Credit: Cburnett, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Satanic Temple is making headlines in the US with a religious display recently set up in the Iowa State Capitol building, the Christian Post reports.
The exhibit, set up alongside Christmas displays and a Nativity scene, features an altar to Baphomet, which is portrayed with a silver goat’s head and a human body with a red cape over its shoulders.
Along with this the satanic altar, which is expected to stay up until Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, also provides an overview of the seven tenets of the Satanic Temple.
There has been a condemnation of the altar from many quarters, but the US guarantees of freedom of religion and speech in its constitution.
I believe Iowa’s Republican Governor, Kim Reynolds, provided the best response to this altar in a statement she released on Tuesday.
“Like many Iowans, I find the Satanic Temple’s display in the Capitol absolutely objectionable,” Reynolds wrote. “In a free society, the best response to objectionable speech is more speech, and I encourage all those of faith to join me today in praying over the Capitol and recognizing the nativity scene that will be on display — the true reason for the season.”
It is indeed a wake-up to believers, that we are involved in a spiritual battle, and we need to pray for our countries, states, and leaders as Paul encouraged us to do (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Also referred to as a ‘Sabbatic Goat’, the Baphomet has been recognized as an icon of the occult since the Roman Catholic Church accused the Knights Templar of worshiping it, to justify their fierce persecution of the military religious order. Many believe this was done both to end the order’s growing influence and to seize its wealth and property.
It is estimated that the Satanic Temple, based in Salem, Massachusetts, USA, has approximately 700,000 members worldwide. This includes active congregations in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany and Finland.
OpentheWord.org 
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