Satanists unveil design for Oklahoma Capitol monument

[Redfairen]

Source: Associated Press

A satanic group has unveiled designs for a 7-foot-tall, goat-headed deity it wants at the Oklahoma state Capitol.

The New York-based Satanic Temple released an artist's rendering of the monument Monday. A spokesman says the group has formally submitted its application to a panel that oversees the Capitol grounds.

The statue features a horned demon sitting in a pentagram-adorned throne with children next to it.

The Satanic Temple says Oklahoma's decision to put a Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol opened the door for its statute.



Read more: http://m.newsok.com/satanists-unveil-design-for-oklahoma-capitol-monument/article/3921263

[LadyHawkAZ]

1. *snicker*

[malthaussen]

2. Can't wait to discover what soft-shoe the pols go through to refuse it...

... and still claim they are in favor of freedom of religious expression.

-- Mal

[enlightenment]

14. Not seeing much soft-shoe happening in that article:

“I think you've got to remember where you are. This is Oklahoma, the middle of the heartland,” said Rep. Don Armes, R-Faxon. “I think we need to be tolerant of people who think different than us, but this is Oklahoma, and that's not going to fly here.”

<snip>

Another Oklahoma legislator, Rep. Earl Sears, called the group's effort “an insult to the good people of the state.”

“I do not see Satanism as a religion, and they have no place at the state Capitol,” said Sears, R-Bartlesville.

Silly rabbits.

[johnnypneumatic]

16. I don't understand their objection

after all, satanism is just another denomination of Christianity
Don't you also believe in satan Mr. Armes, Mr. Sears?

[niyad]

28. pretty sure that, under the constitution, you cretins do not get to decide, as govt employees, what

IS or IS NOT a religion.

[NYC Liberal]

35. What about the Hindus who want their own statue?

Will they say Hinduism is not a real religion?

That's probably their new tactic: non-Christian religions aren't actually religions. Hence discriminating against them doesn't violate the 1A!

[Wolf Frankula]

44. They'll Say Hinduism Isn't a Religion

It's a 'heathen superstition'. If it isn't King James All Amurkan funnymentalism in a Little Brown Church to these goofs, it's a heathen superstition.

Wolf

[adieu]

37. They don't see Satanism as a religion

but whenever appropriate, they consider atheism as a religion.

Go figure.

[Comrade Grumpy]

47. They call secular humanism a religion, too. Needs its own statue, I guess.

[Ash_F]

3. I think the adoring children are a nice touch. /nt

[another_liberal]

15. Right. That is a powerful-creepy image.

Like a film clip of Hitler playing with baby kittens.

[Moonwalk]

18. Naw. Just think of it as a petting zoo....

Petting zoos have goats for kids to play with, right?

[another_liberal]

20. Satan is just alright with me.

Satan is just all right!

[snooper2]

43. except religion is mythology and hitler actually lived

just a LITTLE different LOL...

Besides, Satan has all the cool toys

[Kablooie]

27. Kind of like the children reading the Builder's Creed at Forest Lawn cemetery.

[florida08]

4. ruh roh

[Dustlawyer]

5. Whenever I end up speaking with one of these "Prayer in public schools" people, I always

ask them what would their response be to the elementary school teacher who happens to be a Satanist that wants to teach their kids to pray to Lucifer! They never think this through. When they invariably say they wouldn't allow it I ask them if they are going to be ready to write the Satanist a very big check? It is a shock to them to find out that not everyone in America thinks like they do and these other people have rights too!

[AtheistCrusader]

6. This monument has a lot less erect penis than I was expecting.

I don't know if I've ever been so disappointed by such a thing.

[Redfairen]

7. Little kiddies on the statue. Even Satanists don't want to be known as pedophiles.*

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Good point. And there's only some overlap between Baphomet and Pan.

[Milwaukee Prog]

12. Reminds me of this

[Moonwalk]

17. I'm disappointed, too, but it would have gotten the statue refused for indecency....

The were smart in not giving the approval folk any "handles" to toss it out on

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

8. Here is a link with a good picture

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Group-unveils-Satan-statue-design-for-Oklahoma-5118481.php

edit: Here is the pic from the link

[Lionel Mandrake]

23. The proposed statue looks a lot like Baphomet

except that Baphomet has breasts:

Baphomet ... is a term originally used to describe an idol or other deity which the Knights Templar were accused of worshiping, and subsequently incorporated into disparate occult and mystical traditions. It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century, The name first came into popular English usage in the 19th century, with debate and speculation on the reasons for the suppression of the Templars.

Since 1856, the name Baphomet has been associated with a "Sabbatic Goat" image drawn by Eliphas Lévi, which contains elements (of male and female, good and evil, etc.) representing the "sum total of the universe". However, Baphomet has been connected with Satanism as well, primarily due to the adoption of its symbol by the Church of Satan.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet

[Voice for Peace]

26. looks like a benevolent fellow

[Xithras]

45. Most Satanists don't see Satan as evil.

In their faith, he is the Lightbringer.

According to the Bible, God intended mankind to live an eternity of subservience and obedience, ignorant of the truths of the universe. Satan brought knowledge, freedom, and free will. Think about it for a moment. According to the Bible, why did God eject Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden? Because they ate from the tree, demonstrated free will, and became aware of both their own nature and of God's nature. For that "crime", they were ejected from Paradise.

