Abortion Defense: A Satanic “Act of Worship”
Abortion Defense: A Satanic “Act of Worship”
By Terrell Clemmons
Last month, I shared a few stories from 40 Days for Life, a worldwide pro-life ministry of presence and prayer outside abortion centers. Created Equal, a pro-life ministry based in Ohio, focuses mainly on reaching people in urban areas and on college campuses. But they go to abortion centers too, and as they went about their work, they began to detect a disturbing trend. They were being increasingly harassed by abortion advocates who identified with Satanism. Sometimes the opposition came with violence and fury.
“At first,” said president and founder Mark Harrington, “we wondered if our experience was unique or if there was a legitimate connection between the defense of abortion and Satanism.” So, they started investigating. What they found put an end to any doubt. There are direct parallels between the rhetoric of abortion and the doctrines of Satanism. And there are clear links between the practice of abortion and the practice of Satanism.
On that first point, Harrington explains:
Satanists and abortion supporters both believe in “bodily autonomy.” For the Satanist, defending abortion access is a worthy form of worship because one of their tenets states, “one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will.” The Satanic doctrine of absolute autonomy over one’s own destiny has become the pro-abortion rallying cry of “My body, my choice.”
In the short film, Abortion: A Doctrine of Demons, just released on YouTube, Created Equal has captured the connections between abortion and Satanism–the Satanism espoused by the Satanic Temple, to be specific–which identifies itself as “the primary religious Satanic organization in the world” and which was featured in the 2019 film Hail Satan?.
In Created Equal’s Abortion: A Doctrine of Demons, you will see:
– Abortion defenders honoring Satan: “Hail Satan! Hail Satan,” they shout in the face of the pro-life presence. “You know what? [Satanists] are better than you [Christians] are! They’re better advocates for human life than you are!” “Go f*** yourself! Hail Satan, bro!”
– Satanists promoting abortion defense as “a worthy form of worship”: “They’re doing it, little by little, you know, taking away reproductive rights,” says a young woman presenting the activities of the Satanic Temple. “So, it is our duty to worship through activism. That is the key to the Satanic Temple, what differentiates us from other Satanists.” On the large screen behind her, “Reproductive Rights Campaigns” and “Baphomet Campaigns” are listed as the first and second “Campaigns of Note.” On its website, the Satanic Temple specifically connects abortion-related activism with its religious beliefs.
– An abortionist in scrubs hissing and growling demonically and saying, “I love it! I love it!” about what he does. “I do have a darkened heart. I do, I do. Very much so.”
On the second point, and pressing beyond the rhetoric, from a Judeo-Christian perspective, there are clear parallels between abortion and Satan. Like the original rebellion of Lucifer, the act of abortion is an act of rebellion against the authority of God and the truth of the worth of human life. And while the Satanic Temple doesn’t profess belief in the actual being called Satan, they overtly identify with the Satanic cause of rebellion against God, whom they see as a tyrant:
– “Essentially, we view Satan as a symbolic embodiment of the ultimate rebel against tyranny,” said Harvard-educated Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple.
– “The Satanic figure in the Bible is one that really inspires rebellion in mankind against the tyrannical God,” said Jex Blackmore, another spokesperson.
Greaves and Blackmore have zeroed in on, and are actively promoting, the essence of Satan–rebellionagainst God–which inevitably leads to rebellion against what God has made, up to and including innocent human life.
Sometimes, we in the pro-life movement do well to let our opposition make our case for us. In this film, Created Equal has done just that: “Many Christians only consider abortion as a political or educational issue,” says Harrington. “However, abortion is a spiritual battle at its core.” He hopes this film will awaken a sleeping church to the spiritual battle in our midst.