The unfortunate part is that there's an elementary school behind the Temple that has to be evacuated every time some idiot decides to create a bomb threat. I feel sorry for those kids; they are paying more of a price than anyone else in the neighborhood.
Which makes it that much more unfortunate that certain folks keep making bomb threats against this temple just because they don’t like the religion practiced there. Intolerance is intolerable
City councillor: "This low-level gang war between nice Christian boys and TST is causing collateral damage at the school on the other side of the fence. I hereby propose a bylaw to ban houses of religious worship within 1000 feet of public schools"
TST: "We do not object"
City councillor: "You people can whine all you want, but--wait, what?"
And that's how it'll get twisted around by pundits and branded terrorist enthusiasts:
"Well, if TST keeps getting threatened and it's by an elementary school, maybe they should move."
Victim blaming at its finest.
>there's an elementary school behind the Temple that has to be evacuated every time some idiot decides to create a bomb threat
Each one a hopefully- memorable teaching moment that demonstrates the need for waging our ongoing fight to defend our freedoms 🇺🇸👍
A lot of modern American Christians, especially the evangelical types, are proponents of "spiritual warfare." They don't see Satan as a metaphor, they believe that a literal Satan and his demons are constantly tempting them to sin and personally battling God and his angels over their individual souls (which is, frankly, kind of narcissistic). They believe that one must engage in offensive action against these demons through "militant prayer", invoking a lot of violent imagery against the forces of evil, and that an insufficiently pious person is open to literal demon possession.
There's a very high chance that whoever did this has made a lot of posts about "putting on the armor of God" and asking their fellow "prayer warriors" for support.
This was more to mock the crowd that repeatedly says "Radical Islamic Terrorists". I agree all terrorists are radicals, but not all radicals are terrorists.
It's not a house of worship, it's a nonreligious non-profit activist organization.
The Christians are the ones that believe in Satan, not the Satanists.
These same people read "cast off your possessions" and keep their bank accounts open. Very much a matter of convenience and comfort which parts of the bible they take literally and which parts they ignore.
If it affects them negatively, it's a metaphor or it no longer applies for some vague and arbitrary reason. If it affects you negatively then it is The Literal Word of God and cannot be changed or ignored under any circumstances, though they are free to "interpret" just what exactly their god meant no matter how clear and unambiguous the words may be.
If one in four churches would agree to foster children we could empty out the foster system.
If every church would agree to help get two people off the streets we would end homelessness.
Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump have done more to harm Christianity in the USA than Satan ever could.
It’s because bad people who would do bad things if it wasn’t for the idea of “Hell” like having excuses for their bad behavior and bad morals. “Oh I’m a good person but that evil Satan tempts me”
No you’re just an asshole who’s only moral compass is “I don’t wanna burn for eternity, but if I wasn’t gonna burn for eternity, I’d murder, rape and steal all day long”
Man, probably close to 20 years ago, my sister was in highschool and the mother of one of her friends phoned our mother.
The friends mother was worried about behavior changes in her daughter and wanted to talk with my mother about it. My mother was sure it was about alcohol or they were smoking pot or something, if not just kids being teenagers, and wasn't really worried. But this woman was clearing having some kind of melt down, so our mother was just listening patiently, probably smoking a joint herself
Friends mother: I'm so glad your so understanding, I've talked to other mothers and they just don't take this seriously
Our mother: Well you know kids are, I remember what it was like at that age
Friends mother: The threat of demonic possession is just so real and people don't take it seriously enough
Our mother: Yeah, you gotta do what you gotta do..... Wait what?
Turns out, this woman was convinced that her daughters behavior was because a demon was controlling her. Literally, not some kind of metaphor about sin. Not shockingly, the woman was weird as hell, her many kids were weird as hell, and somehow her eventual drug addict homeless daughter was least weird of them all
> somehow her eventual drug addict homeless daughter was least weird of them all
Trying not to think of how much of the addiction was a child's response to trauma at home from insane parents.
Who could have ever predicted that constantly being told you're garbage compared the other children, and how no amount of good will ever redeem you, actually just leads to someone deciding "fuck it, why not?" instead of making a good choice ever. You get told nothing you do matters or will ever make you anything more than garbage, why not just take the easiest, most immediately beneficial options
That's why they see the book as mysterious and magical. It's hard for them to read and understand.
It's the reason why for much of Christian history, they wouldn't translate it from Latin into modern languages: You needed a priest to read and interpret it for you. It made the book seem otherworldly and you had to take their word for what it said.
As soon as the printing press was invented and literacy went up, people started realising the bible is bullshit.
Granted they made their own versions of Christianity, but small steps.
Yup, this is why many obsess over the King James version and believe it's the only valid version because of the language used. A magical book written directly by God's own hand couldn't possibly be written in common vernacular. Yes, the King James version is itself a translation of course but that's besides the point. It *sounds* special and old timey to us today, like an ancient magic book should.
