SATANIST GROUP CLAIMS DEVIL GETTING A BAD RAP

July 20 2009

Des Moines, IA – Throughout the history of the major Abrahamic religions the Devil has been portrayed in many forms. As a fallen angel who challenged the Lord; as a jinn who exercised his free will to forge his own vision of the ethereal world; as a demon bent on perverting the good will of mankind; and as an allegory meant to
illustrate the nature of free will and the strength of faith. Whatever the portrayal and whatever name that has been attributed to him, the Devil has long been the embodiment of the worst of humanity.

In the 20th century that definition has continued to change. With a decreasing reliance on religion the Devil has often come to be portrayed as a boogeyman, less a profound depiction of evil and more of a villain for the heroes of horror movies to defeat. It is that latter depiction that a Des Moines area Satanist group is taking issue with as it advocates a more realistic and less defamatory portrait of the entity which has for so long represented evil incarnate.

“It’s not so much that we want to change what people think of our lord but we want to bring the perception back to the historical view. In recent years our lord, Satan, has come to be portrayed as almost a buffoon, a
whipping boy in mediocre movies and books but we feel that is not only a totally inaccurate depiction, but also an unfair one which has unfairly demonized the Devil,” said Michael Duvall of the Iowa chapter of the Temple of Set. “Some of course would argue that Satan does not need us defending Him and that when he rises once again he will do away with all those who have sinned against Him but for us it is important. We live in this world and must work to prepare for his return which is difficult to do in this toxic environment. Essentially, it has created a Hell on Earth for us and that is very limiting.”

Among some of the problems Duvall has cited is recruitment and financing. His organization does not receive any kind of government financing including dollars that were earmarked for ‘Faith based initiatives’ under the Bush administration. His organization is drafting a formal letter to President Obama and the heads of Hollywood studios and New York Publishers to help advocate their cause. Reportedly the letters will be printed in red ink.

“Perhaps part of the reason Satan has been portrayed in such ways is the indecision
over him. God is pretty standard and was well established in the first book. The lesser angels were more poorly defined, a trend which continued through to the sequels and that has led to a kind of confusion over the canon for that particular character,” said Scrape TV Religion analyst Bertram Gas. “The new Testament and the Qur’an picked up the mythology from the preceding instalment but unfortunately made a lot of the same mistakes in respect to the devil. They focused on establishing new characters but forgot about fully establishing the villain which has led to this confusion over his identity in the modern age.”

God and Jesus have generally been portrayed in the same manner throughout the modern age though by a variety of different actors who have each given their own
particular flavour. The devil has been portrayed as a snake, a super horned red demon, a cartoon robot, and a sexy ingénue. Virtually all depictions of the Lord of the Underworld have shown him losing to the forces of good.

“Ultimately any kind of battle against artistic interpretation is going to be at least as difficult as the battle between good and evil for the souls of all human beings. Artists are a notoriously independent bunch and it would probably take Satan himself rising from the underworld to make them stop,” continued Gas. “Of course this could all be a part of his ploy to take over the world. With these buffoonish portrayals people will stop taking him seriously which would pave the way for his ascension to the lord of humanity. The devil is a tricky guy and by encouraging people to portray him as powerless, he is forcing them to drop their guard which allows him to take the souls of all humans. I doubt any kind of advocacy would encourage the President to finance Satanist groups unless of course he himself is being manipulated by Satan.”

Calls to the White House went ominously unanswered.

Mike Michaels, American Correspondent

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