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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Chp 252. Sunday Post: Understanding Satanism.


[A Christian-centric Post]

Once again, the recent “
Satanic activity” [news is in Mizo language] in Mizoram made much noise and furor.

A 17 years old so called “Satan worshipper” entered a Presbyterian Church and tore a few Bibles and broke the Church pews etc. She (yes, a she!) is now booked under IPC Sec 295A - Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious sentiments.

(Question to my visitors: Can a minor be booked under Sec 295A?)

Anyway, the Church cried out, “Blasphemyyyy!” and the loyal patrons wept and prayed to the Good Lord. “How can anyone defile the Holy place?” they exclaimed, and spent their whole nights praying and asking God to redeem the sinner, some devotees trying to be louder than the others, denouncing Satan and assuring the followers that Satan will not succeed.

But what most people fail to understand is that most (if not all) so called “Satanic activity” we see in Mizoram are cheaply imitated by wannabes, who have no idea what real Satanism means. Their perception of Satanism is purely derived from the glamorized and often exaggerated version depicted in Hollywood flicks and a few Metal bands.

That ain’t Satanism at all! Anybody can construct a theatrical scene, make it dark, bring in smoke, play haunting music in the background, burn a couple of torches, construct an altar, cover yourselves in robes, let all the female characters be seductive and provocatively dressed, bring in a fair virgin for sacrifice, reach for that short crooked dagger, amidst lightning and thunder effect in the background. Tah dah! A satanic ritual!

Anton Szandor LaVey must be turning in his grave when he sees such acts! He is the founder of the Church of Satan, an officially registered religion in the USA. His book, “The Satanic Bible” has been accepted as the primary text by most Satanists around the World.

Here is the big big problem when people don’t understand Satanism. Some confuse it with paganism. Some confuse it with anything that is bad or unchristian. Some use it as a tool and exploit it to gain their own advantage – like excommunicating somebody you don’t like by simply labeling him as Satanist etc.

As Robert Lang, member of the Church of Satan said, “I am so sick of having my religion blamed for criminal behavior. We do not feel the least bit responsible for those who would commit crimes and call themselves Satanists. It’s about time people started placing responsibility on the criminal rather than on the book they read, the music they listened to, or the upbringing they had. Satanism stands for ‘responsibility to the responsible’.”

His thoughts echoed the incidents in America circa 1980s about the SRA – Satanic Ritual Abuse, described as “the psychological, sexual, and/or physical assault forced on an unwilling human victim, and committed by one or more Satanists according to a prescribed ritual, the primary aim of which is to fulfill the need to worship the Christian devil, Satan.” [source]

I am not going to talk about this movement here, as we are starting to deviate a little bit from the topic. The SRA issue is controversial as there is still no clear proof linking the SRA to Satanism, in spite of the panic that spread across America and Canada in the 80s, 90s.

Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA): An Introduction (Part 1)

Joining the SRA movement during the early 1980's were many police officers, who were concerned that Satanists were literally getting away with murder. It soon became obvious to them that no hard evidence had ever been found which pointed to a Satanic conspiracy. There were "no bodies, no bones, no bloodstains, nothing".

By the year 2002, SRA lives on mainly in court cases, in an inverted form. Victims of experimental, suggestive counseling techniques are now suing their therapists for having induced false memories of SRA. Multi-million dollar settlements have been reached in some cases.

The Church of Satan also stated:

Satanists not associated with the Church of Satan, however, have been under attack since the publication of Michelle Remembers (1980), which details the supposed Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) suffered by the co-author, Michelle Smith. She describes the five years of her childhood when she was raised in a Satanic cult. The alleged cultists inflicted horrendous sexual and physical violations; she also claims they practised human sacrifice and cannibalism. Her book triggered a North American-wide frenzy called Satanic Panic, where similar stories shot up across the Western world, while the media fuelled the public’s perception that their children were at risk of being sacrificed to Satan by such groups.

