Orthodox Christian man claims to have destroyed satanic statue outside NH state House
'My conscience is clear'
An Orthodox Christian man remains unapologetic after claiming to have repeatedly destroyed the demonic statute that satanists erected outside the New Hampshire state House in Concord last month.
"I live in Concord, New Hampshire. It was I who destroyed the Satan statue in front of the State House," Concord resident Joshua Cummings wrote in a Facebook post on Christmas Day.
On Dec. 7, The Satanic Temple continued its annual holiday tradition of erecting satanic displays near Nativity scenes on government property by unveiling a statue of the demon Baphomet at the New Hampshire state House, according to a live Facebook feed of the ceremony.
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The statue depicted a black-clad Baphomet with glowing eyes clutching a bouquet of purple lilacs in its right hand, symbolizing the state flower of New Hampshire. It was also adorned with a purple stole emblazoned with the inverted pentagram, goat's head of the TST logo, and two inverted crosses.
Today’s photos of the Satanic Temple's holiday display in Concord, NH ???????????? pic.twitter.com/agk8n544cf
— OneOutOfFour (@OneOutof4) December 10, 2024
The statue was repeatedly vandalized by multiple people, and Cummings readily admitted to having participated.
"Other people have destroyed it on several occasions. It has basically become open season on the stupid thing at this point, but I (have lost count) did at least five times bash it on the head with my medieval mace in the middle of the night, and I was finally apprehended by police for it a few nights ago," he wrote.
Cummings explained that police questioned him and read him his Miranda rights without arresting him, and he defended his actions to them by appealing to a higher authority.
"What I said to the cops is the same thing I'd say before the press: that the presence of the statue hurts everyone in the city and even the whole state — that the spiritual principality is a higher order reality than the legal municipality. The cops were surprised by my answers and didn't really know how to respond."
When an officer asked if he destroyed the statue because he hates The Satanic Temple, Cummings said he responded, "I don't hate anyone. The Satanic Temple are a bunch of idiots, but I pray they repent. I hate Satan."
Cummings said he doubts charges will be pressed against him, though he noted he's confident he would be able to crowdfund for his legal fees if necessary.
The Christian Post has reached out to the Concord Police Department for comment and will update this story if they respond.
Cummings went on to suggest that The Satanic Temple is mistaken in their public beliefs about Satan, and seemingly fail to understand the nature of the entity whose name they have assumed. The Satanic Temple claims not to worship Satan, but rather to embrace his name in an effort "to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions," according to their website.
"Again, I maintain that Satan is not who the Satanic Temple says he is — he is who he is— he has no humility and no love, and hates everyone, seeking their destruction," Cummings wrote.
"The 'Seven Tenets' of Satanism (which the Temple regularly cites as the reason for making their cause attractive) have nothing to do with the actual agenda of Satan. God forbid the members of the Satanic Temple die in their delusion and realize their eternal disappointment: Satan doesn't like you as much as you liked him!"
Cummings pushed back against Christians who would defend satanic statues on First Amendment grounds and urged for anti-blasphemy laws, maintaining that "it is unChristian not to destroy idolatrous statues, a fact witnessed to by the countless saints who did not hesitate to topple monuments to falsehood."
"What does it say about us as a people if we allow such a filthy and hideous image to appear before God in our most basic societal representation?" he asked.
He closed by expressing his desire that if he does face legal repercussions for his actions, he hopes it will serve as "a confession for Orthodoxy, which has the fullness of theology to explain why it is perfectly Christian to destroy an idol in front of the very State House." He added that he regards what he did to the statue as "one of the greatest things I've ever done, dust as it is."
"My conscience is clear, and should I be charged unfairly, then the crisis of conscience shall move laterally to my interlocutors. I may stand trial tomorrow, but we will all stand trial before the only Righteous Judge. Please pray for me, I'm not sure what is about to happen, but I maintain: Glory be to God for all things," he added.
Cummings followed in the footsteps of U.S. Navy veteran Michael Cassidy, who traveled from Mississippi to Des Moines last year and toppled the Baphomet statue that The Satanic Temple had put up near a Nativity scene in the Iowa Capitol.
Cassidy was to stand trial on June 3 and faced up to five years in jail if convicted of the hate crime, but he pleaded guilty in May to a third-degree criminal mischief charge in exchange for having the felony charge dropped.
Last February, Pastor John MacArthur defended Cassidy's actions, but noted he will have to face negative consequences in a society that increasingly rewards wickedness and punishes righteousness.
"You have to take the consequences if you do it, but that was a noble thing to do," MacArthur said. "That was something that he felt very deeply in his heart."
"What are they doing having an altar to Satan in a state public building?" MacArthur continued. "That is the offense. The offense isn't that it was removed, the offense is that it was there. But it demonstrates where the culture is, that he gets punished, not the people who set it up."
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
