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As we enter the Christmas season of “peace on earth and good will toward men,” a demonic display installed by the New Hampshire branch of The Satanic Temple on a Concord city plaza was toppled and destroyed last weekend, according to local news. At press time, Satan could not be reached for comment.
The Satanic Temple (TST) – based appropriately in that legendary center of witchcraft Salem, Massachusetts – received a permit to place their monument of the goat-headed occult idol Baphomet near the city’s Statehouse Nativity scene. TST representatives unveiled Baphomet on Saturday night, and police believe it was vandalized sometime that night after the unveiling. The legs of the black mannequin were left standing upright, but the strewn head and torso were damaged and the tablet listing the TST’s fundamental tenets had also been cracked with chunks of text missing. By Monday night, the idol had been entirely destroyed and the tablet smashed. The remains of the display were removed Tuesday.
A Concord police spokesperson confirmed that they could be investigating the incident as a hate crime, which is yet another example of how stupid and political the category of “hate crime” is and always has been. At whom is the “hate” supposedly directed? Satan?
State Rep. Ellen Read, a Democrat who is signed up online as a member of TST in solidarity with them, initially asked the group to join the scene to represent “our pluralistic society.” Did you catch that? She invited the Satanic Temple to be represented alongside a Nativity scene at the New Hampshire State capitol. Why would an elected official think it a great idea to reach out at Christmastime to an organization devoted to the occult, and encourage it to install a display at the State capitol alongside the Nativity?
That’s a rhetorical question, because the obvious answer is twofold: one, she is a Democrat; two, she must have felt compelled to give Jesus – the actual reason for the season – some competition. And yet she claimed later that “There was nothing inherently offensive about the display [and]… nothing about it that was denigrating Christians,” both claims of which she must surely know are patently false.
Leave it to a Democrat to declare that there is nothing offensive or denigrating to Christians about a monument to Satanic evil placed on equal footing with a Nativity scene. “I’ve just been a long-time supporter of TST in terms of their beliefs and the work that they do,” Read told reporters (emphasis added). “I’m local, so I helped with the permitting process, and I was there for the unveiling.”
She supports the Satanic Temple’s beliefs and their work? She was present for the unveiling? What kind of a society are we when our elected officials declare their proud support for Satanism and go out of their way to grant it equal, government-sanctioned representation to Christianity?
To clarify what Satanism today is, allow me to summarize from a previous article of mine:
As an organization, the Satanic Temple has been around only for about ten years. It views itself as a sort of alternative religion for people who resent the “oppression” of traditional religion, especially Christianity, which the Satanic Temple regularly mocks and taunts by demanding equal time with Nativity scenes at state capitols at Christmastime.
Are Satanic Temple members devil-worshippers? Sort of. As I’ve written before,
Contrary to popular assumption, only a small minority of Satanists actually worships Satan. Most of them reportedly do not believe in a higher power; they see Satan himself as more metaphorical, a symbol of rebellion. They view their religion as a worshiping of the self, and believe that each individual is free to define his or her own moral code.
Today’s Satanism is largely what author Carl Trueman, Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College, calls expressive individualism, which holds that “human beings are defined by their individual psychological core, and that the purpose of life is allowing that core to find social expression in relationships. Anything that challenges it is deemed oppressive.” Sects of the self today include a revival of paganism and Satanism.
The Temple’s mission is supposedly one of working toward “benevolent and compassionate” social justice, with a generous helping of such self-worship thrown in. But an unstated yet obvious part of its mission is to disempower Christians in the public and political square – hence its challenges to Christmas displays in political buildings. In fact, Concord officials said in a statement that they approved the Temple’s permit there partly “to avoid litigation.”
Rep. Ellen Read seems suspiciously heavily invested in ensuring that the Christmastime celebration of the birth of mankind’s savior is balanced with its dark counterpart. In explanation, she claims fidelity to the First Amendment: “They can pretend that they allow it for all religious displays, but it’s only really applicable if it’s Christianity. That’s kind of the point of calling that out and making sure that we’re standing up for First Amendment principles.”