Therefore, SRA is a prime example of the difficulty of discussing the topic of Satanism. Which story should the public believe? It was proven that many of the stories written in Michelle Remembers were false, yet can every single SRA story—which “prove” the existence of deviant intergenerational Satanism—be completely false? Kent thinks stories do have validity, albeit one that is difficult to prove scientifically.


So with that, I will stop talking about the SRA and focus back to Mizoram. Back to the so called act of Satanism, which I believe is nothing but an act of vandalism by a misguided youth.

One of the 11 Satanic Commandments clearly stated: “Do not harm little children”.

And yet, most of these so called satanic groups plan to abduct little children for sacrifice to the Dark Lord. Bwahaha! Seriously, even if you plan to become a Satanist, you must stop watching cheap B-Grade movies if it’s going to affect your intellectuality and sense of reason.

I really feel the Church should not brand such people as Satanists. Because, by doing so, it is bringing that sense of excitement among the rebellious youth of today. Remember, the forbidden fruit always taste sweeter. Even outside Mizoram where alcohol is permitted, I know many people who hardly drink. But on dry days (when alcohol is prohibited), mannn, there is always that huge uncontrollable sudden urge to drink! It is human nature to want something that is illegal.

Likewise, by calling it Satanism, the nonconformist is definitely going to find it enticing, and even mimic it, without actually knowing what Satanism is all about. Hence I sincerely believe that the Church should tell its followers what actual Satanism means, and the ritual and dedication and devotion involved. Once the people know all these, they will definitely be turned off by Satanism. Because, after all, we are a lazy lot. And the one true reason why we stray from the path is not because we have evil intentions, but simply because we are too damn lazy to follow what is right.

I’ve been branded a Satanist before too. Lolz. One is because I have tattoos all over my arm. Little did they know that the tattoo on my right arm is an Angel. It is like my personal guardian Angel, protecting me from all that is evil. And the message below the Angel reads “Never Again” which will remind me for eternity never to go down that dark path I once went.

Likewise, they say I am a Satanist because I listen to Goth metal and bands like Lordi! People can talk all they want for all I care, as long as I know I am not one. By the way, Lordi dresses up like monsters, because it is their signature style. But they’re the only “Anti-Satan” group I know till today. Lordi challenges Satan to a fight! The song “The Devil is a loser and he’s my bitch” is a message to everybody not to be afraid of Satan and that we can easily crush him if we want.



All in all, we should be very careful about accusing anybody as a Satanist. Remember that it is our Father who will do the judging on Judgment Day, and not us mere mortals. Because the moment we fallible men start doing God’s work, all anarchy breaks loose. Remember the Inquisition? Remember the Salem Witch Hunt? How much more do you want to stain the name of Christianity?

Anybody can exploit this situation and call anybody Satanic. Some Mizos even call those pop celebrities in our community who sing non-gospel songs [read: romantic love songs] as Satanic! In case you didn’t know, the way we Mizos sing gospel songs in our Churches with drums (and guitars, pianos, trumpets etc) and dance is also considered to be a Satanic ritual by the more conservative pro-Gregorian chants Christian groups!

Yes the way we Mizos worship in our Churches is considered Satanic by many Christians. The drum beat is said to evoke carnal pleasure triggering a mental rhythm which is not spiritual in nature. Hence the urge to sway to the beat and rhythm is from a materialistic source. How are you going to answer to that, my friends? Do you think it is fair to say, what they say about us is false but what we say about them is true? Penny for your thought, my friends. Think.

Basically, in the end it boils down to the individual. Anybody claiming to be Satanist need not be a real Satanist, just like how anybody claiming to be a Christian is definitely not a Christian. If this 17 years old girl can be called a Satanist, then so can the politicians and officers who accept bribes, the devoted follower who go to Church but gossip about her neighbors, the cheating husband, the son who is slave to alcohol and women, we are all Satanists. All of us.



20 comments:

Andy Varte said...

