A Deadly, Growing Menace

Satanism, or Devil worship, is on the increase, featuring animal and human sacrifice, sexual molestation, and other criminal acts. What do Satanists believe? And why does their religion have such appeal? Awake! answers these questions and also unmasks the person behind this frightful religion.

DO YOU grow faint from horror at the thought of adult humans stalking other humans and then, like hungry lions, killing their prey, drinking their blood, eating their heart and other body parts​—all in the name of religion?

Does it make you shudder to think of mothers and fathers offering their own children to be sexually molested by others, finally to be slaughtered on an altar before all onlookers for religious gratification?

Does it baffle you to think of men having sexual relations with corpses in funeral parlors to please a spirit creature they think is divine?

Does it numb your emotions when you read of young children killing their parents and then mutilating the bodies without remorse or compunction​—all to make the Devil happy?

Do you shake your head in utter disbelief at those who would dig into graves, stealing heads and dismembering finger joints so they can be worn in religious ceremonies?

What do you think of a religion that advocates that their 13- to 25-year-old female members be used for breeding purposes so their babies can be offered up in bloodletting sacrifices?

‘What will moviemakers think up next?’ you may be asking as you read this. ‘After all, it’s only make-believe,’ you may say. Ah, but is it?

What you have just read is real! It is not the figment of a screenwriter’s imagination. The events may have happened in your own town. If they have not already, there are growing fears that they will.

The religion that embraces as a part of its ceremonies the sacrificing of both animals and humans, the molesting of children, the rape of adolescent virgins, sexual promiscuity, and other such activities is called Satanism, or Devil worship. So bizarre, so apart from the norm, are the practices of Satanism that many officials and citizens alike refuse to believe that people do these things as part of their worship.

The cult of Satanism, which only a few years ago had a relatively small following, has become a growing, deadly menace. “Satanism is the cult of the ’80’s,” reported one San Francisco police officer. “Satanism is part of Australia’s organised crime,” said one of that country’s leading crime experts. “I estimate it has a hard core of 20,000 followers throughout Australia, actively involved in Satan worship, sexual orgies, the sacrifice of animals and perhaps even human beings. I believe this movement is also behind the list of missing children and is heavily into drugs and the desecration of cemeteries.”

Satanic cult groups are usually organized into covens, consisting of from 9 to 13 members each​—perhaps more, depending on circumstances. Authorities estimate that in the United States, there were approximately 10,000 covens in 1946; 48,000 by 1976; and 135,000 by 1985. How many of these covens are nonviolent and who try to distance themselves from those that are not is not known. According to the March 7, 1986, National Catholic Reporter, “there are 150 active covens” in the city of El Paso, Texas, “with 2,000 satanists of all ages.” And the Pennsylvania State Police Bulletin reports: “Satanism is on the rise in America. Hardly a day passes without reports of violent acts conducted by Satanists.”

Moreover, Satanism boasts a membership made up of people from respected professions of the world​—doctors, lawyers, businessmen, policemen, nuns, priests, housewives, and military personnel. However, with dramatic results, new members have been recruited from high schools and college campuses around the world. Therefore, in many places today, teenage groups make up the majority of coven members.

The New Zealand Herald of August 26, 1988, reported: “Teenagers as young as 14 were being lured into the world of Satanism.” Said one Canadian official: “The kids who are . . . dabbling in Satanism are just as much of a threat as the more hard-core (Satanists).”

Reporting on the many youths serving time in a Canadian detention center, one employee said: “I’m amazed at how many of these kids are Satanists. They tattoo Satanic symbols on themselves, they conduct rituals, they actually believe in the devil.”

An 18-year-old female inmate agreed that Satanism is very popular with her peers. One Canadian youth admitted that he belonged to a 400-member Satanic cult operating in Alberta. “Teenage devil-worshippers should not be dismissed lightly,” said one Canadian expert on crime.

Members of the cult make a strong lifetime commitment to the group, which includes a strict vow of secrecy. “Members are not allowed to disassociate themselves from the group after having been exposed to their various criminal activities,” reports The National Sheriff. “A member breaking the code of secrecy places his life and the lives of his family in serious jeopardy,” the magazine added. “[They] are programmed not to tell,” said one Chicago authority. “If they do, they are programmed to kill themselves.”

Coven members also try to remain anonymous and unknown to law-enforcement officials. “They believe,” said one source, “their evil criminal acts will not be rewarded by Satan if they are identified and prosecuted by authorities.” Thus, it is often by mere chance that a satanic cult is identified as being the perpetrator of a crime. It has only been in recent years that some law-enforcement agencies have come to identify telltale signs left at the scene of fatal crimes with signal occult involvement​—for example, pages of a Bible upside-down with crosses drawn in the dirt nearby or the number 666 etched with the blood of the victim.