Are Buddhists clamoring for, and being denied, religious displays at the Capitol? Muslims? Zoroastrians? It sounds like not even the Satanic Temple was clamoring for one, because it was Rep. Read who reached out to them. Only someone, some organization, and some demonic entity that resent what little cultural presence Christianity still has in America (we are living in a post-Christian West) would feel compelled to challenge something as innocuous and good-willed as a Christmas display.
This recent Concord incident brings to mind, of course, the similar smashing of a Baphomet idol a year ago at the Iowa State Capitol building (which I wrote about here). The Satanic Temple of Iowa had received permission to erect the statue near a Nativity display (again, as a direct challenge to Christianity). Christian conservative and U.S. Navy flight instructor Michael Cassidy “saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged,” and so he took it upon himself to tear it down – after which he turned himself in to police officers and was charged with 4th-degree criminal mischief.
Cassidy told reporters that he destroyed the shrine in order to “awaken Christians to the anti-Christian acts promoted by our government”:
The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment. Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water.
Correct. The Founders did not want the establishment of a “state religion,” but they would have found it incomprehensible that this wariness would result in government buildings hosting altars to Satan-worship.
Author Rod Dreher once mused about this issue on his Substack page, and it is worth quoting him at length because he sums up the truth about the Satanic Temple’s intent and Michael Cassidy’s protest:
The United States is a country now where we oversee the removal of statues of figures — even Founding Fathers, like Thomas Jefferson, whose statue was taken out of New York City Hall in 2021 — that the woke find intolerable… but we erect statues, however temporary, honoring Satan.
He went on to note that “the abstractions of liberalism must reach a limit at some point… And the construction of a statue honoring Satan crosses a line that I think none of us should be willing to cross”:
Even if you don’t believe that Satan actually exists, and you consider him to be merely a symbol, then why would you tolerate this statue? In the symbolic matrix that produced the figure of Satan, he symbolizes ultimate evil… Not just evil, but Evil…
[…]
If being a good classical liberal means that I have to tolerate reverence in a public space to a god that stands for Evil, then I am not a classical liberal… There is no society that can be called “good” in which an effigy of Satan is honored in the public square.
I agree, and if that’s not “pluralistic” or “inclusive” enough for the morally impaired among us, I don’t care. Classical liberalism should not be a suicide pact. As I concluded about the Cassidey incident,
A society that gives equal weight to Good and Evil out of a misguided sense of fairness and tolerance and diversity will quickly find itself overrun by Evil, because Evil will exploit the fair-mindedness and tolerance of classical liberals in order to get first a foot in the door, then to smash the door off its hinges and subdue the whole of a classically liberal civilization.
If we as a culture can’t agree on drawing the line at the government-ordained worship of such a symbol as Baphomet, then that figurative door is already off its hinges. To paraphrase Sir Thomas More in the brilliant play A Man For All Seasons, can we stand upright in the winds that will blow then?
Follow Mark Tapson at Culture Warrior
The “reprobate mind” is described by St. Paul in his warning to the New Testament church at Rome. See Romans 1:18-32 (esp. vs 28) for the four steps to reprobation.
I write as a redeemed saint that has a past with a warning to unrepentant sinners who have a future,
You’re a saint? When were you canonized?
The Bible calls “saints” all followers of the biblical God. Don’t believe me? See below. I’ve made my case from Scripture. Can you show me where “canonization” is in the Bible?
Acts 26:10
And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.
Romans 1:7
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:27
And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 12:13
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 16:15
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
1 Corinthians 1:2
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
1 Corinthians 6:1
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?
1 Corinthians 6:2
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
2 Corinthians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
2 Corinthians 13:13
All the saints greet you.
Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 2:19
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Ephesians 3:8
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
I don’t believe in saints. I believe in heroes and heroes don’t go around advertising that they’re heroes.
Then why do you believe in Anny and Lenny?
For the benefit of those who don’t recognize Intrepid’s references to “Anny” and “Lenny” above, I think he means Ayn Rand and her rather silly disciple Leonard Peikoff.
none o the hundreds saints I know personally go about tooting their own horns as you imagine.
In act we spend most of our time seeking ways to help and bless others. You know, seeing after the widows and orphans, comforting the sick and those who mourn….