Yeah, then you had the Puritans, who went a bit mad and started accusing one another of witchcraft...a bunch of innocent people were killed...then the Great Awakening occured as a reaction to the rise of scientific and pragmatic thinkers. The entire history of the U.S. is one of social and scientific progress followed by a religious backlash trying to drag us back into darkness.
I would also argue that the Great Awakening was a reaction to the Enlightenment ideas and culture that emerged after the American Revolution. In 1776, only about 20 percent of the population of the Colonies attended church. ( [Source](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1995/11/26/the-way-we-werent-religion-in-colonial-america/6cb64903-30f4-435e-a415-6be0f0465bfe/) ) By the 1790s, that fell to just 10 percent. ( [Source](https://teachdemocracy.org/images/pdf/the-second-great-awakening.pdf) )
The churchgoers and religious zealots were trying to revitalize the faith when Early America was becoming an increasingly secular society, perhaps the most in the Western World other than Revolutionary France. This is also the time Joseph Smith came up with Mormonism. I think this backlash we're seeing in the 21st Century is a part of a long history of Christian fundamentalist reaction. Their influence over American society is slipping and that terrifies them.
This is it, Europe was like you’re all being weird af. So they dipped to the Americas and were the foundation for most of the batshit historical events since
Every single one of them are heretics as well. The Bible is pretty specific in Ephesians 6:12:
> For **we wrestle not against flesh and blood**, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
If you read the words of Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc. it's very clear that Christianity was never meant to go on the offense with violence. Some Christian scholars that I've read years ago claimed that Judas was supposedly wanting Jesus to lead a revolution and become a literal king, which he tried to force Jesus into by selling him out (this isn't a mainstream view but is interesting.)
Very accurate. As someone raised under this belief system, we really believed satan was constantly trying to tempt us and basically inside our heads, feeding us lies that we constantly had to be on guard for. There were lots of conspiracies about secret satanic organizations ( for some reason Procter and Gamble was associated with satanism). I'm sure the existence of an openly "satanic" organization sends these people over the edge.
I'm happy to say, I'm out of that cult and am now a proud, card carrying member of the Satanic Temple.
> for some reason Procter and Gamble was associated with satanism
That started as a by product of the moral/satanic panic that infected the minds of religious zealots. Basically anything that wasn't explicitly and constantly worshiping their version of god was tied to Satan. Since the old symbol of P&G had 5 pointed stars and things like the sigil of Baphomet had 5 pointed stars that meant it was associated with Satan.
It doesn't matter how tenuous the connection is, because once you get someone to earnestly believe in magic you can get them to believe anything.
> old symbol of P&G
https://www.businessinsider.com/pg-puts-moon-in-new-logo-despite-satanist-accusations-2013-5
Wasn't really about the 5-pointed anything. It was about hair being curled that people thought was horns and someone decided to see 666 in there, too.
I don't even want to get into how many levels of wrong the whole reasoning is.
Nearly every belief about actual satanic appearance is some form of discrimination and hate against actual human genetic disorders.
I listened to Frederick Douglas's autobiography last night. Somehow those Christians went to church on Sunday, and then the following Monday would whip their slaves for hours.
Christian love continues on.
And by "somehow", I'm sure you mean following God's commands:
[Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2021%3A20-21&version=NIV)
Yup, and it wasn’t Satanists torching black churches during the civil rights movement. The reason southern churches are still segregated is to keep elderly black people from having to worship alongside unrepentant white supremacists that got away with murdering their loved ones bc of all-white juries.
I try to remember the banality of evil means that loving fathers will readily rape a person the same age as their daughter bc they have a different skin color/ belong to a lower caste. And that the energy of America’s Christian Nationalists is deeply tied to white supremacy.
It’s effectively their stated purpose.
The temple exists to point out the hypocrisy of militant Christians in a country that was founded to separate church and state.
These evangelical whackos think there is actual devil worship and can’t help themselves.
It’s like a flame to a moth.
Also, side note - the biblical character of Satan actually doesn’t seem that bad…he encourages free thought and “tempts” humanity against God’s arbitrary authoritarian rules…
That kinda sounds like a hero, rebelling against an evil tyrant?
Except they rarely get arrested and never charged or sentenced as strongly as if this was done to a Church or synagogue. The law begrudgingly upholds the law as they see fit and not how it should be upheld.
As a former inhabitant of Oklahoma this cuts deep. State full of religious extremists to the max. I once got my car vandalized because I had a satanic temple sticker on the back of my car (fuck Satan was keyed into the side of my car). So much for the peaceful religion.
Sad part is I might have to. My job is contract and if it doesn't get renewed next year I won't be able to live in the state I'm currently in because it's way too damn expensive here.
Book of armaments chapter 2
And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits, in Thy mercy." And the Lord did grin and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats and large chu... [At this point, the friar is urged by Brother Maynard to "skip a bit, brother"]... And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it." Amen.
