No matter what you think about the Church of Satan, tolerance is what it comes down to. In case you might not have read or know about this, the Satanic Temple of New York has shown that it is serious about placing a statue right next to the ten commandments monument at the Oklahoma City capital. (1)
Before you get the idea there is anything evil about this; you need to understand that evil is subjective; meaning that what we consider evil here, isn't evil over there. Yes. It's an argument based on geography, culture and the time we live in.
When you think about it, assuming that you chose to, you'll find that you've compromised your true voice or the chance of developing one because of how the bible has been forced on you. It's been forced on all of us! Hardly anyone reads the bible. It's one of those books we or someone else picks things out of because no matter where you are in it, the fact that it's near or even open makes us believe that it has true power. If anyone has ever told you to follow the commandments, you can easily get out of even having to see what they are because as long as you're not hurting anyone or doing anything that will get you into trouble, which isn't so hard, you don't see why you would have to do anything else.
I mean, it's not like those commandments are enforced on us. We get it. And all the other fringy stuff on it doth not apply.
Now. In the context of the Satanic Church, you have to understand that from the beginning, the organization was started to provoke the religious mindset. But because there was good reason to do so, it 'grew legs' and became more of a philosophy which is exactly what needed to happen. When the founder Rev. Anton LaVey said:
"On Saturday night, I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday they'd be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will out no matter how much it is purged or scoured by any white-light religion."(2)
I also want to break this down so we can see where ideas turn a corner in his statement. For instance, I see Mr. LaVey's point up until he says; 'I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy..." this statement tells you everything, about the point where his ideology needed to start because he knew that the Christian Church thrived on hypocrisy, that was the motivator his Satanic philosophy.
It's that he knew! And that's part of the problem. We really need to think about whether we need that philosophy or not, because it says that a wrong must be corrected. It doesn't apply to everyone because it's true that the Christian church doesn't always thrive on this as many of them have good intentions.
The news on the statue is that the current group has over-reached their goal, which no doubt was achieved due of the press coverage.(3) We know how the world of marketing works now, and it isn't wrong of them to take advantage of this because the church of Satan is admittedly a marketing genius. People are going to get worked up about this group actually believing that they have any evil powers at all.
Such as in a comment on one of the reports where someone said:
"If you want to worship Satan go right ahead. You've made it abundantly clear you support evil. There is absolutely nothing in the constitution about separation of church and state. It says the state will not "establish" a religion: which it has not. It certainly doesn't say we have to regard each religion as equal. We allow people to practice any religion they want. That is what the constitution guarantees. Not that they can erect a monument on state ground. This country was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs. Don't you ever forget that."
It's in the second sentence where the commenter goes too far and uses the evil card, which throws all reasoning out the window. You already see that the commenter believes in evil which does nothing more than give the church of Satan more credit and legitimacy than it deserves. This is exactly what they want! This is the reason they exist and they know it! They have openly admitted that they are nothing but showmen, who have hijacked various ideas and subcultures and interests for their image and their way of thinking; but behind it is that one hint as to why... because they want to make people think. They want them to think about the wrong that people do and how they use religion to do so.
That's all it is! Unlike most ideologies where they turn away from their original purpose; the Satanic Church is doing EXACTLY what it's supposed to do.They aren't any more evil than the piece of furniture you stub your toe on all the time! Doesn't it drive you crazy to realize that through slight of hand moves, you're easily made to think what they want you to think? And I'm not just referring to this group, but just in general? Doesn't it make you feel vulnerable?
Not long ago I chimed in on the
news*about the AHA and Baxter County which is similar with regards to litigation about the freedom of religion.(4) All these two groups have to do, Satanism included is to bring the topic of belief inequality to the table. They see the problem with faiths where many say one thing and do something else entirely. They are doing what is essentially right which anyone can see because even people of faith agree that these problems exist. But there is no exact right or wrong way to talk about it without one having the upper hand against the other, so the look, style and provocative approach of the Satanic church is insurance against not having that voice, against being kept out of the discussion; the only drawback to having it is to actually believe that this group does evil which only keeps them in business.
So let me use the language/verbiage like a satanist would use; in that this would be Satan's house of mirrors, where you see all these different illusions and images around you that really aren't there at all when in actuality, this entire time it was just you.
- http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Satanists-Unveil-Lucifer-Statue-Design-for-Oklahoma-Capitol-239127121.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Bible
- http://www.christianpost.com/news/satanists-meet-20000-goal-in-effort-to-build-monument-for-okla-capitol-that-includes-children-admiring-satan-112185/
- http://www.bubblews.com/news/1965220-quotestablishment-clause-who039s-right-the-atheist-or-christianityquot*