According to the Bible, saints are still sinners. Acknowledging the fact doesn’t indicate conceit or self-absorption. It just IS.
Know who you are so you will know your responsibilities – when you are saved by the Blood of Jesus
Romans 1:7 answers your question. It is God who makes men saints.
Technically, saints need no redemption – only sinners. But all humans whom God calls are sinners who are transformed into saints by the power of a new life in Christ – not our own power. Our transformation is complete when we die and are no longer subject to the sinful nature common to all living men but One.
Your scornful mocking is a terrible and frightening sign, THX. I know there are other Christians here, like me, who pray God’s mercy for you.
Not everyone is Catholic.
This is well known among us Christians as saint with a small S. We are saints when people recognize our holy, well lived lives in sacrifice for others. Not the same as Catholic Saints which are appointed by the Popes.
This sure to get the Liberals Upset the very same ones to pulled down Statures of Americans Hero’s Burned Bibles and Vandalized Churches Now lets see them rip down that Quetzalcoatyle Idol in Southern California and smash it to teeny tiny pieces
Calling this a hate crime is too funny.
Yep.. since their god satan is hate personified…..
Actions speak louder than words. Although The Satanic Temple espouses
‘compassion, justice and wisdom’ for each individual – they have displayed
Baphomet, the figure of a man with a goat’s head. They are certainly not
symbolizing the human individual, are they? The human individual with
a soul – for whom the babe in the manger was destined to suffer and die.
Who else constantly preaches to millions that there is essentially no
difference between animals and humans – that they deserve the same
civil rights. Pope Francis, that’s who. Baphomet would be as welcome to
the Pontiff as a nativity scene where the infant Savior lay sleeping on a
Palestinian keffiyah.
Who regales about a future where Man and machine are interfaced –
or where a robot and human DNA have become a human hybrid. Klaus
Schwab, Yuval Harari and the rest of the WEF – in their embrace of
Transhumanism. A transhuman could aptly describe Baphomet as he is
far from fully human.
No matter what the Satanists are saying in their display of Baphomet –
they are flat out lying. And why not – their symbol Satan is the Father of
Lies. As for Mass. state rep Ellen Read insisting that “there was nothing
about it (Baphomet) denigrating Christians” – that is the biggest lie of all.
Because the devil is the father of lies, deception and murder
Pelosi: “is the devil a registered democrat? If not, sign him up ASAP – we need talent like that on our team!”
The Left has publicly aligned itself with Satan. It’s not as though we didn’t already know that.
Hello Dr.Tapson, and thank you for your article.
You say “Most (satanists) reportedly do not believe in a higher power; they see Satan himself as more metaphorical, a symbol of rebellion. They view their religion as a worshiping of the self, and believe that each individual is free to define his or her own moral code.”
Doesn’t that go back to the moment in Eden when Satan told Eve that she did not need to accept her Creator’s standards of good and bad, but should set her own? And didn’t that moment set in train the whole disaster we, the damaged children of Adam and Eve, are presently living in?
And aren’t there Satanic symbols over many of our buildings, both civic and religious? Is the cross, for example, a Christian symbol? It is certainly a religious one, but is it a Christian one?
Yes it is, Jesus Christ died for our sins on Good Friday.
Hello rj, and thanks for your response. The word used to describe the implement upon which Jesus died is stau·rosʹ. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale.
“The shape of the [two-beamed cross] had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted
largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ.”—An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London, 1962), W. E. Vine, p. 256.
When this was first shown to me, I did wonder if it mattered, but then I began to think about all that has been under the banner of the cross. And I began to realise that it did matter, very much. But what do you think?
I believe that crosses were used in Roman times. At least a setup quite similar, as we read about it in Latin class, I think. However, if we Christians like to see Jesus on a cross that is symbolic that is ok with me.
I see they toppled Sumsrent’s Satanic Temple statue for Christmas.
Um……everyone knows what satan stands for.
Much to do about nothing.
The Satanic Temple is more like Monty Python’ Satanic Temple. It’s more satire than anything serious.
