Satanic panic

The usual suspects are now up in arms because Fox is going to air a show about Lucifer (aka the devil) getting bored with ruling over hell and deciding to open his own nightclub in Los Angeles where, no doubt, shenanigans ensue.

Lucifer’s official website describes the program as the story of a fallen angel who has “abandoned his throne and retired to L.A., where he owns Lux, an upscale nightclub.”

One Million Moms laments on its website that previews of Fox’s upcoming TV program, “depict graphic acts of violence, a nightclub featuring scantily-clad women, and a demon.”

Ah, seems like only yesterday, very concerned Christians were terrifying a young Dread with tales of Satan and demons hiding in rock and roll music, Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Dungeons and Dragons.

And it seems like only a few years back, that very concerned Christians were worried the devil was hiding in dem Harry Potter witchcraft novels with magic spells the kiddies would learn that would open portals to hell!

Fear. Fear. Fear. Be  afraid, people. Only by listening and obeying us can you be safe. Fear!

Same tune. Different target.

Maybe Fox should put a disclaimer at the start of every episode explaining how Lucifer/Satan/The Devil is a mythological construct of an entity whose being borrows from various chaos god legends, God’s destroying angel, Zoroastrianism, and early apocalyptic Judean literature. With links to page off the show’s homepage that contains the references detailing the evolution of the devil.

Somehow I think the Million Moms would see that as being worse than whatever ends up being in the show.

My name is Stan! Stan!

And this happened:

In a clip posted online this week, a man appears to have walked in on an exorcism taking place outside a Starbucks in Austin, Texas.

“All your legions of poison – OUT!” the person leading the exorcism says to someone sitting in a chair, who convulses slightly as he appears to spit his legions of poison into a Starbucks cup.

As in any internet video, it could all be a hoax, though I’ve seen enough (and talked to enough) of my fellow Christians who literally see the devil in everything and believe that any temptation or moral weakness is evidence of demonic oppression instead of just a part of being a normal human being.

Besides I really like the idea of some schlub named Stan waiting for his latte only to have it written down (and called out) as Satan by the barista, and before he can even take a drink, he’s quickly accosted by a group of charismatic Christians trying to drive the prince of darkness out of the poor businessman who just wanted a damn low-fat carmel macchiato.