Those who use satanic imagery to advertise self-definition through uninhibited sexual assertion may not believe in an actual Satan. They, nevertheless, do his bidding. If we seriously reckon with the hard evidence of destruction, especially to young girls’ bodies and psyches, promoted by entertainers who claim to inspire children, then it is hardly a leap to believe in the existence of some malevolent entity who specializes in deception and destruction.
At the 2023 Grammys, pop icon Madonna took the stage holding a dominatrix riding crop and expressing: “Thanks to all the rebels out there forging a new path.” She then introduced trans artists Sam Smith and Kim Petras as they performed a song entitled “Unholy.”
Many were shocked by the performance, replete with demonic imagery. This was hardly innovative. In 2021, the Lil Naz X released his 666 shoes featuring a pentagram and drop of human blood, and a music video in which he gives Satan a lap-dance. In 2022, Demi Lovato released an album in which she sings that she is “Like a serpent in the garden,” “the fruit that was forbidden/I don’t keep my evil hidden. … I’m the sexorcist.”
Satanic themes have long been a fixture of American music, going back, at least, to legends of Robert Johnson trading his soul to the devil. ACDC released “Highway to Hell” in 1979. Van Halen released “Runnin’ with the Devil” in 1978. The Rolling Stones released “Sympathy for the Devil” in 1968. This is Spinal Tap was hilariously mocking all of this as far back as 1984; As Thomas More observed five centuries ago, “the devil, that proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked.” Perhaps, we who recognize Christ’s victory over darkness could do with more mockery and less doomsday forecasting when faced with blatant displays of the demonic. Jesus has already put Satan and his minions to cosmic shame by his work on the cross (Colossians 2:15).
The “Unholy” performance was unique in being the first time that an erotic ritual of devil-worship was targeted at children on a major network during prime time.