#Satanic antifascists

[nando161mando]

"Satanic antifascists" (EN: English)

[whereserpentswalk]

Protect pagan kids!

Reblog if you agree.

[usingevilforgood]

Hello, I am mostly here to record my own experiences; and maybe others will find something valuable for themselves in my words. Whatever your purpose is in being here, I just hope we can all find serenity at the end of it together.

If you wish to follow me, know my values:

There is absolutely no place for white supremacy here

Gender bioessentialism will not be tolerated; our transgender and intersex siblings deserve the same love as everyone else does.

Fundamentally anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist

Sexual control should have no power over women or the queer community, nor the kink community who do safe practice.

Children are beloved and are of utmost importance to protect from anyone who wishes to do them harm or exploit them through body and mind. You do not have to like them personally, but do not treat them as less human than you are.

I am very critical of some religious teachings, but I am not an anti-theist, I only wish for personal freedom and to help absolve innocent people of shame forced upon them by predatory institutions.

In essence, I will accept all as long as you extend the same grace to us.

[queersatanic]

Nazi Satanists are real — and are really Satanists

There’s an unfortunate tendency of people to say:

a) “Satanist”/“Satanic” to just mean “thing I don’t like”; b) “(nazi) SATANISTS? how alarming!” missing what’s truly harmful here; c) “Those are fake satanists. Only Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan…”; or d) “Real Satanists are the good guys — more Christlike than Christians, even”

Your mileage may vary on which of these misconceptions is the worst as it likely is highly context dependent. But if you are in liberal and leftist spaces, it’s likely you’re going to be running into Option D most, and yes, that one is also quite bad.

Chrissy Stroop of The Bugbear Dispatch has written extensively about this dynamic vis-à-vis Christianity, and how “real Christians are good progressive beans, actually” normalizes Christian supremacy by treating it as by default good, which preemptively discredits and marginalizes its victims further.

It might even be more accessible of a canard for Satanists, who can — and occasionally have —handwaved away the notion of victims under the premise that it’s just relitigating the Satanic Panic. And because so much of the popular appeal of Satanism is some (often justified) negative partisanship against Christianity, there’s tremendous pressure against acknowledging real bad actors and even real victims lest it “give more ammo to conservatives” or whatever other excuse ends up reinforcing arbitrary hierarchies.

What all of those options have in common, though, is how they engage in wild, knee-jerk and sweeping sentiments with people sometimes swinging back and forth through successive inverted understandings of the world and how people operate in it. At no point is there is no effort to learn more and or deconstruct to be able to suss out the underlying dynamics better.

(For more on exactly this subject and Satanism, see this conversation).

That’s the context for the relatively small but not at all farcical or illegitimate phenomenon of esoteric fascists, and specifically neo-Nazi Satanists.

So make some time for this Bluesky thread by research analyst of far-right extremism Jennefer Harper to get your bearings, and then dive into the Left Coast Right Watch article itself to read the full piece.

“Nazi Satanists” are real — and they are really Satanists. Just keep in mind that (we’d argue) the aesthetics of Satanism tend to be less important and more interchangeable to this sort of thing than the worldview focused on dominating and hurting others.

Hence “NAZI (satanist)” is a more fair point of emphasis, and sometimes worth point out when people get stuck doing “Option A” stuff.

[krissiefox]

image source

This list is for promoting political & news blogs promoting decency and progressive ideas, so if you're a conservative shithead this list is not for you. <3

https://www.tumblr.com/activist-for-change Political artwork

https://social-justice-activism-blog.tumblr.com/ Social justice blog

https://www.tumblr.com/derbypunknpfo Antifascist blog. Warning for some violent images.

https://antifainternational.tumblr.com/ International Antifa blog.

https://antifafurs.tumblr.com/ Antifascist furry blog.

https://justsomeantifas.tumblr.com/ Antifascist blog with lots of fundraisers! You can make a difference and help folks in need!

https://fuckgregabbott.tumblr.com/ Accountability blog for anti-LGBTQ hatemonger greg abbot.

https://rapeculturerealities.tumblr.com/ A blog about rape culture.

https://www.tumblr.com/uppityfemale Feminist blog about sexism, poverty, politics & more

https://everydaysexism.tumblr.com/ Blog about sexism

https://everydayharassment.tumblr.com/ Blog about harassment, sexism, corporate greed & more

https://www.tumblr.com/intolerant-feminist Feminist blog about sexism, corrupt politicians, sexual assault & more.

https://creepygirlclub-blog.tumblr.com/ feminist art and quotes.

https://femfreq.tumblr.com/ A blog about sexism & harmful tropes in media.

https://toxicmasculinity.tumblr.com/ A blog about sexism & abuse.

https://www.tumblr.com/positive-masculinity A positive masculinity blog.

https://celebratingamazingwomen.tumblr.com/ Women in history

https://humanrightsupdates.tumblr.com/ News about human rights.

https://thesatanictemple.tumblr.com/ The Satanic Temple blog. (blog inactive, last post was in 2013)

https://www.tumblr.com/berniesrevolution Bernie Sanders Blog

https://www.tumblr.com/fucktrump Trump accountability blog.

https://www.tumblr.com/thehalfwaypost Political Satire

https://theonion.tumblr.com/ Political Satire

https://jensorensen.tumblr.com/ Political comics by an artist from The Nib.

https://cartoonpolitics.tumblr.com/ Political comics & cartoon drawings.

https://slimethought.tumblr.com/ A blog based around the Thought Slime Youtube channel.

https://www.tumblr.com/fucknovideogames Accountability for creeps and assholes in the video game industry/community.

[timmydakilla]

some of my offerings

ingredients in my jars (mix and matched)

~ black cat hair from timmy, he gets treats after i brush him for it

- black tea

~ black pepper (ground)

~ cat claw clippings

~ tobacco 🤎🤎🤎

~ dirt from my frogs encloser 💞💞💞

~ found snake shed

~ found cat whiskers

~ cinnamon for LUST 💜

~ weed

~ incense ash and smoke

~ ash of tobacco and weed

~ found animal bones

(probly other stuff i can’t remember)

other offerings pictured

~ crosses and crucifixes (traded for, stolen, found, one bought)

~ mummified black kitten paw/arm (bought)

