PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to dismantle the most external coat of paint of The Satanic Temple (TST), founded and leaded by Malcolm Jarry and Lucien Greaves: their disguise that, “since for us satan is just a symbol, but not some real supernatural being, we can build an objective, rational religion, not based on superstitions”. We will show that they, like other false religions, practice an affection for idolatry and superstition.




INTRODUCTION

Our regular readers are well aware of our position (1) on the reality of satan. For those Christians who still have doubts, we recommend that they re-read the Gospels, where on many occasions this reality is confirmed explicitly and not with metaphors.

However, in most of this document, we will use logical arguments that do not depend on recognizing that reality. Thus, the Satanists' contradictions will be so evident that even an atheist could attest it without needing to agree with our Theology (1).


DETAILS

They say that satan is a symbol – but they have turned it into an idol

The official position of The Satanic Temple (TST) is that, for them, satan is “not real but a symbol”:


But such statements do not accurately portray reality. For them, satan is more than a symbol, he is an idol, and their dependence on him is a form of superstition. (And also some of their rites are, or contain, elements of superstition).

A person who truly wants to focus on “advocating individual freedom” and “encouraging benevolence and empathy among all people” (as they presume (3)) does not really need a particular symbol to accomplish that. That person will be willing to use other symbols, interchangeably, as leverage to achieve those ends. But it is not so with the people of TST.

The “symbol” of satan is persistently present, by word or image, in the manifestation of their beliefs and in their rites. TST members who are trained for a position of “minister” (a priesthood figure) are trained by reading books on Satanism (4), not books about Spartacus, Gandhi or other historical or imaginary figures who might be symbols of “rebellion” and “advocating individual freedom”.

It is not necessary for an object of admiration to be representing a deity or a supernatural entity for it to be properly qualified as an idol. As soon as we give an absolute value to any created thing, we make it an idol. (5)

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The recurrence of satan images is a sign of superstition

In the few rites of the The Satanic Temple (or related people) that we have found published openly on the Internet, the recitation of the rites does not contain an explicit invocation to the powers of satan; even that word or any other equivalent may be absent. But this does not mean that he is not, in other ways, invoked.

The representation of the figure of satan and related figures, such as the serpent and the inverted pentagram, is abundantly and prominently present in the activities of TST members. Therefore, although in some of their rites they may not explicitly cite the name of satan, their appeal to him as an idol is, through images, constant.

This also means that they are ascribing a form of power to that symbol/idol above any other. This is a form of superstition.

There can be superstition without believing in something that is imaginary and supernatural. A belief based on the unknown is, in general, a superstition (6). The display of a symbol so that, externally, an association of ideas is made known is something logical and rational. The feeling of the need that, privately, this symbol shall always be present is a superstition.

The superstition here is in the feeling that, “somehow”, for a reason not entirely explicable, the symbol/idol must always be with them, even if only in the simplified form of an inverted pentagram. Of course, the degree of this superstition may be different for each member but, that they are promoting it through the example of their behavior, there is no doubt about it!

It is a two-sided situation: If they deny that it is a superstition, they are confirming that they love it as an idol, because there has to be an explanation for them to carry it around. And vice versa, if they deny that it is an idol, they are confirming that they carry it around as a form of superstition.

The combination will probably be different among the members, but it leads to the same place: Taken together, an idolatrous and superstitious movement.

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They grant satan a special dignity as if he were a real person

(And we know he is. Well, a fallen angel, not a human being. But the point here is that they deny it.)

In one of their rites —a wedding rite— we have found that they close the ceremony with a greeting of “Hail Satan!” (although in the rest of the recitation he is not explicitly invoked). (7)

When Satanists of The Satanic Temple (TST) or the like end a rite with a proclamation of “Hail Satan!”, this excludes that they are considering him as “a simple symbol”. A symbol is not hailed as a person, and even less with a salutation that expresses dignity and reverence.

But if we, provisionally, accept that the TST members who proclaim that salutation believe that satan is “not a real being but a symbol” (as they say), the fact is that only to that “symbol” they grant that dignity, and only to that symbol they have made it the centerpiece of their “religion”.

So, the conclusion is that they are considering it/him as a symbol more powerful than any other on earth. Therefore: an idol. And, furthermore, when they feel the need to make that hail, without which the ceremony is “incomplete”, that is also a form of superstition.

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TST members can easily walk towards a more extreme Satanism

When some TST Satanists make the greeting “Hail Satan!”, this indicates, at the very least, that there is a psychological conflict, a cognitive dissociation. Because they greet, as if it were a person, to something that, as they express elsewhere, they believe to be a symbol and not a real being.

The images can function, too, as the “Hail Satan!”, because many of the images portray a “someone,” not a “something.” And Satanists, being surrounded by such images, are accustomed to this cognitive dissociation: in word, they claim it is imaginary but, in their behavior, they treat it as if it were a real being (which of course, he is).

Of course, this psychological conflict is an open door, so that their “faith” can be expanded, personifying that symbol/idol more and more until they ultimately worship it as a real being, just as other more extreme Satanists do.

Therefore, it is not strange that those of The Satanic Temple (TST) have an open attitude to collaborate with other more extreme Satanist organizations of more explicit worship of satan (8). It is not strange that they are harsher in attacking the “superstition” of those who believe in God and, in comparison, accept with a certain indulgence the “superstition” of other Satanists.

Because the path of “faith” of a TST member, from venerating satan as an idol to worshipping him as a real being, is a smooth path with no major complications. Never mind that the TST charter excludes such “superstition” (9) – if a member reaches that level of “faith”, he or she can choose to leave the organization (10). satan will not be worried.

In fact, when they instruct their “ministers” (their satanic priests) through the reading of books on Satanism in general (4) and, likewise, if they encourage their members towards such readings, they are sowing the ground for the most extreme forms of Satanism, including a more explicit worship of satan.

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satan does not need to be fully recognized in order to do his work

Finally, we must remind that satan does not need an instrument of his to recognize him as a real being, or with his real identity, in order to do his work effectively and prolifically.

For example, one of his outstanding instruments in modern times, with great influence on the pseudo-religious and philosophical movements of the 20th Century (including “New Age” (11)), Helena Blavatsky (12), lived her entire life believing that her books were dictated, not by satan, but by “ascended masters from Tibet”.

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Conclusion – satan's steady work on those who expose themselves to him

You can remain without an umbrella for several hours under a very fine rain and redefine the word “rain” to deny that it is raining but, at the end of the day, you will be soaked in water. The same goes for someone who lives surrounded by images of satan and accustomed to greeting him with “Hail satan!” while claiming that he is “just a symbol”.

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Published on April 27, 2023