I recently ran into the following two stories, both on the website of Baptist Press in Tennessee:
- A ticket from Satanism to holiness by Gwan Garrison, April 2, 2007
- Many Satanists prefer the shadows , by Joe Westbury, Posted on Apr 2, 2007
Gwan Garrison claims to be an ex-Satanist. Googling “Satanism Gwan Garrison,” I found the following earlier versions of the above two articles, on Christian Index, a Georgia Baptist site:
- The devil had my heart, but Christ wanted my soul by Gwan Garrison, Pastor, Franklin Baptist Church, March 29, 2007
- Satanism: a real force in the world March 29, 2007
His bio seemed awfully fishy to me.
I also found some witty and thought-provoking commentary on About.com, on Witchvox, and on J-Walk Blog.
On About.com, in an article titled “Satanic Panic, or ‘I was a Satanic Witch (No, Really, I Could Fly and Everything!)’,” Jennifer Emick sums up Gwan Garrison’s story as follows:
Baptist Pastor Gwan Garrison talks about how much he enjoyed “persecuting Christians,” and he’s sure to mention (with the amount of accuracy typical in these stories) his “Satanic altar” and his “crystals.” It’s light fare compared to some of these stories- no bloody sacrifices, no marriages to Satan- but there is a glowering cat and a high-voltage Satanic bible- and there is, of course, that ever-present character, the tirelessly persistent evangelical whose refusal to stop pestering the ungodly results in his miraculous transformation.
