Subtitled “The Unnatural History of Satanism,” this is a
very evenhanded discussion of social frenzies that have taken place throughout
history, centered on the concept of organized worship of the Devil.
Medway very
candidly explains in the Introduction that he doesn’t necessarily subscribe
even to the existence of a “personal” Satan.
“I am a Pagan and a priest of Themis in the Fellowship of Isis” (page
8). He writes with a dry style that generally
allows human foolishness to demonstrate itself.
And what
fools these mortals be, as amply demonstrated by the copious narrations in this
historical narration. Medway provides
many depressing examples of the behavior of a certain type of human: Scandalized, narrow-minded people who believe
that Satan is so powerful that Earth is filled with his willing servants.
The general
idea of the censorious masses is that Satan is real, powerful, and served by
several organized groups that throughout history have used such devices as
drugs, intimidation, sex, and human sacrifice to further his evil plans.
Medway does a
good job of describing Satanist scares in the Old World and New. Often one or two people will stir up trouble
by claiming to have just escaped the clutches of a terrible Satanic cult that
practices child abuse and bloodletting.
Well-intentioned, worried citizens are frightened and are often able to
induce the police or social services to “investigate.” Over and over again, children are browbeat or
cajoled into making statements that the now-obsessed “investigators” interpret
as giving substance to the allegations that were made up by the
attention-seekers, and amplified by the insecure fears of those who listened to
them.
Sadly, even though
there is no objective proof of the allegations invented by the meddlers, people
have been jailed for decades for crimes that didn’t happen.
The McMartin case
of the 1980s is just one well-known example.
Of course,
there are bad people. Of course, some
bad people hurt children. But there
really has never been any evidence of any organized group of cultists that does
the kind of things alleged by the provocateurs.
As thoroughly
footnoted by Medway, nearly all of the Satanist scares are provoked by liars,
cheats, and shysters. Sincerely
well-meaning people are somehow tipped over the edge of concern into meddling,
persecution, and even criminal behavior to “protect” the supposed child
victims.
“Anti-Satanists
have claimed that the Lord has told them, by way of the Holy Spirit, to kill
witches, to give the wrong treatment to hospital patients, and to accuse
innocent people of serious sexual abuse.
They really ought to ask themselves if they are sure they have heard
their divine instructions correctly” (p375).
Beginning
with Biblical tales and early church fathers’ battles with the devil, the book
tells selected tales of supposed “deals with the devil,” witch hunts provoked
by for-profit results, and the psychology of a society’s fear of those who live
on the fringes of acceptability.
You may know
that part of the charm of the Inquisition (begun in France in the 12th
Century) for the ruling class was that the accuser was often the recipient of
the accused’s worldly goods. Or
sometimes the Catholic hierarchy took the spoils. Torture proved exactly what it wanted to
prove, and hey presto! Another “servant of the devil” had been removed from the
streets.
After
extended purges of a locale, the available sources of money began to dry up,
and things tapered off for a while. As
one author lamented in 1360, “In our days there are no more rich heretics; so
that princes, not seeing much money in prospect, will not put themselves to any
expense; it is a pity that so salutary an institution as ours should be
uncertain of its future” (p131).
The typical modern-day
scare story, as narrated by proven fakers like
Mike
Warnke or
Michelle
Smith, involves the narrator falling into an organized group of people who
claim immense power.
A ritual is involved
involving dozens or hundreds of people, and the ritual usually involves death,
sex, or both.
Many of the stories tell
of the sacrifice of babies produced by “breeders” strictly for this purpose.
Most of the
problems with these bits of scary fluff arise when you look at them with an eye
for logistics. After much investigation
of many similar tales, no evidence has been found to back them up -- no
suddenly vanishing pregnancies; no sacrificed bodies have been found, even when
diggers were told where to look; no parking lots full of cars where the rituals
supposedly happened; and certainly no documentation of the supposed wealth and
influence of Satan’s people.
This book is
a very evenhanded look at hysteria, attention-seeking behavior, and
narrowmindedness. One observation from
the Christian side: If the so-called
Christian church can’t get along, what makes people think that the Father of
Lies can coordinate a millennia-old system?
Especially since that system seems to recruit losers, like the
tattletales who squeal on him.
In a
discussion about censorship, Medway makes an observation that I can agree
with.
As narrated on page 299, somebody
protested that a Plymouth (England) school library contained a history book
called
Witches
and Their Craft. As Medway
says, “In effect, the complaint is that books of historical information are
available.
It could be asked: Why stop
there?
So much of history is a list of
wars, massacres, assassinations, executions, plagues, famines, and so on, any
one of which might affect sensitive children, that one might as well ban the
subject altogether.”
We can all
agree that there is a perfectly human behavior that is expressed by rebellion,
acting out, and deliberate misbehavior.
This applies to adults who derive satisfaction from tweaking their staid
neighbors’ sensibilities, as well as to kids who deliberately outrage their
parents by claiming to worship Satan.
When these
offended ones react with persecution, it dismays me. Lives have been ruined, because of this
frenzy. It is doubly atrocious when acts
of violence and wrath have been committed by so-called Christians. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, a person’s
actions will demonstrate the kind of person they are.
These
examples show the petty, narrow minds of insecure people, people who certainly
show no signs of enjoying the peace of God in their hearts. Folks that perpetrate acts of persecution in
the name of God are simply insulting him, and damaging his kingdom. I’d like to ask these self-righteous
folks: If God is all-powerful, then why
do you have to guard him like a piece of breakable crystal?
No matter how
much mud you throw at the moon, the moon is still just fine.
As I
understand him, God is indeed strong enough to take a few insults. When our local “church of Satan” decides to
put on a ritual, it comes across to me much like a kid thumbing his nose at the
school principal in summertime. It’s
done as much to provoke or get attention as anything else. When certain “church leaders” fall for the
bait and amplify the publicity by professing outrage, to me that shows a little
lack of conviction in their own faith.
God has promised to set all things right, and he probably doesn’t need
me to tell him how to do it.
My job is to
do the right thing as I see it, to help people, and to tell them, when they
ask, that my motivation is to show God’s love.
Read this
book and despair at Man’s inhumanity to Man.
As this history of persecution shows, we don’t need a Devil to make hell
for others.
[NB: I believe that a devil exists, and that there
are plenty of evil influences. But my
job is to dwell on God and his service.]
