Pastor Markus Bishop of the Faith Christian Family Church in Panama City Beach, Florida seems to have decided that when evening comes around it is time to turn his church premises into a night club, likely to draw in those spring break students swarming the area in search of lusty entertainment. After dark, he presents “Amnesia, The Tabernacle” which apparently hosts erotic fun, though no alcoholic beverages are served—which one suspects might be a deal-breaker for those vacationing studious sinners. Certainly it is an unusual format for a “youth ministry.”
While we applaud the fact that Bay County Appraiser Dan Sowell has revoked this church’s tax exempt status—the Church of Satan has long held that no church should be tax exempt—we find it of note that he wants to hold them to his standards for Christian asceticism saying, “A true church, a God fearing, God honoring church that conducts meaningful worshipful services and activities in January doesn’t sponsor this type of debauchery in March.” One wonders whether Mr. Sowell may be legally empowered to arbitrate precisely where one may draw the line between “meaningful worship services” and “debauchery.”
In The Satanic Bible, our founder Anton Szandor LaVey addressed this topic in the chapter titled “Some Evidence of a New Satanic Age” wherein he proposed that, since in the 1960s nuns were wearing shortened habits displaying some fetching gams, perhaps the time would come when “topless” nuns might be sensually dancing to “The Missa Solemnis Rock.” As always, Dr. LaVey was forward looking, and Pastor Bishop, who apparently has had prior experiences with law enforcement, possibly seems to be on the way to fulfilling that prognostication.
—Magus Peter H. Gilmore
Pertinent Links:
“Church or Club?” MyPanhandle. NexStar Broadcasting, Inc., 10 Mar 2015. Web. 11 Mar 2015.