Hey, let's get one thing straight. As an atheist, I don't believe in Satan either. OK? No God of the Bible. No Satan. Had to say that because I heard some yahoos on FOX (isn't that a shocker?!), claim that atheists believe in Satan. That would be lie #2,000,000 coming out of FOX. Just in this short year 2014 so far.
This story below is classic. When the state government allowed a Christian monument on public property in Oklahoma, it opened the door to everyone. Even Satan! And the OK legislature has no legal grounds on which to deny them.
Sympathy for the Devil in Oklahoma
by Steve Benen
The grounds of Oklahoma’s state Capitol are getting a little more national media attention today than usual, and under the circumstances, locals probably aren’t pleased by the story that’s brought the spotlight (via Chris Hayes).
The Satanic church that applied for a permit to erect a monument to Satan next to the Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma state-capitol building has unveiled its proposed design.
The 7-ft.-tall (2.1 m) sculpture would feature Satan depicted in the form of Baphomet, a bearded, goat-headed, winged hominid with horns seated on a throne beneath a pentagram with two smiling children to either side.
This, in turn, inadvertently opened the
door to religious monuments Republican state lawmakers don’t like, including
this one from a New York-based Satanic group, which has a 7-ft.-tall sculpture
in mind for Oklahoma City.
As Time’s report added, a
number of other groups have made requests to erect monuments, “including a Hindu
group, an animal-rights group and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.”
All of the monuments, including the
Satanic sculpture, would be privately financed, and wouldn’t cost taxpayers a
dime. These groups are simply asking for comparable public space the state
legislature already set aside for the Christian monument.
As one might imagine, state officials
aren’t exactly pleased, but this brings us back to the underlying principle at
stake: in an open forum, the government can’t play favorites. If the government
is going to devote space to promoting one religious monument, celebrating the
tenets of one faith, it can’t deny space to other religions that expect equal
treatment. It’s easy to imagine the Oklahoma state capitol eventually reserving
space for everyone: Baptists, Buddhists, and the Baha’i; as well as Sikhs,
Scientologists, and Satanists.
There are, after all, no second-class
Americans citizens when it comes to the First Amendment. If one group has the
right to erect a privately-funded monument, everyone has the right to erect a
privately-funded monument.
Oklahoma will probably be less than
enthusiastic about welcoming a permanent Satanic display to sit near the Ten
Commandments display, but they probably should have thought this through before.
They opened the door, and it’s going to get crowded as others walk through it.
They opened the door, and it’s going to get crowded as others walk through it.
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