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From: up547413042@ucdavis.UUCP (up547413042)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.politics,net.flame
Subject: Re: Tax relief for Churches--ARRRRGHH
Message-ID: <129@ucdavis.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 8-Oct-85 01:05:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucdavis.129
Posted: Tue Oct  8 01:05:48 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 10-Oct-85 06:39:07 EDT
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Organization: University of California, Davis
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> > 
> > I am pissed!!!  Did anyone notice the disgusting act that passed 
> > the Senate yesterday?
> > 
> >   "(UPI) The Senate, with nary a wisp of protest, voted Thursday
> >    to crack down on the worshipers of Satan, and the 
> >    practioners (sic) of witchcraft...the Senate approved
> >    legislation denying tax exemptions to any cult promoting
> >    Satanism or witchcraft."--Rocky Mountain News
> > 
> > The bill itself is Christian in that the
> > definition of something as "Satanist" or "witchcraft" has no real 
> > meaning outside of the Christian view.  I hope someone takes this to 
> > court.  If this is not a law "respecting the establishment of any 
> > religion," I don't know what is.
> > 
> > I'm just too mad to type anymore.
> > 
> > -- 
> > 
> >                                      Sue Brezden
> >                                      
> > Real World: Room 1B17                Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb
> >             AT&T Information Systems
> >             11900 North Pecos
> >             Westminster, Co. 80234
> >             (303)538-3829 
> > 
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Satanism is not just a Christian view, just
> as a crime under the law is not just a Christian view.  Police records I've
> seen talked about on the news gives very real evidence of the doctrines of
> satanic cults.  These doctrines according to the various news reports support
> violence and in some cases murder.
> I'm not coming from an emotional or prejudiced point of view, I'm just echoing
> various news reports I've seen over the years.
> If the doctrines are indeed what police reports seem to indicate, then satanism
> and whichcraft have a very real meaning outside the Christian view and permeatesequally to secular as well as non secular groups.

Actually, Satanism is in fact a Christian derived concept. Satan is the
anti- Christ, etc. Without God, there could have been no Satan. Belief in
Satan exists among Satanists and Christians, but not among other non- Judeo
based religions (Moslems and Bahai'is and Mormons all believe Satan exists).
My own personal feeling is that Satanists (who are few in number) are a group
of lunatics. Acts ascribed to Satanic cults, however, are usually just acts
done by off- balance people who are rebellious and are too easily persuaded
by hype. Sort of like the Manson Family.

Witches, on the other hand, do not believe in Satan, or God for that matter.
Many ideas about Satan however were thought up by the Christian Church in
a massive campaign against witchcraft (now called Wicca). The propoganda
was made up by the Church because Wicca was the strongest rival religion
to the Christians, and was very solidly based in the peasant population.
Wicca, whose history may date back to thousands of years before Christ
on an island just off Greece (But I can't spell the name - Mycenea ?)
originally started as a monotheistic, matriarchal religion based on a
deity called the Great Goddess or Great Mother. Eventually, with the
invasion of the northern  barbarians, a male deity was adopted as her
consort (and who was actually made from out of the Goddess). This male
deity was called the Great Horned Hunting God, among other names (They
both were called by many names). In the rituals of this religion, the
high priest would dress up like an animal, usually with horns (as in the
name) and animal skins. Thus, the Christian Church gave Satan horns, a
tail, and cloven hooves. The Church also killed outright a great number
of the priests and priestesses of that religion and drove it underground,
where it is for the most part today. Wicca is a very peaceful religion,
and can in no way be associated with Satanism outside of the above. It
is also not feminist as some women have tried to portray it due to the
dominate figure in the religion, the Great Mother. All people in this
religion are considered Her children. While I am not a follower of this
religion, I feel it is quite a bona fide religion.

Thus, I feel the bill is completely unjustified. And considering Jesse
Helms wrote it, there is in my mind no doubt that there is a fundementalist
Christian bias in it and I certainly hope it doesn't pass the House. If
it does, it should be struck down by the court.

				-- Chris.