In January of this year we talked about The Satanic Temple fighting to put a statue of Baphomet in front of the Oklahoma State Capitol building on the grounds of religious freedom. It certainly helps that there's a statue of the Ten Commandments outside the building, so if God can get a representation then why not Satan?
The temple's effort, headed up by Vital Remains frontman Brian Werner, was going extremely well up until last week when someone obliterated the Ten Commandments statue with their car "in the name of Satan." As a quick aside here, keep in mind Satanism isn't the worship of Satan, but instead another form of Atheism that isn't advocating you to crash your car into things. Now, with no religious representation outside the building whatsoever, the Satanic Temple is calling the statue off completely unless the monument is restored.
“The Satanic Temple was appalled to learn of the act of destructive vandalism laid upon the 10 Commandments monument in Oklahoma today. As many are aware, we are seeking to have a Satanic monument erected alongside the 10 Commandments — and only alongside the 10 Commandments. We do not want our monument to stand alone. If our monument stands at the state Capitol, we want it to compliment and contrast the 10 Commandments, with both standing unmolested as a testament to American religious freedom and tolerance. We hope that by respecting religious liberty in allowing our monument to be displayed, Oklahoma will help ameliorate any animosity between differing perspectives, not cultivate them.”
“To be clear, The Satanic Temple will not seek to erect its monument unless the 10 Commandments is restored.” Oklahoma City has the option to wait until the ACLU’s case regarding the legal status of the 10 Commandments is resolved before it permits its replacement. However, if the 10 Commandments is immediately reconstructed, our monument will be ready for unveiling quite soon.”
Next time someone starts calling something "Satanic" as a way to be derogatory, remember this story.
[via]