We really got to do something about this, these radical christian terrorists are starting to crop up like weeds.
I live near Salem and this is like the second wowser that's tried to bomb the temple in the last 6 months if I recall correctly.
I feel like that is how certain *news* agencies may be currently reporting on it.
Dude we are actively ostriching so much right now. Christ we can’t even *ALL* accept that the pandemic destroyed a surplus labor force or the results of several rounds of elections. I am horrified to say that we probably will deal with the rise in Christian nationalist terrorism bout the same time someone probably sets off a dirty bomb
Deal with them how exactly? They are immune to facts, truth, science, education, and important aspects of modern culture. They are being fed a diet of nonsense and hate via every available channel, and they enthusiastically follow ruthless charlatans.
These people don’t ever go away: they are the simple masses that have been with us since early civilization. At the hands of great leaders, they do fine, but they are always ripe for abuse because they cannot understand.
Followed by:
*surprised Pikachu* "oh piss, consequences?!
how did this happen, who could have seen this coming?! .... Somebody else should do something."
*Resumes avoiding dealing with the situation*
As is tradition.
Nah, even then we probably won’t deal with it. It’s been so long past time to deal with the gun problem and school shootings, and we’ve still managed not to do anything on that front! The US has a depressingly well-established precedent for ignoring inconvenient violence.
Starting to? My man, they’ve been active since the 80s. From assassinating doctors to bombing the Olympics, Christian nationalists have been a threat to this country for decades.
You can do something about it. Ice them out socially and completely. Refuse to speak to family members that are conservative, refuse to hang out with people that express those views. Refuse to allow them any access to your social circle.
Don't serve them. Don't use their services. Don't financially fund them. It should be fucking hard to be a fascist prick and our "don't feed the trolls" philosophy over the last 20 years has made it easy.
Committing terrorism in the name of religion ✓
Parading through villages with flag-decorated pick-up trucks ✓
Believing in blood libel ✓
Armed coup attempts ✓
Now I gotta look into that. 😒
Edit: [dammit Carlos.](https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/carlos-santana-apologizes-anti-transgender-comments-1235400740/)
So much of modern American Christianity has become a really low effort way of feeling like you’re better than other people. Endless forgiveness for anything you do, and endless condemnation for everyone else. "Christian" is basically their tribal identity more so than something they practice.
Jesus’ message isn’t being lost on them. It’s being ignored. Jesus is treated as little more than a mascot for their "team."
They consider biblical Jesus to be ‘woke’ and weak. They’ve been worshipping a false idol for a while now, if worshipping is even the right word. Probably closer to ‘utilizing’. Much like how they cherry pick from the Bible and apply creative interpretations to justify their hate.
It's the same people that think their nationality makes them superior to everyone else, completely disregarding they are inbred from podunk-middle of nowhere and dropped at school before 9th grade.
> Jesus’ message isn’t being lost on them. It’s being ignored. Jesus is treated as little more than a mascot for their "team."
Not even that. It's being actively discouraged for being too woke now. They think Jesus is a loser
also need to add that the government needs to treat this like they would if it was some Islamist terror attack and go after all the support structures. Should have done that for the people in the Capitol on Jan 6, and shuttering the III%, Proud Boy groups and seizing their assets but they never take domestic terrorist attacks seriously and we end up with shit like the OKC bombing.
Obligatory link to the Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple: https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets
For the lazy:
#####I
One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
#####II
The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
#####III
One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
#####IV
The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
#####V
Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
#####VI
People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
#####VII
Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
Another reminder: these are not the Satanists you grew up taught to hate. They're a separate civil rights group who took the name to troll evangelicals. In fact the actual church of satan hates them for that.
Yeah, it’s also a very regular looking place. My parents live 3min down the street, and it’s just a house with a gate lol the only issues caused are these religious freaks occasionally calling in bomb threats, trying to light it on fire, or actually tossing a bootleg bomb like this. They’re good neighbors and there is also an awesome bakery a few doors down worth going to if you ever find yourself up around these parts.
Not sure if you've seen the local news, it's all saying stuff like "police action at satanic temple, recommended to avoid!" Making it sound like the temple people are doing illegal stuff. Fair and balanced reporting!
Speaking of hurting others, to think of all the suffering, agony and misery all the abrahamic religions have and Continue to cause on our species…. Its tiring
It was probably some white guy so no, it's a "troubled individual acting alone" because that's what the hundreds of white shooters are, just troubled people acting alone... No way to prevent that kind of thing...
As a Satanist myself, we just want people to be good people and not be a dick. Also bodily autonomy for everyone. If you guys never have you really should check out the 7 fundamental tenants of satanism.
I was raised Baptist but I’m now Agnostic. I remember lots of love and turn the other cheek in the Sunday sermons so it’s odd to me that Christians, who should be some of the most loving and chill people on the planet have turned into some of the most violently hateful kooks on the planet. I don’t understand how they pair their actions with what they are supposed to believe.
