From April 28-30, SatanCon was put on by The Satanic Temple in Boston, Massachusetts. This satanic convention has been touted as the “largest satanic gathering in history.” It was hosted at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston to mark the Satanic Temple’s 10-year anniversary. The Temple dedicated the event to Boston’s Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu. While most dedications of this type are done as a gesture to honor someone, this one was actually a slap at Wu for her refusal to allow a satanic invocation at a City Council meeting in 2021.
The convention kicked off with a formal ceremony renouncing “symbols of oppression.” This ceremony involved ripping up a Bible and a “Thin Blue Line” flag representing the police. Obviously they see the Christian faith and the police as oppressive entities.
Now before we go any further, we need to clear up one thing about The Satanic Temple – we wouldn’t want you get the wrong idea. Because of its name, most people think that The Satanic Temple is a group that worships Satan. That would be a false assumption. In fact, The people who are members of this organization don’t even believe in Satan. They are actually a bunch of Atheists. They chose their name as a way to amp up publicity – and their ploy has been hugely successful. Christians, in particular, have denounced the group because of their ties to Satan, and in their denunciations have helped generate massive publicity – which is exactly what these folks were after. Of course, there is every reason for Christians to denounce the organization as they are unequivocally anti-Christian. However, when doing the denouncing, Christians at least ought to know what they are denouncing. Without that, they end up saying things that are not true, and losing any possibility of sharing a credible and understandable witness for Christ.
The Satanic Temple touts itself as a nontheistic organization – that is, they do not worship, nor even believe in, a personal God or Satan. The stated goal of their organization is to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.”
Their “noble pursuits” were voiced at the conference by speakers who spoke on topics such as “Satanism and Self-Pleasure, Reclaiming the Trans Body, and Hellbillies: Visible Satanism in Rural America. You might also be interested to know that this is the same organization that has been trying to organize Satan Clubs as after school programs around the country.
Obviously, their methods are very provocative. They put on these high profile events, like SatanCon and after school Satan Clubs, as a means of getting massive publicity, and are particularly focused on provoking a visceral reaction from Christians. And in most cases, they have been very successful.
So as Christians, exactly how should we respond?
First, it is okay, react viscerally. That said, the visceral reaction does need to be carefully focused. It is not okay to merely lash out emotionally. These people are not literally Satanists – they are Atheists who are trying to provoke a reaction. So react, but be sure you know what you are reacting against and are doing it in a way that is appropriate for the situation. If you are reacting against Satanists, you are not reacting to the people who are doing the provoking. They are militant Atheists, not Satanists.
As such, it is critical to tailor your reaction to who they really are. The group is satanic for sure, but they are not devil worshipers. They are Atheists, and you must address their Atheism, not their faux Satanism.
So what is the best way to do that? You do it by understanding the core beliefs of Atheism (a Naturalistic worldview belief) and addressing why their beliefs cannot possibly be true. With that, you are in a position to ask questions that make them defend their faith.
There are a lot of dialogs that I have had with people of other religions (many of them Atheists) where I have done exactly that. Check some of them out at: http://www.marketfaith.org/worldview-dialogs to see how I have done it. Then take that principle and share the truth about Christ to those who so desperately need it.