Omnivore - The Americanization of the Devil

This is a devilishly fun new collection of links from Bookforum's Omnivore blog on all things satanic (no caps for satan, as is the case for god on this blog).

Oh, and by the way, if you thought the young people in the millennial generation were our hope for a better future, think again. A majority of them believe in demon possession. 

Over one half (63 percent, to be exact) of young Americans 18-29 years old now believe in the notion that invisible, non-corporeal entities called "demons" can take partial or total control of human beings, revealed an October 2012 Public Policy Polling survey that also showed this belief isn't declining among the American population generally; it's growing.

Okay then . . . . If we are going to retreat to living in a pre-Enlightenment world again, do I have to give up internet and indoor plumbing?

The Americanization of the Devil

Feb 3 2014  

9:00AM

• From Scientific American, Piercarlo Valdesolo on the psychological power of Satan. 
• GOP Senate candidate Kathleen Tonn delivers message in “the Holy Ghost and tongues” to unsaved woman in steam room to confuse Satan. 
• Ken Layne on how shocking new evidence proves Satan is real and lives in America. 
• Rick Wiles says “Satan launched a D-Day invasion of the United States of America in 2012”. 
• Pastor Steven Andrew follows up SOTU address with “God’s State of the Union”, says Obama follows Satan. 
• Right-wing pundits continue to express shock and disgust — and hurl accusations of Satanism — at the 2014 Grammy Awards, blaming this on television producer and writer Norman Lear. 
• From Alternet, Amanda Marcotte on why a satanic goat statue has the Christian right so freaked out: The pagan idol reveals the hypocrisy at the heart of so much fundamentalism; and even Christians are supporting an effort to install a statue of Satan in Oklahoma. 
• Don Imus sidekick Bernard McGuirk sorry for suggesting Satanists “should be shot”. 
• Devilish controversy surrounds 1st Amendment debate. 
• A majority of Americans 18-29 years old now believe in demon possession. 
• Peter Berger on the Americanization of the Devil: Today’s Satanists are not engaged in the worship of evil — what they are engaged in is a classical American exercise, civilizing something that was originally anything but civil. 
• Despite the spooky overtones, modern Satanism actually has a lot in common with self-help, the green movement, and spunky American individualism. 
• Esther Inglis-Arkell on the 9 best Satanic cults in history. 
• Noah Berlatsky on the 18 best songs about the devil: These catchy tunes make the case for the dark side.