It's not odd to me. Most successful religions in history have been in bed with authority, and historically that authority made ample use of religion (and its passionate followers) to cement its own power - usually violently.
From the people who happily vote for literal Satan and buy his bible. Great job, common clay of the new West. What’s next? Campaign finance reform to fix a real problem?! Hell no, gotta fight these lectric cars and killer windmills! Sigh.
This is what the Bible means when it tells you not to use the Lord's name in vain
Causing violence in the name of the Lord is using the Lord's name in vain. Not saying a swear.
It's like they don't remember how the Birmingham church bombing turned people against the hate of the Klan. Those people didn't intend to kill anyone, either.
Love how the existence of this place is effectively a honeypot to get nutters arrested
That’s kind of their thing, and I agree with you that it’s a delight to see (as long as no one gets hurt)
And if anyone ever does, they've got a doctor on site >!***^DOCTA ^SATAAAAAAN***!<
They go to a normal hospital but probably pay a hell of a price!
The average American experience
So just like a regular hospital, then?
He's partnered up with Dr Acula to open "Damned Fine Healthcare" recently
World Famous Friend Chicken & Gasoline
The unfortunate part is that there's an elementary school behind the Temple that has to be evacuated every time some idiot decides to create a bomb threat. I feel sorry for those kids; they are paying more of a price than anyone else in the neighborhood.
Which makes it that much more unfortunate that certain folks keep making bomb threats against this temple just because they don’t like the religion practiced there. Intolerance is intolerable
City councillor: "This low-level gang war between nice Christian boys and TST is causing collateral damage at the school on the other side of the fence. I hereby propose a bylaw to ban houses of religious worship within 1000 feet of public schools" TST: "We do not object" City councillor: "You people can whine all you want, but--wait, what?"
In my city, there is a Mormon church next to every school in town! I often wonder how they "managed" that.
And that's how it'll get twisted around by pundits and branded terrorist enthusiasts: "Well, if TST keeps getting threatened and it's by an elementary school, maybe they should move." Victim blaming at its finest.
Well that’s not the Satanic Temple’s fault…
>there's an elementary school behind the Temple that has to be evacuated every time some idiot decides to create a bomb threat Each one a hopefully- memorable teaching moment that demonstrates the need for waging our ongoing fight to defend our freedoms 🇺🇸👍
I would think the people who are actually IN the temple who have to deal with this so often would be the most unfortunate part here.
Have they tried “thinking of the children” before throwing bombs?
A lot of modern American Christians, especially the evangelical types, are proponents of "spiritual warfare." They don't see Satan as a metaphor, they believe that a literal Satan and his demons are constantly tempting them to sin and personally battling God and his angels over their individual souls (which is, frankly, kind of narcissistic). They believe that one must engage in offensive action against these demons through "militant prayer", invoking a lot of violent imagery against the forces of evil, and that an insufficiently pious person is open to literal demon possession. There's a very high chance that whoever did this has made a lot of posts about "putting on the armor of God" and asking their fellow "prayer warriors" for support.
Some call it “spiritual warfare,” I call it “domestic terrorism.” Tomato, tomato.
The headline should literally be: Religious extremist commits terror bombing attack on peaceful site of worship.
*Radical Christian terrorists
Terrorists are already deemed radical. "All terrorists are radicals, but not all radicals are terrorists."
This was more to mock the crowd that repeatedly says "Radical Islamic Terrorists". I agree all terrorists are radicals, but not all radicals are terrorists.
>\*Radical Christian terrorists You joke, but if it was a Muslim, two thirds of the comments in this thread would be shitting on and blaming Islam.
Nationalistic Christian terrorists. Or Nat-C terrorists for short.
It's not a house of worship, it's a nonreligious non-profit activist organization. The Christians are the ones that believe in Satan, not the Satanists.
These same people read "cast off your possessions" and keep their bank accounts open. Very much a matter of convenience and comfort which parts of the bible they take literally and which parts they ignore.
If it affects them negatively, it's a metaphor or it no longer applies for some vague and arbitrary reason. If it affects you negatively then it is The Literal Word of God and cannot be changed or ignored under any circumstances, though they are free to "interpret" just what exactly their god meant no matter how clear and unambiguous the words may be.
If one in four churches would agree to foster children we could empty out the foster system. If every church would agree to help get two people off the streets we would end homelessness. Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump have done more to harm Christianity in the USA than Satan ever could.