~ wet specimen jars

made : spiders, mice, insects

bought : baby snake

~ clay statue my friend made, i traded her some of my art for it

~ timmy dolls gifted to me

~ penjamin 💞

~ chocolate 🖤

~ ceramic plate shard i found in a creek

~ some juul pods i found or that were given to me

~~~~~

hey guys i’ll update when my alter is set up more and i finish drawing im making to put up

[anarcho-catboyism]

Honestly even if The Satanic Temple wasn't a pyramid scheme that took advantage of women and ran by "fOrMeR" fascists, its method of trying to 'one up' republican lawmakers is not only extremely neoliberal but also naive.

Republican lawmakers know that their religious freedom laws aren't equally upheld. Playing gotcha games with conservatives over and over again is pointless. They don't CARE that they don't equally uphold laws. The only reason they make laws seem equal *on the surface* is because they are playing smoke and mirrors with the general public. You'd think after failing court cases over and over and funneling your funds into suing queer former members (without telling those who donated where their money is ACTUALLY going (my guess is into the pockets of the top collaborators) ) that some people would realize how pointless it is to play semantics with beta fascists.

[average-queer-punk]

Yo, I'm Atticus, I'm a punk who's 16, a theistic Satanist, and honestly not nice to most people. I'm not very active on this account but posts occasionally.

🍉🍉🇺🇦🇺🇦

DNI

basic DNI criteria (homophobic, transphobic, racist, ped0phile, ect.), fujoshis/fundashis, disrespectful in any way, copycat, stalker, invalidates other people's pronouns, Christians, anti-therian/anti other kin, endogenic "punks" get the fuck out, NSFW blogs, gtfo I'm a minor, proshitters get out, any America worshiper get out, pro isnotreal get out, anti Palestine get out, forgot about Ukraine; Get out.

Other than that, come on in. I post about my Satanism, Punk agenda, and I'll even throw in an art piece of two.

[fizzytrashcan]

Pat the Bunny's Wingnut Dishwashers Union had a great diddy about just this thing

[alephskoteinos]

This Grand Initiation stuff in Uncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path drives me up the wall just because, for a chapter about ritual, there's so many essays and each one gets longer and longer, not to mention he gets rather tedious and even reprehensible on rare occasion. But then he says something about world-building that strikes a really good chord. He says in page 68, "If we decide to hang out with people and avoid the phone calls of others, we are populating our world". I'd say that's a perfectly logical reason for Satanists to not associate with Nazis or the far-right. Think about the times you see some reactoid occultniks complain about "cancel culture" over people calling out fascists. In response to those types, just think, "we're just deciding who we want to be part of our own worlds, and we don't want Nazis in it". Anyone in the Left Hand Path who defends formal associations with Nazis or the far-right while whining about “cancel culture” should remember, If we decide to hang out with people and avoid the phone calls of others, we are populating our world. That's at least one reason why you should be anti-fascist.

[nando161mando]

"Satanic antifascists" (EN: English)

[whereserpentswalk]

Freindly reminder that idolater is a slur, as are variations permutations such as idolotry or idol worshipper. It's not some cute word to use agaisnt people you don't like. It's a slur. It's a slur with thousands of year agaisnt genocide behind it.

It's a slur that specifically to polytheists. It is part of the ideological basis of our religions being outlawed in countless countries. It's used against pagans, it's used agaisnt Satanists, it's used agaisnt Hindus, it's used agasint Buddhists, it's used agaisnt indigenous people's, it has been a part of the oppression that all of these groups have faced.

Sometimes monotheists use it agaisnt eachother. But it's in the same way faggot is sometimes used agaisnt straight people. It's essentially saying "Hey, you're like these people we both believe deserve to be oppressed." If you don't belive they deserve to be oppressed the insult doesn't work.

Never use idol worshiper, idolater, or any permutation as an insult, not agaisnt anyone, not even agaisnt people who you really hate. It's a slur and should never be treated as anything else. If you didn't know before you know now.

[suicidenote1]

[queersatanic]

“The Satanic Temple: The Lasting Influence of the Abraxas Circle” by Spencer Sunshine

This is excerpted from Spencer Sunshine’s book Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason’s Siege. It documents how Siege—the “bible” of aspiring neo-Nazi terrorists like the Atomwaffen Division—was created and disseminated. In particular, the second half deals with the role played by four 1980s and ‘90s countercultural figures: Boyd Rice, Adam Parfrey, Michael Moynihan, and Nikolas Schreck, who in turn collected a group of collaborators which Sunshine calls the “Abraxas Circle.” The end of the book includes a section about the influence of the Abraxas Circle on TST—especially the infamous 2003 “Might is Right” show.

We've made the excerpt on The Satanic Temple available for more people to be able to read for themselves (and cite), but the whole work is worthwhile.

It's really amazing how small the cast of characters is over the decades. Just the same handful of people showing up over and over again.

A ton of work went into tracing the influence of James Mason's Siege from its origins to its boosting by "iconoclasts", etc., to its status now, and you should support the work of antifascist researcher Spencer Sunshine if you can so that more can be done

[cavegirlpoems]

They Think Empathy Is A Sin Because They Worship Satan, Literally, Not Metaphorically: an esay.

