Search the Community

Satan statue should be welcome in Oklahoma http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/05/07/satan-statue-should-welcome-oklahoma/QtZFYK4ab9bLyosi9Y88IN/story.html By Noah Guiney | May 07, 2014 Photo courtesy of The Satanic Temple Since 2012, a statue of the Ten Commandments has graced the lawn outside the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City. Now, it’s time for Satan to take his place, there too. A group from New York called the Satanic Temple has raised more than $28,000 on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo to commission a bronze statue of Lucifer, the design of which has recently been released to the public. While many of the project’s backers are Satanists — as in, they worship Satan — the piece is actually intended to make a broader point: That a statue of the Ten Commandments on public property seems to violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which separates church and state. (This view is also held by the ACLU, which is challenging the Oklahoma government’s right to display the Ten Commandments.) Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple, told ABC News that the Satanic piece of art — complete with pentagram and goat head — will “celebrate our progress as a pluralistic nation founded on secular law.” In truth, the line separating the majority religion of the United States and the government has long been blurred. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court found that the town of Greece, New York could open its town meetings with prayers from guest preachers — the vast majority of whom were Christian, and often directly invoked Jesus Christ. That’s precisely why this is such a brilliant idea, perhaps even moreso than your standard-issue civil liberties lawsuit. A statue of Satan displayed on public property would no doubt offend Christians. But in a country without a state religion, that shouldn’t matter, and Greaves and his ilk are right to point that out. If Oklahoma’s Capitol Preservation Committee – which issues permits for statues on the Capitol ground – feels that a statue of the Ten Commandments on public grounds is compatible with a Constitution that protects the rights of all Americans, then the group shouldn’t have any issue with a statue of Satan, either. But if, as I suspect, the horned deity gives Oklahoma officials the heebie-jeebees, they should think about how their current statue looks to Satanists. Or, for that matter, to Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, or Christians who see the separation of church and state as a deeply important tenet of American democracy. _______________________ Satanists slated to perform ‘black mass’ at Harvard University http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/satanists-perform-black-mass-harvard-university-article-1.1786440 The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club is hosting a black mass on campus next week. Lucien Greaves, spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, says his group doesn't want to make a mockery of the Catholic Church — or provoke the Devil. BY Carol Kuruvilla NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, May 9, 2014, 4:31 PM v/Getty Images/iStockphoto Medieval people believed witches performed black masses to worship the Devil — but the accusations were most likely used to justify witch hunts. They’re playing Devil’s advocate. The New York-based Satanic Temple will be staging a black mass on Harvard University’s main campus next Monday — and the thought of calling demons into being has the Church all riled up. Perhaps that’s the point. The black mass is an inversion of the traditional Catholic Mass that medieval people associated with witches. The witches were accused of stealing a consecrated piece of Communion bread for the mass and worshipping the Devil. However, there’s little evidence that the specter of black masses was anything more than myth that was used by people in power to justify witch hunts and trials. Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucien Greaves says his group contacted the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club to organize a re-enactment of a black mass based on the imaginings of French writer Joris-Karl Huysman in the novel “La-bas.” Huysman wrote the novel during the French Occult Revival of the 1800s. elydane via YouTube Lucien Greaves is spokesperson for The Satanic Temple. Greaves says next week’s black mass at Harvard’s Queen's Head Pub is meant to be educational. Members of the Satanic Temple don’t have anything diabolical planned — the group is not planning to use a consecrated host or provoke the spirit world. In fact, Greaves says he is an atheist. “This is not a supernatural ritual,” Greaves told the Daily News. “We don’t believe in the supernatural. And I don’t think belief in the supernatural should give you any privilege, since any deeply held belief should be protected.” This makes The Satanic Temple’s activities more of a political statement than a cohesive religious ritual — in other words, closer in theology to the Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster than the Church of Satan. Still, the Devil is essential. “There’s no stronger cultural symbol for the revolt against the general idea of arbitrary authority and revolt against ultimate tyranny,” Greaves said of Satan. “There’s no better a construct that can act as a narrative for our works and goals.” Steve Dunwell/Getty Images The black mass will take place at the Queen's Head Pub in Harvard’s Memorial Hall. All this talk about Satan has spooked the Catholic Church. The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston issued a statement blasting the Satanists’ scheduled demonstration and announced plans to conduct a “Holy Hour” during the same time at a nearby church. “For the good of the Catholic faithful and all people, the Church provides clear teaching concerning Satanic worship,” the statement read. “This activity separates people from God and the human community, it is contrary to charity and goodness, and it places participants dangerously close to destructive works of evil.” But the show will go on. Harvard University emphasized that they do not endorse the view of the Cultural Studies Club. Still, the school said in a statement that they supported the rights of the students to assemble freely. As part of a series exploring different cultures, the Cultural Studies Club is also hosting a Shinto tea ceremony, a Shaker exhibition and a Buddhist presentation on meditation. The Satanic Temple, on the other hand, has been actively involved in the church-state debate in the past. Currently, the group is trying to plant a monument to Satan at the Oklahoma Capitol as an alternative to a Ten Commandments monument that has been there since 2012. __________________________ Florida Town Must Open Meeting With Satanic Prayer or Violate Supreme Court Ruling Posted by: John Prager in Religion May 9, 2014 With the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding state-sponsored prayer, we’ve been wondering when someone would show “Christians” who choose to ignore Matthew 5:6, which tells believers not to make a public spectacle of prayer, exactly what a can of worms they have opened by demanding that public meetings be opened with a big, showy expression of faith. Well, that day has come, friends! Less than three days after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the town of Greece, NY’s claim that opening its meetings with what amounted to Christian-only prayer did not violate the Establishment clause of the Constitution (somehow), a Florida resident is putting the ruling to the test! Chaz Stevens, who forced Florida Governor Rick Scott to allow him to display an eight-foot Festivus pole made of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans next to Deerfield Beach’s nativity scene has written to the city asking that he be allowed to open a meeting with a prayer to his god. Stevens has converted to Satanism just in time to take advantage of the ruling. Stevens says that his change of faith is just as legitimate as Christianity. “At Christmas, I was a Pabstfestidian. It’s legitimate — it’s based in as much reality as the Catholics. But unlike Catholic priests, we don’t rape little boys.” However, he has converted to Satanism because, “Satan is a cool dude. Think of all the people he’s in charge of. Do you want to be stuck listening to harp music in the afterlife? Hell no. I want to drink beer and hang with hookers.” In a letter written to Deerfield Beach, he formally made his request: Dear City of Deerfield Beach; With the recent US Supreme Court ruling allowing “prayer before Commission meetings” and seeking the rights granted to others, I hereby am requesting I be allowed to open a Commission meeting praying for my God, my divine spirit, my Dude in Charge. Be advised, I am a Satanist. Let me know when this is good for you. Besties Chaz Stevens, Calling in from Ring 6 of Dante’s Inferno” If you are wondering if his “faith” is serious, it’s not–but his intent is. “I just want equal billing. We allow various religious nutjobs to give a prayer. They pray to Jesus who is make-believe, god who is make-believe, why not Satan who is make-believe? Why discriminate against one make-believe god over another? Satan and I are being circumvented. The city of Deerfield Beach has once again declared war on religion — and this time it’s Satanism.” http://aattp.org/florida-town-must-open-meeting-with-satanic-prayer-or-violate-supreme-court-ruling/