In what is being called the “largest public satanic ceremony in history”, a 8 1/2 foot tall satanic monument has been displayed in Detroit, Michigan.
The statue of Baphomet was unveiled at a ticketed special event before midnight on July 25th. The crowd cheered at the unveiling chanting “hail satan.” The statue features two children, one boy and one girl, looking up adoringly at the satanic creature.
About 100 protesters showed up to challenge the placement of the statue saying it was disrespectful to religions.
“Baphomet contains binary elements symbolizing a reconciliation of opposites, emblematic of the willingness to embrace, and even celebrate differences,” Jex Blackmore, who organized the unveiling, told TIME. Blackmore admits his name is a pseudonym for “safety reasons.”
The statue was originally part of the Satanic Temple’s plan to place a satanic statue on the grounds of the Oklahoma State House grounds where a Ten Commandments monument was placed. The group now plans to take the statue to Arkansas after the governor approved a Ten Commandments monument for that state’s Capitol grounds.
The planned Satanic ceremony at Harvard University was canceled after an outcry from students and alumni.
The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club announced on Monday it would not hold the event because negotiations between themselves and the bar where it was scheduled broke down without an agreement. The Club says they were unable to find another suitable location.
The Club said the New York group Satanic Temple would still hold a mass because they wanted to “reaffirm their respect for the Satanic faith.”
The ceremonies held by the Satanic Temple are parodies of the rites of the Catholic Church.
Almost 400 Harvard students and over 100 alumni had signed a petition opposing the event being held on the campus.
“This form of satanic worship not only ridicules the central practice of Catholicism, the Mass, but it also mocks and offends all who have faith in Christ,” the petition reads. “Far from being an event that promotes an understanding of “cultural practices,” it, in fact, promotes contempt for the Catholic faith and religion generally. We are Catholics, other Christians, and supporters of genuine tolerance and civility, and we are offended and outraged this event has been permitted to take place at Harvard.”
Harvard University is holding a mass to celebrate Satan.
The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club said the invitiation for a service by the Satanic Temple of New York is being done as an “educational” event and not intended to advocate for Satanic worship by the University.
“We are hosting a reenactment of a historical event known as a Black Mass,” the HECSC said in a statement. “The performance is designed to be educational and is preceded by a lecture that provides the history, context, and origin of the Black Mass. While a piece of bread is used in the reenactment, the performance unequivocally does not include a consecrated host. Our purpose is not to denigrate any religion or faith, which would be repugnant to our educational purposes, but instead to learn and experience the history of different cultural practices. This performance is part of a larger effort to explore religious facets that continue to influence contemporary culture.”
The Catholic community announced their deep opposition to the idea of open Satanic worship at Harvard and said that people need to be aware of the very real danger associated with underestimating the power of Satan.
St. Paul’s Church near Harvard will be holding a special mass during the same time asking for God to protect those who could be placed in harm’s way by the Satanists.
Pope Francis says the idea of rejecting evil or Satan in the 21st century is something that needs to be rejected by Christians and that they need to learn the Gospel so they can learn to fight temptations.
“Some of you might say ‘But Father, how old fashioned you are to speak of the devil in the 21st century!’,” the Pope said. “But look out because the devil is present! The devil is here…even in the 21st century!”
The Pope warned those listening during a mass at the Vatican that Satan seeks to distance believers from Jesus.
“We mustn’t be naïve,” he said. “We must learn from the Gospel how to fight against Satan!”
The Pope called the Christian life a struggle and said we cannot forget that we fight against the “Prince of this world, Satan, [who] doesn’t want our holiness, he doesn’t want us to follow Christ.”
The Pope’s bold, clear message about fighting Satan and evil came hours before a second talk where he spoke of the damage done to children by priests who committed sexual abuse. He said the church will work on stronger sanctions against anyone who harms a child.
“We have to be even stronger,” Pope Francis said. “You cannot interfere with children.”
Apparently a Starbucks employee thinks he can help Satan steal souls through coffee.
A Louisiana woman visited a Starbucks at the Mall of Louisiana after church and found that the employee of the store wrote Satanic symbols in caramel on her drinks. One drink had a pentagram and the other read 666.
“I unfortunately can’t give the young man’s name who served it, because I was so appalled that I could not bring myself to look at him,” Megan Pinion wrote when she posted the picture to Facebook. “I am in no way judging his beliefs of dis-meriting his beautiful artwork. I am however judging his lack of professionalism and respect for others. I am a teacher in the public school system and if I were to present a child of atheist or pagan believers with a Christian art project I could be sued in a heartbeat.”
Pinion said she was a Catholic who would love to share her beliefs daily to her students but has to follow the school’s ethics code.
Starbucks quickly apologized to Pinion for the incident and said the actions of the barista do not represent the company in any way. There was no word if the barista was disciplined for his actions.
A Colorado woman woke up to find that she missed 48 text messages and a phone call from “Satan.”
Jenn Vest was understandably upset when she saw the messages because she was half-awake feeding her son when she saw the messages. She was so disturbed she spent the rest of the night crying and praying because of the messages.
If you call back the number, it says it’s out of service. The text messages also bounce back as a number that is no longer in service.
Police say the caller IDs of the calls were manipulated to say the origin was Satan with the number 1-666-666-6666.
The prank has reportedly been played around the country.