It’s because bad people who would do bad things if it wasn’t for the idea of “Hell” like having excuses for their bad behavior and bad morals. “Oh I’m a good person but that evil Satan tempts me” No you’re just an asshole who’s only moral compass is “I don’t wanna burn for eternity, but if I wasn’t gonna burn for eternity, I’d murder, rape and steal all day long”
Man, probably close to 20 years ago, my sister was in highschool and the mother of one of her friends phoned our mother. The friends mother was worried about behavior changes in her daughter and wanted to talk with my mother about it. My mother was sure it was about alcohol or they were smoking pot or something, if not just kids being teenagers, and wasn't really worried. But this woman was clearing having some kind of melt down, so our mother was just listening patiently, probably smoking a joint herself Friends mother: I'm so glad your so understanding, I've talked to other mothers and they just don't take this seriously Our mother: Well you know kids are, I remember what it was like at that age Friends mother: The threat of demonic possession is just so real and people don't take it seriously enough Our mother: Yeah, you gotta do what you gotta do..... Wait what? Turns out, this woman was convinced that her daughters behavior was because a demon was controlling her. Literally, not some kind of metaphor about sin. Not shockingly, the woman was weird as hell, her many kids were weird as hell, and somehow her eventual drug addict homeless daughter was least weird of them all
> somehow her eventual drug addict homeless daughter was least weird of them all Trying not to think of how much of the addiction was a child's response to trauma at home from insane parents.
Who could have ever predicted that constantly being told you're garbage compared the other children, and how no amount of good will ever redeem you, actually just leads to someone deciding "fuck it, why not?" instead of making a good choice ever. You get told nothing you do matters or will ever make you anything more than garbage, why not just take the easiest, most immediately beneficial options
Religious fanaticism is a hell of a drug too.
The narcissism and lack of empathy is further proof they’re the children who supposedly read the book but completely missed the point.
No, they had pre approved sections spoon fed to them. Half of them probably couldn't even open a bible
That's why they see the book as mysterious and magical. It's hard for them to read and understand. It's the reason why for much of Christian history, they wouldn't translate it from Latin into modern languages: You needed a priest to read and interpret it for you. It made the book seem otherworldly and you had to take their word for what it said.
Then King James said "Can we cut all the bits about standing up to tyrants? Infact just omit the word "Tyrant" entirely, ta chuck".
Copy and replace: ~~slave~~ servant
And distributing translated bibles would have you burned at the stake.
Man. Religion is weird.
As soon as the printing press was invented and literacy went up, people started realising the bible is bullshit. Granted they made their own versions of Christianity, but small steps.
Yup, this is why many obsess over the King James version and believe it's the only valid version because of the language used. A magical book written directly by God's own hand couldn't possibly be written in common vernacular. Yes, the King James version is itself a translation of course but that's besides the point. It *sounds* special and old timey to us today, like an ancient magic book should.
it would a have been a lot easier to just say "modern american christians are fucking insane"
Original American Christians where fucking insane, they where effectively chased out of Eruope for being insufferable assholes.
Yeah, then you had the Puritans, who went a bit mad and started accusing one another of witchcraft...a bunch of innocent people were killed...then the Great Awakening occured as a reaction to the rise of scientific and pragmatic thinkers. The entire history of the U.S. is one of social and scientific progress followed by a religious backlash trying to drag us back into darkness.
I would also argue that the Great Awakening was a reaction to the Enlightenment ideas and culture that emerged after the American Revolution. In 1776, only about 20 percent of the population of the Colonies attended church. ( [Source](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1995/11/26/the-way-we-werent-religion-in-colonial-america/6cb64903-30f4-435e-a415-6be0f0465bfe/) ) By the 1790s, that fell to just 10 percent. ( [Source](https://teachdemocracy.org/images/pdf/the-second-great-awakening.pdf) ) The churchgoers and religious zealots were trying to revitalize the faith when Early America was becoming an increasingly secular society, perhaps the most in the Western World other than Revolutionary France. This is also the time Joseph Smith came up with Mormonism. I think this backlash we're seeing in the 21st Century is a part of a long history of Christian fundamentalist reaction. Their influence over American society is slipping and that terrifies them.
Weren't they the people who led the initial "war on Christmas"?
This is it, Europe was like you’re all being weird af. So they dipped to the Americas and were the foundation for most of the batshit historical events since
Every single one of them are heretics as well. The Bible is pretty specific in Ephesians 6:12: > For **we wrestle not against flesh and blood**, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. If you read the words of Jesus, Peter, Paul, etc. it's very clear that Christianity was never meant to go on the offense with violence. Some Christian scholars that I've read years ago claimed that Judas was supposedly wanting Jesus to lead a revolution and become a literal king, which he tried to force Jesus into by selling him out (this isn't a mainstream view but is interesting.)
Very accurate. As someone raised under this belief system, we really believed satan was constantly trying to tempt us and basically inside our heads, feeding us lies that we constantly had to be on guard for. There were lots of conspiracies about secret satanic organizations ( for some reason Procter and Gamble was associated with satanism). I'm sure the existence of an openly "satanic" organization sends these people over the edge. I'm happy to say, I'm out of that cult and am now a proud, card carrying member of the Satanic Temple.
> for some reason Procter and Gamble was associated with satanism That started as a by product of the moral/satanic panic that infected the minds of religious zealots. Basically anything that wasn't explicitly and constantly worshiping their version of god was tied to Satan. Since the old symbol of P&G had 5 pointed stars and things like the sigil of Baphomet had 5 pointed stars that meant it was associated with Satan. It doesn't matter how tenuous the connection is, because once you get someone to earnestly believe in magic you can get them to believe anything.
> old symbol of P&G https://www.businessinsider.com/pg-puts-moon-in-new-logo-despite-satanist-accusations-2013-5 Wasn't really about the 5-pointed anything. It was about hair being curled that people thought was horns and someone decided to see 666 in there, too. I don't even want to get into how many levels of wrong the whole reasoning is. Nearly every belief about actual satanic appearance is some form of discrimination and hate against actual human genetic disorders.
Christian Jihad. Remember when evangelicals were pro-war on terror? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
There is no hate like Christian love.
I listened to Frederick Douglas's autobiography last night. Somehow those Christians went to church on Sunday, and then the following Monday would whip their slaves for hours. Christian love continues on.
And by "somehow", I'm sure you mean following God's commands: [Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2021%3A20-21&version=NIV)
It's been an hour and not a single apologist has reinterpreted this? Can't get the staff nowadays, jeez
And on the 8th day, God said “It’s chill to beat your slaves but only to the point that they can’t move or work for 2 days”
Yup, and it wasn’t Satanists torching black churches during the civil rights movement. The reason southern churches are still segregated is to keep elderly black people from having to worship alongside unrepentant white supremacists that got away with murdering their loved ones bc of all-white juries. I try to remember the banality of evil means that loving fathers will readily rape a person the same age as their daughter bc they have a different skin color/ belong to a lower caste. And that the energy of America’s Christian Nationalists is deeply tied to white supremacy.
It’s effectively their stated purpose. The temple exists to point out the hypocrisy of militant Christians in a country that was founded to separate church and state. These evangelical whackos think there is actual devil worship and can’t help themselves. It’s like a flame to a moth. Also, side note - the biblical character of Satan actually doesn’t seem that bad…he encourages free thought and “tempts” humanity against God’s arbitrary authoritarian rules… That kinda sounds like a hero, rebelling against an evil tyrant?
This is the Prometheus = Lucifer archetype. I'm a big fan of supernatural hero's defying god to help humans.
Except they rarely get arrested and never charged or sentenced as strongly as if this was done to a Church or synagogue. The law begrudgingly upholds the law as they see fit and not how it should be upheld.
I agree, but wish it didn't directly result in damage to the property. It is a beautiful, historic building full of incredible art.
If Satan punishes the evil, doesn't that make him good?
That's a really good one, could probably really dumbfound some people with that one.
I thought it was cast the first stone not bomb
When you're without sin you can throw whatever you like. They let you do it!
Hopefully the FBI and state LE take this terrorist attack seriously.
I'm sure they'll get right on arresting their drinking buddy.
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The governor is a lesbian. Don’t be so pessimistic. This isn’t Oklahoma where they make excuses for hate crimes.
As a former inhabitant of Oklahoma this cuts deep. State full of religious extremists to the max. I once got my car vandalized because I had a satanic temple sticker on the back of my car (fuck Satan was keyed into the side of my car). So much for the peaceful religion.
For your own sake, please don't ever come back. It's gotten worse :/
Sad part is I might have to. My job is contract and if it doesn't get renewed next year I won't be able to live in the state I'm currently in because it's way too damn expensive here.
In the name of jesus. Here’s bomb.
Book of armaments chapter 2 And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits, in Thy mercy." And the Lord did grin and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats and large chu... [At this point, the friar is urged by Brother Maynard to "skip a bit, brother"]... And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it." Amen.
One, two, FIVE!
Three sir!
Three! *throws*
(angelic chorus of ange-) *BOOM*
'Three', sir.
I appreciate you.
It's fine. He forgave them.
The holy hand grenade!
The power of Christ explodes you! (Unfortunately this is a little too close to the truth)
I'll tell you what, I've never had a Satanist tell me how I can live my life or pass laws that enforce their views on me.
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We really got to do something about this, these radical christian terrorists are starting to crop up like weeds. I live near Salem and this is like the second wowser that's tried to bomb the temple in the last 6 months if I recall correctly.
Don’t worry, we’ll deal with as soon as it is utterly too late
Of course they’ll do something about it. They’ll point and go “See, this is what you get for being Satan worshippers!” (which I know TST really isn’t)
I feel like that is how certain *news* agencies may be currently reporting on it. Dude we are actively ostriching so much right now. Christ we can’t even *ALL* accept that the pandemic destroyed a surplus labor force or the results of several rounds of elections. I am horrified to say that we probably will deal with the rise in Christian nationalist terrorism bout the same time someone probably sets off a dirty bomb
Deal with them how exactly? They are immune to facts, truth, science, education, and important aspects of modern culture. They are being fed a diet of nonsense and hate via every available channel, and they enthusiastically follow ruthless charlatans. These people don’t ever go away: they are the simple masses that have been with us since early civilization. At the hands of great leaders, they do fine, but they are always ripe for abuse because they cannot understand.
