Royal Navy
Authorizes Satanic Rituals on British Ships
"The
Insider" mailing list article, 25 October 2004.
(Posted here by Wes
Penre for Illuminati News, Oct.
25, 2004)
HMS Cumberland Emblem
The
British Armed Forces has officially recognised its first registered Satanist, a
newspaper reports.
Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, has been allowed to register by the captain
of HMS Cumberland, based at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth.
The move will mean that he will now be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on
board the vessel.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cranmer realised he was a Satanist nine
years ago.
Religious values
Mr Cranmer said that was when he stumbled across a copy of the Satanic Bible,
written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey.
He said: "I then read more and more and came to realise I'd always been a
Satanist, just simply never knew."
Mr
Cranmer, who is from Edinburgh, is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make
Satanism a registered religion in the armed forces.
Former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe said she was "utterly shocked" by the Royal
Navy's decision.
"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."
She added: "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."
A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "We are an equal opportunities employer and
we don't stop anybody from having their own religious values."
The path to Satan
The Church of Satan was established in San Francisco in 1966.
Mr LaVey was its high priest until his death in 1997.
Followers live by the Nine Satanic Statements, which include "Satan represents
indulgence instead of abstinence", "Satan represents vengeance instead of
turning the other cheek" and "Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as
they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification".
Doug Harris, director of the Reachout Trust, an evangelical Christian ministry
that "builds a bridge of reason" to those involved in cults and the occult, says
the statements are "selfish".
"Following such tenets and working them out practically in your life seems to
produce a selfish person not a member of a team," he said.
The Navies of Western powers have always upheld ancient pagan traditions.
Navy News, "Crossing the line of Maritime history", 12 March 2004.
[
http://www.navynews.co.uk/articles/2004/0403/0004031201.asp ]
Crossing the Line ceremonies are still performed on ships of the Royal Navy when
they cross the Equator – but the elaborate, highly decorated certificates
depicting Neptune and his Court (usually featuring plenty of mermaids, wearing
very little) had their heyday in the middle of the last century.
The ceremonies are thought to be pagan in origin, and in their more rudimentary
form were not even associated with the Equator – they were designed to assuage
the fears of superstitious sailors, and would hopefully placate the gods who
were presented with a sacrifice while the ship was on passage into the unknown.
...
Royal Navy, "HMS Cardiff “Crossing the Line” and Ascension Island", 20 May 2004.
[
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/content.php3?page=6964 ]
...
Whilst on passage to Ascension Island, we entered the realm of King Neptune,
crossing the equator at zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude; a
first for many members of the Ship’s Company. Here you see smoke and flame,
heralding the arrival of Neptune’s Bears, the night before “Crossing the Line”.
King Neptune and Queen Amphitrite and their band of helpers visited the
following day and were made most welcome.
...
Royal Navy Gun Plot, "Crossing the Line".
[
http://www.gunplot.net/crossingline/ctl1.html ]
The origins of the present form of traditional ceremony of paying homage to King
Neptune on occasions when warships cross the equator are obscure; but there
appears to be little doubt that it originated from some form of pagan religious
rites.
The ceremony is today regarded as being essentially the affair of the ship’s
company; being of course assisted and advised by the officers as necessary.
...
Mr
Cranmer, who is from Edinburgh, is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make
Satanism a registered religion in the armed forces. 