by Bronwyn Katzke
On my desk sits a most chilling tome. An anthology of
misinformation; filled with confusing images, twisted words and blatant lies.
Servamus’ Drugs and Occult-Related Crime:
The Facts, The Answers is the Malleus Maleficarum of our generation. This
propaganda publication has been, and still is, used as a witches’ hammer against constitutionally protected minority
religions.
And with the resurrection of SAPS’ Occult-Related
Crime Unit in 2012, Pagans, Witches, Occultists, Satanists and Vampyres are
facing a possible new wave of propaganda and persecution at the hands of the
next-generation of witch-hunters; each trained under the old master of SA’s own
‘satanic panic’- Kobus Jonker.
It is more important than ever that we stand together
as a community united against the lies that Kobus Jonker and his ilk that have,
and undoubtedly will continue to spread about our community. What this series
of articles will ultimately aim to do is dispel the lies and expose the
propaganda for what it really is. Now is the time to show the general public
that Kobus Jonker, and those who falsely portray themselves as ‘occult
experts’, are nothing more than Christian fundamentalists lost in their own
deluded occult fantasies.
Each week in the Exposing
the Lies series an article from Servamus’ Drugs and Occult-Related Crime: The Facts, The Answers will be
dissected and shown for the religious propaganda that it is. This week we start
with the first article:
Warriors
against Evil
As I open the magazine to page 70 where this article
lies, I am greeted with a spread of images from Jonker’s own personal
collection of ‘occult paraphernalia’: steak knives, cheap Halloween décor, a
homemade Ouija board, a melted mannequin head, skulls and doll heads covered in
simulated blood (red paint), heavy metal posters, animal skulls, and even a
packet of Dracula Sherbet and a
promotional paper cup from the Ghostbusters movie.
In all my years exploring the occult and Paganism I
have never read or encountered a call for any of the above to be essential, or
even suggested, in the practice of any occult, or Pagan ritual. Even my
research of Satanism has turned up zero evidence that any of the above is required
in the spiritual practices of Satanism. What Jonker terms as ‘occult
paraphernalia’ may in fact just be everyday items used by confused teenagers
playing into the very fantasies that he propagates.
The introduction of this article lists purported ‘occult
crimes’ committed since 1989 until the first publication of the ‘special
edition’ in 1998. Unfortunately these alleged crimes would need to be
referenced against SAPS case files, which would be no easy feat; so I cannot
verify these ‘facts’. However the next paragraph proves to be most interesting:
“First there is
no or very little knowledge about the occult or spirit world with specific
reference to Satanism. Investigation officers and the legal profession are
skeptical about occult rituals. Not all Satanist activities necessarily
constitute crime. Victims often point out scenes where no evidence can be found
to correlate with the atrocities supposed to have taken place…Crime scenes are
difficult to find or are sometimes not found at all.”
What becomes abundantly clear from the above excerpt
is just how deluded the prior ORCU and its leader Kobus Jonker were (and
potentially how deluded the new ORCU will be). There is plenty of information
on Satanism and occult practices and beliefs, however that factual information
contradicts the ORCU fantasy of Satanism and the occult; hence the statement
that no information exists.
“Not all
Satanist activities necessarily constitute crime,” is the bare truth, but
the same can be said for any other belief held by its adherent. Substitute
‘Satanist’ with Christian, Muslim or Jewish and it becomes clear that the
belief of a criminal rarely, if at all, has anything to do with the crime
committed.
In logical and unbiased investigative work if there is
no evidence, then there is no provable crime. And in today’s technologically
advanced age, there is no crime that leaves zero evidence. If a ‘victim’ of
‘occult atrocities’ takes an investigator to a scene and claims illegal
activities took place there, and a crime scene investigation unit can find zero
evidence, odds are the ‘victim’ is lying.
And when it is stated that, “crime scenes are
difficult to find or are sometimes not found at all,” it only goes to prove the
depth of the occult delusion that Jonker swims in. The fact that they have to
actively seek to prove something as an ‘occult crime’ from their warped
fundamentalist perspective only further shows their desperation in proving the
satanic panic myths true.
