A modern Gideon arises: Christian veteran smashes satanic idol in Iowa State Capitol
In a day and age full of weak men and moral compromise, bold and godly leadership is hard to find. It can be like looking for a needle with a spine in a haystack of “evangellyfish.”
But sometimes all it takes is one brave man of faith to stand up and take action, and by doing so, inspire thousands of others to do the same.
Because when God’s name is mocked, and His people attacked, it is not a time to remain silent.
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Christians must fear God over men — and follow His laws first and foremost over all earthly powers.
Men who do this follow in the footsteps of many heroes of the faith, like Phineas, Gideon, Josiah, and St. Boniface, all idol smashers in their own right, who chose to defend God’s glory instead of sitting idly on their hands while pagans prevail.
Breaking news out of Iowa has many asking: Has such a man just arisen in America?
On Thursday afternoon, the Republic Sentinel reported that “Michael Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, tore down and beheaded a Satanist altar erected in the Iowa Capitol as the display provoked nationwide controversy.”
Michael Cassidy, a name which will now go down in the history books, told the Sentinel that:
“The world may tell Christians to submissively accept the legitimization of Satan, but none of the founders would have considered government sanction of Satanic altars inside Capitol buildings as protected by the First Amendment. Anti-Christian values have steadily been mainstreamed more and more in recent decades, and Christians have largely acted like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water."
"I saw this blasphemous statue and was outraged. My conscience is held captive to the Word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.”
Across the nation, Christians rejoiced. Cassidy’s courage is inspiring: Courage begets courage, and when Christian men take action, God is honored.
For weeks now, this display of a Satanic altar at the Iowa State Capitol building has sparked outrage and controversy among many Americans, especially conservative Christians, who rightly view it as a blasphemous affront to the name of God, American values, and the Christian principles our nation was founded on. The display, which was erected by the Satanic Temple of Iowa, features a ram’s head covered with mirrors on a mannequin cloaked in red clothing. The co-founder of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, claimed that the display was a symbol of their right to religious freedom and that they were not trying to worship Satan or promote evil.
However, this claim is false and misleading on multiple fronts. The Satanic Temple is not a genuine religious organization but a political activist group that seeks to undermine the authority of God and His law and poison our nation with their evil beliefs. Their display is not an expression of religious freedom or tolerance, but an attempt to indoctrinate children and adults into their Satanic worldview and agenda. Many have even argued that their display is not protected by the First Amendment but violates it by promoting hatred, violence, immorality, and blasphemy.
In an essay at World Magazine, titled “Satanic displays have no place in government buildings,” Andrew Walker, professor of Christian ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, convincingly argued that:
“As Christians, we should be very clear: There is zero theological right for Satanic displays because there is no theological right to worship Satan … Moreover, in Christian considerations of “rights,” moral evil has no intrinsic rights … [and] … I do not believe there is even a political right for Satanic displays in government buildings.”
Walker is right. And Cassidy heeded this call — and took action.
Cassidy stands in stark contrast to Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Iowa, who represents Iowa’s 2nd congressional district. Rep. Dunwell, who is also an ordained minister, repeatedly defended the presence of the statute with dubious arguments drawn from a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment and misguided theological interpretations of how Christians should act in the public and political sphere.
Unlike Dunwell, Cassidy decided to do what was right in the eyes of God, despite the consequences. After destroying this wicked homage to darkness and evil, Cassidy “turned himself into police officers present in the Iowa Capitol, who confirmed that the Satanic Temple of Iowa desires to press charges. The Sentinel obtained a complaint and affidavit which said Cassidy was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief.”
It will be interesting to see how this case plays out. Will the Regime drop the hammer on Cassidy, even though thousands of far more violent acts of vandalism were committed by Antifa, BLM, and Jane’s Revenge activists over the last few years, many of whom skated with no charges at all? Time will tell.
As long as that Satanic shrine stood there, it sent a message that there is no absolute truth or standard of right and wrong in America, but only subjective opinions based on personal preferences or agendas. Cassidy’s actions send another message: God is the Lord of all, even the Iowa State Capitol.
The Satanic Temple’s display at the Iowa State Capitol building should have been removed immediately. But thankfully, due to the righteous actions of Michael Cassidy, it has now been destroyed.
In Deuteronomy 7:5, God told His people exactly how to deal with the idols of the false gods around them:
“But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.”
In taking this action, Cassidy not only embodies this Old Testament virtue but he follows in the footsteps of Timothy, who is reported to have been killed for trying to stop a parade to the pagan goddess of Diana in Ephesus. According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, “Timothy was the celebrated disciple of St. Paul, and bishop of Ephesus, where he zealously governed the Church until A.D. 97. At this period, as the pagans were about to celebrate a feast called Catagogion, Timothy, meeting the procession, severely reproved them for their ridiculous idolatry, which so exasperated the people that they fell upon him with their clubs, and beat him in so dreadful a manner that he expired of the bruises two days later.”
While Cassidy won’t be martyred for this stand, no doubt he will be smeared by the liberal media as a “Christian extremist.”
What does that mean? Nothing more than that he is a goldy, devout, courageous man of faith — willing to take action when others wouldn’t.
May God raise up thousands more men like Michael Cassidy in America. Our future depends on it.
Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
William Wolfe is a visiting fellow with the Center for Renewing America. He served as a senior official in the Trump administration, both as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon and a director of legislative affairs at the State Department. Prior to his service in the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America, and as a congressional staffer for three different members of Congress, including the former Rep. Dave Brat. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and is finishing his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Follow William on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe
