One of the most grotesque videos I have ever seen is currently making the rounds on social media, and it is so brutal that I shivered when I saw it. It shows a New York drag queen named Blair Black sitting at a bar, visibly pregnant. To the tune of Ke$ha’s “Cannibal,” she produces a knife and begins sawing a wound into her belly. She then performs a chilling self-abortion, thrusting her hand into the wound and pouring blood onto her face, and finally pulling a plastic baby from her womb, lifting it triumphantly into the air, and then twisting the baby’s head off in a gory crimson shower. The gay media outlet Pink News noted the horror that greeted this demonic snuff film with amusement, headlining their article “Drag queen performs ‘abortion” on stage with fake blood and guts and a plastic foetus—and Christians are raging.”
Actually, almost nobody was “raging.” I saw the video before it went viral, and decided not to write about it in the hopes that it would vanish into cyber-space and nobody would see it. Some things are simply too evil to draw attention to, and most of the pro-life activists who saw it were simply sad and disturbed. But since then, it has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and gay activists are defending it, so I want to make a few points about the recent rise of Satanists in the culture wars and why it is particularly jarring trend, especially as Satanists regularly show up at abortion clinics to confront pro-lifers in hideous and blasphemous costumes, eager to defend the sacrament of child sacrifice.
In fact, Satanists have been on the move as of late, as evidenced by one of the most popular documentaries of 2019, a film making all of the mainstream media’s “must-watch” lists: Hail Satan? The film follows the Satanic Temple, a nontheistic group that formed in 2013 and operates out of Salem, Massachusetts, where the infamous witch trials were once held. The Guardiandubbed it “the film that will change your mind about satanism,” and filmmaker Penny Lane, who started the project as a firm and sneering atheist, actually decided to become a Satanist by the time the documentary was complete. In her own words: “The Satanic Temple is a look at what religion should be.”
I don’t advise watching the film—the evil oozes from nearly every scene (many of which I had to skip entirely), although Lane does her best to portray the Satanists as merry pranksters tweaking the stupid fundy Christians and having a rip-roaring good time in the process. Despite the fact that many of the Satanists claim they don’t believe Satan literally exists, they told Lane that they are inspired by him: He was the first rebel, and he stood for freedom—freedom, the film makes clear, from God, morality, and everything associated with Christianity. Many of the Satanists do not believe God exists, but they hate Him fervently nonetheless, and Lane breathlessly follows the bizarre, blasphemous rituals that the Satanic Temple invents and adopts for the sole purpose of expressing their deep hatred of the Christian faith.
This isn’t to say that the leaders of the Satanic Temple aren’t very, very smart. Lucien Graves, their creepy-looking leader, has turned his organization into a military vehicle of the culture war, launching hideous protests against pro-lifers outside abortion clinics (many of counter-protestors dressed up as adult babies and moan hideously while others flog them) and using religious liberty laws to demand that Satanism be given equal access to public schools, public prayers at legislatures, and equal space for imagery. Most famously, the Satanic Temple has successfully gotten many Ten Commandments sculptures removed from public property by demanding that an accompanying statue of the demon Baphomet be placed next to it. Pluralism, they point out, has no moral foundation that allows for the exclusion of Satanism—and thus either Christianity goes, or Satan is honoured alongside Christ.
The Satanists make people squirm, many reviewers cackled, but very few of them stopped to ask why. Is it perhaps that, deep down, many people still instinctively recognize that some forces are not to be toyed with? That maybe, just maybe, if you try hard enough to summon someone, that person might show up? One particularly chilling scene featured an American Satanist leader as she described the movement exploding across the US. “Satanism has its claws into the hearts of the American people,” she smiled, “and that should make us take notice.” And they are forcing people to take notice by joining the culture wars on the side of the progressive Left, the abortion industry, and the LGBT movement. Despite the discomfort they cause, many on the Left are already welcoming them with hearty chortles.
