"Sympathy for the Devil" is the title of the 1968 Rolling Stones song composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. "Sympathy for the Devil" could also be the title of the article written by Christopher Borrelli and published by the Chicago Tribune about The Satanic Temple's exhibition in the Illinois Capitol rotunda.
What is curious is that the article appeared on the front page of the Chicago Tribune's print edition on December 14, 2022. Front-page articles in a major newspaper are typically reserved for news, not opinion pieces. Christopher Borrelli clearly expresses his opinion when he writes: "It is the season of understanding. And who could need it more during this holiday time than Illinois' Satanists?".
In asserting the Satanists' right to the rotunda exhibition, Mr. Borrelli proclaims: "Say what you will about Satanists, they know the Constitution". To which I reply: Not so fast. The Constitution is not as simplistic as the Satanists may think.
I am a law school graduate and maintain my attorney license in the State of Illinois. As any lawyer can tell you, not all speech is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In the case of Schenck v. United States, decided in 1919 by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court ruled that distributing leaflets opposing the draft during World War I constituted a violation of the Espionage Act of 1917 (amended by the Sedition Act of 1918).
Writing on behalf of a unanimous court, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote:
"The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic… The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent."
This decision was partially modified by the Brandenburg v. Ohio ruling in 1969, in which the Supreme Court upheld constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press "except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action [e.g., a riot] and is likely to incite or produce such action."
Thus, there are many types of speech and expression that are not protected by law and are in fact punishable by law, such as defamation (slander if spoken, libel if written), conspiracy to commit a crime, and child pornography. The legality of "hate speech" has also been the subject of significant debate among legislators, legal practitioners, and legal scholars in recent years.
In 2003, in the case of Virginia v. Black, the Supreme Court upheld by a 6-3 vote a Virginia law making it illegal to burn a cross in public with the intent to intimidate others. Writing for the majority, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor held that, while cross burning was sometimes expressive, Virginia could ban it because it represented a "true threat," a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment.
Invoking Satan must be understood as a form of hate speech that constitutes a true threat to both individuals and society. Those who do not believe in a literal Satan, but rather think Satan is merely a literary metaphor, are unfortunately seduced by Satan's lies.
Jesus said this about Satan in the Gospel of John (8:44):
"He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
We should all reject the Devil's lies and turn to Christ, the way, the truth, and the life.
When the leader of The Satanic Temple claims that Satanism "is compatible with other religions," that its "fundamental tenets are moral values" such as "treating people with empathy," and that "these tenets should work in concert to inspire nobility in thought," he is simply lying like the Devil. True religion binds people to God and to one another in love of neighbor. Satan seeks to separate people from God and from one another.
The Rolling Stones at least got it right when they challenged listeners to guess the name behind Pontius Pilate's condemnation of Jesus to death, the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the Nazi blitzkrieg of World War II, and the Kennedy assassinations. Their answer?
"Call me Lucifer, 'cause I'm in need of some restraint. So if you meet me, have some courtesy, have some sympathy… or I'll lay your soul to waste."
The true meaning of Christmas is summed up in the Gospel of John (3:16): "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."
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Christians await eternal happiness with God in heaven. Those who worship Satan are condemned to suffer the pains of hell with the Evil One and his minions forever. People are free to choose.
I pray for the conversion of sinners and their eternal salvation.
This article was originally published in English by Catholic World Report (Article Link). It is republished and translated with the author's permission.