Why, though, the use of violence in the name of their religion? Consider some shocking reasons in the next article.

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Hard to Believe​—But True

“Bulletin,” a publication of the missing persons unit of the Pennsylvania State Police, reports: “Investigators may find it difficult to believe the strange and bizarre tales of criminal acts being committed by persons wearing priestly robes and adorned with symbols of the devil.”

Yet, according to the Bulletin: “Hardly a day passes without reports of violent acts conducted by satanists. Across the country law enforcement organizations are receiving reports of homicide, mayhem, assault, suicide, child abuse and animal mutilations that are linked with the satanic cult.”

Crusade of Violence​—Why?

SATANISM, or Devil worship, dates back to the time of the first humans. It was the disguised presence of Satan in the garden of Eden that led the first human pair away from their Creator, Jehovah God. (Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:9) It forever marked them as being the first allies of Satan.

During the millenniums that have followed, Satanism has raised its ugly occult head in various forms​—witchcraft, black magic, the casting of demonic spells, and many others. Deceitfully, however, the name of Satan and the identity of his worship have generally been kept anonymous from its adherents and practitioners.

Since the turn of the 20th century, there has been an open and flagrant revival of satanic worship, and today it has invaded many parts of the world. Satanism has appeared on the religious scene with a bold new image. No longer is it cloaked in anonymity, with a whitewashed appearance of benevolence. Rather, Satan is worshiped in the most violent ways imaginable.

One of the early founders of Satanism in this century was an Englishman named Aleister Crowley. In 1905, in Los Angeles, California, Crowley organized a Satanism group named “Ordo Templi Orientis.” Soon he became the accepted leader of a growing cult. In his Book of Law, Crowley advocated a new formula of religious belief: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole law.” It was from this philosophy that Crowley advocated the violation of every moral code and Bible principle known to man. Murder, violence, rape, and human sacrifice thus became a part of religious ritual.

On human sacrifice, Crowley wrote: “For nearly all purposes human sacrifice is the best, and a male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence is the most satisfactory and suitable victim.” Crowley once referred to himself as the “wickedest man in the world.” After spending time in an insane asylum, he reportedly died a heroin addict in a cheap rooming house in England.

Unfortunately, however, Crowley’s philosophy of freedom “to do what one pleases” in the name of religion did not die with him. Notice this observation by one writer: “The shade of Aleister Crowley looms large in the [Los Angeles area], but his excesses pale into insignificance compared to today’s devil worshippers.”

Allegiance to the Devil

It is the belief of Satan worshipers that the Devil rules the world. Furthermore, according to Robert J. Barry, writing in The National Sheriff, “when the end of the world comes, the forces of Lucifer will overpower the forces of God and Christ and will rule in heaven. Therefore, the Satanist pledges allegiance to the devil, not only for his assistance in this world, but in the world to come.”

Other Satan worshipers are said to believe that “Christ and Satan have joined forces to bring about the end of the world.” Christ is said by one satanic cult to use Satan as a hit man. Thus, according to Maury Terry, in his book The Ultimate Evil, “worshipping Satan was akin to worshipping Christ. And killing in the name of Satan was actually killing for Christ: a divine mission.”

It was Aleister Crowley who said that he wanted, as part of the cult’s religious doctrine and practices, “blasphemy, murder, rape, revolution, anything bad.” Indeed, one cult leader heralded the clarion call: “THOU SHALT KILL!” And it is obvious that this is exactly what members of satanic cults have been doing.

One person explained their reasons for violence: “Rapes are for the purpose of deflowering a virgin, which has special significance for Satan worshippers. Arson is a symbol of the great conflagration, or Armageddon, and murders are to spread confusion and to fulfill the prophecy in Daniel: ‘But the wicked shall do wickedly.’”

A look into the tenets of certain Satan worshipers also reveals that they believe that Adolf Hitler deserves to be worshiped. In fact, one writer said: “They look upon the destruction wrought by Hitler as a warm-up of what’s coming​—and they want to be in on the big event.”

What is the rationale behind the exaltation of Hitler? Investigative reporter Maury Terry explains that one reason “was a numerology timetable in which each letter of the alphabet was assigned a number. Under this system, A equaled 100 and Z was matched with 125. The numbers which corresponded to the letters in Hitler’s last name (107, 108, 119, 111, 104, 117) added to 666​—the number of the great beast of the biblical book of Revelation. The devil’s number.”

This helps explain the wide use of the number 666, painted on walls of coven meeting places or public walls and bridges. The letters HT and HH are said to stand for Hitler, and the German SS lightning bolts are said to symbolize “heaven to hell, strength.” The swastika is also used by Satanists. “All are marks of the beast, Satan-Hitler, whom they serve,” said one insider.