Thank you for shedding light on this particular topic. I never knew there was an official website for the Church of Satan! Anyways, I've been following this on the local news, and my first reaction, needless to say, was that of my utter disbelief in the said girl being a 'Satanist'. I mean, it doesn't make sense. If I were the Dark Lord, I wouldn't be quite happy if someone who claims to be my follower goes and desecrates a church. What good does that do for the Evil One? All the girl did was bring to light Satanism and hatred of the devil. I believe the real Satanists are out there among us, in society, pulling the chains secretly doing the biddings of Satan. 'cause if Satan plans to take over the world openly through acts like church desecrations, well he's a bloody idiot!

Trix said...

Interesting,and as always a masterful post by one of the best bloggers I know.I mean that.You always give me food for thought.I agree with your closing statements...everyone is so involved in bribery and corruption, even in the church.Its actually quite sickening,and yet these people would think they are quite right to behave as they do, so long as they are part of the church.
I used your nifty little re-tweet button to,well,re-tweet your post,natch. By co-incidence,I also just put up a re-tweet button on my new blog,just seconds ago,lol You da best, Mizohican :)

apple88 said...

I agreed with Ande Varte said. We should be very cautious to label other person or other Christian churches. Satan will only be too happy to say Christians fighting each other.
We should be more careful if WE ourselves are the target of Satan, or being used by Satan.

Jason

apple88 said...

I just made a post in the old articel about the "Impression of Christian". Hopefully you can go to have a look.

Mizohican said...

@ Andy:

You're so right. And another thing I don't like is the way the media is blowing this out of proportion again. They are talking about this satanic ritual and that satanic ritual etc, without addressing what real satanism means. Seriously, satanism tak tak te chu taimak a ngai ve lutuk a sin. Kristian nih an peih loh chuan satanic nih pawh an peih miah lovang, I can guarantee you that! :-)

And like I said, if this girl can be called a Satanist, then, many of us too belong to this category. What she did was desecrate the Church, but so many of us are doing it too, sometimes unknowingly. We go to Church carrying our mobile phones, many of which contain explicit content like porn clips etc. Tell me how that is not different from what this girl did? It's the same. We aren't exactly pure too, so we have no rights to point our fingers at anybody.

Mizohican said...

@ Jason: Thanx for your comment in that other post, I will come by over there soon. lolz, and I am just wondering how you're able to dig up all my old posts! :) Thanx a lot for browsing around. And you're right. The more we fight among ourselves, there is only one winner in the end, and its not us.


@ Jesse: Thanx for the retweet, dear. Hugs. Am getting quite a good traffic for this particular post. The tweetmeme button is really cool, isn't it? :-) Only problem is, this post has been retweeted 3 other times apart from the existing 3, but not using the tweetmeme links, so those don't count in the statistic :(

And I agree, we must seriously stop being such hypocrites. The Church broke up due to corruption and hypocrisy within, and continues to do so even today. And if you read the Satanic doctrine carefully, you will realize that one of my main cause for its formation was due to the hypocrisy within the Church!

The 3rd point of the Satanic doctrine states:

Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.

If the Church is planning to prevent its flock from entering the dark side, it must reorganize and restructure itself from within. It should not be afraid to expel and excommunicate Church leaders who wallow in sin, no matter how minor the sin may be. Because the general public look up to such people and they should know the responsibility they hold.

Awzzman said...

Indeed they are just wanabes!! By the way, the whole town have something to talk about again!! -) 2 years back, i`ve been told by one Lady missionary that, I shouldn`t wear Che guevera T shirt or any print Shirt!! she says Its a satanic sign!! -), she didn`t even allowed us to watched Harry Potter movie. What does Santanist or Satan worshipper really means to us?

I must called `em as.. Awm awl hnathawh!! tih tur hriat loh vang a ni e..in lak Ch K vang..!! addict!

Unknown said...

I va ziak turu ve a, ka hriatloh zawng tak asin. Setana pawh Angel vuakthlâk ve tho alawm ti mai teh ang. Tihtur hriatloh thlâk em mai, an lâr duh vang mai mai anih hmel !!

Aduhi Chawngthu said...

"LaVey later noted that seeing many of the same men attending both the bawdy Saturday night shows and the tent revival meetings on Sunday mornings reinforced his increasingly cynical view of religion."

Rings a bell, doesn't it? I guess we are no different.

Anonymous said...

