Satanic Temple hails Satan as 'hero' in Garden of Eden display at Illinois capitol for Christmas

The Satanic Temple's Chicago chapter has been allowed to display a sculpture hailing Satan as a "hero" next to a Nativity scene and other Christmas displays at the Illinois state capitol.

The 4-and-a-half feet tall sculpture is called "Knowledge is the Greatest Gift," and features a woman's extended hand holding an apple, with a snake coiled around her, reported The State Journal-Register.

Satanic Temple spokesman Lex Manticore confirmed that the arm represents that of Eve in the story of Genesis.

"We see Satan as a hero in that story, of course, spreading knowledge," Manticore said.

He added that the pursuit of knowledge is "the greatest individual pursuit of bettering yourself, and we believe that you should basically act with the best scientific understanding of the world when you make decisions."

The Garden of Eden account in Genesis positions that Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, were told by God not to eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan, who transforms into a snake, deceives Eve into taking a bite from a fruit from the tree, and she in turn persuades Adam to follow.

As Christian author Dorothy Valcárcel noted in an op-ed for The Christian Post in December 2008, God "could have left the disobedient Adam and Eve to die" for disobeying His command and bringing death and disorder into the world.

"In the last book and last chapter of the Bible, we are promised that the curse that came from Adam and Eve's fall in Eden — will be broken. And that — dear daughters and sons of Eve — is the 'compulsion' of God, to break the curse of sin in your life and mine. This is why, I believe with all my heart, that my loving Father, when He created Adam and Eve, planted a seed in their hearts," Valcárcel positioned back then.

Manticore added that The Satanic Temple doesn't believe in "anything supernatural."

"So that's no deities," Manticore said. "Not only do we not worship a literal Satan, but we don't believe one actually exists. Satan for us is a metaphor. ... Throughout literary history, (it's) been used as a character that represents rebellion in the face of religious tyranny."

Read more about the Satanic Temple on The Christian Post.