Up In Smoke
There were always evangelists coming to visit the church when I was growing up. One in particular had brought a variety of tapes, cd’s albums, movies, etc . . . that he considered to be “Satanic” and of the “Devil Worshippers.” I knew immediately that this was trouble. I listened attentively as the evangelist told all of the parents in the church who were “having trouble with their kids” to immediately go home and “rid your homes of all satanic influences!” Satanic influences including any form of music other than gospel, all dark colored clothes, especially black clothes, all black eyeliner, because, “Black eyeliner is a key sign that someone is a devil worshipper.”
The evangelist, whose name I will refrain from mentioning (he is still active in the southeastern US), went on to tell the congregation about how evil spirits can enter your body and your child’s body by transference from all sorts of things, such as articles of clothing, merely hearing a song, from someone brushing up against you, or from being spoken to by someone who already has an evil spirit. Evidently, if I was in the same room with someone who had been listening to “satanic music” then I would pick up the evil spirit that the person had received when he/she was listening to the music. Understand? Neither did I. It was all a bit much for me.
On top of that, he went on to tell us about how it had been confirmed that Mikhael Gorbachev was in fact . . . the antichrist! Yes . . . that’s right . . . the antichrist. Of course, I immediately asked myself . . . how does he know? He answered my question shortly thereafter. It was confirmed because Mikhael Gorbachev had a birthmark on his head in the shape of “the beast.” As if that wasn’t enough proof, there was a verse in the Bible that said that the antichrist would appear from the bear in the north. . . duh . . . Russia of course! This was a sign for all believers that we should be prepared for the rapture because the antichrist was now wandering the face of the earth. Just in case you were wondering . . . I didn’t buy it.
Soon thereafter, the followers were instructed to go home and collect these “satanic” items and immediately burn them and rid their homes of all satanic influences in order to prepare for the rapture. My mother, being the loyal follower she is, left the church, drove to the house, went straight into the house and gutted the place . . . if she wasn’t sure about something . . . that was a doubt . . . and doubts were from Satan . . . so if she was having doubts or was unsure about whether something was “satanic” the solution was to burn it. That night she took all the collected items and took them to my grandmother’s house. She emptied the bags of items into a large metal barrel that was used for burning trash, poured gasoline on them, and set them on fire. She then proceeded to dance around the barrel proclaiming that she was being “set free from the bonds of Satan.” All I could see were my few freedoms, and some of my belongings, going up in smoke.
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