Satanic Temple Sees Arkansas As Possible Baphomet Monument Location
An Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that will rid the Capitol grounds of a
religious monument has simultaneously scuttled the plans of a group
advocating for a Satanic statue there, and they now hope to enshrine the
deity outside the Arkansas Statehouse.
The Satanic Temple, which advocates for the separation of church and state, spent more than $100,000 to design and construct an 8½-foot-tall bronze Baphomet, which depicts Satan as a goat-headed figure with horns, hooves, wings and a beard. With Oklahoma justices outlawing a Ten Commandments display from around its Capitol, The Satanic Temple has turned its attention to Arkansas, where lawmakers this year approved a similar Ten Commandments display on public land.
"It was always our intention to take this wherever it was relevant, wherever it was necessary, and wherever that dialogue needed to take place," said Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the group, which is less about Satan worship and more about highlighting what it perceives to be improper religious influence on governments.
The 1½-ton figurine, backed by an inverted pentagram and flanked by statues of two young children gazing up at the creature, includes seating on Satan's lap. The group wanted to make its point by placing it in Oklahoma City but the Oklahoma Supreme Court last week ruled — in a case challenging the legality of the Ten Commandments on Capitol grounds —that the state constitution bars governments from doing anything to benefit a religion, either directly or indirectly. Justices said the Ten Commandments had obvious Jewish and Christian overtones that made the monument unconstitutional.
http://news.yahoo.com/satanic-temple-...
The Satanic Temple, which advocates for the separation of church and state, spent more than $100,000 to design and construct an 8½-foot-tall bronze Baphomet, which depicts Satan as a goat-headed figure with horns, hooves, wings and a beard. With Oklahoma justices outlawing a Ten Commandments display from around its Capitol, The Satanic Temple has turned its attention to Arkansas, where lawmakers this year approved a similar Ten Commandments display on public land.
"It was always our intention to take this wherever it was relevant, wherever it was necessary, and wherever that dialogue needed to take place," said Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the group, which is less about Satan worship and more about highlighting what it perceives to be improper religious influence on governments.
The 1½-ton figurine, backed by an inverted pentagram and flanked by statues of two young children gazing up at the creature, includes seating on Satan's lap. The group wanted to make its point by placing it in Oklahoma City but the Oklahoma Supreme Court last week ruled — in a case challenging the legality of the Ten Commandments on Capitol grounds —that the state constitution bars governments from doing anything to benefit a religion, either directly or indirectly. Justices said the Ten Commandments had obvious Jewish and Christian overtones that made the monument unconstitutional.
http://news.yahoo.com/satanic-temple-...