This reminds me of that time when that religious ninny John Ashcroft ordered those two statues of justice to be covered in drapes because their exposed breasts were too shocking for his religious sensibilities to endure. Ashcroft would make a good Mullah.
The denigration and destruction of Western culture is not “nothing,” and that’s what’s going on here.
Ayn Rand made important contributions to political thought, and it is a great pity that she became derailed by two things in particular: sex and religion. And certain of her followers, like yourself, are now amplifying her mistakes.
That ninny Leonard Peikoff (whom you admire) became so unhinged by his hatred of Christianity (which you apparently share) that he thought American conservatives were more dangerous than the Democratic Left! It took the advent of Barry Obama for him to see that the U.S. was not going to become a theocracy under the GOP and that only Republicans could save us from Obama’s misrule.
Allowing the Left to desecrate the Nativity is as dangerous as allowing it to tear down historical statues, and for the same reason: cultural Marxism advances by destroying down a people’s sense of their own history. Whether you like it or not, the West’s history is dependent on the Judeo-Christian morality, which you are not going to see replaced by Objectivist ethics if you live as long as Methuselah.
By the way, you sound like a progressive when you speak of John Ashcroft, one of the Left’s favorite bogeymen of the period and the product of an Establishment (not Conservative) Republican administration. The facts are a trifle obscure, but it appears that many “press” (i.e. Democrat) photographers kept going out of their way to include the bare breast when taking photographs at the DOJ, revealing a juvenile spirit much like your own. Ashcroft apparently intended to frustrate these grade school-level pranks by installing a set of drapes. Note that he did not order the statue removed and that the drapes in no way desecrated it.
Libertarians and Objectivists like yourself can either join us patriots in our fight against the Left, accepting the leadership we have earned by our superior numbers, power, and yes, intellectual heft (witness this magazine) or act as distracting gadflies who have the effect of aiding the Left. This, as Rand would say, is a matter open to your choice, and so far you’ve made the wrong one.
Excellent post. You nailed it. He does have progressive and totalitarian tendencies
Thanks! I think that between us we’ve got his number.
Actually you are much ado about nothing. You always have been….believing in a moribund philosophy that has accomplished nothing.
As is Objectivism. Lenny and Anny are the clown princes of this long dead philosophy. It would be one thing if Objectivism had thrived, but it didn’t. You are beating a dead horse.
You would do better to lecture us on Aristotle v Plato. Or not, heaven forbid.
So when are these same satan supporting politicians going to approve and support the trans/gay rights displays outside mosques?
Hello Dave. As George Orwell might have said: “All pluralism is equal, but some is more equal than others.”
Excellent point.
What’s amusing is that gay/trans fools passionately scream their support for islamist murderers that’d kill them without hesitation.
(Liberals decided long ago that reality & facts aren’t their thing. Effeminate emotions dictate their policy.)
The whole point of the Satanic displays is to express hatred of Christianity and Christians. It is perverse that not acquiescing to such vile garbage is considered a “hate crime.”
The satanic stuff is not some well-intentioned dissent designed to put forward alternative ideas, it is intentionally designed to provoke and incite, it is “fighting words.” As a classical liberal, I applaud those who tear down this satanic garbage.
You should convert to Islam. You would make a good Muslim.
I see you’ve got a bee in your bonnet today, the closer we get to Christmas.
Yes, because defending a Nativity scene from desecration is exactly like throwing gays off rooftops, raping infidel women, and chopping off infidel heads with a dull knife, as Muslims do.
These statues should be donated to islamic terrorist groups and their supporters. They have a thing for goats.
I could get behind statues of Baphomet with head and hands removed bowing before the manger a la 1 Samuel 5:4. That would be appropriate.
“And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.”
I’m seeing a lot of drones flying around.
What’s up with that?
But nobody at FPM is reporting on it.
So I guess I must be going crazy?
Satan’s time on earth is short, and he is wreaking havoc on the world until the God of this universe comes to judge the nations of the earth. Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and his minions with him.
Baphomet the Temple of Satan and the Masons are more closely related then you can e ever Imagine the same for the Eastern Star their logo a inverted Star the Sign of Baphomet