A Christmas tree festival in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, is being criticized for two displays that have disturbed locals.
The National Railroad Museum’s Christmas tree festival features nearly 70 trees. However, two of the trees, from the Satanic Temple of Wisconsin and the Bay Area Council on Gender Diversity, brought quite a shock to the community, Fox News reported Wednesday.
The Satanic Temple’s tree is decorated with pentagrams while the Gender Diversity tree features trans flags and ornaments that reportedly say, “Protect Trans Kids.”
In a social media post November 12, The Satanic Temple – Wisconsin shared photos of its tree at the museum and urged people to go view it.
“Zoom in to see our awesome ornaments, many of which were hand made by our members!” the post reads:
“Why are we afraid to stand up and say no. This is absurd. The devil has no rights,” one social media user commented on the Fox report.
Local news reports said museum CEO Jacqueline Frank admitted several community members voiced their concern about the trees while others seemed pleased the event highlighted inclusivity.
Christian pastor Luke Farwell of De Pere told Fox he asked the museum about the displays. He also said Christians believe in free speech for all, but felt concern about the mixture of Christian and Satanic themes.
Farwell continued:
What I think Christians need to do more is exercise their ability to allow these venues to have the freedom — such as the National Railroad Museum — to host different ideologies and different groups that have different viewpoints, but recognize that Christians find these things to be offensive or definitely targeting them in terms of belittling their faith or how they celebrate the holidays.
Christmas is a time when we celebrate and really rejoice in the fact that God loves this world that we live in and God cares for us. But it also reminds us that we, as adults and parents, remember the Good Shepherd. The shepherd has two voices — one for his sheep and the other for the wolves. And we need to exert that voice.
In December 2021, the Illinois Capitol rotunda featured an installation of the Satanic Temple’s “deity” known as Baphomet, which was laid like a baby swaddled in a manger, Breitbart News reported, adding it was condemned by Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Roman Catholic diocese of Springfield.
An image shows the display:
In February, the Satanic Temple unveiled plans to open what it called “the world’s first religious abortion clinic” where it would offer “abortion rituals,” per Breitbart News.