'Gorgeous' Oklahoma Satanic monument now funded

08 January 2014 - 15:49 By Times LIVE
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An illustration of The Satanic Temple's proposed monument. File photo.
An illustration of The Satanic Temple's proposed monument. File photo.
Image: The Satanic Temple

An online campaign seeking to fund a Satanic monument in Oklahoma City has reached its $20 000 target with ten days to spare.

The monument has, as of writing, received $22 035 on its indiegogo funding campaign.

According to a press release from The Satanic Temple the monument was proposed following the city's decision to install one dedicated to the Biblical ten commandments.

"The statue will serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures. The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation,” Lucien Greaves, the temples spokesman said in its application.

“Our monument celebrates an unwavering respect for the Constitutional values of religious freedom and free expression. Satanism is a fundamental component at the genesis of American liberty.

"Medieval witch-hunts taught us to adopt presumption of innocence, secular law, and a more substantive burden of proof.

"Today, we are rightly offended by the notion of blasphemy laws and divine fiats. Acknowledging wrongful persecutions has helped shape the legal system that preserves the sovereignty of our sceptics, heretics, and the misunderstood. It has shaped a proud culture of tolerance and free inquiry. This is to be a historical marker commemorating the scapegoats, the marginalised, the demonised minority, and the unjustly outcast,” Greaves said in a statement.

According to atheist blogger and poet the Digital Cuttlefish, the monument is "gorgeous".

"It’s far more aesthetically pleasing than the old Ten Commandments monument. And, frankly, much more than the atheist bench in Florida." he wrote in his blog.

The monument will have a fair bit of time to wait before it can be approved however, as according to Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist, the city has placed a moratorium on monuments while it deals with the lawsuits sparked by the first one.

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