I'm a functional atheist, but I think it's understandable why some religious people would prefer Lucifer over Jesus. According to Judeo-Christian myth, God created mankind, but it was Lucifer who gave us freedom and knowledge. It's not a line of worship I'd be interested in, but there's an undeniable appeal to that line of logic.

Of course, the thing with Satanism is that it isn't just one religion. There are people who really do follow the evil side of it, some who embrace the knowledge side, and even some Christian Satanists who believe that Jesus was Satan himself (they generally point to two lines in the Bible to support their line of beliefs...the first is the line in Isaiah where God casts Lucifer from heaven, and he is called the Morning Star, and the second comes from the closing lines of Revelation, where Jesus identifies himself as the Morning Star.

[Voice for Peace]

46. thanks! most interesting and informative, and made me reflect on my own impressions of "Satan"

The Adam and Eve story is so fundamental to the assumption
we are born sinners, born to ignore God's advice, etc. It is
downloaded before we are old enough to question the concept.
I'm grateful I wasn't raised with any religion -- but somehow
or other I still downloaded absorbed the concept of sin and evil,
and that I was a sinner no matter how hard I tried to be good.
There was no notion of the beautiful freedom which is our
birthright.
It's been a long journey to discover what god is, and isn't.
The real god, not manufactured.

[Xithras]

48. I'm not a Satanist, just relating what I've picked up from the few I've known.

But I agree that it's interesting what a slight change of perspective can do to such a well known story.

The God described in the first chapters of Genesis is basically a benevolent master. He made humans in his image, gave them a task to do, decided to keep them ignorant, and demanded their unwavering obedience in exchange for his love and favor. Satan brought them knowledge, self-awareness, and freedom. Our "original sin" was simply Adam and Eve's desire to choose their own path...they demonstrated free will and disobedience to their Lord, who apparently has no tolerance for either freedom or free will.

It's funny how, even though I haven't been in a Catholic Church for decades, my Catholic childhood so ingrained certain beliefs that the simple act of TYPING that makes me feel a little guilty

[Voice for Peace]

49. I hear you. I had to go bad for a few years, just to justify the guilt and get over it.

[daleo]

50. Sounds like the Prometheus legend.

[twirlybird]

31. Not as scary as that fat man with a red suit and a white beard

that shows up right around Dec 25 every year whose lap many mothers perch their little kiddies for a photo shot. Is his name really Santa Claus or is it Satan Claws? Maybe they should rename Christmas as Santamas or even Satanmass! People really don't know how they've been hoodwinked by merchants. Merry Satanmass, you all!

[hrmjustin]

32. hello again!

[greatauntoftriplets]

33. Did you get a lump of coal in your stocking this year?

[hrmjustin]

34. lol!

[nomorenomore08]

11. This calls for some music!

[Aldo Leopold]

13. One of many gems from the full article:

"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."

[dlwickham]

19. that's priceless

LOL

[rurallib]

21. they probably could have used some human instead of a goat

as a representation of Satan.
I offer

[colorado_ufo]

24. Now THAT creeps me out!

[Voice for Peace]

25. terrifying. no child safe in that lap.

[Ken Burch]

22. "O....klahoma, where the Prince of Darkness rules the day..."

"Where the pits of Hell
Are the place to dwell,
(not as hot as Tulsa
so, they say)?

(well, if Oscar Hammerstein was around today, he'd probably come up with that).

[dflprincess]

29. !

[itsrobert]

30. Doesn't Missouri already have a bust of satan on display?

[mfcorey1]

41. ROFLMAO!!!!!!!

[okasha]

36. It will probably be denied

because the request comes from an out of state organization.

The genuine Constitutional issue will get lost in the subsequent legal wrangle.

[Hestia]

38. A little lesson on the The Devil card, which this line drawing represents (kinda/sorta)

The Devil Card in the tarot (correspondence is Capricorn, ruled by Saturn) represents unbinding yourself from addictions and other material gee-gaws that distract you from being who you are meant to be. It can be any earthly binding - smoking, drugs, sex, hate, whatever is keeping you bound. Anything that keeps you from finding your authentic self, generally spiritually.

The difference on this drawing from the Tarot card is that the children aren't chained (the ties that bind), but loosely from which the people can unchain themselves at anytime they wish, but it is a female and male child - the two sides of our nature and generally called The Hermetic Marriage.

It was the early christians who put a goat head on Pan/Lucifer/Cernunnos-Horned God (light bringer) and turned him into a satan, trying to scare the people from worshiping their old nature gods as their ancestors had done for millennia. The artist just knew that would get their goat (ahem) and drew that instead of Baphomet. Their little joke on the the christians.

The inverted pentagram can be interpreted a couple of ways - generally when a Pentagram has the point down is means Matter over Spiritual. On the The Devil tarot card the point is up - Spiritual over Matter or the Mundane. It also means someone who has obtained their 2nd degree of Garderian Wicca.

The two fingers on each hand pointing up and down - As Above So Below.

[Delphinus]

42. Thanks for that lesson.

Quite interesting!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

39. I want a statue of Isaac Newton.

His laws cannot be violated!!! Can't say that about the Ten C's.

(I'm talking about the gross world we see, not quantum mechanics.)

And he was born on Christmas Day. He arguably has done more for our understanding of the natural world than any other scientist who ever lived. And invented calculus too, along with Leibniz.

[blkmusclmachine]

40. Now we'll see how fast OK puts the brakes on religious "liberty."