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A long anticipated and highly controversial satanic statue has been unveiled in Detroit on Saturday night.
The statue, which was commissioned by the Satanic Temple of Detroit, is 9 feet tall and fully made out of bronze, and represents the image of Baphometh, and old goat-headed idol which is associated in some beliefs with Satan. The statue pictures Baphomet sitting on a throne, pointing two fingers upwards and having a boy and a girl standing near him.
It was unveiled in an exclusive celebration attended by over 100 members of the Satanic Temple, and was open to the curious all night long. Despite initial plans of the statue permanently residing in Detroit, the group cannot pursue that due to the fact that the owner of the space it would have been exhibited pulled out because of the controversy.
This wasn’t enough though for 100 Christian protesters who tried to block the reveal, calling the showing disrespectful to many different religions which have Satan as the embodiment of all evil and malice.
Reverend David Bullock of the Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church explicitly stated that it is a mockery and an affront to other religions. In a televised interview with Satanic Temple of Detroit director Jex Blackmore (which unsurprisingly devolved into an incoherent mess) he argued against the notion of the statue being able to create a dialogue, saying that “statues don’t talk”.
However, Blackmore said that it is exactly this misunderstanding and the ultra-Christian groups’ lack of documentation which fuels backlash and wrong conceptions about Satanists.
According to the organization’s website, the Satanic Temple list itself as a non-theistic religious organization. They claim that Satan or any type of satanic figure are not worshipped as existing deities, but as embodiment of human nature, rebellion, wisdom and personal freedom.
The Satanic Temple’s belief is that religion should be separated from superstition and supernaturalism and to take away only the rational inquiry from old belief systems, rather than taking the entire dogma. It states that belief should always adapt to the current form of scientific understanding of the world and not the other way around.
The statue was realized by New York City sculptor Mark Porter, who admitted that while he disliked the idea at first, it just became like any other assignment in time.
Image Source: Heavy
