226 Comments
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NOGODZ20's avatar
7hEdited

Harmful to minors? The GOP would rather see children die of starvation through the crippling of SNAP.

Gods, how I hate these hypocritical monsters.

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Ed Buckner's avatar

How about children tortured with visions of burning forever in a lake of fire just for not worshipping and believing in their parents' imaginary friend?

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

And remember....when God sends them there, it's because he loves them....

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NOGODZ20's avatar

When you died the Old Testament, that was it. It was Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild that sent men, women and children into a neverending fiery torment.

Jesus? Keep him.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Or for missing church on Sunday and not confessing before you die in a hideous accident.

You. Will. Burn. 🔥

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t4Ms's avatar

So children witnessing brutal images of a man being hanged is perfectly fine? It all makes my blood boil.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Me too. And I was a Catholic (thankfully, I lost the belief at 8).

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

You mean you escaped with your wits intact and were not molested by a priest.

I believe that you and I are victorious vs the Catholic Church in that matter, NOGODZ20.

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Septuagenarian Contrarian's avatar

Welcome to the club. You are in good company.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

The indoctrination failed. I kept asking questions they had no answers for. The best they could come up with was “It’s a mystery.” Sorry. Not nearly enough.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Even as a young boy of 8 years, like you, I knew what bullshit smelled like. I often wondered, “Does the stuff the priest says in Latin make more sense than this crap about burning eternally for eating meat on Friday?”

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Septuagenarian Contrarian's avatar

Friday was fish and chips day! To this day... I still love fish and chips.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

And why would anyone get punished for eternity even if you sinned every day for your entire life? That runs counter to any form of justice.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Non, mais ça fait chic.

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regmeyer's avatar

I always thought that jew hanging on the cross was the most obscene thing I ever exposed to as a child.

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t4Ms's avatar

Smart kid! If not for adults telling them otherwise, I’d bet a lot of kids would (correctly) consider the Bible a violent-yet-boring fairytale.

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Gwen's avatar

"Hypochristians," I like to call them.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Bingo.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Every time xtians pull crap like this, they simply expose the weakness of their faith. It's an own goal.

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

Yeah, they are pretty terrified, aren't they?

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Rethuglikkkans love to accuse others of "cancel culture" while simultaneously engaging in that cancel culture.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

They don't deal well with competition.

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Stephen Brady's avatar

Projection is one of the main tools of rethuglican statecraft. Besides, according to 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is the god of this world... seems like maybe they shouldn't honk him off.

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." NIV

🤔 So it is not the unbelievers' fault that they/we don't believe in jebus, it is gawd's fault. And yet we are going to be punished for eternity for what gawd did unto us. What a sadistic shit.

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Stephen Brady's avatar

Religion depends on creating an in group and a despised out group.

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Joe King's avatar

𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑦, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑓𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒 “ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛.” 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒? “𝐴𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡.”

Saying the quiet part out loud. He puts forth the idea that for the government to protect children, it 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 promote Christianity before anything else. Has he read the Constitution?

Why is Mr Steen so afraid of children drawing things, or playing dress-up? Why does he want to deny religious expression, claiming it is not? Because it is not 𝘩𝘪𝘴 religion. It is not 𝘩𝘪𝘴 symbolism. It is not 𝘩𝘪𝘴 control.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

I got a news bulletin for Mr. Steen: the US Constitution is "god NOWHERE." It is SECULAR, without any bias or privilege to ANY religion, in order to treat all beliefs and the absence of belief EQUALLY.

It's a safe bet that he either doesn't know that or doesn't wish to recognize it.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Because the xtian fascists in charge have made it so. The Satanists have proven this point multiple times over the years. We do not have a secular government and there is not one iota of effort being put forth to change that.

Don’t like something in the U.S. Constitution and the Corrupt Supreme 6 have made you an infallible King? Ignore that shit!

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regmeyer's avatar

They tend to mumble though that part of obeying the Constitution in their oath of office.

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dammit barry's avatar

Because hatred and persecution is good for living things. /s

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Len's avatar

It’s good for your income - as long as you’re one of the people hating and persecuting.

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Boreal's avatar

Harmful to minors: the GQP christer cult which rapes children, not the Satanic Temple.

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Gwen's avatar

Good point. I'd have no worries if one of my niblings were attending After School Satan (although TST could have come up with a name that has a better acronym), but these fundie Bible-idolising Creepstians have an extensive record of CSA+coverup.

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Joe King's avatar

But if they don't protect the children from thinking for themselves, they won't be obedient worker drones.

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larry parker's avatar

The kids working the drive thru at McDonalds are getting younger and younger. I'd swear that some of them are junior high age. They really don't need that stress.

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Priscilla Anderson's avatar

I would need to look it up, but I am 99% sure Louisiana recently passed a very similar law regarding child labor.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

“the bill’s backers maintained that it would provide greater job opportunities”

Woo hoo! We got’s us a lifetime job opportunity toiling in the fields for shitty pay. The hits just keep on coming from the Republicons. They shall rule forever with these benefits for our children.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

I've heard of "Iowa stubborn," mostly courtesy of Professor Harold Hill and The Music Man. Sadly, we have other qualities coming out of the Hawkeye State: arbitrariness and stupidity. After previously being allowed to participate in activities at the State Capital, The Satanic Temple has been effectively shut out of any further such action. Apparently, the governor and others of the current state administration have a mad-on about Baphomet, or they simply have (speciously) deduced that it is somehow harmful to children. Five will get you 50 that NONE of those objecting to TST's displays have any accurate knowledge of what the organization is about or its attitudes, particularly regarding kids. All they can think is: "Satan ... BAD!!!" and (in)appropriately freak out.