OK so. I am going to do something inadvisable and make a lengthy post about something other than game design, because I can and I want to.

It's a long one. Like, extremely long. So, to avoid "Do you like the colour of the sky [gone quaker, gone tolstoy, christian anarchist edition]", here's a convenient break so you can scroll past if lengthy religious diatribes aren't your thing.

To begin with, some baselines. I am writing from a Christian perspective. More specifically, I would describe myself as a Liberal Quaker. To me, at least, this involves Christianity as a communal mystical practice, with unprogrammed worship (IE no clergy) and an entirely flat religious heirarchy. Values associated with this branch of religion include honesty, charity, humility and peace.

I adopted Quakerism as a religious framework because it was the one that worked for me. I was raised in, and still live in, a culturally Christian society; as such, Christianity provided a religious framework of symbols and meanings that I was culturally fluent with, whereas other faiths would have required a steeper learning curve since I lack that baseline familiarity. That said, I try to study and understand other religions: I would say that what I've learned of Islam and Budhism - while I'm far from an expert - have been valuable to me.

Politically, I lean hard to the left and hard towards anarchy/libertarianism. I would describe my politics as antifascist first, and then largely anarcho-communist after that, but I'm a pretty big-tent progressive. I'm also a british trans woman who keeps ending up voting Lib Dem for lack of better options, if that gives you any context.

Now, let's define some terms as I understand them and intend to use them. These are all metaphors or symbols, that we can use poetically to better articulate certain ideas. I use Christian imagery here, because that's what I'm fluent with; if I was instead fluent with Jewish or Daoist or some other religious culture, I'd be expressing my ideas with those symbols instead. So.

God: A manifestation/personification/symbol of absolute perfect goodness. God is Love. That is God is absolute unconditional love for all of creation.

Jesus/Christ: Jesus is a representation of God's love for us humans taking tangible effect. Jesus is a sacrifice God made on our behalf to rescue us from Sin. Jesus is inspired by the historical figure Yeshua of Nazareth, a 1st-century Jewish religious thinker who was quite popular and then executed by the Roman occupation.

Sin/Original Sin: Sin is simple, it's when we do bad things that hurt people. Since God loves all of us and doesn't want us hurt, God doesn't want us to Sin. Original sin is part of us; the fact that we are capable of Sinning simply because we're human.

Satan/The Devil: Satan is the force that urges us to Sin.

Heaven/Paradise: A state of goodness, where - since we have escaped sin and embraced God's wishes for us, we do not suffer.

Hell/Damnation: The state of rejecting God and personally embracing Sin, and therefore suffering.

When I talk about these things, I do not mean them in the literaly sense that a fundamentalist might. I do not believe that there is an actual literal guy called Satan who is red with stylish little horns and a goattee who spends all day tempting people and poking dead souls with a pitchfork.

Rather, these are social constructs. By way of analogy, gender and money are social constructs; they're concepts that have no inherent existence in a world that's ultimately just atoms and energy in a vacuum, but because we believe in them and lend them social weight, they gain power in our lives. In the same way the concepts of God, Satan, Sin, etc clearly effect the world. Saying 'Sin' isn't real is like saying your bank account isn't real; it has a tangible effect on the world, so it's useful to discuss it.

Does this mean that I think God, Sin, etc are just made up arbitrary symbols? No. I happen to believe in them. I happen to actively choose to believe in them, because I want to invest them with meaning in my life. This is why it's called 'faith' and not 'rational observation'. But even if they were purely arbitrary ideas, then I think that - like other purely arbitrary ideas such as 'human rights' and 'love' - they're worth believing in anyway.

Lastly, the Bible. I like the bible. It's an old historical text with some incredibly beautiful writing in it, that conveys some potent and meaningful messages. It is very obviously not an account of literal fact, but interpreted through a lens of metaphor or poetry it has a lot to teach. Not everything in it is perfect - it's a historical text that has been translated and retranslated repeatedly - but IMHO you can get a lot out of it, and its writers were, as a general rule, onto something.

You will notice that these ideas are wildly counter to the culturally conservative evangelical christian mainstream. They are, however, entirely unremarkable within the framework of liberal theology.

OK. These should be our base assumptions going in. Perhaps you disagree with them; if so, that's nice for you, but here I'm describing my worldview, not prescribing what yours should be.

It is perhaps notable that I've got this far in and only just finished defining my terms.

SO.

I have observed in the past that there are - effectively - two different, largely incompatible, religions both called Christianity. On the one hand, we have what I believe in, a belief structure that champions such virtues as mercy, forgiveness, peace and humility. On the other hand, we have the mainstream conservative evangelical christian right; this version of christianity values things like obedience, authority and (most of all) punishment.

These are fundamentally incompatible belief structures. As a stark illustration of this, consider what these two christianities want for wrongdoers. One branch wants them to repent, atone and be forgiven. The other wants them to be punished and suffer for their transgressions.

