This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Members of The Satanic Temple in Idaho have announced they left a municipal Pride festival because of opposition from several corporations that withdrew when the organization promoted its plan to offer "renunciations of Christian baptisms."
The organization had announced, "We are so excited to announce that we will have a booth and be participating Coeur D'Alene's ‘Pride in the Park’ event next Saturday, June 11th from 10am-3pm!,"
It continued, on a social media posting that now has been deleted, "We will have merchandise for sale, be offering support to our community and performing unbaptisms for those interested! Just know, Satan loves you for you! Hail Satan!"
A Fox News report said the "Pride in the Park" fest to promote the LGBT ideology was announced by the North Idaho Pride Alliance.
The report explained originally, the Satanic Temple had joined with groups including a local public library, Ecumenical Catholic Communion Church, Everytown for Gun Safety and a climate group to sponsor activities.
But Satanic Temple spokesman Lucien Greaves told Fox News the Idaho group left after "a high volume of threats and harassing messages regarding their involvement."
He also suggested the group left because other sponsors also were leaving.
An official from NIPA said the group left "on their own accord."
Greaves claimed, "Apparently these sponsors are not willing to support the LGBTQ community if The Satanic Temple supports them too. Having sought to assist with Pride, rather than cause conflict within it, our congregation opted to pull out so as not force organizers to accept that their real dedication to inclusion would deprive them of sponsorship from spineless, opportunistic corporations that seek to purchase an unjustified image of inclusivity, so long as it appears relatively uncontroversial to the mainstream consumer."
The group specifically boasted of offering "unbaptisms."
It's a ritual described as allow "bodily liberation and catharsis."
Christian churches believe baptism symbolizes "burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as a new creature."
