![]() ![]() His deceptions might take the form of a world leader concealing his naked territorial ambition with a thin cloak of Christianity, sending tens of thousands of his people to their needless deaths. Whether conceived of in the traditionally individuated form or more abstractly as a symbolic aggregate of human evil, the devil is serious business. Moreover, I believe Satan’s disguises are much more subtle than our social imaginary-the one that gives rise to kitschy walking tours where participants wryly chant “Hail Satan” to passersby-would suggest.Įven people who aren’t racist and aren’t anti-trans can get rubbed the wrong way by… But while members of the Satanic Temple don’t really believe in Satan, as a traditional Christian, I do. ![]() It turns out this “outright” Satanist was less of an exponent of occult beliefs and practices and more of a macabre entertainer working his beat Lord knows the streets of Salem are quite profitable for members of his profession during the high unholy month of October. “Hail Satan,” he concluded, smirking and flashing a heavy metal sign with his fingers. But the Temple is about loving gay people and women as well.” He went on to explain how there was nothing supernatural about his beliefs they were instead “scientific” and “philosophical.” That means no belief in an actual, personally existing Satan rebellion itself is what inspires his allegiance. “The Church of Satan is old and just bad. I was amused to discover that the West’s Satanism is, in good Protestant fashion, riven with denominational fractures mirroring the church splits of Baptists and Presbyterians, and I asked him to expand upon the distinction. “Well, we’re the Satanic Temple, not the Church of Satan, because they’re awful,” he told me. So I asked this guide what the Satan stroll through Salem entailed. To those points of tentative agreement with select moments of Putin’s speech, I could now add my encounter with a proponent of the “outright Satanism” he had decried. ![]() He pointed out that Americans used nuclear bombs unjustifiably, and I’m not sure I disagree. In his speech, Putin complained of slavery and Native American genocide, which I also lament. I was exploring downtown Salem, Massachusetts when a black-robed man with dramatic eyeshadow and waist-long tresses announced a “Satanic Salem” tour. The very day after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of “outright Satanism” in his war-justifying tantrum, I met a Satanist. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |