Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.
Crowds of Christians gathered in protest in the lobby and outside of the Fillmore Complex, singing, shouting, and holding up signs opposed to Satanism. When Cypher began speaking, Commissioner Bonnema interrupted, demanding to know his real name. Of course, for several months, pastors gave the invocation, often without stating their name or the church they represented, but that didn’t seem to bother him then. During the prayer itself, the crowd in the overflow room shouted and made so much noise that Cypher’s words couldn’t even be heard.
The whole thing reminded me of an episode in the television show “The Office.” After learning that a convict is employed by the office, Michael Scott outs the convict, who then tells everyone that he was in prison for insider trading and with things like outside time and art classes, it wasn’t really that bad. Pam and the other employees start joking that prison sounds better than their office, creating an increasingly teasing tone and series of events. Michael is infuriated until Toby takes him aside and explains, “They’re teasing you, Michael, to be funny.”
The hundreds of Christians out there in protest, the antics of the board in response both before and during the meeting, all of this whole show was so silly, so unnecessary. I kept wanting someone to lean over and tell them all, “They’re teasing you, Christians, because they don’t really believe in Satan.”
First off, people don’t understand that modern Satanism doesn’t actually worship Satan. Both the Church of Satan and the Satanic Temple are atheistic organizations that don’t believe in God or the devil but instead see Satan as a metaphor. Furthermore, the Church of Satan and the Satanic Temple are entirely different organizations.
The Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey, embraces a more nihilistic philosophy with roots in Nietzsche. For them, Satan is a symbol of personal freedom and rebellion against arbitrary authority but with a focus on the individual living as their own pride and carnal nature dictates – a more hedonistic outlook. They are not an egalitarian group and LaVey opposed egalitarianism and believed that the “myth of equality” only “supports the weak at the expense of the strong.”
The Satanic Temple is an entirely different organization. It is only a little more than a decade old and was formed to fight against their sense that Christianity was continually intruding in the political sphere in ways that are contrary to our constitution and the good of people. For them, Satan is not even a symbol of evil, but is instead a symbol “the eternal rebel” against arbitrary authority and social norms.
Whereas the Church of Satan uses the metaphor to advance a hedonistic worldview, the Satanic Temple uses the metaphor to promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity. Their goal is to encourage benevolence and empathy among people, and to urge the separation of church and state, using religious satire to make their point.
Just take a look at their seven tenets: one should always act with compassion and empathy; the struggle for justice is ongoing; a person’s body is inviolable; freedom (including the freedom to offend) should be respected; beliefs should conform to science; and people are fallible and should make it right when they have harmed someone. In the seventh tenet, they teach that each of the previous six are guiding principles and “The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.”
This is not scary stuff – it’s actually pretty basic secular humanism.
Yes, they use the word “Satan,” but Satan is not Voldemort or Beetlejuice. Saying the word “Satan” doesn’t summon the dark forces of evil. And for Christians to ignore what a group actually believes and freak out because they use the word Satan – especially when they are using that word to troll you – just demonstrates the point the members of the Satanic Temple wanted to make.
Now, I want to be clear, just because the Church of Satan and Satanic Temple don’t believe in Satan doesn’t mean there are not actual cosmic forces of darkness at work in our world. I just doubt those forces are found in some people putting on dark clothes and using Satan to talk about the importance of benevolence and empathy.
In our church’s baptismal liturgy, when people renounce evil, we invite them to renounce evil in three ways. In the first renunciation, they renounce “Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God.” I describe this as cosmic evil: evil that is incomprehensible to us, dark forces that hurt and lead to violence and war. If God’s desire for the world is for it to be in a state of perfect love, justice, and peace, then cosmic evil is what goes against that. And I will tell you, in my 15 years as a priest, I have seen some actual real darkness that has made my hair stand on end.
In the next renunciation, people renounce, “evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.” I describe this as social evil, all the prejudices and systems which harm and wound God’s creatures and creation.
In the final renunciation, they renounce “all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God,” making it clear that sin, at is base, is that which pulls us from God’s love for us or that which breaks our ability to love our neighbor.
Christians in Ottawa County would do well to stop forming protests to a bunch of secular humanists using the word “Satan” to get a rise out of you, like a bunch of Hogwarts students warning about the dangers of saying “Voldemort,” lest the dark lord come and get you.
Instead, Christians should be concerned with those forces in our society – those forces in some of our very churches – which are complicit in systems of poverty and inequity, which oppress the marginalized, which criminalize women’s health, and which lead to queer kids thinking they are broken.
Those are the things dark forces are actually supporting right now. And who knows, if Christians did a better job protesting actual evil, they might find the Satanist next to them can be an inter-religious ally in the struggle for justice, peace, and love.
The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.