Will Satan be celebrated on the lawn of the Oklahoma State Capitol?
A devilish group based in New York believes it should be perfectly OK.
The group, which calls itself "The Satanic Temple," today unveiled its proposal for a monument it intends to erect next to another religious statue: a depiction of the Ten Commandments.
According to The Satanic Temple's application, the proposed monument features a large pentagram and “a 7-foot tall goat-headed Baphomet that sits cross-legged flanked by a child on both sides. The lap will serve as a seat for visitors.”
It would also include quotes from poets William Blake and Lord Byron.
The monument, said the group’s spokesman, was designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and could doubly serve as a tourist attraction.
“The statue will serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures,” said spokesman Lucian Greaves. “The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation.”
Oklahoma state legislators in 2009 approved the installation of a privately-funded Ten Commandments monument. It was installed last year over the protests of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Satanic Temple wasn’t the only group to apply for a monument; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and a Hindu group have also requested a place near the Capitol steps.
It will be interesting to see how Oklahoma lawmakers respond to this attempt to take advantage of the door opened by State Rep. Mike Ritze back in 2009.
Will they cry uncle and take down this Judeo-Christian monument?
Or will they allow a giant goat headed Satanic statue to share space with numerous other religious monuments, turning the Capitol into a kid of one stop shop for religious diversity?
Should be interesting to watch this whole thing play out.
P.S. By the way there is some evidence to suggest that this whole "Satanic Temple" is really a tongue in check group of satirists. Still if Oklahoma is going to allow one former cult that people orginally ridiculed to place a monument at their capitol, kind of hard to draw the line at any other.
Don'tcha think?
i like it
ReplyDeletewell mainly because it'll cause the eeeevangelical's pinheads to explode
otherwise, truth be told, i could give a rats ass
Fox Panel Erupts into 10 Commandments Yellfest over Satanist Statue
ReplyDeleteAn argument involving goats, Satanists, Pope Francis, Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Newtown shooting, and more broke out on the set of Gretchen Carlson’s show Tuesday afternoon.
The panel—comprising Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Catholic League President Bill Donahue, and President of American Atheists David Silverman—was ostensibly discussing a proposed goat statue that Satanists want to erect to complement/challenge the Ten Commandments that hang before the Oklahoma Capitol Building.
It almost immediately degenerated/escalated into a shouting match about whether atheists (to be distinguished from Satanists, natch) could accept 70% of the Commandments, why Donahue thinks Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (but not Sanders) are hypocrites when it comes to the Pope’s teachings, why Satanism should be taught in schools, why Shmuley doesn’t think it’s democratic to erect that Santa-goat, and so on.
Amazingly, the three ended it on a comparatively conciliatory note.
Watch the melee below, via Fox News:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-panel-erupts-into-10-commandments-yellfest-over-satanist-statue/
YEEEEHAWWWW
Delete
ReplyDeletethe satanists have a point...... their belief is of an equal value in the eyes of the american institutions and constitution to any other belief (christian, jewish, muslim etc)
all of you believe in unproven fantasy.....which is fine.
but to argue between yourselves that one of these beliefs is more valuable than another - that it is a fantasy with more import than another is ridiculous.
you should have listened to the secularists,, and leave your religions for your homes, satanic churches or whatever and keep it out of the public sphere
there solved...
now can we move on from this nonsense hokey smokes
Agreed ! We spend too many resources on memorials, monuments, and idols. Then too much time fighting over the instigation and the results of the installations.
DeleteIf we could arrange for the major churches to stagger their days of worship, we could build 1/7th as many churches and just rotate them among the different users. Think of the money, paving, building costs and other expenses that could save!
DeleteTom, in FL
See this is the fault of these nuts who want God everywhere. Leave whatever God you worship IN the place you worship. A public area is that ALL local folks pay for should be free of faith. Now all the "faiths" want a piece of the pie so I say good and this is funny as hell!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine what the entrance to the State Capitol might look like in a few years. Visitors and people who have official business there will have to weave their way through a maze of statues and monuments, each one larger and more ornate than the one before.
DeleteNow that they're opened up this door, who's to say that a religion is not legitimate and that their monument should not be included? Good luck, Oklahoma, trying to get the courts to permit restrictions on what groups may the participate now that they're allowed the first one!
ReplyDeleteActually, the seven tenets of satanism are pretty benign.
One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forego your own.
Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
Lucifer means light.
DeleteAll these above tenets seem opposite of the control christianity and organized religion wish to exercise over humanity.
Things that make you go Hmmmm
That's because the universe is made entirely out of irony.
DeleteAnd the first time 'satan' appeared in the bible was as an angel sent by god to keep some yahoo from going where god didn't want him to go. I think the dope's name was Balaam?
DeleteM from MD
Absolutely!
ReplyDeleteI'm all for it.
They opened that door, now any religion should get equal opportunity.
Or no group should get to put a religious symbol in a state building.
Me thinks it's time to petition to erect (ha) a statue to the African god of fertility. (with of course an enormous erection) That should be the icing on the cake. Perhaps this should hammer home to the bigots why there is separation of church and state. All or none, simple as that.
ReplyDeleteCould the figure of the girl in the statue be made to resemble a young Sarah Heath? Because that would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteHer hoof-claws look exactly like the goatman's feet. Nuff said.
DeleteWhen "Christians” want to erect the 10 commandments, they seldom specify WHICH 10 commandments they want to put up. Yet there are different versions. Catholics number these commandments differently from Protestants, and other orthodox groups also differ. I think the King James version usually wins out, but why aren’t these other groups protesting that it is not their version?
ReplyDeleteRadio Hosts Jim Garrow and Pete Santilli Openly Call for Military Coup Against Obama
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jim-garrow-pete-santilli-now-openly-calling-military-coup-against-obama
these inbred seditionistic motherfukers really need to be arrested - that or hung
DeleteI think that the Satanist group is, indeed, satire. They do make the point rather well, don't they? The Judeo-Christian monument above looks like a typical gravestone.
ReplyDeleteWatch out that it doesn't get mistaken with Santa Claus' buddy Krampus.
ReplyDeleteM from MD
That's actually a pretty conservative design for a statue of Satan.
ReplyDeleteThey could have opted to depict him in the act of receiving a supplicant's kiss on the behind.
And i imagine the only reason the "Alaskan Oracle" has yet to lunge at this issue like an angry cobra is she's still waiting for her flunky's report evaluating whether it might make financial sense to write a book about how Obama has replaced Satan as the #1 danger to the souls of innocent Americans ...
Of course it is tongue-in-cheek, it's also a very important lesson in civics. I say go for it, and make the Okie lawmakers and their con supporters pay for it.
ReplyDeleteMy bet goes to the state repealing the law and yanking the existing statue.
ReplyDeleteAnd that,of course, will really piss off people and they will be in hot water AGAIN!
Poor babies. Too stupid to get a real job? Run for office as a repube.
Great theater, though.
I like the idea, especially the part where one can sit on it if they choose to. What's fair is fair, if one group wants to put up a symbol of their fantasy, everyone should have the same right. That's what our constitution is all about. I am slightly offended at people poking fun at the FSM by calling it "satirical". If one person believes it, it's their faith. I love how people jump to conclusions that devil devotion equals Athesim. It shows the need for more education.
ReplyDeleteNo one's forcing anyone to look at it, follow the teachings of Anton La Vey or practicing it. I think it's got educational value for everyone to learn diverse symbolism and beliefs.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts and I will
ReplyDeletebe waiting for your next post thanks once again.
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