For people who are supposed to be adults, they act a lot like children.

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dammit barry's avatar

God will smite them heavily and burn them in hell for blasphemy if they permit this. FUCK YOU, good! My blasphemy for this hour.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

[shrug] Yahweh won't do anything. You know it and I know it. Then, too, something that doesn't exist has a pretty difficult time taking any kind of action! 😉

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dammit barry's avatar

The assholes believe it And fear the evil sombitch. They must deny others their rights to protect their own asses. Their gods are totalitarian dictators. That is why they are authoritarian aassholes. They must obey or burn.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Are you aware that Iowa, home to the richest black dirt known to agriculture, imports 90% of their food? It’s incredible that our so called Department of Agriculture has managed to fuck that state up beyond recognition.

“Corn for Cars” should be printed on their state flag.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

Madness. 🤷‍♂️

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regmeyer's avatar

This is the reason I escaped ioway and swore that I would never go back.

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Missi's avatar
6hEdited

the Seven Tenents of The Satanic Temple are more aligned with the teachings of Christ than the majority of today's Christians are🍸

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

You know that and I know that. Sadly, the Iowa governor and her administration cannot bring themselves to actually READ those Seven Tenets, because it would reveal the lies they have promoted about TST.

I'll say it again: they're acting like children or worse: spoiled BRATS.

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dammit barry's avatar

They fear their god of "unconditional love" will burn them for eternity if theydo.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

You are too kind, Troublesh00ter. They are lying, heartless, greedy muthafuckin’ cretins with no redeeming features.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

Aaaah, you know me. I DO tend to understate, and I'm not even British! 😁

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

I’m here for you, bruh.

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NOGODZ20's avatar
6hEdited

The 7 Key Founders were wise when they made sure not to give religion...especially Christianity...a place at the table of governance. They saw what happened in the colonies a century earler (not to mention what transpired in the Old World) and wanted no part of any system where religion (and again, especially Christianity) reigned.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Yet, despite the good intentions of our forefathers, the fucking billionaires have managed to sidestep every democratic protection in our Constitution to wage financial war on everyone but themselves.

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wreck's avatar

"The same agreement included another section that prohibited any Capitol displays that might be seen as “obscene.”"

"gratuitous violence or gore are not permitted at the Capitol Complex"

So no crucifixes then. Right?

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Gwen's avatar

Seriously! If anything, a certain religion which glorifies torture is the one that is inappropriate for children (or indeed, anybody else).

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Joe King's avatar

Iowa is pissing on the Constitution! Send mops!

Time for the big guns. FFRF, ACLU, Americans United, etc. need to join TST on this one.

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larry parker's avatar

We're going to need a bigger slop bucket.

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beads's avatar

I'm sorry, but given the bent of history, that guy's zealous words about protecting children make me very uncomfortable about any situation in which he can interact with children, especially if he has access to one on one interaction. I think someone really should have a peek at his Internet history.

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NOGODZ20's avatar
5hEdited

No need to apologize. Betting a number of us had the same thought. The louder xtians are about "protecting children," the more someone needs to keep an eye on them. Seems not a day goes by that we are seeing yet another link to a religious fanatic who had their hands in the cookie jar.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

Accusations tend to be confessions with guys like Steen. It may not be universally true, but those "coincidences" happen more often than I like.

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Clint Woods's avatar

Iowa is an embarrassment in so many ways; but using children as a cudgel against freedom of thought is perhaps its worst look. Pathetic.

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larry parker's avatar

Good college basketball teams and decent football teams.

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regmeyer's avatar

Do not make up for their deep desire to return to the thinking of the 14th century.

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oraxx's avatar

Why are there ANY religious displays in the state capitol? Based on their relative body counts in the Old Testament, I never understood how Satan got labeled the bad guy. The OT God is the most horrible character in all of fiction. Evangelicals do not believe in anyone's freedom of religion other than their own.

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Gwen's avatar

Satan is the original rebel against tyranny. What could be more American?

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NOGODZ20's avatar
6hEdited

Xtian groomers strike again. Betting no drag queens or LGBTQs were involved in this attempt to silence TST.

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vibing.'s avatar

They cancelled a reading of Paradise Lost? Smh these republicans must hate Western Culture™️ and Christianity if they refuse to allow readings of classic Christian Western literature, daddy Trump please send B-2 Spirit

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Joe King's avatar

Their idea of western culture is limited to the KJV and country music.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Not all country music singers. I doubt they approve of Dolly Parton and Taylor Austin Dye.

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dammit barry's avatar

Because they are not properly hateful of any difference aka deviance.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

They’re actively rejecting Garth Brooks.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

But, they do have Jason Aldean in their cult.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Inconnu au bataillon.

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Zorginipsoundsor's avatar

He gained notoriety for his racist screed about Black Lives Matter.

https://youtu.be/b1_RKu-ESCY?list=RDb1_RKu-ESCY

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John Smith's avatar

And wwe wrestling, reality tv (more violent the better), football, hunting shows, Hollywood films (the more violent the better), and religious programming (evangelical).

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