Wicked post, dude! Was checking on Wiki and found The ninth Satanic statement kinda funny: "Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years."
I agree with Andy that Satanists are among us in Society. How else would one explain all the pain and suffering, forget the world, even back home. The Devil walks, breathes and lives amongst us, yet we cannot acknowledge him for we are blinded, paying too much heed to petty distractions such as this Church-desecrating incident, rock music, (For that matter, any music that is not gospel) tattoos?? I guess we don't realise we are the ones creating these rules, not any Holy Being.
GODtv, which is kinda popular back home, has a preacher whose both arms are tattooed to the hilt. (Haven't seen his torso, but I guess its pretty much the same there!) That does not make him any less a preacher than others, if not more. And if we think otherwise, then we are friggin' Racists!

Mizohican said...

@ Awzzman: Seriously, I do not mind if people have their own opinion of what is a sin and what is not, no matter how bizarre some may be. But what I hate are those who try to rub their beliefs on other people's face. Even in Mizoram, I know many people who think drinking is a grave sin, but smoking, sahdah, tuibur etc are not sins!!!!

@ Chhangte_II: Dik chiah. Setana chu "fallen angel" an tih hi a nia, Angel zinga Lal ber hial mawle a lo nih hman. Kohhran in a beramte hi tha takin Satanism awmzia tak tak hi hrilh se... there is nothing exciting or cool about it, contrary to how it is perceived in Hollywood movies etc. Heng hi kan tleirawl ten an hriat chuan tumah Setana pawl an ni peih miah lovang! :-)

@ Aduhi: Yup indeed. And what is the point of History when we don't want to learn from it? I don't want to just sit by and watch history repeat itself.

@ Blackestred: Exactly. We are more concerned about judging our neighbors and acting more holy than them, rather than trying to correct ourselves. This is definitely not the teaching of Christ.

Hriatpuia Pa said...

Interesting - as always.
From the media report it is not the church (or the church elders) who called the teenager 'satanist' but the teenager, who herself proclaimed 'satan worshipper'.

Hotupa, rilru thianghlimlo pu thin, sual thin kan ni vek tih hi chu a chiang a. Chuti chung chuan, Biakin chhunga luh a, Bible leh Pathian biakna hmanrua khawih chingpen hi chu eng sakhaw zirtirna mah hian a phal lova. Mihring mihrinnaah pawh thil tha a ni lo tih chu a lang reng mai. Tumah 'I sual bik' tia kawk thei kan ni hauh lo; mahse mihring mihrinna atanga 'dik' leh 'diklo' hi chu a awm ve a, chumi pela thiltih chu miin a dem a nih chuan a demtu chu a demawm tehchiamin ka hre lo.

Mizohican said...

Hotupa, a dik lutuk. Chuan, ka para tawp bera ka sawi pawh khi, mi in Setanic ka ni an in tih vang mai hian an ni kherlo, chung tiang bawkin Kristian ka ni in ti te pawh an ni vek kherlo. Heihi ka ngaihdan ve mai mai a ni.

Ka sawi tum bera chu, heng tiang Setanic ka ni in ti te pawh hi Kohhran hian an nih loh zia thu chhuah nghal se, acchanchu tleirawl ho ten an lo zir ve palh te pawh a hlaawm reuh a lawm, Satanism tak tak pawh ni mang si lo. Satanism tak tak zir se ka tihna chu ni chuang lovin :-)

Ka ningggg ber chu tleirawl in la setanic te ho hi lawm... keini Metal music ngaisang ho min ti hmingchhe tlats. A music a nalh ti vang pawh a duh ni chung lovin, an band a "setanic" anga an sawi vanga ngaisang mai mai te hi chu ka hua tawps!

Blind Dayze said...

Satanism.. lot to say but.. maybe it's become this "Brand" .. just like the Al Qaeda has become a well known "terrorist brand"...

and regrading the music+satan..part..well i think maybe I'll try to post something on it.. little ive learnt about it ..in the near future..don't want to put another long offtopic comment.. :D

apple88 said...

