I have made my blog 18+ so I could repost this piece and just in case I ever wanted to talk about tantric sex, hell houses, or lingam yoni.
Some of you may object to The Satanic Temple because as Westerners, we have been taught to fear Satan and even his name as a representation of transcendent evil. However, The Satanic Temple does not believe in transcendent good or evil. They only view Satan as an exemplar of personal authority and responsible hedonism. In lore Satan is against the ultimate authority, God.
Some of you may object to The Satantic Temple because of their admittedly grotesque displays of art and some of their more lewd antics. I do understand this objection and it is a bit much for myself; however, the grotesqueness of the displays and other antics are virtually always in private areas.
If you are squeamish I recommend turning back now as I will be describing some of the art on display
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The international headquarters in Salem, MA is a smallish white house in the residential section of the typically sleepy Massachusetts town. The building has bars and cameras in multiple locations with a relatively non-descript sign saying "Salem Art Gallery". There was a sign that said they could refuse service to anyone. As you enter there is a gift shop featuring various books on Satanic topics.
One piece of art in this gallery was a twist on a Christian theme. 'Mermaid Christ' featured a half-Christ, half mermaid statue of Jesus on the cross with over-sized penis and balls. This particular piece I thought was distasteful; a Christian who saw this would have a right to get upset. It is inappropriate to appropriate other religious symbols for your art.
There were other sculptures that were social commentary. One such piece featured a black woman with bare breasts with a KKK member on all fours and on a leash.
Even others were of purely a Satanic nature, such as a smaller sculpture of Baphomet that featured breasts, as is traditional, with a large penis, and a vagina on this penis. This is not dissimilar to the lingam-yoni in Hinduism; though Baphomet has different origins. Another was a fetal Baphomet that had a detailed umbilical cord.
There were also articles and comics distributed throughout the exhibit. One was an article by Lucien Greaves that argued that though Satanists do not believe in a literal Satan, they are nonetheless religious. They have a community and they do have affirmative beliefs.
A comic on the other wall pictured a young woman and a young man having a discussion. The young man is urging the Satanist woman to a party. She said that she had work to do. The young man complained that she was a Satanist and thus should be hedonistic. She responded that Satanists condone responsible hedonism, not irresponsible hedonism. The remainder of the comic shows the young man's life go into a tailspin, ending with him in front of a judge saying 'Satan made me do it.'
Some of the sculptures were a bit too grotesque for my personal taste, but if you are not squeamish about this kind of art you should pay it a visit. After the art gallery we went to see the main attraction, the nine foot tall Baphomet statue that was originally designed to be placed along side The 10 Commandment at the Oklahoma statue, until it was removed.
As we were waiting to see the statue there was a family getting a portrait in front of Baphomet. There was a child probably around 1 year old with them. The woman taking the picture sweetly said: "Little baby Satanists are my favorite." When it was our turn we took turns sitting on the demon's lap.
As we were leaving the statue area, none other than Lucien Greaves the spokesperson for The Satanic Temple entered into the area. And we were asked if we wanted to have our picture taken with him. If I was quicker in my thinking I would have said Hell Yes!!! But alas.
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| Me on the far right, Lucien Greaves in Center Right in front of Baphomet |
After the picture we were able to have a relatively short conversation with Lucien. Most of this conversation was about his various antics including: his attempt to place the Baphomet statue alongside of The 10 Commandments monument or remove it from the Oklahoma Capitol Building, distributing coloring books in Florida where Christians were passing out the Bible, and the After School Satan programs to be put into place only in locations where there is already a Good News Club.
In each of these cases The Satanic Temple is helping to make sure that all religious groups have equal opportunity to participate in their chosen religious identity according to the 1st amendment.
I disagree with Lucien on how the Bible should be read. He said that he believes that groups like The Westboro Baptist Church are reading the Bible correctly when they say "God Hates Fags." There are many ancient ways to interpret the Bible that are not literal or legal.
During this discussion, he said that he would be happy to take the blame for the next natural disaster, instead of the gays.
There were no protesters on the scene during my visit and Lucien said that there were very few local protesters; there was one conspiracy theorist and a woman who accused him of being a pedophile with absolutely no evidence.
According to Lucien, The Satanic Temple is religious, despite no belief in the supernatural. Lucien said this doesn't typically matter in legal settings. But not viewing Satanism as religious would privilege supernatural belief systems over natural ones.
Bottom Line:
I do think The Satantic Temple is religious and I think it does good work to protect the first amendment. Some of the art on display was in bad taste, particularly 'Mermaid Christ'; however, I support their right to sponsor and put this type of art on display, according to the first Amendment.
The Satanic Temple gives us an occasion to check our religious privilege and make sure that everyone is equal under the constitution.