In the fourth paragraph the reader is then hit with the
‘big sell’ of the previous ORCU in reference to the occult: “The only way to
get out is through the power of Jesus Christ”. A statement based on the
testimony of alleged former witch Elaine who claims to have served Satan for 17
years. This paragraph is followed by more testimony from an alleged former
‘Satan worshipper’ who turned to Christianity and at the time of publication,
was working as a pastor. But this section ends with a gem of a quote:
“Occult-related
crimes are difficult to prevent and to investigate, because the majority of
people don’t even know what occult means.”
The absolute irony is that Jonker and his then ORCU
did not (and still do not) even know or understand the definition of the occult
and the beliefs and practices it encompasses. And once again, it only
shows they are lost in an occult fantasy
of their own design- God’s own warriors on a spiritual mission from the Creator
Himself to stamp out the non-believers and practitioners of anything that fits
the satanic panic lie.
What follows next is a point by point list of the ways
in which “the occult is expressed during rituals”:
“Spiritism:
Messages from spirits to humans (seven ways of expression)”
It should be spiritualism
which is the practice of communication between what is believed to be spirits
of the dead and the living. The fact that an alleged ‘occult expert’ can’t even
get the terminology correct only further shows them for the fraud they are.
“Magic: A person
who uses supernatural powers to influence another person or situation (14 ways
of expression)”
Like Christian prayer? My understanding of the concept
of prayer is that a supernatural power is petitioned to influence a person
(Lord, I pray that Joe Soap repents from his life of occultic worship to follow
Jesus Christ) or a situation (Lord, please let me get a new job so I can pay
the bills).
Within general magickal practices a higher power/deity
is not necessarily invoked or petitioned, but the practitioner relies on their
own personal energy to influence the outcome of a situation, and very rarely a
person. In the instance of, for example, a Wiccan performing a ritual, they do
so under the ethics of the Wiccan rede (An it harm none, do as thy will) and
the threefold law (the belief that whatever is ‘sent out’ is returned to the
sender threefold). Your average Wiccan would therefore not intentionally
perform magick against another person to bring them harm, and very rarely would
any other magickal practitioner for that matter.
“Mystic: An
intense longing of the soul to make contact with a godhead, by means of
withdrawal from the physical world (15 ways of expression).”
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a mystic as
being, “a person who seeks to know God
through contemplation or prayer.” Within that definition, it is anyone who
is deeply spiritual or religious and seeks to know their creator through prayer
and contemplating sacred texts or philosophies. The term mystic can be applied to anyone of any religion who fits the above
definition- it is not solely bound to an occult definition and one could be a
Christian mystic, a Buddhist mystic, an Islamist mystic etc.
“Mantic: To use
occult methods to know more about the future (15 ways of expression)”
The term mantic has
its roots in the Greek mantikos, meaning
‘prophet’, and in adjective form corresponds to nouns ending in mancy; such as tasseomancy, the art of
divination from tea leaves. However, the true definition of the term occult does not relate to anything
sinister. The word occult has its
roots in the Latin occultus, which
means ‘hidden knowledge’. And while it is true that divination has almost
always being considered an occult art, it in no way meets the ORCU’s sinister
connotations of what constitutes ‘the occult’.
“Satanism: The
religion where Satan is served and worshipped. The first four are closely
related to Satanism.”
If Jonker and the ORCU, both past and present, are so
knowledgeable on the occult and Satanism, then they would know that not all
Satanists worship Satan as a deity. Furthermore, as evidence of their complete
lack of knowledge, the afore mentioned points on their list are not only
incorrect, but are not related to Satanism either.
“New Age: To
unleash “inner gods” or spiritual guides, and attain mortal omnipotence.
Satanists sell this concept, because it has almost all the elements that they
believe in.”
The New Age movement, as per Wikipedia is defined as:
“The New Age movement is a Western
spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its
central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and
Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and infusing them with influences
from self-help and motivational psychology, holistic health, parapsychology,
consciousness research and quantum physics".”