I am going to differentiate between these two beliefs. Because it's my essay and I'm on my side, I will call my beliefs Christianity, and the other side Christian Fascism.

I would argue that my values are more fundamental to the underlying message of Christianity (as derived from the teachings of that guy Yeshua I mentioned) than the other approach. In no particular order:

we have the parable of the prodigal son. Here, Yeshua teaches his followers that when somebody fucks up and then changes their mind, this is to be celebrated and they are to be welcomed back. The message of reconciliation and forgiveness is obvious.

we have the parable of the good samaritan. Again, the message is clear: we must seek to do right by even our enemies.

there are many other stories and teachings attributed to Yeshua with similar messages. Forgiveness and redemption are constant themes in his teachings. He praises the humble and the downtrodden consistently.

However, most importantly, we have the central facet of Christianity itself; the crucifixion. What happens here, and why?

God comes to earth as Jesus, and - after spreading his message described above - is publicly tortured to death in one of the most horrific execution methods available at the time. This sacrifice is made, knowingly, to absolve humanity of Sin. All of humanity. No exceptions. God loves us, He wants us to be forgiven when we sin, so he suffers and dies for us to offer us a way out.

It's right there. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God loves the entire world so much that He made this sacrifice, so that whoever wants it can be saved. No exceptions. Whoever you are, God loves you, and sent Jesus so you can be saved if you want it.

This is the single central pillar on which the entire rest of Christianity is built.

So, yes. The 'no true scotsman' argument gets used in discussions around Christianity, but in this instance I firmly believe that it is, in fact, possible to say that somebody is doing Christianity wrong, because the central message of Christianity stands for something (mercy, redemption, charity, etc) and when somebody acts in opposition to that, then whatever they are doing is not christian.

(an analogy: suppose somebody called themselves a communist, but in practice they voted for right-wing parties, assisted the owning-class over the class interests of the workers, espoused anti-communist rhetoric, and never did anything communist. They could claim all they want: the truth remains that they are failing to be a communist through their actual behaviour. likewise any other set of principles).

So. Christianity is not Christian Fascism. Christian Fascism is, instead, fascism wearing christianity as a disguise. They are not, meaningfully, christian, they just want you to think they are. They might believe it themselves, even.

Another example: terfs. Terfs are transphobic bigots who appropriate the name of feminism to advance their transphobic agendas. They want you to believe they're feminists. They might believe they're feminists themselves. But the things they say, and do, and seem to believe are profoundly unfeminist, and feminism as a movement has a duty to reject them. That terfs wear the mask of feminism doesn't discredit the actual feminist movement.

It's idealogical parasitism. Hollowing out one ideology and wearing its skin to advance the agenda of a different, opposing ideology.

Fascists do this a lot because the actual things they want are straightforwardly evil, and being evil on purpose tends not to be popular until you're, like, super indoctrinated, so they use appropriate the language of other movements as a trojan horse.

To my mind, there is a fairly simple litmus test for these things. There are two groups in the Bible that we are repeatedly, consistently, unequivocably told to treat well. One is Widows. The other is Refugees. These two groups were hilighted by the writers for a reason; they're vulnerable demographics with fewer social connections to support themselves, who can easily be neglected or actively victimised by a society that doesn't make an active choice to support them. When Yeshua says "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me", they are 'the least of these'.

Luckily, widows are not in the modern day at the centre of a huge culture war. Refugees, however?

So. A good litmus test. How somebody believes we should treat refugees, and immigrants more broadly. The message of the Bible is consistently to help foreigners who come to your country, to provide for them and help them settle. Jesus doesn't make any exceptions about visas or 'legal immigration' or contributing to the economy. He tells you in no uncertain terms that you must help refugees, always, every time. If you disagree with that... you're not a Christian, you're a Fascist appropriating Christianity.

(There is a massive discussion that could go here about the bible's position on sexuality, queerness, divorce, etc etc. I cannot be bothered with all that. The christian-fascist reading of these verses tends to get the most visibility, because the translations of the bible with the most visibility leaned into these interpretations. there are other interpretations and other translations that don't have these problems. I could go into more detail, but I have better things to discuss. Two key points:

the bible was written in societies where the family was incredibly reliant - socially and economically - on the husband's support. If the husband casts aside his wife and family, or stops giving a shit about them, they're totally fucked. This is the same society where 'do not let widowed women starve if they no longer have a husband to support them' is reiterated constantly. So, many admonishments against adultery etc should be read in this light: your family rely on you, do not abandon them. Many other passages - eg sodom & gomorrough - are likewise condemnation of things like sexual abuse.

