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| Britain |
| The devil (worship) and the deep blue sea |
| 2004-10-25 |
| A devil-worshipping non-commissioned officer in the Royal Navy has become the first registered Satanist in the British Armed Forces. Chris Cranmer, a naval technician serving on the Type 22 frigate Cumberland, has been officially recognised as a Satanist by the ship's captain. That allows him to perform Satanic rituals aboard and permits him to have a funeral carried out by the Church of Satan should he be killed in action. Ldg Hand Cranmer is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make Satanism a registered religion in the Armed Forces so that Satanists can join up without "fear of marginalisation and the necessity to put up with Christian dogma". Mr Cranmer, who has been aboard the Cumberland's tour of duty in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf since April, said that being registered as a Satanist gave him "the freedom of religion I wanted despite its controversial nature". Satanists are encouraged to perform rituals in worship of the Devil, to fulfil their sexual desires and to change situations or events in accordance with their will. Ritual trappings can include a black robe, an altar, the symbol of Baphomet (Satan), candles, a bell, a sword, a gong and a model phallus. Mr Cranmer, 24, is single and from Edinburgh. He has been in the Navy for four years and was promoted leading hand - the naval equivalent of corporal - in July last year. He told The Telegraph that he realised he was a Satanist nine years ago when he "stumbled across The Satanic Bible. I then read more and came to realise I'd always been a Satanist, just simply never knew." He added that he had been "warmly congratulated" by his friends and family for becoming the Armed Forces' first Satanist but did not feel that the war in Iraq was "the Devil's work". |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #7 Have none of you considered that the White House's "office of faith based giving" is completely and legally obliged to provide funding to the Church of Satan just like any other religious organization? Welcome to the logical extension of blurring all boundaries between church and state. Anyone who blindly supports the republican party deserves this in spades. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-10-26 12:54:39 AM |
| #6 As Winnie was wont to say "Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash." A Satanist should be in quite at home amongst them. |
| Posted by: tipper 2004-10-25 6:23:47 PM |
| #5 Yeah - young Seaman Smythe is looking mighty nervous... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-25 3:27:45 PM |
| #4 wait'll he asks for a virgin to sacrifice.... |
| Posted by: Elmuling Snath5117 2004-10-25 3:26:04 PM |
| #3 "You won't mind if the other lads beat you like a cheap rug after lights-out, will you Seaman Hornsby?" |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-10-25 11:32:48 AM |
| #2 I have to wonder what this means for discipline having a man aboard with beliefs which puts himself first and foremost and who believes that personal vengence should be practiced. In most situations his self interest would coincide with the interests of his ship mates since he must cooperate and work with them to survive a battle situation. But what about taking bribes or spying for an enemy for cash? What if he forms a grudge against a shipmate? His value system in each case would see nothing wrong with getting rich at the expense of others or in "punishing" the crew mate in some fashion. Its a bad idea to allow this guy to serve when his morals are directly and deliberately contradictory to the moral system of his miltary branch and a majority of his shipmates. For the sake of his crewmates, I hope he is never in a situation where he sees that his best interests lie in a different direction from the interests of his country. |
| Posted by: peggy 2004-10-25 11:12:57 AM |
| #1 If you'll pardon the expression, what the hell were they thinking? This is quite simply looniness of the highest order, and unbecoming the Royal Navy. |
| Posted by: V is for Victory 2004-10-25 8:04:16 AM |