DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - On Thursday, the Satanic Temple of Iowa announced that their display at the Iowa Capitol had been significantly damaged.

The controversial display, which Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds called “objectionable,” featured a ram’s head covered with mirrors on a mannequin before being damaged.

Organizers say it’s a symbol of their right to religious freedom.

The Satanic Temple of Iowa posted the following message on their Facebook page:

“This morning, we were informed by authorities that the Baphomet statue in our holiday display was destroyed beyond repair. We are proud to continue our holiday display for the next few days that we have been allotted.

We ask that for safety, visitors travel together and use the 7 Tenets as a reminder for empathy, in the knowledge that justice is being pursued the correct way, through legal means.

KCCI has reported that 35-year-old Michael Cassidy of Lauderdale, Mississippi, was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. He has since been released.

Solve et Coagula! Happy Holidays! Hail Satan!”

  • dellish@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is the funniest thing. Satan IS part of their religion! I bet if it was a statue of Budda or Muhammad it would have been left alone, but since it’s part of THEIR OWN religion that they don’t like, it get vandalised. Hilarious

    • JimboDHimbo@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      I bet if it was a statue of Budda or Muhammad

      Lol. Lmao. Mfs have literally been killed for less.

    • MartinXYZ
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      1 year ago

      Something about holding up a mirror… It’s very on point. hypocrites don’t like when you show them their true face.

      • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The irony is that Muhammad originally said not to portray him because he didn’t want to be turned into an icon; He wanted the worship to go to God instead. He didn’t want people praying to giant altars with his face on it, because that would run counter to his goal that people should be worshipping God. But the fervent attacks on anyone who portrays Muhammad only prove that he is, in fact, being worshipped.

        • merc
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          1 year ago

          Also, it didn’t say “non-believers aren’t allowed to show my image”, it was just an instruction for Muslims.

          So, attacking a non-Muslim for putting up a picture of Muhammad is doubly wrong. As a non-Muslim, the rule doesn’t apply to them, and as a Muslim, you shouldn’t care because the rule is about who Muslims should worship.

    • model_tar_gz@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      They always like to say that the greatest trick the devil ever played was to convince people that he didn’t exist.

      I disagree. The devil’s greatest trick was changing their name to “God” while blaspheming the morning star—Lucifer— who literally brings light and reason to people’s lives in an otherwise cold, dark, and needlessly cruel world.

    • pete_the_cat@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Also Satan is objectively less evil than God. In the entire Bible Satan only killed like 10 people whereas God’s death toll is in the tens of thousands.

      • jeremyparker@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        It’s not just the body count - Yahweh literally tortures innocent people - the Book of Job is the most notable (though there’s many examples of this).

        For those that don’t know it or who want a recap:

        Satan said to Yahweh that his followers just loved him because they were rewarded for it, and if they weren’t, they’d turn on him.

        So Yahweh…proves it? He destroys Job’s livelihood, kills his family, gives him all kinds of diseases and pains, and Job spends the rest of his life homeless and alone, completely ruined, but Job still praises Yahweh. So, hooray, Yahweh wins the bet.

        The thing you really have to remember about this story is that–as it was written–it isn’t real. Maybe there are some factual elements to it, but for the most part, we have this story, not because it’s factual, but because generations and generations of people believed it was a good story to help us understand the nature of God and our relationship to Him.

        The cruelty Yahweh shows to Job is not an exception - it’s literally exemplary. It’s an example.

        • Liz@midwest.social
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          Job eventually questions Yahweh and Yahweh becomes furious and shows up as a flaming tornado and basically asks him “Who do you think you are, you little punk?” Technically the Satan is proven right. Yahweh does restore Job to his former glory, but all the people he killed in his effort to win a bet don’t come back, they just get replaced with new people.