[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.
