A 300-pound metal sculpture of a satanic pentagram, erected as an atheist protest to a public park’s Nativity scene, was severely damaged on Tuesday when it was pulled to the ground by vandals.
Atheist Preston Smith’s 10-foot tall sculpture lay broken in Sanborn Square at noon. Tire tracks led from the twisted metal to the street.
It appeared vandals had attached a chain from a vehicle to the sculpture and yanked it down, dragging it several feet. As local television reporters prepared live broadcasts, two passers-by stopped and pushed the sculpture back onto its base before walking away.
The sculpture sits about 20 feet from a traditional Nativity scene of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, and is backed by a banner from an atheist group reading “Keep Saturn in Saturnalias,” a reference to the belief that the early Christian church substituted Christmas for a Roman pagan holiday.
It is the latest Florida protest against manger scenes on public property, mirroring earlier battles inside the state capitol in Tallahassee.
Boca Raton police officer Sandra Boonenberg said the overnight strike was the third attack on Smith’s sculpture and its explanatory banner since he erected the display earlier this month. Someone painted the once-red sculpture black on Monday. Earlier, someone damaged the banner. Detectives are investigating.
Smith, a middle school English teacher, said that as an atheist, he does not believe in God nor Satan, but is using a symbol often associated with devil worship to highlight his belief that religious displays have no place on public property, because they make non-believers “feel like second-class citizens.”
“We are here to call out Christian hypocrisy and theistic bias in taxpayer-funded public arenas while advocating for the separation of church and state,” he told The Associated Press. “Our ultimate goal is to return the government to its viewpoint neutral stance so that when an atheist takes a stroll through the park we aren’t assaulted by Bronze Age mythology.”
He said the vandalism “feels like Saudi Arabia, not America.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that government agencies can allow religious displays on public property, but if they do, they cannot discriminate. Both the Nativity scene and the Pentagram were installed with city permits.
A group of local religious leaders — 14 ministers, two rabbis and the president of the city’s mosque — placed a banner next to Smith’s sculpture criticizing its placement.
“The use of satanic symbols is offensive and harmful to our community’s well-being,” the banner reads. “We find it a shameful and hypocritical way to advocate for freedom from religion.”
The city issued a statement saying that while it respects Smith’s free-speech rights, it doesn’t support his message.
“In years past, the seasonal, religious displays in Sanborn Square have contained messages projecting the themes of peace, forgiveness and harmony,” it said. “This display appears to be more about shock value, attention and challenging our commitment to constitutionally protected free speech rather than promoting goodwill, respect and tolerance during the holiday season.”
Passer-by Judy Hill, a retired information technology worker, decried the vandalism but didn’t think Smith should have erected his sculpture next to the Nativity scene.
“I know there is freedom of speech, but there is a time and place for everything,” said Hill, a Methodist. “He just wanted to get publicity and he got it.”
In 2013 and 2014, atheists erected protest displays in the Florida capitol after a Christian group placed a manger there. Those displays included a Festivus pole made of beer cans, a depiction of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a mock god popular among non-believers, and one showing an angel falling into flames with the message “Happy Holidays from the Satanic Temple.” The latter was damaged by a vandal.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
“SYMBOLIC EVOLUTION
It can be seen that the pentagram has evolved from a pre-Christian Mesopotamian symbol to an early Christian symbol on behalf of Christ. It has represented truth and has acted as a medieval talisman. It has then re-emerged as a sign of humanism. It signifies man’s relation with the cosmos and also is seen as a guard against evil.”
Guess ya” got some dirt-ignernt folks down there…..
Why is it that these atheistic hate mongers just cannot leave their loathing at home where they can wallow in their own mire. These liberal morons hate Christians and anyone who practices a faith based ethics system. If a conservative is an atheist, he doesn’t go to church. If a liberal is an atheist, he doesn’t want ANYONE to go to church. What hypocracy.
Atheist are sad lost people.
This raises a very valid comment:- Why is it that if someone detroys an offensive monument against Christianity or Irael, he is a ‘vandal”. And yet if it is a man who ‘vandalizes’ objects that are offensive to Muslims, he is a protester?
Decent people are not allowed to destroy offensive monuments but Muslims are??
They are not people,Just idiots and libturds
“If god didn’t exist, it would be necessary for man to invent one”! “Religion is the opiate of the masses!”
If a person chooses to disregard or disbelieve in the existence of a deity, he is free to do so and tell others, just as a believer is permitted his right to espouse his theory! That’s why we have the First Amendment ..
Why is it that these atheistic hate mongers just cannot leave their loathing at home where they can wallow in their own mire. These liberal morons hate Christians and anyone who practices a faith based ethics system. If a conservative is an atheist, he doesn’t go to church. If a liberal is an atheist, he doesn’t want ANYONE to go to church. What hypocracy.
Sayeth a man who believes in myths and absurdity. Why not believe in the spaghetti monster? It is just as real. Read a book, why don’t you?
This fool is a teacher?! There is no way I would ever let that moron educate or ever come near my children!
look what has happened in the colleges, the professors have done to the young people in this country. they have made them into left leaning babies who had coloring books and playdough after the election. it is time to weed them out of our education system
Look at all of the uninvolved parents who let it happen, who never took an interest in what their kids were being told or taught in school and who never discussed their country, their history, their traditions or anything with their kids. This stuff starts in grade school now and too many parents are STILL clueless. A lot of parents have been micromanagers of their kids’ lives on top of it, emotionally crippling them when they could have raised them to be confident, self-reliant young adults.
