Genesis 3 is part of the historical and foundation record of God’s Word. It is not a myth or fantastic story, but rather part of the amazing record God has given so that we might understand the world as it was first created as well as how that world has been spoiled by man’s sin and rebellion.
In Genesis 3, the devil, through a serpent, deceived Eve and led Adam into judgment. And what is particularly poignant is the method that the devil or Satan used. The devil used doubt, deception, and questions to lead Eve and Adam astray.
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
This is the first question recorded in Scripture. It helps us understand the original Fall of mankind and how the devil continues to operate. The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians about this.
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. – 2 Cor. 11:3
In this same chapter, Paul wrote:
And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. – 2 Cor. 11:14
While there are very dark and disgusting aspects of the work of Satan and his demons, what is most alluring and dangerous is when Satan appears as an angel of light.
The first “After School Satan Club” was announced in July 2016 in Tacoma, Washington. Apparently, only one student attended the meetings from December 2016 to June 2017. In 2019, the first, more established ASSC began in Salem, Massachusetts. And in our state, two years ago USA Today reported on a club that was approved by the school board at Jane Addams Elementary School in Moline, IL.
Yes, the city of John Deere is one of the few locations now hosting an After School Satan Club.
The club meets for one hour; the flyer describes how the Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion that views Satan simply as a literary figure, a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit. The Satanic Temple wants children to think for themselves, but of course, they must be indoctrinated for an hour eight times a year to achieve this.
Doesn’t this club demonstrate the attitude of Genesis 3?
Since our government school system is officially godless and has no ultimate basis for right and wrong, good and evil, clubs like this cannot be stopped. While there has been opposition by parents, legal attempts have been frustrated. The Saucon Valley School District in Pennsylvania lost a case in 2022 and the Satanic Temple won a $200,000 award. This is the horrible fruit of our rebellion.
What can Christian parents in the Moline area do? Obviously, across Illinois, we must be in prayer about these matters. If Christian parents have not removed their children from godless schools, they should take steps to do so as soon as possible. As wicked as the After School Satan Club idea is, the sad reality is that the school system for many, many years has been training students in the religion of humanism.
C. F. Potter, the author of Humanism: A New Religion (1930) said this about Sunday School and government education:
“…education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American public school is a school of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday Schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?”
Churches in the Moline area should also look to support the Good News Club meeting in Moline. According to Child Evangelism Fellowship, the purpose of After School Satan Clubs is to try to stop the Christian clubs from being able to meet.
I am confident that churches in Moline are doing what they can, but I would call on Christians in this area to step up and see what more can be done.
Forwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. – Eph. 6:12
