(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) Riaan Swiegelaar, who co-founded the South African Satanic Temple and then served in it as a Presiding Reverend, had a “personal encounter with Jesus Christ,” became a Christian, and ditched the Satanic Church in May, Citizen Free Press reported.
In a Facebook live stream, Swiegelaar explained his decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and to resign from the Satanic Temple as a member and as a council member.
He converted in May after a Cape Town radio station host interviewed him about the Satanic Temple.
During the interview, he denied Christ’s existence. But after the interview, an employee at the station approached him and hugged him.
“She held me in a way that I have never been loved,” Swiegelaar said. “She just said it was nice to meet me in person. A week later, I saw on WhatsApp that she is a Christian.
“I’ve never had a Christian showing me so much love and acceptance unconditionally. That stayed with me.”
The next week, he started to perform a ritual to find more “power and influence,” but instead of finding Satanic advice, he said that Christ appeared to him.
“I said, ‘If you are Jesus, you need to prove it.’ And he flooded me with the most beautiful love and energy, and I recognized that immediately because the woman at the radio station showed that to me,” he said.
Swiegelaar said he tried to “quietly slip out the back door” because he did not think that Satanists would appreciate his reasons for leaving the association, Daily Voice reported.
The South African Satanic Church accepted his resignation without mentioning his conversion.
“We, as the SASC Council, would like to thank him for his contribution, both as Reverend and Co-Founder of SA Satanic Church,” the group stated in a press release. “We wish him success with all his future endeavours.”
The co-founder of the South African Satanic church has resigned, he became Christian. pic.twitter.com/ndvzZMdEph
— Patriot-arch Prime, PhD ☦️🇺🇸 (@PatriarchPrimus) July 5, 2022
Swiegelaar said he became involved with the Satanic Church when he was “broken” and struggling with being gay.
He said the Satanic Church’s values resonated with him. The Church’s “9 Satanic Statements” and “11 Satanic Rules of the Earth” can be found on the group’s website.
Still on the group’s website is a video of Swiegelaar describing Satanism.
