One of the worst things you can do to a Christian church is deface it with Satanic graffiti or perform symbolic actions that go against the beliefs of the congregation. It doesn’t matter if the vandals truly believe in Satanism or worship the Devil, as the evil acts are still deliberate. Those who commit the acts are well aware of the aftermath that they create. In recent news, a Methodist church located in Jackson, Tennessee, had one of these unfortunate experiences where members arrived to find that their sacred place of worship had been broken into, defaced, and their faith disrespected.
When congregants of the Lebanon United Methodist Church gathered for a Sunday service, what they found was not their usual peaceful environment, but instead, learned that they had become victims of an act of vandalism. One of the first things that congregants noticed in the church was that the crosses inside had been turned upside down. Someone or a group of people had deliberately turned the cross on the altar table upside down. They also took down a cross situated at the front of the church, and placed in on the table in an upside down position.
What leaves people to blame Satan worshippers for the dirty deed is some of the statements left behind by the vandals. A page in one of the Bibles of the church had been burned. The page number that had been set on fire was ‘666’ – a digit best known as being associated with Satan. The number ‘666’ was also carved into the altar along with another equally disturbing phrase. The altar also bore the words ‘smoke meth and hail Satan.’
The vandals didn’t have a hard time finding entry into the small church, as it was reported that the church usually leaves its door unlocked so that people can come and pray at any time they wish. With locals either passing away, getting married, or relocating, the church caters to about 20 members at the time of the vandalism. The church pastor is currently debating whether the open-door policy should be amended since the vandalism took place.
The Lebanon United Methodist Church is not the only religious site to experience an act of vandalism that involves Satanic language and other distressing symbolism being left behind.
Towards the end of last month, vandals believed to have a Satanic connection were blamed for the senseless beheading of statues found at the Catholic St. Mary’s Church located in South Jersey. The heads of three large statues at the church were missing, and five other smaller statues had suffered damage. The police deduced that the vandals had entered the church grounds in the night hours, and could have possibly used a baseball bat to behead the statues.
In August of this year, a member discovered the century-old Schoolfield Church of the Brethren located in Danville, Virginia, had been spray-painted with an upside down cross and several other questionable symbols. Latin words that translated into ‘Hail Satan’ was also left in red on the rear outside wall of the church.