Illusionaire:
The "impression of Christian" is in the "top ten posts all time". So, it is easy to find.

Jason

nell_maiden said...

Well written. fundoo indeed! Whats the name of that bassist/vocalist of Slayer? Tom Araya? Hennenman? forgot the name..during his press conference after the release of the single 'God Hate Us All' he remarked "We are not Satanist..but our fans wants us to be one.". Guess what! He only mentioned.."Its a f***king great title for a song..but no.God loves us"
Coming back to the issue, few years back i've had a chat with one real satanist who told me that. Satan is not omnipresent and his demon do his dirty work. He further stated that, the demons preferred good christians rather than 'good for nothing whore'
hehe.
Yes, Sandman you are right! Our society is labelling love song as satanic. truly ridiculous. Furthermore, we should not sensationalise this kinda news coz in a way we inadvertently make them celeb. Just like those so called 'PHERH'. Let them be..I just wish that our media people ignore such kind of news in the future. Coz our youths and kids just admire such work rather than despise.

VaiVa said...

Boss, i post chak lutuk a. Hman zana ka comment tum draft ka hmuchhuak hlawl pek a. Ka haihawt tlat tunlai chu... :(

A ngai tho mai ka ngaihdan chu misuala ka comment nen khan!

I still do not understand satanism! Even Wiki does not give me what I want! The Church of Satan and its followers just confused me; what they meant by ‘responsibility to the responsible’

From your post, it seems to me as if Satanism means namesake! :D If there is satanism at all (forgive me I'm not convinced), why they called themselves as non-criminal organization while they accepted "Satanic Bible" as their religious book which clearly meant that they are against the Christianity! Why don't they call their holy book (?)like other religious books. I'm saying evidently that almost all religious groups have satan, who is all up against their God and of course, humanity! So, I do not understand what is Satanism if their intention is for the benefit of mankind, not like our perception- the criminal one.

"Setana ka bia eeeee" an ti phei hi chu ka awih thei thlawt lo! Awm ve mai mai se, ka bia ti se ka awih deuh ang! Lolzz

Mizohican said...

@ VaiVa: And as before, I will argue with you on this point again :-) How can you link criminality with Satanism? What is criminal about worshiping Satan or Beelzebub or even a stone? Criminality is defined by the Law of the Land, and not the Koran, the Bible, the Bhagavad-Gita etc.

Satanism is a sin of course. I am not denying that. But the moment we start shoving religious doctrine into a secular system, then theocracy is the next step. And we all know there can be no complete Theocratic State unless the population of that particular State all belong to one type of Religion. Otherwise it will be just Anarchy.

We need to co-exist with each other. And in order to do that we need to respect each other and the sentiments we all believe in. Before all that, we need to respect ourselves. And how can we respect ourselves when our intention is to spread hatred among each other? Is that what our Lord taught us? Is it? Is it? The Lord said "Go spread the Word of God" and that we shall and that we do. But I don't think he ever said "Go brand all those who don't believe in me as criminals". Why don't we leave that judging up to Him on Judgment Day?

Dik ve tho em? :-)

Mizohican said...

@ nell_maiden:

Exactly my point, Nell. If Society starts labeling anything it deems unfit as Satanic, then we are moving towards a very bleak future. As mentioned in my post, many Christian groups too consider the way we (Mizos) worship in Church (with drums banging etc) as very unHoly too. They believe a Church should not have such type of musical instruments that evoke carnal pleasure that is not spiritualistic in nature.

Likewise, many other Indianized form of Christianity have their own blend of Indian culture and Christianity. Some may feel this is not correct, but at the end of the day, it is hard to argue with what one feels like or believes in.

By the way, many Satanic Group actually abhor Heavy Metal music and Deth/Doom Metal etc! They say they give the religion a bad name as that is not Satanism.


@ Jason: Thanx man. I will check it. Been quite busy in office these days, spending 3 nights in office already this week alone!!! I went home on Wednesday only :-(


@ Blind Dayze: Will look forward to your post. Let me know when its up ok?

Geneza Pharmaceuticals said...

Fanaticism is bad in any its manifestation