From the Minneapolis shooter drawing a picture of himself staring into a mirror with his reflection not human but a beast with horns, to the recently resigned senior physician at the Centers for Disease Control proudly displaying photos of himself on social media dressed in full sadomasochistic leather regalia with the same horned demonic image tattooed on his chest—affirms the point that Satan is having a cultural moment.
Baphomet, the horned goat-like figure that evokes centuries of occultism and demonic possession, stands as a symbolic embodiment of inner torment, moral ambiguity, and an identification with evil. For the Church of Satan, the goat-like figure is a symbol of occult power and rebellion.
While Baphomet itself is not mentioned in the Bible, it is associated with themes that the Bible condemns, including idolatry and the worship of false gods like Baal or Molech. In Genesis 3 we are warned about Satanic deception; and in Deuteronomy 18, sorcery and divination are strongly forbidden. Yet, none of this appears to have dissuaded anti-religious zealots from adopting the image as a symbol of evil resistance to the good, the true, and the beautiful.
The resurgence of Baphomet is not just aesthetic. Rather, it is reflective of deeper cultural tensions around tradition, identity, and the sacred. And it is not only sadomasochistic gay physicians and troubled teens who are drawn to the satanic symbolism.
In 2018, The Satanic Temple temporarily erected (on the grounds of the State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas) an 8-foot bronze statue of Baphomet flanked by two children. Intended to protest the use of public property to display the Ten Commandments, Lucien Greaves, co-founder of The Satanic Temple, told the cheering crowd that had gathered for the First Amendment rally: “I present to you Baphomet.” Refusing to denigrate the satanic representation, NPR downplayed the symbolic weight of the event, framing The Satanic Temple’s intent not as an endorsement of devil worship but as a strategic push for religious pluralism, free expression, and the preservation of church-state boundaries.
These symbols, once confined to the margins, are increasingly gaining traction as potent expressions of hostility toward traditional religious frameworks. Their rise reflects a broader cultural moment in which spiritual authority has become diminished, leaving a void for hateful expressions of symbolic resistance.
1 comment:
I would not put too much stock in Peter Thiel, a prime example of Baphomet. This man, a queer who has gone out to deceive. Instead of discovery, more like indoctrination to accept 666 as god and take his mark. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all (Daniel 11:37 KJV).
Post a Comment