There’s a statue of the Dark Lord coming to the Oklahoma State Captiol building, and now VICE has photos. An organization called the Satanic Temple is building the monument in response to a statue of the 10-commandments that’s displayed on the Capitol grounds.
There’s also an interview with Temple leader Lucien Greaves (née Douglas Mesner), who is sharp and lucid as always.
Greaves told me that “the idea that the Ten Commandments are foundational to US or Oklahoman law is absurd and obscene… I would argue that the message behind our monument speaks more directly to the formation of US Constitutional values than the Ten Commandments possibly could. It especially does so when it stands directly beside the Ten Commandments, as it affirms no one religion enjoys legal preference.”
The ACLU is filing a lawsuit over the Ten Commandments statue, which, if successful, would likely mean the end of the Baphomet statue as well: “We are fully willing to place our monument at the Capitol, even while the ACLU suit is fought, with the understanding that a judgment against the Ten Commandments will have ramifications for our monument as well, likely resulting in the removal of both.”
(Photo: Jonathan Smith/VICE)
