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| Britain |
| British Navy approves first ever 'Satanist' |
| 2004-10-24 |
| The British Armed Forces has officially recognised its first registered Satanist, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, has been allowed to register by the captain of HMS Cumberland, based at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. The move will mean that he will now be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board the vessel. According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cranmer realised he was a Satanist nine years ago. Mr Cranmer said that was when he stumbled across a copy of the Satanic Bible, written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey. He said: "I then read more and more and came to realise I'd always been a Satanist, just simply never knew." Mr Cranmer, who is from Edinburgh, is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make Satanism a registered religion in the armed forces. Former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe said she was "utterly shocked" by the Royal Navy's decision. "Satanism is wrong. Obviously the private beliefs of individuals anywhere, including the armed forces, are their own affair but I hope it doesn't spread." She added: "The Navy should not permit Satanist practices on board its ships". Here, here! "God himself gives free will, but I would like to think that if somebody applied to the Navy and said they were a Satanist today it would raise its eyebrows somewhat." A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "We are an equal opportunities employer and we don't stop anybody from having their own religious values." |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #11 are they have revs from ntive american church in the navy? whoa! shoot off another! afterburners smell so good! save me some steam.... |
| Posted by: half 2004-10-24 8:04:56 PM |
| #10 What's next? The Cult of François Alcasan's head? |
| Posted by: Korora 2004-10-24 8:03:55 PM |
| #9 AC, I had totally missed that in the first reading. It's not a common name. Someone, please, tell me this guy is not related to Thomas Cranmer |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-24 6:05:00 PM |
| #8 Sailors are a superstitious lot to this day, so this is not likely to go over well with Cranmer's shipmates. The US Army has Satanist chaplains, and official instructions for Satanic rituals. I too met Anton Lavey once. He was a charming chap in person and definitely did not seem a good candidate for sacrificing virgins or conjuring up hurricanes and the like ("converting" virgins would be a different story). It was obvious that his evil "church" was a heavy-handed and long running secularist joke. I think Anton did not realize, and was reluctant to acknowledge, that his silly doctrines would be seized upon and taken seriously by impressionable and criminal-minded young sociopaths. There are real devil-worshippers in the world, if violence, slavery, and duplicity as primary values are recognized as true manifestations of evil. I would also include the worship of celebrities and the media, built around devotion to a one-eyed idol, television, as a form of devil worship, since it is utterly devoid of any significant moral or constructive value. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-10-24 5:55:53 PM |
| #7 defile WRENS and drink unholy grog. I thought that's all they did in the RN. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-24 5:42:08 PM |
| #6 The guy's been given space to worship en warship. Wonder what satanists do in their sacred cubby hole? My guess: defile WRENS and drink unholy grog. The joke's definitely on the Navy... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-24 5:40:26 PM |
| #5 Penguin - The Satanic Bible is a scream. I've had one since the 1970's, though I haven't looked at it for years. More than once, some religious nut would knock on the door and tell me, "I've got a book for you." My response would be, "I've got a book for you," and bring out my copy of the Satanic Bible. They always turned white and left immediately, never to return. :-p Saved wear and tear not only on my nerves, but on the doorbell. (And no, I'm not a satanist.) It's a funny book if you don't take it seriously. If you do take it seriously, you need professional help. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-24 5:38:44 PM |
| #4 1. I bet the guy is an a-ganger. 2. I happen to be good friends with Anton Lavey's cousin (writer of the Satanic Bible) He was close to Anton, and knows that Anton did the whole thing as a joke. He probably would think this story is incredibly funny. 3. Better a satanist than an islamic fascist. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2004-10-24 5:28:48 PM |
| #3 The Queen is "The Defender of the Faith", but her jug-eared retarded son Charles has intimated that he would like to be known as "Defender of Faith". He also wants to change his name from Charles as that has connotations he would rather not have to widely known (the last King called Charles, was Charles II, and we beheaded him - and then buggered it up with the restoration a few decades later when we put another blue-blood on the throne ... sigh) |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2004-10-24 5:28:04 PM |
| #2 ah yes, moral equivalence at its' finest. I mean, who are we to judge if evil is evil, ight? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-24 5:21:47 PM |
| #1 Do they still describe the Queen as the Defender of the Faith or is it now the Defender of any Faith? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-24 4:56:43 PM |