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AriseandShine.org

October 2012

Santeria & Gangs

10/31/2012

 
There are certain subjects that I choose not to share in my journal. While there are others I will write about, albeit reluctantly...
And one of these is Santeria, which is the worship of various pagan deities and spirits. It's very similar to Voodoo.

I have seen people practicing Santeria before I came to prison, and I have seen even more of it while incarcerated. In fact, in recent years I have observed a big increase in the number of Santeria practitioners. Many of whom have gang affiliations.

In addition, it was only recently that prison officials in New York recognized Santeria as an acceptable religion. They've since granted permission for classes on Santeria to be taught. Anyone with an interest in it can fill out a "Change of Religion" form and practice his faith with the state's blessings. Wicca has also been recently recognized as an acceptable religion, too.

But aside from this, it is becoming very common for members of criminal gangs to try to summon help from "spirits" in order to receive supernatural protection and wealth, as well as dispatch those spirits to cause harm to their enemies.

I know that in places such as Central and South America, Santeria is popular. Its practitioners want blessings and good fortune. But nowadays many criminal enterprises are summoning the same demons, which is what I believe these so called "spirits' really are.

As a former satanist and worshiper of a deity by the name of Samhain, I know something about seeking power from the unseen realm. More than thirty years later I deeply regret ever getting involved with this and taking innocent lives. At the time I was a lost and lonely man. I had friends, or so I thought, but, they were feeding me lies. Over time my mind weakened to the point where I ultimately surrendered to the Devil. I became delusional, even psychotic.

Likewise with Santeria, contact with demonic entities does not come without personal cost. The spirits and gods of Santeria, or any other occultic religion, offer their adherents promises of a proverbial "pot of gold." However their services are anything but free. The ultimate price is the loss of one's soul.

I have been taking the increasing popularity of Santeria at the prison to the Lord in prayer. God loves these individuals and longs to see them set free from the dark powers who seek to deceive. He does not want them to continue along the road to destruction. But this is exactly where they're going unless they repent of their sins and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

D. B.
Testimony of an ex satanist, who practiced Santeria:
JohnRamirez.org
To order any of John's books click here to proceed to his online store.
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    David Berkowitz
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