The New Age movement is not about ‘unleashing’
spiritual beings in the pursuit of attaining god-like personal power; nor is
this movement popularized by practicing Satanists. The claim that the New Age
movement is ‘satanic’ is however popularized by the Christian church and it is
a claim that is based on prejudice and not on any credible fact.
The article then moves on to target Satanism, which it
claims is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1997, 1004) as:
“Deliberate
wickedness, pursuit of evil for its own sake, diabolical disposition; Worship
of Satan, with travesty of Christian forms”
However, the online edition of the Oxford dictionary defines Satanism as: “the worship of Satan, typically involving a
travesty of Christian symbols and practices, such as placing a cross upside
down”. The print edition of the Oxford English Dictionary defines Satanism
as: “the worship of Satanism”. And
Wikipedia.com further defines Satanism as: “Satanism
is a group of religions with diverse ideological and philosophical beliefs.
Their shared features include symbolic association with, admiration for the
character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean,
and in their view liberating figures.”
It should be noted that none of the three definitions
evidenced above make mention of ‘deliberate
wickedness’, the ‘pursuit of evil’
or any ‘diabolical disposition’.
Understandably it could be argued that the definition provided in the article
was, in fact, the definition printed in the 1997 edition of the Concise Oxford
Dictionary, but until such a time as I can verify the quote, I will remain
skeptical.
However in Warriors
against Evil, Satanism is defined as:
“Satanism uses
the supernatural powers ruled by Satan to make a mockery of Christianity.”
Again, this is yet another statement that only shows
how little Kobus Jonker and the then ORCU knows about Satanism. It is only in
the eyes of Christians that Satanism is seen as a direct mockery of Christian
beliefs, and they are ones who perpetuate the satanic panic myths. Myths which,
more often than not, rebellious teenagers fulfill and when such an occasion
arises, the Christian community and the likes of Kobus Jonker stand proud and
state, ‘ah, see it is true. Satanism is alive and real. Turn to God and
repent.’ When in reality if they had used logic and set aside their prejudice
to learn about the occult and Satanism from the real occult experts- actual
practitioners- then such an incident would perhaps have been prevented
altogether.
However, Jonker and his then ORCU had the audacity to
claim that prevention of the occult was their true, tax-funded aim:
“The field of
the occult is wide and complex, which makes it extremely difficult to
investigate or prevent its harmful activities.”
Contradictory considering the previous statement that
there is very little knowledge about the occult in reference to Satanism, and
considering the belief held by the ORCU that the occult equals Satanism;
therefore the original claim indicated that there was very little knowledge on
the occult. What is more disturbing is the assertion in this statement that all
occult activities are a) dangerous and b) because of the former, they warrant
SAPS investigation funded by the tax payer.
The above statement is highly offensive and
discriminatory considering that constitutionally protected and recognized
minority religions like Paganism, Witchcraft, Wicca and Satanism identify as
being occult religions. The overall implication put forward by Jonker is that
minority religions that identify as ‘occult’ are deserving of SAPS scrutiny and
possible persecution. This assertion can be evidenced in the mandate of
investigation of the previous ORCU:
“…the
Occult-related Crime Unit has to handle aspects such as:
·
Satanist manifestations, practices and observances.
·
Dangerous cults, sects/churches for the state of the community.
·
Witchcraft-related crime.
·
Supernatural happenings.
·
Secret organizations.
·
Deliverance through pastoral guidance.”
The above quote only proves the unconstitutionality of
the previous ORCU. One would think that given the mistakes of the past, the
resurrected ORCU would learn from them, forsake the title, ‘occult-related
crime unit’, and focus on muthi murders, accusations of witchcraft and
witch-purging? The stark reality is that the reinvented ORCU is picking up
exactly where its forbearers left off, and the leaked memo stating the new ORCU
mandate of investigation (which can be found here)
only goes to prove it.