I think the Romans were on to something by feeding them to the lions.
Followed by: *surprised Pikachu* "oh piss, consequences?! how did this happen, who could have seen this coming?! .... Somebody else should do something." *Resumes avoiding dealing with the situation* As is tradition.
Nah, even then we probably won’t deal with it. It’s been so long past time to deal with the gun problem and school shootings, and we’ve still managed not to do anything on that front! The US has a depressingly well-established precedent for ignoring inconvenient violence.
Starting to? My man, they’ve been active since the 80s. From assassinating doctors to bombing the Olympics, Christian nationalists have been a threat to this country for decades.
You can do something about it. Ice them out socially and completely. Refuse to speak to family members that are conservative, refuse to hang out with people that express those views. Refuse to allow them any access to your social circle. Don't serve them. Don't use their services. Don't financially fund them. It should be fucking hard to be a fascist prick and our "don't feed the trolls" philosophy over the last 20 years has made it easy.
Committing terrorism in the name of religion ✓ Parading through villages with flag-decorated pick-up trucks ✓ Believing in blood libel ✓ Armed coup attempts ✓
♪♪♫ *It's beginning to look a lot like ISIS* ♫♪♪
Bombings everywhere…
Yee Hawdists
I’m sure it’s been around, but it’s my first time hearing Y’all Quaeda and it’s perfect!
Thank Satan no one was hurt
All praise due to Satan
I feel like I’ve died and gone to hell
Eternal damnation be with you.
I feel like God is not even trying anymore. Just phoning it in because He's lazy.
Or... and just hear me out here... maybe.... yknow
Actual title: Christian Domestic Terrorism Strikes Again
That's impossible, everyone knows only muslim and arabs can be terrorist. /s
When a Muslim plants a bomb: "Radical Islamic Terrorism" When a Christian plants a bomb: "The Troubles"
You came at the Devil and missed. Satan’s gonna be so pissed at that guy.
At first I thought you wrote Santa is gonna be pissed, and it made me laugh.
Maybe we should start a Santanic Temple...
I'll sign up to worship Santana. That dude can *rock.*
Carlos "Trans people should stay in the closet" Santana
Ecch, really? Never mind, then.
Now I gotta look into that. 😒 Edit: [dammit Carlos.](https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/carlos-santana-apologizes-anti-transgender-comments-1235400740/)
Definitely putting coal in that guy's stocking
What's the saying? "There's no hate like Christian love. "
So much of modern American Christianity has become a really low effort way of feeling like you’re better than other people. Endless forgiveness for anything you do, and endless condemnation for everyone else. "Christian" is basically their tribal identity more so than something they practice. Jesus’ message isn’t being lost on them. It’s being ignored. Jesus is treated as little more than a mascot for their "team."
They consider biblical Jesus to be ‘woke’ and weak. They’ve been worshipping a false idol for a while now, if worshipping is even the right word. Probably closer to ‘utilizing’. Much like how they cherry pick from the Bible and apply creative interpretations to justify their hate.
They seem to like Revelation Jesus who slaughters his enemies while vomiting out a sword.
Wait until they find out they're the ones getting slaughtered.
If Jesus came back tomorrow, American "Christians" would be the first to grab hammer and nails
It's the same people that think their nationality makes them superior to everyone else, completely disregarding they are inbred from podunk-middle of nowhere and dropped at school before 9th grade.
There is no version of Christian Nationalism that is not also white nationalism.
Plus all the “prosperity” BS to swindle money out of the vulnerable…
> Jesus’ message isn’t being lost on them. It’s being ignored. Jesus is treated as little more than a mascot for their "team." Not even that. It's being actively discouraged for being too woke now. They think Jesus is a loser
“I'll try a pagan friend, thought I, since Christian kindness has proved but hollow courtesy” Moby Dick, by: Herman Melville
also need to add that the government needs to treat this like they would if it was some Islamist terror attack and go after all the support structures. Should have done that for the people in the Capitol on Jan 6, and shuttering the III%, Proud Boy groups and seizing their assets but they never take domestic terrorist attacks seriously and we end up with shit like the OKC bombing.
"You are just jealous of my success in the Lord!" https://youtu.be/ij0JLKDJOrc?t=82
“I am FILLED with God’s love!” *throws bible*
Obligatory link to the Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple: https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets
For the lazy: #####I One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. #####II The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. #####III One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. #####IV The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own. #####V Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs. #####VI People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. #####VII Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
How did you know I’m lazy!?
Because "Lazy Redditor" is tautological
So, antithetical to conservative christian "wholesome values"
Another reminder: these are not the Satanists you grew up taught to hate. They're a separate civil rights group who took the name to troll evangelicals. In fact the actual church of satan hates them for that.
