Note: I have never, ever, in my life seen such a load of bullsh*t on a website - unless perhaps on the supposedly satirical website http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/ as I have forced myself to read on their 'catchthefire' website.
I say 'supposedly satirical' because, if you follow the original link and compare it to the site I mention above, you'll see that the 'satire' is not funny - it IS how these people think and act...

[quote]A month ago I was with my wife and two other ladies in the car, including one who was formerly a witch but now a full on born-again Christian. In fact I have personally cast out many demonic spirits out of her. She told us that one of her friend’s (who also was a witch) father was a high priest in the coven. When she was a small girl, he told her that he had a surprise for her birthday. He blind folded her and told her to cut the cake. After cutting, her blind fold was removed and she was horrified to see that she had cut through the neck of a baby.[/quote]

Now this is just SO hard to give any credit to, on ANY level - babies being sacrificed are a favourite staple of the born-agains (BA's) - according to them, on any day of the week, the continents of the world are awash with the blood of freshly sacrificed babies. But where are the police case-numbers, the forensic evidence, the photographic evidence? No, we must all accept these bullsh*t stories on 'faith' - THEIR faith. Note that it's always 'a friend' whose father/mother/brother/uncle/aunty was some sort of high priest or great-grand-poohbah of some governmentally connected and protected coven, and there is NEVER any evidence (other than anecdotal) to back the claims up - reminds me a lot of all the email hoaxes you'll find on snopes.com

We can go on and on hammering the drum about what the truth REALLY is - but sadly, the truth is the first casualty in such stories, and when the BA's are trying to recruit new members and/or scare people into donating to their cause, they refuse to answer questions and provide any proof (primarily because there IS none).

Damon posted recently that never, in the history of South Africa, has any self-identified Satanist OR Witch OR Wiccan been found guilty of a violent ritual crime in South Africa (http://www.pagancouncil.co.za/node/461#comment-990). I don't think Australia is much different - but the BA's will never acknowledge this. It's just too inconvenient a truth...

But the point is, before you lower your guard in the presence of BA's, particularly those who are yapping on about Satanism, keep in mind that they don't care WHO they hurt in the name of their God - as long as the money keeps rolling in.

Oh, and remember too that the best (reliable, scientifically and statistically derived from census figures worldwide) estimates I have been able to find put the number of self-identified, practising Satanists world-wide at... (wait for it!!!!)..... a paltry 5000 (yup, five thousand).

Hardly sounds or looks like a 'threat' that could topple federal governments in Oz now, does it?

Knowing (as we Pagans all should do) that Witches/Wiccans/common-or-garden-Pagans/Heathens have no more in common with Satanists than they do with Born Again Christians, you can begin to appreciate the extent of the vicious lies and deliberate twisting of the truth that the BA's employ in their nefarious activities, and which have as their outcome nothing positive for we Pagans, and you may perhaps begin to glimpse the total extent of the problem.

It's HUGE. But you can fight it successfully - by educating people, by showing them the truth, and by not allowing lies such as the subject posting to stand unchallenged.
And that is what our collective duty as practising Pagans is - to educate the public, to enlighten them as to the truth, and to set an example to everybody out there as to how positive our Pagan beliefs and life-choices really are.