Meetings Bring Violence

There are reportedly over 20 special occasions for coven meetings during the year. Many coincide with so-called Christian celebrations. This is in keeping with what they view as a means to desecrate all that is considered good or holy. Halloween is a major satanic holiday. The meetings, or sabbats, are held in secret locations, which may change according to circumstances. “Before each coven meeting,” wrote Terry, “Satan has to be appeased by the rape of a virgin [young girl], a holocaust [arson], or the ritual murder of a person or animal.”

The sacrifice of dogs and cats is big with the cult. In one location near New York City, for example, 85 skinned German shepherds and Dobermans were found in one 12-month period, all thought to be the work of Satanists. Often, body parts are removed and consumed in the belief that they possess magical powers. Blood is passed around and drunk from silver chalices stolen from churches​—all as part of the worship of Satan. Of course, a human sacrifice is considered the supreme offering that pleases him more. And he is often appeased in this manner.

But who is this Satan? Does he really exist? Or is he only the figment of a fevered imagination?

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Sacrificing to Appease the Devil

Last April the world was shocked by the discovery of the remains of more than a dozen men who had been sacrificially murdered outside the Mexican city of Matamoros, near the Texas border. Time magazine reported:

“To ingratiate themselves with the devil, the killers boiled the brains and hearts of their victims, mixing the concoction with leg and arm bones and animal heads. So vicious were the devil worshipers that it took two pathologists . . . almost four days to complete the autopsies.”

The Devil worshipers believed they would receive protection from their god by appeasing him with human sacrifices. A police lieutenant said that the killers prayed to the devil “so the police would not arrest them, so bullets would not kill them and so they could make more money.”

Satan Behind the Mask

TODAY, Satan is receiving worldwide attention. Reams have been written in newspapers, magazines, and religious tracts about him. Radio and television programs have been devoted to the religion that bears his name.

“Satan,” written forward and backward, can be seen on public benches, painted on bridges and walls of abandoned buildings and storefronts, and whitewashed on plate-glass windows. The lure and subsequent entrapment of people, especially youths, into the religion that bears the name Satan has become phenomenal.

In spite of the widespread publicity, however, there are diverse opinions regarding who, or what, Satan really is. To many, including his most devout followers, Satan is cloaked in anonymity. “It runs the gamut,” said a professor of religion, “all the way from people who believe in a literal person who is Satan to the other extreme of those who believe this a symbolic figure of speech and who simply dismiss the idea.”

When another professor of religion at a Baptist theological seminary characterized Satan as ‘God’s servant,’ rather than His archenemy, it touched off a religious furor. Many phone calls and letters to the church’s publishing company protested this interpretation. “If Satan is accepted as a servant of God,” said one conservative Baptist minister, “then that makes God our adversary.” However, another Baptist minister and professor of religion countered with the observation that Baptist board members “have not taken a poll to see what is the official Baptist position” on Satan.

Actually, the members of many churches do not really know what their religion teaches about Satan. One newspaper writer observed: “Few churches have a doctrine stating what their members should believe about Satan, so the subject becomes intensely personal.” Some even teach that the Devil simply represents the evil within us. For example, Presbyterian minister A. D. Ellison claims that Jesus was tempted in the desert, not by some supernatural satanic being, but by his own self-centeredness.

It is no wonder that church members are in doubt as to the identity of Satan, since their religious leaders are in doubt as well.

Who He Is

The Scriptures, however, are very clear and emphatic regarding who Satan is. Almighty God created many spirit creatures who have access to him in the heavens and who are his servants. The Bible reveals that when God “founded the earth,” creating it for future human habitation, “all the sons of God [angelic spirit creatures] began shouting in applause.” (Job 38:4, 7) In time, one of these angels turned against his Creator, becoming a rebel, an opposer.

This original opposer, or Satan (meaning “Resister”), was the one who used a serpent as a mouthpiece when speaking to Eve to induce her to disobey God. (Genesis 3:1-6) That is why he is also called “the original serpent.” (Revelation 12:9) Jesus himself said of Satan: “That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him.” (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8) Jesus thus identified Satan as one who once enjoyed God’s favor but who rebelled against Jehovah God.

Although some say that the Devil refers simply to an abstract principle of evil, the qualities and actions attributed to Satan in the Bible can be attributed only to a person. Indeed, the Bible shows that Satan is a real, invisible spirit person whose avowed purpose is to turn mankind away from serving the Creator, Jehovah God. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus could not have been tempted by a mere quality of evil or ‘his own self-centeredness.’ For evil, or selfishness, could not dwell within Jesus, since the Bible makes it clear that Jesus was “guileless, undefiled, separated from the sinners.”​—Hebrews 7:26; Luke 4:1-13.