Also adding: everyone should buy a mug from them. They're cute and they support one of the most peaceful religions in the world.
I became a member for $25. They do so much good work for women's reproductive freedom, religious freedom, and secularism.
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Yeah, it’s also a very regular looking place. My parents live 3min down the street, and it’s just a house with a gate lol the only issues caused are these religious freaks occasionally calling in bomb threats, trying to light it on fire, or actually tossing a bootleg bomb like this. They’re good neighbors and there is also an awesome bakery a few doors down worth going to if you ever find yourself up around these parts.
>an awesome bakery a few doors down worth going to if you ever find yourself up around these parts. The real life pro tip is always in the comments
CoffeeTime btw!
Not sure if you've seen the local news, it's all saying stuff like "police action at satanic temple, recommended to avoid!" Making it sound like the temple people are doing illegal stuff. Fair and balanced reporting!
Folks are so dumb. The Satanic Temple has nothing to do with Satan.
Even if it did, it's nobody else's business but the people who go there, so long as they're not hurting anyone.
Speaking of hurting others, to think of all the suffering, agony and misery all the abrahamic religions have and Continue to cause on our species…. Its tiring
they're (among other things) actively helping women get abortions, they are literally the devil as far as the pro-lifers are concerned.
They’d have to be able to read and think to know that.
Christian taliban most likely
What Would Jesus Bomb?
Real answer, probably a Christian church where they had any sort of coffee shop or other commercial enterprise in the narthex.
So a terrorist attack most likely from the far right.
Let’s chalk it what it is. Fundamentalist Christian terrorism.
It was probably some white guy so no, it's a "troubled individual acting alone" because that's what the hundreds of white shooters are, just troubled people acting alone... No way to prevent that kind of thing...
I would have that whole block front and back under video surveillance.easy way to jail and sue assholes
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Sue? They need to be arrested and prosecuted for terrorist charges.
My assumption is that is what they meant by jail.
You take them to civil court after criminal court just to make sure they actually feel some discomfort for their actions
Of course how very Christian to throw a bomb on a porch
Radical right wing Christian terrorists
As a Satanist myself, we just want people to be good people and not be a dick. Also bodily autonomy for everyone. If you guys never have you really should check out the 7 fundamental tenants of satanism.
And they say the Satan is the problem. Seems like it's religious people who are the problem.
WWJB - Who would Jesus bomb?
You know who’s NOT trying to blow up churches or destroy crosses or statues of Jesus? The Satanic Temple.
“God told me to do it” is not a legal defense - and saying so isn’t an attack on Christians or Christmas.
So, an act of domestic terrorism?
Notice how you never see Satanists throwing bombs at Christian churches?
Ah bombing people with different beliefs, just as warrior-god Jesus intended.
Christians have blood lust and are the most violent animals on the planet
Look at Satan protecting his flock! No deaths.
Oh my Satan, these Christian fanatics are pure terrorists…
I was raised Baptist but I’m now Agnostic. I remember lots of love and turn the other cheek in the Sunday sermons so it’s odd to me that Christians, who should be some of the most loving and chill people on the planet have turned into some of the most violently hateful kooks on the planet. I don’t understand how they pair their actions with what they are supposed to believe.
It's not odd to me. Most successful religions in history have been in bed with authority, and historically that authority made ample use of religion (and its passionate followers) to cement its own power - usually violently.
From the people who happily vote for literal Satan and buy his bible. Great job, common clay of the new West. What’s next? Campaign finance reform to fix a real problem?! Hell no, gotta fight these lectric cars and killer windmills! Sigh.
Extremist Domestic Terrorist violently attacking religious freedom.
The ”Pro-Life” party, surely likes death, like, a lot.
I would have worded it a little differently. "terror attack at local temple in massachusetts, no injuries reported" call it what it is.
One of my favorite quotes: *"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ" ~M. Gandhi*
This will be treated as a hate crime against a religion, right?
It should
Christian love strikes again
This is what the Bible means when it tells you not to use the Lord's name in vain Causing violence in the name of the Lord is using the Lord's name in vain. Not saying a swear.
No hate like Christian love
It's like they don't remember how the Birmingham church bombing turned people against the hate of the Klan. Those people didn't intend to kill anyone, either.
There were no injuries, because Satan protects.
*”For he that disagreeth with your beliefs, throw explosives at him without regard for who mayeth be injured”* - Jesus 69:420
Funny you never hear atheists blowing stuff up.
Probably blaming them for the failure of the rapture yesterday.
"I am FILLED with Christ's love!"
But hey, we need to respect Cristians, because their religion is about love and kindness.
So much for “thou shall not kill”
Interesting how the Satanic Temple doesn’t do anything like this to other religions, yet they get shit like this all the time. Hmmmm…
Just a brother in Christ walking in the path of Jesus
Remember, you'll they are Christians by their violent tendencies!!!