What should really give us cause for pause is that we now live in a time where Satanists no longer feel as if they have to perform their blasphemous rituals in secret. Now, they can make their case on America’s morning shows and apply to give invocations in public places. Satan obviously believes that he no longer needs to disguise himself—his followers, wearing horns and declaring their allegiance to him, are openly attempting to have idols to the Prince of Darkness erected next to the 10 Commandments on state capitol grounds. Good and evil have always been at war with one another, but it says something about the times we live in that the followers of the Prince of Darkness are confident enough to advocate for their evil practices in the full light of the noonday sun.
***
A documentary from my friends over at Created Equal takes a closer look at some of these trends:
10 thoughts on “Satanists have entered the culture wars–and they’re fighting for the LGBT movement and the abortion industry”
Sam says:
I think you may have fallen prey to the narrow, but consequential distinction between two organizations: the Church of Satan and the Satanic Temple.
The Church of Satan actually believes in Satan.
The Satanic Temple is, as you say, a nontheistic advocacy group that cloaks their language in religious terms. The main points are to ensure that any one religion is not given a privileged place in government and to advocate for secular policies.
There is no sacrifice, etc. coming from the Satanic Temple. And if the Baphomet statues shouldn’t be on public property, neither should the 10 Commandments, Buddha, etc.
Sam,
I think you may have fallen prey to to the simple minded view that pluralism of religion equals moral relativism; that since there are so many religions, none of them are true; that they are all equally wrong and insignificant, but equal nonetheless.
This is indicative of Satan (the Great Deceiver) perverting what is true while also keeping himself disguised. What they are doing is pushing Evil under the guise that it is simply another religion. Jon’s point is that whether they believe it or not they are falling prey to Satan’s agenda. It is not THEM believing in HIM that’s matters, but he is making himself more known because the time has been ripened by the broad view of religious pluralism and unhinged equality. He can now be accepted as equal in the marketplace of ideas.
You’re right that everyone is free to believe what they want, but isn’t it interesting that living out your beliefs hold such major consequences in shaping outward actions?
I for one, hope that what is True and Right is given a privileged place in the law of the land, for my own sake and the sake of the future of this nation.
You and I might not find common ground here. I take your point that The Satanic Temple may be inadvertently worshipping Satan; however, that seems somewhat less likely, given they consciously designed their organization and slapped a provocative label on it.
I don’t think that all religions are equal – I think it is impossible for outsiders (esp. the government) to determine which religion is right. The only way to make sure that each religion has the right to practice is to make sure the government doesn’t favour any religion.
The problem with the government determining Truth and Right is that each religion demands a different Truth and Right. Better to design the country to allow the individual to practice Truth and Right, then to alienate most.
I agree that beliefs shape actions – that ought to be inherent when the beliefs include a moral code.
I see quite a predicament for societies here:
We’ve come to the conclusion that the only objective truth is that all truth is subjective and the only moral code is that it’s right for everyone to determine their own moral code.
Not quite – Western society has come to the conclusion that the government must remain secular to protect the rights of the religious to practice their beliefs.
This does not mean moral relativism is the “go to” for the government – this means the government will not stray into the spiritual and, ideally, will make decisions based on facts and evidence (admittedly, that doesn’t always play out).
With respect to moral codes, the government attempts to reflect what the majority in society agree upon (again, ideally and theoretically).
Logical says:
Sam,
One simply needs to ask themselves
Do I want to take the chance of damnation for all of eternity just to prove a point or would I rather live in eternity once entering the pealry gates?
The main difference is that the Satanic Temple members don’t believe in heaven or hell. They don’t offer child sacrifices, they don’t believe in Satan, they don’t worship Baphomet, they don’t have “satanic” (as defined in the Bible) invocations and they don’t have rituals.
With regards to the statues, the point is not to erect Baphomet statutes, the point is to protest religious statutes that are erected contrary to the law of the land. I don’t know of one that stayed up.
My point isn’t that the Satanic Temple members are laudable. My point is that they are not child sacrificing, devil worshiping cultists.