No, you whining lib, it is America – not saudi arabia and we are protecting that which is our country’s foundational founding – on God Himself. So take that.
How dumb you are.
More Christians in this Country..They( Christians )need to fight back against these devil worshipping idiots. Long live Jesus and God of PEACE…
“Keep Saturn in Saturnalias”. What BS! The original reason to pick Dec 25, was that it was a really important holiday to everyone in northern hemisphere. It was the Winter Solstice and the church didn’t like any celebrations that weren’t about Christianity.
In reality, Christmas is Not a Christian Holiday, sorry to say. It is a Roman Pagan Holiday. Jesus’s birthday is not in the Bible, nor does he or the disciples tell us to celebrate it. We know he was 33 & 1/2 when he was crucified through ancient text and Biblical writings which means he was born in the fall equinox.
I don’t however agree with the use of the Satanic symbolism being used to annoy or harass those that do celebrate Christmas. It’s a personal choice and we all have that right.
I don’t think it’s vandalism. I think destroying the satanic pentagram is doing everyone a huge act of kindness.
The US government was never religion-neutral. People can believe what they want to believe, but some of the political stuff they believe is not just silly but easily disproved.
This sort of thing never happened years ago. The nativity scene was proudly displayed everywhere. There were no protests, and definitely no satanic symbols erected or shown. Why are anti-Christians being allowed to erect such horrible symbols? I would never allow my grandchildren to be taught by such a person. God save our country, and our Christian beliefs!!!
They are allowed because of the Political Correctness Police; which is a lot of bulls**t as far as I am concerned.
Honey – it is called freedom of religious choice – it is how we are able to practice our Christian beliefs. With over 400 recognized Religions in the USA – you need to show some Christianity. Forgetting the politically correct BS: MERRY CHRISTMAS (to nonChristians HAPPY HOLIDAYS) and HAPPY NEW YEAR making America Great Again
ken, what is religious freedom. There is only one God not 400 or more. His opinion is what matters, He is the judge of all and determines our final destination based on what we believe regarding Jesus, NOT religious freedom which is a pure tact by Satan and foolish, lost people. God is NOT religious and does not look for religious people – he looks for RELATIONSHIP with people who believe in Him and what He says.
You have a right to religious freedom. You do not have a right to my tax dollars. EVERY religion should pay taxes on EVERY propery owned. You can worship whatever you want, just not with tax subsidies.
Because we are a free country. at least we have been, so everyone can express their personal views and beliefs, without being subject to ridicule and violence. When everyone is forced to believe one view, where is our freedom ov choice. I hate to think what these next few years will bring to this country and the world.
In order to maximize the 300 pound structure and make it meaningful and relevant, it should be covered completely with human feces, and have a fan installed to usher the incredible stink (including that from the feces) in the opposite direction from the manger scene.
That is what happens in our country, united States of America, when we have (had) an elected person in the main office of our country. One who is not a Christian, one who never had a job, illegal parents, never had a states birth certificate, never had a legal Social Security card, and never had a legal Military Registration card.
This country may not have been classified as being founded as a Christian nation, but it does have Freedom of Religion but NOT freedom from religion. If you have something you know will offend people, best it not be seen.
This country was blessed by GOD, because of all the Freedoms we have given to us by God. The Founders and Framers were inspired by God, even tho some were deists, still thought it best to have this for the people. Also to have a REPUBLIC not a democracy country. But it best to rule by democracy. We have this UNALIENABLE RIGHTS given to us which cannot be taken away; whereas if it were inalienable rights it can be taken away by the government.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY THESE DAYS ITS SO UN REAL AT HOW PEOPLE ARE ACTING AND DOING ALL OVER THIS WORLD OF OURS.
What I cant figure out is if the atheist and ACLU does not believe in Jesus or G ???od why do they spend millions every year trying to prove that he does not exist ????
I just Pray Trump gets rid of all this p.c. Bullshit , and We can openly celebrate without incident our Judeo Christian beliefs . That the left No longer wins with all their Crap !! It’s been so disheartening having their Sick views shoved down our throats .
Only GOD is GOD
Allah is NOT GOD Allah is Allah
Buddha is NOT GOD Buddha is Buddah
Satan is NOT GOD Satan is Satan
Only GOD is GOD
The word “Allah” means “God” in Arabic and comes from the same route as “Elohim” in Hebrew. Muslims, Christians, and Jews all worship the same God.
Many of the teachings of the Buddha can be found in The Christian New Testament. Palestine in the first century AD would have been on the trade routes from Rome to India and China and so would have been exposed to Buddhist teaching.
The Pentagram is a pagan figure, which you will find in any Tarot deck. Pagans do not believe in Satan or in any principle of absolute evil. Satan is a being that monotheists believe in, not pagans. The notion of Satan as a principle of absolute evil originated with the Zoroastrians of Persia and was picked up by the Jews who were in exile in Babylon and later under Persian rule.
I once played poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and 3 guys died.
Thank you
Neither of those displays belong on public property.
Amen, Brother!
Endtime Harvester…..your statement is GREAT TRUTH. Thanks for reminding us who IS and ALWAYS will be God for all.
I was praying to GOD to destroy the works of satan in this nativity scene and any others across our world.
I also prayed for God’s people to join in that park with a candle-light vigil, and pray that God will destroy these satanic workers of iniquity. Praise God for the brave person or persons that tore it down!!!!
How can this site claim to want free speech and ask folks to refrain from “personal attacks” and “hate speech” when that is primarily what the posters here are doing? Glad to see Christians are practicing the tenets of Jesus Christ. Ha!