~~Enlarge PhotoThis artist’s rendering provided by the Satanic Temple shows a proposed monument ... more > <a href="http://us-ads.openx.net/w/1.0/rc?cs=5283af09c9452&cb=2124038224" ><img src="http://us-ads.openx.net/w/1.0/ai?auid=444989&cs=5283af09c9452&cb=2124038224" border="0" alt=""></a> Story TopicsReligion_BeliefSatanic TempleLucien GreavesAmerican Civil Liberties UnionOklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission    Follow Us OnfacebookFacebook  Question of the DayWill Va. Gov. Terry McAuliffe stick to his "progress over ideology" pledge?  Yes  No  Undecided  Other  Login to VoteView resultsIt was a devilishly clever scheme.Last week, the New York-based Satanic Temple garnered a lot of free publicity by releasing a drawing of a proposed statue of Satan at the Oklahoma state Capitol to be placed near a Ten Commandments monument.They probably won't get to actually install it, since most Oklahomans can still distinguish between good and evil, and wouldn't put up with such an abomination.Besides, the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission has a moratorium on requests for additions to the Capitol grounds pending an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit over — what else? — the Ten Commandments. So the Satanic Temple probably has already gotten its maximum mileage out of this stunt.It's rare that the devil's disciples come out of the closet so openly. Usually, they mask their real work of undermining the moral order by slyly distorting societal goods, such as freedom of speech or equal rights under the law. Or they twist Scripture, claiming that Jesus, who saved an adulterous woman from stoning and told her to sin no more, would be indifferent to the latest perversities or even endorse them.The drawing, by the way, should send shivers down the backs of any unsuspecting parents who happen to view it. A horned, goat-headed figure that goes by the moniker "Baphomet" (is that his Facebook handle, too?) sits beneath a pentagram with two smiling children next to him. His lap functions as a chair "where people of all ages may sit ... for inspiration and contemplation," explains temple spokesman Lucien Greaves. Maybe on a hot day in August, when the weather conforms more closely to Baphomet's usual haunts.Somehow, "contemplation" doesn't seem to fit the Satanists' professed program of freeing humanity from all moral restraints so people can get on with trading their souls for momentary pleasures.It's a far cry from the scene in Mathew 19:14, in which Jesus rebukes his followers for trying to shoo away some youngsters whose parents had brought for Him to lay hands on and pray for them: "'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.' When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there."So, who do you think that parents would rather have bless their children, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, by Whom "all things were made," or the unspeakably evil goat-man?The underlying premise behind the Satanic Temple's request is a false claim of equality. In the name of this vastly abused concept that once fueled the righteous aims of the civil rights movement, America is awash in moral confusion.The Justice Department embraces openly racist policies — in the name of equality. The Internal Revenue Service operates what amounts to an organized theft system in which it seizes earnings from some people and give it to others — in the name of equality. "Marriages" lacking one entire sex are said to be identical to the real thing — in the name of equality. The Pentagon is pushing female soldiers and Marines toward direct combat — in the name of equality.For years, some liberals saw no real moral difference in the nuclear-arms race between the free West and the communist world, despite the latter's network of slave-labor camps and extermination of more than 100 million people. The two sides were equally at fault; "two scorpions in a bottle." Today, some equate Christian conservatives with the Taliban because, after all, both are motivated by "religion."Along these lines, a lot of people have the mistaken idea that God and Satan are the flip sides of each other, roughly equal. They might have gotten this from cartoons in which a character such as Donald Duck has a little devil on one shoulder and a little angel on the other, both trying to persuade him to either embrace or avoid a temptation. The little devil usually wins.Another misnomer is that even though God created all things, including taste buds, it's the devil who came up with devil's food cake, or anything tasty or fun. The devil cannot create anything; he can only pervert what God has created. Confused people all too often are giving the devil credit for things not of his making.Is something beautiful? Thank God. Does something taste good? Thank God. Does something feel good? Thank God. Does the thing in question lead to a bad outcome? Thank the devil, who did not invent sensual pleasure, just many ways to misuse it.Why would anyone erect a monument to a false god whose purpose is to lay waste to human souls? Oh, right — in the name of equality.Robert Knight is senior fellow for the American Civil Rights Union and a columnist for The Washington Times.Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/12/knight-playing-the-satanic-game-of-equality/#ixzz2qOe6exc4Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter