TST

[The Blackangel]

Is anyone else here a member? Or considering membership? I joined last year, and it has been very rewarding. For me at least. The campaigns they engage in are things that I 100% support. I have felt a sense of community since joining, and even joined the local (unofficial) chapter. There are 7 tenets as outlined by TST.

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
• One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
• Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
• People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

 

Personally I feel that the tenets show a lot of wisdom. I have my own personal tenets (14 to be exact) but I also apply these to everyday life.

If anyone is interested the here is the link to The Satanic Temple. There is a whole host of information there about the org.

[Reality vs Adventure]

Why do they call it Satanic Temple? Doesn't that defeat it's purpose? It's kind of hypocritical to have that name that usually represents evil, and declare compassion and empathy. But those 7 tenets are good to follow. What 14 tenets do you have? 

[The Blackangel]

Most people think “Satan” is a name, which it’s not. It’s a simple word that means opposition. We use the word to make our stance towards the status quo known. We question everything. We take nothing at face value. Face value = false value. I don’t see how it’s hypocritical. That’s a very close minded way of looking at it. Like most, you judge by the name without looking into who it is that’s using it, and what they stand for. We’re not LaVeyan Satanism. That’s all hocus pocus, with little to no value in today’s world. In 1966, sure. In 2020 however, no.

Edited November 9, 2020 by The Blackangel

[Reality vs Adventure]

20 minutes ago, The Blackangel said:

Most people think “Satan” is a name, which it’s not. It’s a simple word that means opposition. We use the word to make our stance towards the status quo known. We question everything. We take nothing at face value. Face value = false value. I don’t see how it’s hypocritical. That’s a very close minded way of looking at it. Like most, you judge by the name without looking into who it is that’s using it, and what they stand for. We’re not LaVeyan Satanism. That’s all hocus pocus, with little to no value in today’s world. In 1966, sure. In 2020 however, no.

It's just the first impression everyone would get. I like opposition as long as it's the right opposition. Many false patriots today. I also question everything. And I am not in any way trying to attack you on this. I completely respect the tenets. But how did Satan become to mean opposition? And you are correct nobody should take things at face value. Look at all the evangelicals and other so called christians that betrayed this country. And more importantly chose hate, bigotry, lies, and criminality over civil liberties, morality, and oaths. Republican christians forfeited their claims in God and righteousness. 

And if Satan is opposition, what is God? 

[The Blackangel]

To answer your last question about what god is: a myth, no different than the tooth faerie.

Satan was never a name to begin with. If you look into the history of the word, you will find that it is used only twice in the buybull. Neither time was it used in reference to any particular item/being. It literally meant “adversary” and “opposition”. 
As for what we oppose, it’s things such as racism, poverty, mandatory religious doctrine, and inequality in all forms. We’re not saying people who live in poverty are doing something wrong. Typically they don’t have any choice in the matter. What we oppose is that they are forced into that situation, when there is more than enough resources to help them if people were willing. The mandatory religious doctrine is especially blatant here in Missouri. Before a woman can get an abortion, she has to take a religious pamphlet produced by the xtian church, and wait 3 days. It’s an attempt to instill guilt and shame on her for wanting the procedure. TST has actually been fighting a legal battle here over this. But they’re gaining little ground. This is a red and overchristianized state. Also we made a move in Arkansas, about them having the 10 commandments on the state capitol grounds. So they took the Baphomet down there. It was a demonstration about the separation between church and state. That if one religion could have a monument, then they were legally bound by the constitution to allow all religions to display a monument. 
 

TST is fighting for the common good among all people no matter who they are, or how they identify.

[Reality vs Adventure]

Christians across the U.S. need to take a page from TST. They need to teach about racism, lying, and how not to discriminate against those in poverty in their Sunday school. They need a prayer configuration so that they know what to pray for and how to pray. And separate church and state. Glad you found something that you like and is helping others fight inequality.  

At one point I had a fiance that was Mormon. Of course the church controlled our relationship and she chose church over me. One thing I will never forget is a question she asked. How do you know what is morally right if you don't believe in God? 

That was greatly offensive to me because unlike her who has the need to have a mystic being and book guide her morality out of fear of God's wrath,  I have a more innate moral compass that can't be controlled through edited books or what the law says. For example, slavery used to be legal. Is it so hard to know right from wrong? To not be a bigot, abuse others, lie, cheat, steal, kill, rape, violate others in any way? If it is so hard for them, then maybe they do need to go to church. Even that doesn't work. 

And as long as TST holds their principles, churches hold their principles, then leave me to have my own competence to hold my own principles. And I will fight for those principles if republicans keep trying for a dictatorship.