In these troubled times, tributes to Satan can even be found in America’s highest halls of power, including the Iowa Statehouse.
KCCI-TV in Des Moines reported Wednesday how the state’s Capitol building is currently adorned with a holiday display put up by the Satanic Temple.
The display features a ram’s head on a mannequin covered in vibrant red cloth.
The co-founder of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, insisted that the display is merely about exercising religious freedom.
“We’re going to really relish the opportunity to be represented in a public forum,” Greaves told the station. “We don’t have a church on every street corner.”
Greaves argued that those who don’t like the display should simply ignore it.
“My feeling is, if people don’t like our display in public forums, they don’t have to engage with them. They don’t have to view them.”
However, the organization is currently urging people to visit the display in what they claim is a celebration of “religious plurality.” It refers to its statue as “Baphomet,” an allusion to a Satanic occult icon with roots in the era of the Crusades.
Do you believe the display should be disallowed?
“Come celebrate religious plurality this holiday season by checking out our display at the Iowa State Capitol! Our display is to the right of the grand staircase on floor one,” the Temple wrote on Facebook. “Come get your picture taken and tag us!”
The title of the post is “See Baphomet at the Iowa State Capitol!”
A report by WHO-TV in Des Moines is below:
Understandably, many local residents have found themselves disturbed by the display.
Among those to push back against the Satanic influence was prayer group leader Paul Dykstra,
“God uses all evil for good. He’ll turn it to good,” he told KCCI. “So if people become aware that these things are out there they become more alert to watch for.”
Local pastor Joel Tenney described the tribute as “abhorrent. “
“A display like this is a travesty to see in our Capitol,” he said. “I don’t know why it is allowed to be here.”
Despite their seemingly evil intentions, the Satanic Temple insists that it is merely fighting against injustice.
According to the organization’s official website, its stated mission is to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice and undertake noble pursuits.”
