Hell on high seas?

[Nomadicalpirate]

I heard about a man in the navy who is a satanist, and due to satanism being a registered faith the law dictates that he is allowed to perform his religious rituals at work, and that he can't be fired on basis of religion.

Must be interesting out at sea playing war-games when during the night-watch some guy is out on the deck sacrificing a black goat and chanting to the dark gods.

[Bloody_Mary_Bonney]

you are ignorant arnt you?

[Nomadicalpirate]

I am passionate about history, boating and my woman.

I know little or nothing of modern religion (though I can hold my own in an argument about historical religion/s)

So if you think I have misrepresented something, you are probably right. I'm just re telling what was told to me.

It is Arn't or Are not.

Just some advice from an ignorant person

(For the pedants. Either the sentence should be re-arranged, or there should be a comma)

I also study semantics and social behaviours. So if you wish to discuss this further you can email me at Blackreadingkid@pyracy.com and we can expand our minds together.

**Don't worry about the end of the world, It is already tommorow in australia**

[Bloody_Mary_Bonney]

i apologize, i have always had massive problems with gramer and spelling. Also, i didn't mean to offend you in anyway and if i did i'm sorry its just that sacrificing goats is a little much for a joke.

[Rumba Rue]

Ah, let me try to set the record straight on this subject.

Wicca (the legal term for witchcraft) is now a legal and recognized religion in the military and has been for a long time.

Those of us who choose to follow the Mother Earth element are well accepted.

However there will always be that one or two idiots out there who think otherwise who give the rest of us a bad name.

Trust me there won't be any sacrifical anything except for the person doing so in the military, and in that case he'll be sacrificing his military career.

Rumba Rue

** **

[Bilgemunky]

Let's be careful about lumbing Wicca and Satanism together - think of them what you will, but most educated authorities would agree that they are NOT the same thing.

Wicca is now recognized by the military - but good luck communing with trees while deployed on a submarine in the Atlantic

I'm not so certain about Satanism, but from what I've seen Satanism tends to be more of a self-centered philosophy than an actual religion, anyways. This as opposed to Devil-worshippers - these are the folks generally sacrificing goats (and worse.) I suspect Devil-worship is NOT formally recognized by the military, but that's just a hunch.

[Nomadicalpirate]

The story as told to me included "Satanist"

If I had heard wiccan I wouldn't of mentioned it, I know plenty people who are into Wicca, both legitimately, and in a make-it-up-as-you-go way. I don't want to embarress myself here, but as far as I can tell Wicca is more a way of life, with a little bit of candle burning and prayer thrown in.

This whole satanist thing had crap about the "anti-bible" or somesuch, so I assume it's just some farce to suck in malcontent kids by telling them God is trying to stop them from having fun and ruin their lives.

point of interest:

Flicking through the ol' good book, chapter 22 of Exodus,

.if he have nothing, then he shall be solf for his theft.

seems to say, if you catch a thief, and he can't pay you back at least 4 times what he stole, you can sell him into slavery.

God loves everyone :angry:

[Desert Pyrate]

The Wikipedia article on Satanism

Not weighin' in one way or another... jus' sayin'...

[Lady Seahawke]

ok, first it is the British Military and not the US...next it is not Wicca, it is Satanism...here is the article

.THEIR GOVERNMENT AT WORK

Devil worship OK

aboard navy ships

War veterans stunned as officer gets permission to honor Satan

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Posted: October 24, 2004

5:26 p.m. Eastern

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

With headlines conjuring up "the devil and the deep blue sea," a non-commissioned officer in the Royal Navy has become the first registered Satanist in the British armed forces, leaving some veterans and politicians stunned.

Chris Cranmer, 24, from Edinburgh, Scotland, has been officially recognized as a Satanist by the captain of the HMS Cumberland, according to the London Telegraph.

The designation gives him permission to perform Satanic rituals aboard, and have a funeral carried out by the Church of Satan if he's killed in action.

"From a military perspective, I believe in vengeance," Cranmer told the paper. "I don't consider Satan to be an intelligently external force in my life; instead I consider it an empowering internal force. If I were asked if I were evil, I would say yes – by virtue of the common definition. However, if you asked my family and friends you would hear a resounding 'no.' I get a massive amount from my career, while sacrificing little."

Founded in San Francisco in 1966 by Anton LaVey, author of the Satanic Bible, the Church of Satan has its followers live by the Nine Satanic Statements, including "Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek," "Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they lead to physical, mental or emotional gratification," and "Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence."

The idea of putting a ship into devil worship is raising some red flags among Britain's war veterans.

Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward, the former commander of the South Atlantic Task Groups in the Falklands War, said that Satanism would be "terribly undesirable" on a ship.

"My immediate reaction is 'Good God, what the hell's going on?' " he said. "When I was serving, you were either Church of England or Roman Catholic, but I never heard of any Satanists. This sounds pretty daft to me."

The decision is sparking political outrage as well.

"I am utterly shocked by this," Tory former minister Ann Widdecombe told ITV. "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.

"There should be no question whatsoever of allowing Satanist rituals on board any ship in Her Majesty's Royal Navy. What they believe and do in their own home is one thing, what they do at work is the business of their employer.

"The navy should not permit Satanist practices on board its ships. 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."

Members of the Royal Army and Air Force need to swear an oath of allegiance to the queen as head of the armed forces, but such an oath is not required of naval recruits.

"We are an equal opportunities employer and we don't stop anybody from having their own religious values," a navy spokesman told the Telegraph. "Chris Cranmer approached his captain and made a request to be registered as a Satanist. This involved a formal stand-up approach, made in front of an audience, saying that he wanted to register as a Satanist and to practice his religious beliefs.

"The Royal Navy allows this kind of approach because it is clearly in line with current regulations. We are not aware of any other individuals who want to be registered as Satanists. Our policy is that, wherever practical, reasonable requests for time and facilities that do not impact on operational effectiveness or the welfare of other personnel, are met. The captain said that this decision was entirely up to the individual and that he is a good lad, a good worker on board. Nobody is suggesting there is anything at all dark about this."

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[Red-Handed Jill]

What's so sad about this is that the Church of Satan is a farce. Anton LaVey was essentially making it up as he went along and his book is nothing but plagarized extracts from an obscure 1896 tract called Might is Right by a guy named Ragnar Redbeard.

Check it out here.