more importantly, remember, the central message of christianity is one of absolute universal love so powerful that Jesus personally sacrificed himself to save us. All of us. 'The world' that God loved includes the gays and the divorcees etc. That central message takes precedent over any edge-case reading you might find that suggests that God's love has exceptions.)

There is an asymetry in public discussions of christianity (and, I think, religion more broadly).

If you have a set of beliefs that value everybody's intrinsic worth, that values considers charity and mercy good, that tells you to embrace foreigners and outgroups more generally, you will tend to the left. You will tend to adopt other left-wing ideas alongside it. Among these are ideas like cultural sensitivity, inclusivity, etc. If you believe Jesus commands you to embrace foreigners, then you will do your best not to reject them or their practices, even if they practice a different religion to you. This is doubled when christianity is a culturally hegemonic force, and you wish to do right by the meek and the humble who are being oppressed (often by that hegemonic force of christianity).

What this means is that on the left - where those following the message of Christianity properly should end up - there is an understanding that making explicitely Christian arguments is alienating and disrespectful to those you should have solidarity with. So, as a result of following (Christian) moral principles, the leftist Christian will generally not express their principles in explicitely religious terms, even when they could do so.

Not so on the right. The right doesn't have a problem with making the outgroup feel alienated or disrespecting them. Often, it quite likes this. So, they will use christian language to express their ideas.

So, even if both sides are balanced in numbers - heck, even if the christian fascists are significantly in the minority - the majority of people being vocally christian will be the christian fascists. And this presentation will reinforce the issue.

If this pattern continues within christian circles as well as in public forums - and it does in my experience - then this likewise gives the christian fascists a dispropportionate influence over what christianity becomes. So, it becomes important that in internal discussions, christian fascism be vocally opposed, and opposed in explicitely religious terms.

The fascists are not doing christianity. They do not speak for christianity, and they are not representative of the entirety of christianity. Their hollowing-out-and-puppetting of christianity to promote evil is itself an act of evil; people like this are why we have the word blasphemy.

Seeing somebody spewing hatred that results in actual, material harm to actual, real vulnerable people, and claiming that this is done in the name of Christ, is a profoundly horrific and perverse thing. It makes me feel ill to witness it.

(A further thought: traditionally, Christianity has held that Salvation is through both belief and works. That you must not only want salvation, you must act on it - which is to say, be a good person. If you claim to be saved but continue to willfully sin, that isn't good enough. So, christianity is what you do, not just how you label yourself. There is a correlation between discarding the belief in salvation by works, and christian fascism. John Calvin's spanner remains in the works to this day).

A thought on Idolatory. What is idolatory? In my view, the treatement of a man-made, worldly thing with the same reverence as holy things. If there is an object or symbol that represents a worldly, human thing that you insist must be treated with reverence and ceremony - as if it was holy - then you have made an idol of that thing.

You know, when I first learned about the way americans treat their flag, I was horrified. Because that flag is an idol. It is so obviously and clearly an idol, and yet. And yet.

Patriotism and nationalism - the revering of the state - is idolatory.

The way we fetishise cops and the military is idolatory.

Even discounting that these symbols are things that do horrific evil as their stated goals, you have taken a human thing - a political body - and treated it like its sacred.

When we consider that an Idol can be a concept or a structure, and not just a literal graven image, we start to see idolatory everywhere on the political right. This is, after all, the entire concept of 'civil religion'. The american founding fathers are not saints, the american constitution is not a holy text, and the american flag is not a holy relic, and the treatment of these things like they are is obvious and flagrant idolatory.

Read up on Tolstoy's thoughts on christian anarchism, as a logical end point of these ideas.

A little diversion on the Antichrist. I dont think Revelations is a literal predictive prophecy, I think it's a warning. It describes - through poetic and symbolic language - pitfalls the faithful might encounter, and encourages them to stand firm against them, and promises that however dire things get, good will triumph over evil in the end. It says 'things will get bad, here are some specific ways they might get bad, but you should hold onto hope'.

Who is the Antichrist in this text? It describes a type of person. Somebody wealthy and politically powerful, who achieves a position of global power and unifies disparate nations under his banner. He isn't christian, but he makes a pretence at piety and convinces the masses to treat him as a religious figure, even as he perverts and distorts religion towards his own hateful ends. He's supported by powerful cultural entities, and combined with his charisma this makes his ascent to power seem inevitable. He is utterly, utterly evil, but he also has really powerful branding that people willingly adopt. He will rise to power in a time of turmoil, sickness and widespread disasters.

Remind you of anybody?

