Newsmax’s James Hirsen is not the only ConWeb columnist to be successfully trolled by the Satanic Temple over May’s SatanCon gathering in Boston. Michael Brown was triggered in a May 3 WorldNetDaily column:
How should we feel about the satanic conference held in Boston this past weekend? Billed as “the largest Satanic gathering in history,” SatanCon 2023 was “a three-day event which include[d] everything from satanic rituals, entertainment and panels.” And it began “with the tearing apart of a Bible and the ‘Thin Blue Line’ flag, an item which has come to be viewed as a sign of supporting law enforcement and as opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, MassLive reports.” What should we make of this conference?
The first thing that came to my own heart and mind was pity, not anger – to the extent these people are serious satanists, to that extent they are blind and darkened, fighting a guaranteed losing battle. Barring their own repentance and transformation, they are heading for disaster.
To the extent that Satan is simply a metaphor for their denial of God and their opposition to biblical values, to that extent they are ignorant of the incredible goodness and beauty of the Lord. Either way, I feel bad for them. (According to Dex Desjardins, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple, which sponsored the event, “We do not believe in or worship a literal Satan. We do not believe in or worship symbolic ‘evil.'” We believe that unnecessary suffering is bad, and that things which reduce unnecessary suffering are good.” He added that for members, Satan is “a central metaphor representing the pursuit of knowledge, personal liberation, and rebellion against arbitrary authority.”)
I also feel bad for them because this highly touted, sold-out event reportedly drew 800 people. That’s it! Yet this, we were told, was “the largest Satanic gathering in history”? There are thousands of churches across America where, every Sunday morning, far more than 800 people gather to worship the Lord.
[…]Both the Bible and the police force were viewed as “symbols of oppression,” forces that oppose justice and equality and liberation, forces to be rebelled against and rejected. And while the police are far from perfect in doing their jobs, overall they do stand for law and order, without which society would collapse. Is anarchy the desired satanic outcome?
As for the rejection of the Bible, which is perfect, this is just the latest instance of human beings saying, “We do not want the Lord and His Anointed One [meaning, Jesus] to rule over us!” (If you’ve never read Psalm 2, or if you need a refresher, take a moment to read it. You’ll find it more relevant than ever.)
In this light, it’s worth noting that the conference also featured chants of “Hail Satan” – not something to be done as a joke or, far worse, as an act with serious intent – and it offered seminars including: “Sins of the Flesh: Satanism and Self-Pleasure,” and, “Reclaiming the Trans Body: Atheistic strategies for Self-Determination and Empowerment.”
[…]The bad news is that a conference like this garnered national attention and that it was held in such an open and overt way.
The good news is that some of those attending the conference might well become fervent followers of the Lord, loving the Scriptures and sharing the good news with their former colleagues.
Brown dramatically concluded: “May the Lord have mercy on those who attended SatanCon 2023, and may we hear stories of dramatic conversion to Jesus in the days ahead.”