Warriors against
Evil then goes to explain exactly who could be
vulnerable to the sway of Satanism and the occult- the youth. Jonker is quoted
as saying that children as young as eight are targeted by Satanists to join
their ranks. And that the reason they are allegedly so successful at capturing
the youth is that there is a loss of family structure in society. This in turn
leads to confused youngsters who are cynical about the future and see no
potential in it for them. Ultimately this is the reason why the youth rebel,
and according to Jonker, this is what the occult thrives on this.
What is not mentioned is that rebellion is considered
a normal part of teenage development, that ‘broken homes’ are actually nothing
new and that any teenager who tries to go the ‘shock value’ route is looking
for attention. Instead all the blame for this is laid at a lack of faith in
Christianity by society and the sway of Satanism and the occult. But what
follows is a look at the extent of Jonker’s occult fantasy:
“According to
Sen Supt Jonker, Satanism automatically involves crime.”
And there we have Jonker’s true feelings about
minority religions protected under the South African Constitution- if you are a
Satanist (or identify your faith as being occult in nature as by Jonker’s logic
occult=Satanism), you are automatically a criminal in dire need of persecution.
What is even scarier is that the new ORCU was trained by Jonker and have in all
likelyhood been indoctrinated into this tragic line of thought too.
“Specialists in
the Occult-related Crime Unit deal with crimes committed by persons who believe
in the occult and share in the manifestations, practices and observances linked
to Satanism, which constitutes criminal acts.”
One has to ask the question if the majority of crimes
committed in South Africa
today are by people who identify as Christian, why is there no
‘Christian-related Crime Unit’? If the SAPS did, and do once again, believe
that the religious beliefs of a criminal are worthy of investigation, why are
there not units for the different religious beliefs in South Africa?
The simple answer is it would be deemed unconstitutional and there would be
mass public outcry… but singling out those of minority faiths seems to be of no
concern to SAPS whatsoever, both in the past and the present.
What follows next is a small blurb by Adv DM Clarke of
the then SAPS Head Office stating that all religions are protected under the
constitution. A small trinket that we are supposed to buy as being ‘politically
correct’, but as many know, actions speak louder than words; and Jonker and the
actions of his ORCU have spoken volumes in the past and present.
And this paragraph in Warriors against Evil is finished off with, “Bedsides the fact that
most atrocious crimes are committed in the exercise of Satanism…”. Further
evidence of the exclusively Christian perspective held by Jonker and the ORCU-
the mentality of ‘the devil made him do it’ as no man (or woman) would possibly
commit a horrific crime due to psychological imbalances. Such a mentality
belongs in the Middle Ages, not in modern day police work funded by tax payers.
The article then moves on to the Myth of Jonker; a
truly fantastical tale of a man chosen by God almighty to thwart teenage Satanists
who meditated to Judas Priest, even going against SAPS protocol and orders from
his superiors to complete his ‘Divine work’. As with all things related to
Jonker, I doubt its credibility and facts. Furthermore I do not wish to lend
the Myth of Jonker anymore credence than it is due, which by my opinion happens
to be zero.
The final
section of Warriors against Evil
details who exactly should serve in the ORCU and what caliber of police
investigator is required to carry out the work of this unit.
“SAPS members
who want to serve in this Unit must acknowledge the supernatural world. They
must strongly believe in Jesus Christ, because Satanism’s main enemy is Jesus
Christ.”
Again the blatant prejudice of Jonker and the previous
ORCU is evidenced. The members of the ORCU believed they were on a spiritual
mission from God to persecute all and sundry they believed to be against their
beliefs. The worst of it is they did this using the tax payers money and abused
innocent members of the public under the guise of the law. The ORCU of the past
was nothing more than a collection of self-important Christian fanatics running
on an ego high and bullying communities that fell outside the mainstream. But I
have to wonder, given that the current ORCU was trained by Jonker, whether we
will see a repeat of history, and whether the current ORCU follows the same
acceptance criteria, mandate and ‘logic’ as its predecessor.
First published on www.penton.co.za 25 Spetember 2012 http://www.penton.co.za/?p=2596
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