His mark goes on the forehead and the right hand. The red maga hat, and the roman salute. I know I'm doing a paradoelia here, but surely I'm not the only one seeing this shape in the inkblots?

In times like these, I keep coming back to Revelations, and its message that even though things will get really bad, there is always hope, and God's love wins out in the end.

So. The christian fascists are not doing Christianity. They are not following Christ's agenda, which is one of universal love, mercy, and redemption. So, what are they doing, and whose agenda are they serving?

I think you see where this argument is going.

I have not discussed Satan much yet, because while I'm cogniscent of Satan's influence, my faith focusses on Christ; on mercy and redemption and fundamentally goodness rather than evil. But discussing satan becomes pertinent.

Satan is not simply a red guy with a goatee scheming to take over the world like Bible-Skeletor. Indeed, satan is not really a 'guy' at all; it's a tendency. It's the urge to sin, the temptation to not be your best self, or to be your worst self. Every time somebody pisses you off and you have that little spiteful urge to fuck them over? That idea is satan. Every time you want to take something for yourself when somebody else needs it more? Satan.

It is, I think, useful to have a concept of satan that you can personify, so you can (internally) argue against those urges.

Anyway. God loves us universally and absolutely, and wants us to flourish and prosper and do right by each other. Not doing that is Sin. So, here are some things that are sins:

the pursuit of material wealth and power at others expense (see; camels and needles, the meek and their inheritence, etc).

the defining of outgroups against whom cruelty is acceptably or encouraged.

the belief that some people are lesser; less deserving of God's grace and mercy, and so your own kindness too.

raising worldly human powers - states, laws, militaries, flags - into idols.

the - as established - blasphemous perversion of God's will towards evil ends.

These are pretty central patterns we see over and over again among the christian fascists.

They see the outgroup (queers, sluts, immigrants, muslims, people who get abortions, jews, leftists, and so on and so on) as lesser, as deserving of punishment, and they embrace the thought that God will punish them with eternal hell. (See that time pope franky said he hoped Hell was empty, and a lot of these people were furiously angry at the thought.)

They think 'prosperity gospel' isn't a blasphemous oxymoron.

They treat human authorities - cops, armies, nations - with reverence. They fucking love flags, they get extremely patriotic.

They take their hunger for power and their hatred, and they wrap it in the bible - they take God's name in vain - and sully holy things with their evil.

Plus, if we scroll back up to my tangent about the antichrist, there's a pretty good contender for the role currently, and they've embraced him whole-heartedly.

So, their worldview promotes sin.

And they are obsessed with the Devil.

But they don't see it as something they must struggle with; after all, they tend to reject the idea of salvation through works, and claim their saved because they're saved. According to them, rather than doing Christ's work making them christian, because they claim to be christian whatever they do - no matter how evil - retroactively becomes Christ's work. The things they do are good because it's them doing them, and the exact same things done by their enemies would be evil.

So they ignore that little satan-urge in their head, and displace it. They see Satan in everything else, in the outside world, in everything that isn't christian fascism. And then they do Satan's work, by seeking to punish the people they project this satan onto.

What does Satan want? He wants you to hate, he wants you to hurt others, and to profit at their expense. And their religion teaches them to hate and punish others and profit.

They serve satan. And they do it in the name of faith. They are clearly worshipping. So, who do they worship? They worship the one their actions serve.

That is to arrive at the thesis statement of this whole essay, and something I sincerely and wholeheartedly believe, in a literal sense:

the right-wing evangelical Christian mainstream worships and serves Satan.

And then what? I will confess, I am as fallible as any other human. These people - due to their hatred - hurt me and people I love. I am angry at them. I am incandescently angry at the things they do. There is a slippery slope leading from righteous indignation to hatred, and I am struggling emotionally to stay at the top of the slope, and not become actively hateful.

But rationally, how I want to feel? What my better self feels? I feel pity. Hell isn't a place with lots of bats and fire, it's seperation from God's love, and - even if they don't realise it - they turn away from God, and they suffer, and their spread their suffering. They are profoundly spiritually sick, and I want them to get better. I want them to fucking stop. I want them to step out of the dark place they've gone to and return to God's side, and to repent, atone for their actions, and find the same Mercy I want for everybody.

It's fucking hard to look at somebody who viscerally hates me for existing, and want them to recieve salvation, but I try.

I don't know how to fix them or save them. They don't want to be saved. They think our attempts to reach out to them are corruption. They think mercy is weakness and pity tempts you.

They warn each other not to give in to the sin of empathy. It's fucking heartbreaking.

[timmydakilla]

satan wages war in hell on all who harm women and children

don’t be scared of hell, let it represent the justice we need to bring all of these people to.

satan knows that these people deserve no mercy and both in hell and on earth we need to make them suffer