Both you and they are free to believe or disbelieve in the Christian God and Satan. Its just not fair to insinuate that they offer sacrifices to Satan when they don’t believe any of that.
Neither of them are good people so it really doesn’t matter which does what. Both groups are totally lost and promote anti-God ideas and warped morality.
I think you may have fallen prey to the narrow, but consequential distinction between two organizations: the Church of Satan and the Satanic Temple.
The Church of Satan actually believes in Satan.
The Satanic Temple is, as you say, a nontheistic advocacy group that cloaks their language in religious terms. The main points are to ensure that any one religion is not given a privileged place in government and to advocate for secular policies.
There is no sacrifice, etc. coming from the Satanic Temple. And if the Baphomet statues shouldn’t be on public property, neither should the 10 Commandments, Buddha, etc.
Sam,
I think you may have fallen prey to to the simple minded view that pluralism of religion equals moral relativism; that since there are so many religions, none of them are true; that they are all equally wrong and insignificant, but equal nonetheless.
This is indicative of Satan (the Great Deceiver) perverting what is true while also keeping himself disguised. What they are doing is pushing Evil under the guise that it is simply another religion. Jon’s point is that whether they believe it or not they are falling prey to Satan’s agenda. It is not THEM believing in HIM that’s matters, but he is making himself more known because the time has been ripened by the broad view of religious pluralism and unhinged equality. He can now be accepted as equal in the marketplace of ideas.
You’re right that everyone is free to believe what they want, but isn’t it interesting that living out your beliefs hold such major consequences in shaping outward actions?
I for one, hope that what is True and Right is given a privileged place in the law of the land, for my own sake and the sake of the future of this nation.
You and I might not find common ground here. I take your point that The Satanic Temple may be inadvertently worshipping Satan; however, that seems somewhat less likely, given they consciously designed their organization and slapped a provocative label on it.
I don’t think that all religions are equal – I think it is impossible for outsiders (esp. the government) to determine which religion is right. The only way to make sure that each religion has the right to practice is to make sure the government doesn’t favour any religion.
The problem with the government determining Truth and Right is that each religion demands a different Truth and Right. Better to design the country to allow the individual to practice Truth and Right, then to alienate most.
I agree that beliefs shape actions – that ought to be inherent when the beliefs include a moral code.
I see quite a predicament for societies here:
We’ve come to the conclusion that the only objective truth is that all truth is subjective and the only moral code is that it’s right for everyone to determine their own moral code.
Not quite – Western society has come to the conclusion that the government must remain secular to protect the rights of the religious to practice their beliefs.
This does not mean moral relativism is the “go to” for the government – this means the government will not stray into the spiritual and, ideally, will make decisions based on facts and evidence (admittedly, that doesn’t always play out).
With respect to moral codes, the government attempts to reflect what the majority in society agree upon (again, ideally and theoretically).
Sam,
One simply needs to ask themselves
Do I want to take the chance of damnation for all of eternity just to prove a point or would I rather live in eternity once entering the pealry gates?
Hello Logical,
The main difference is that the Satanic Temple members don’t believe in heaven or hell. They don’t offer child sacrifices, they don’t believe in Satan, they don’t worship Baphomet, they don’t have “satanic” (as defined in the Bible) invocations and they don’t have rituals.
With regards to the statues, the point is not to erect Baphomet statutes, the point is to protest religious statutes that are erected contrary to the law of the land. I don’t know of one that stayed up.
My point isn’t that the Satanic Temple members are laudable. My point is that they are not child sacrificing, devil worshiping cultists.
Both you and they are free to believe or disbelieve in the Christian God and Satan. Its just not fair to insinuate that they offer sacrifices to Satan when they don’t believe any of that.
Both support child sacrifice at the altar of sexual freedom and financial/social gain, which is abortion.
In fairness, that’s not precisely a ritual, but a metaphor.
Neither of them are good people so it really doesn’t matter which does what. Both groups are totally lost and promote anti-God ideas and warped morality.