A member of the Satanic Temple recently created demonic AI-generated imagery placed on the shelves inside of Hobby Lobby then posted the pictures to social media.
These images sent shockwaves through thousands of people who thought they were viewing actual statues and merchandise due to the realism of the photos.
Jennifer Vinyard, an Austin-area pharmacy technician and self-described member of the Satanic Temple, appeared to find humor in the postings mocking Christians trying to protect children from the gender ideologies in society today by saying, “I think we need to talk about what is going on at Hobby Lobby… won’t somebody please think of the children!?” in her Facebook post.
“I couldn’t believe how many likes and shares the photos got,” Vinyard told Motherboard. “I’ve read so many comments that cracked me up, mostly from the people who thought they were real and were super angry. I even got some mean Messenger messages from them.”
The post has been shared over 7,000 times and had over 100 comments before the Facebook page AI Art Universe shut down the comments section.
One account on TikTok covered the imagery in shock and led to the video being viewed over 297,000 times.
@woahthatisstrange Where is this hobby lobby someone has to know! #demon #satan #creepy #scary #greenscreenvideo ♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs – Skittlegirl Sound
As word spread that the Christian-run company was selling demonic imagery and statues of satanic figures, the truth was eventually found out that the images were AI-generated.
As reported by Motherboard, the tech division of Vice News, Vinyard said she plays with Midjourney occasionally and enjoys painting and drawing. “The prompt was actually very simple; it was something along the lines of ‘Hobby Lobby selling Satanic products.’ I also used photos of Hobby Lobby in the prompt,” she said. It took Midjourney around 10 minutes to generate the images. “I’m actually a little embarrassed that they weren’t better…If I knew they were going to blow up the way they did, I would have spent more time on them.”
According to their website, Midjourney is an “independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species. We are a small self-funded team focused on design, human infrastructure and AI.” The Midjourney website allows users to create AI-created art following prompts from the user.
This allowed Vinyard to enter prompts of satanic imagery in a Christian business after getting the idea from the displays removed from Target with satanic imagers earlier in May.
“I just thought it would be funny to use the Satanic decor, since Hobby Lobby pretends to be a Christian store,” Vinyard said.
Jesus warned His followers of this happening some 2,000 years ago however, when He told the disciples in John 15:18: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
When a new technology comes about, one of the first things Satan wants to use it for is to denigrate the name of Jesus. He just can’t help himself, and thus it is easy to anticipate how the devil will attack the Word of God and rally hatred toward the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Hobby Lobby is no stranger to the furor of the world, either.
Having taken a strong, pro-life stance, Hobby Lobby has drawn the ire of leftist groups and media since the company took its case of not providing contraceptives that violated their religious freedoms to the Supreme Court and won.
Christians must be aware that these types of attacks will not stop. If anything they will increase as the times continues devolving into godless madness, and take the initiative in the spiritual warfare taking place in the world.
Wisdom, knowledge and discernment are key factors for Christians to identify falsehoods being spread around social media.
The political theatre is already preparing to deal with, and utilize, deep fake visuals and audio recordings in the upcoming election where chaos and misinformation are sure to abound.
So, take some extra time growing in wisdom. Read the book of Proverbs and see what one of the wisest men in history wrote down while inspired by the Holy Spirit. If anyone is seeking to learn more and grow in their relationship with God so that they are prepared for the trying times ahead, the Bible is the best place to start.
James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
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