The Satanic Temple and the Church

And now, a guest post, by my daughter, Grace Hemmeke...

The church faces many fronts of battle. This is in some ways reflective of the church’s state on earth – fractured, schismatic, constantly on guard against “those who hate her and false sons in her pale”. These distractions also show the cacophonous, chaotic nature of the church’s opposition. It can be helpful then, to reorient ourselves from time to time, remembering that we serve Jesus Christ in His commission to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

It can also be helpful to remember our common enemy. Some sects of Christianity tend to avoid much mention of Satan or of evil in general, reducing a Christian’s life to merely a relationship growing in faith with God, while other’s explicitly renounce Satan at the time of their baptism, along with all his works and all his pomp.

And sometimes, Satan himself reminds us all that although he fell from heaven, he is now on our earth, going to and fro and walking up and down it.

A few days ago, he did just that. The Satanic Temple made the news with an announcement that they would be providing chemical abortions within the state of New Mexico for those who are interested in performing “The Satanic Temple’s abortion ritual”.

Now there are some Christian congregations and clergy who hold a “modern” or progressive stance on abortion, endorsing it in some cases and circumstances. Ignoring for a moment the commands from the Bible such as, “You shall not murder”, these congregations and clergy now find themselves agreeing with The Satanic Temple, at least on this issue. That might be one of the most obvious and explicit theological red flags a church is ever blessed with receiving, short of God speaking out of a cloud – of course, if they were given the words of the prophets and didn’t believe them, why would they listen to God…

Nevertheless, the willingness of The Satanic Temple to provide abortion should serve as a wakeup call to American churches. There is real and active opposition to Christ, and that Opposer is willing to target the weakest and most vulnerable members of society in his vindictive mission to destroy the image of God wherever he can.

It was interesting to me to note that the abortion ritual which The Satanic Temple practices includes speaking aloud The Satanic Temple’s third tenet: “One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.” That reminded me of two quotes from Milton’s Paradise Lost, which are both spoken by Satan shortly after his being cast down from heaven.

 

All is not lost—the unconquerable will,

And study of revenge, immortal hate,

And courage never to submit or yield:

And what is else not to be overcome?

 

Here we may reign secure; and, in my choice,

To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:

Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.

 

Among those to whom Satan speaks are the demons Moloch and Baal, who require infant sacrifice as part of their worship. Today, secular culture might laugh at the idea of Moloch or Baal while worshipping the very selfish ambitions which they embody. The Satanic Temple’s third tenet is an obvious indicator of this. There is nothing more important than one’s will and body and if people have to die in order for one to maintain their autonomy, so be it.

Two brief counter examples: First, the virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, who when told that she had been chosen by God to become pregnant with His Son, said, “Behold the maidservant of Yahweh. Let it be to me according to your word.”

Second: that Son, Jesus, who went to his death so that we could stand face to face in God’s presence, justified and redeemed from every sin. He died knowing every pain that he would suffer, with every power to call down a legion of angels and save himself, but he asked God only: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

The selfishness of Satan bred his eternal damnation and his unrelenting war on God’s people and God’s image. He now unabashedly sends his followers to help others in their destructive selfishness under the guise of bodily autonomy without regard for those around them. Satan is not trying to hide in our society.

Neither should the church. We have a better advocate in heaven than any worldly satanic cultist or selfish secular agnostic does (and ours is still in heaven, by the way). We should continue to oppose Satan, and all his works, which now explicitly include abortion. One benefit of living in an increasingly depraved world is that the church’s work becomes increasingly clearer. The church should, in light of the Satanic Temple’s actions, have renewed unity and total opposition to any pro-abortion measures or concessions.

Outside of the Bible, this is the clearest indication the world will give to the church that abortion is immoral. Both the repeated biblical exhortations to uphold innocent life and this latest rejection of God’s creative prerogative should spur the church to a universal rejection of abortion and the satanic selfishness it stems from.