celebrate the group’s “satanic values.”
“Let us stand now, unbowed and unfettered by arcane doctrines born of fearful minds,” Minister Adam of the Satanic Temple of Illinois said at the unveiling ceremony in the rotunda of the Capitol last week.
“Let us demand that individuals be judged for their concrete actions, not their fealty to arbitrary social norms. … Let us stand firm against any and all arbitrary authority that threatens personal sovereignty.”
After that invocation, the assembled Satanists declared, “Hail Satan!”
Satanic Temple installs holiday display in Illinois capitol next to Nativity scene, menorahhttps://t.co/eNTDoikglL
Looks like something you would find in the room of an unmedicated schizophrenic. pic.twitter.com/rPpDTsYXE6
— Mike Burge (@Hammsnut) December 13, 2022
The crocheted snake sits atop crocheted apples and a copy of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’ 1543 book “On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres.”
Does this Satanic display bother you?
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While one gets that the Satanic Temple is trying to make a point by noting that Copernicus’ theories helped touch off the scientific revolution, it’s also a sign those involved ought to read a bit more; as the Christian Science Monitor notes, Copernicus had a good relationship with the Catholic Church and was active in the church; his book was only banned after his death, and that ban was lifted in 1835. Good job.
As for what the display is supposed to honor, the Satanic Temple says it’s meant to celebrate Sol Invictus, a holiday of their making which falls conveniently on Dec. 25 and commemorates “being unconquered by superstition and consistent in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge.”
“There is no devil worship here,” Minister Adam told the Chicago Tribune. “In fact, I’m insulted when people think of us as devil worshippers. Satan is more of a mascot and metaphor for us.”
Well, that’s very debatable. First, consider that these were some of the Satanic Temple’s previous displays at the Illinois State Capitol, including last year’s controversial “Baby Baphomet” display:
WARNING: The following tweets contain images some readers may find disturbing.
The Satanic Temple has been allowed to place a statue in the Illinois Capitol alongside holiday displays of a Nativity scene and a menorah https://t.co/GfnTSejRMV pic.twitter.com/BnLaptJHrr
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 5, 2018
SATANIC: The Satanic Temple installs blasphemous Satanic Baby Baphomet next to nativity scene in rotunda of the Illinois State Capitol, “Hail Satan” chants by Satanists
Full Story: https://t.co/Z0JBbpFC2C pic.twitter.com/cRn6IArL5t
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) December 24, 2021
Charming.
And, yes, most of the group’s activities involve actively trolling Christians, mocking them for their beliefs while hiding behind the First Amendment. (While one could argue some of their stunts target those of the Jewish faith, as well, those who have followed the organization’s antics will note that there is one Abrahamic religion that they have, uh, assiduously avoided offending in any of their publicity stunts.)
Some of the Temple’s pseudo-event trollery involves renting out space in a high-school for a satanic prayer group or protesting a public monument of the Ten Commandments at the Arkansas state capitol with a goat-headed statue of their own. Blatantly offensive, sure — but also juvenile.
Less juvenile and more blatantly satanic is the group’s obsession with abortion as a sacrament. In September, the group sued Indiana over its abortion ban, saying the law “infringes on their followers’ religious rights and violates the U.S. Constitution.” The lawsuit quotes Tenet III of the religion’s catechism: “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.”
Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, the group also fought Indiana over a law requiring the burial or cremation of fetal remains, arguing again that, under the tenets of their faith, “the inviolability of one’s body” is sacred and that they “believe that nonviable fetal tissue is part of the woman who carries it.”
The Satanic Temple declares its members exempt from Indiana law regarding fetal remains pic.twitter.com/nPDvl1W6xv
— The Satanic Temple (@satanic_temple_) May 29, 2019
But Satan is just a metaphor for these people. Righty-o.
The Satanic Temple is literally nothing more than a hate group aimed solely at Christians, designed to mock and denigrate our holidays, beliefs and traditions. That ranges from the ridiculous crocheted serpent all the way up to claiming their non-religion religion grants them the unfettered right to abortion. It’s all part of the package. And it’s all obnoxious and loathsome enough that, if I were Satan, I’d consider getting a better ad agency for next Christmas.
