THIS recent thread reminded me of something i heard once upon a time that raising a child as a member of the church of satan was considered to be child abuse. Is this true? and if so how can it hold up under legal scrutiny?
It most likely isn’t true, and if it is there’s no way it could hold up legally.
Child abuse (unless some local region has redefined it in odd ways) is completely defined by actions, not ideas. It’s perfectly legal to impart odious ideas to impressionable young people. It is illegal to hit them or abuse them psychologically. (Psychological abuse can be obvious or very difficult to pin down. The precept to remember is that our justice system operates on a case-by-case basis, and eventually everything comes down to the people involved.)
So there might be a law that defines raising a child in the Church of Satan to be child abuse. That law would be unconstitutional and completely at odds with how everyone else defines child abuse.
pope. most likely that claim is tied up in the hysteria about Satanic ritual Abuse that was big about 15 years ago. There were all these claims of a huge, shadowy, satan-worshiping conspiracy that abused and sacrificed children. It was all bullshit, of course, but it gave satan-worship a bad rap.
–Cliffy
Incorrect, but your underlying point is right. Our judicial system is based on stare decisis and not a case-by-case basis.
There is no “Satan” There is evil. If a person raises a child “evil” then society must judge. Through the courts.
giggle
I know exactly what you mean (I’ve fought some ignorance re: LaVey and CoS on this board in the past), but this sentence still makes me giggle…
Yeah, I was just wondering when Satan-worship had a good rap.
But it’s still possible to overturn an old ruling, and create a new precedent in its place.
My point is that you can go back and forth on corner cases for years and prove nothing until a court full of individual people actually decides a specific case.
Is there any satan-worshippig cult out there that could get a bad rap, anyway?
The church of satan doesn’t worship Satan (nor anybody or anything else, for that matter). It’s about self-achievment or somesuch.
Temple of Set, founded by Michael & Lilith Aquino, spun-off of LaVey’s CoS, does indeed worship a Satanic deity, the Egyptian Set.
Also, I’ve heard the late Anton’s daughter Zeena & her hubby Nikolas Schrek have also adopted an edgier Satanism which may worship a personal devil & isn’t against animal sacrifices.
This is usually referred to as “sunday school.”
Don’t forget “high school”.
Wasn’t he accused of child abuse or molestation?
When Christians have a psychotic break, they see demons. They see demons and devils all having the kind of sex they deny themselves.
I’ve known a lot of christians, and none have “seen demons”. Where on earth are you coming from? How many christians do you know who have had proven psychotic breakdowns?
I am a Christian, and when I have a psychotic break I never get to see anything that interesting.
This is a bit misleading. In the context of the Setian mythos, Set isn’t a malign figure, and in no sense do Setians “worship” Set. In practice, the Temple of Set is pretty much equivalent with that more respectable Egyptian-flavoured path, Hermeticism. It really is focused on self-actualization and whatnot – developing and projecting will through ritual.
Set is considered to be a magician, mentor, and ally.
If you talked to Setians, you might find that they have more in common with Freemasons than Hammer Studios devil-worshippers. (Except they seem to bend your ear about being under “psychic attack” a bit more.)
Uh… Cite?
Seriously, this kind of statement serves no purpose whatsoever in this thread.