Quest for Power

Satan rebelled against God in a quest for power, out of a desire to rule over others, to be their god, to be worshiped. (2 Corinthians 4:4) To Adam and Eve he offered power and freedom​—“to be like God” in making their own decisions as to what is good and bad, right and wrong. (Genesis 3:5) Power and freedom are what Satan still offers his worshipers.

Thus, a teenage Satanist named Sean, who had just murdered his parents and a third victim, wrote: “I am free. I can kill without remorse.” At another time he wrote in his own blood: “I renounce God, I renounce Christ, I will serve only Satan . . . Hail Satan.”

Randy Shores, a teenager and former member of a satanic cult explained: “It was great then, that you had all that power.” Shores emphasized that ‘power was the lure, the power that comes from the group to protect you, from the rituals and spells done to harm someone else, and from the secrecy.’

Yes, there is the belief among many of Satan’s worshipers that he will provide power to those who follow his teachings. And the understanding of some satanic worshipers is that this means power to murder without retribution. The publicized murders by worshipers of Satan reveal that they really believe that by murder they can ingratiate themselves with the Devil. So there is need to take seriously the growing menace of satanic worship.

Do Not Be Deceived

Remember, Satan is real. He is not the figment of someone’s imagination. His greatest delight is to discredit God and His Word, the Bible, and to entrap as many as he can in his web of destruction. But God has already initiated action against Satan, authorizing his removal from the heavens to the confines of the earth. Satan’s confinement to earth has no doubt been a factor in the recent revival of Satanism.​—Revelation 12:7-12.

Parents need to be attentive. In many cases when children have embraced Satanism, it was because their parents did not give them the love and attention they needed. The children resented the seeming abandonment and became easy prey for satanic recruiters.

Happily, however, the end of Satan and his influence is near. Soon he and all his followers will suffer defeat and total destruction. The great God, Jehovah, whom Satan and his demons have boastfully defied, will use his Warrior-King, Jesus Christ, to put these wicked persons out of the way. (1 John 3:8; Revelation 20:1-3, 10) In the meantime, may you be among those who resist Satan and find protection in the loving brotherhood of the organized worshipers of the true God, Jehovah.

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Source of True Protection

In a letter to The Times Herald Record of Middletown, New York, a man described how he became involved in seeking occult powers. He had been enticed by the writings of two psychotherapists who had compiled a recipe for acquiring these powers. “I eagerly followed the recipe,” he explained, “but paid for it by six weeks of nightly terror.

“Fortunately,” he continued, “two [of] Jehovah[’s] Witnesses advised me, among other things, to pray to Jehovah and this I did nightly when I started experiencing strange sensations.” What were the results?

“On the last night of terror,” he said, “whatever was possessing me relinquished its grip . . . After that time, I’ve had no more bad experiences.” This person learned, as he wrote the newspaper, that “God condemns participants in occult practices (Deuteronomy 18:10-13).”​—February 27, 1988.

The above scripture De 18:10-13 says in part: “There should not be found in you . . . anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer, or one who binds others with a spell or anyone who consults a spirit medium or a professional foreteller of events or anyone who inquires of the dead. For everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah.”

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Parents, Watch for Signs

Because of the appeal of Devil worship to youths, parents should be alert to signs that their children may be involved. An authority on satanic cults, Evon Peterson, advised:

“They (youth) need someone to believe in them. . . . They’re begging for someone to pay attention to them . . . to listen to them. The cults are very good at listening. If the parents aren’t there, the cultists are.”

Angelo Pierri, a counselor in New Jersey, warns: “I know you’re probably saying, ‘it’s just a fad,’ but that’s exactly what the satanists want you to think. They don’t want to be exposed. They don’t want light shed on their activities.”

It is especially vital to observe the music that young people listen to. Much of today’s heavy metal rock music is saturated with satanic messages and symbolism. “It is extremely perverted,” Peterson notes, “with messages to kill and hurt. It fills the kid’s needs to act out violence.”

Last year a 14-year-old New Jersey youth stabbed his mother to death and then killed himself. Posters of heavy metal rock musicians covered the walls of his room. The boy’s father pleaded afterward: “Tell parents to watch what music their children listen to.” He said that the entire week before the killings, his son had sung a rock song “about blood and killing your mother.”

Indeed, Satanism is a deadly, growing menace. The first step in combating it is to be informed. Then confront it. Yes, the Bible is correct when it says that we have a fight “against the wicked spirit forces.” (Ephesians 6:12) Satan and his demons really do exist, and they are behind all these devilish practices.