In case anyone is wondering if there's such a thing as "Satan," the following true story should serve as proof that an evil beyond our comprehension is alive and active in our world and is particularly interested in attracting young followers. But all those "harmless" books such as Harry Potter and Twilight - and all that Satanic rock featured on MTV - couldn't possibly be to blame, could they? International news sources are reporting that six members of a Satanic cult in Russia were sentenced yesterday to up to 20 years for the ritual "sacrifice" of four teens whose bodies were then dismembered and partially eaten. According to London's Telegraph, the bizarre case involves six youth who were found guilty of "murdering four teens with the aim of carrying out an initiation ritual into a sect and of desecrating the bodies of the dead," said a statement issued by a court in the Russian city of Yaroslavl. The case, which was held behind closed doors due to the horrific nature of the crime, involved the murder of four teens ranging in age from 16 to 17 in June 2008 who were lured to the scene by the promise of a party. Russian authorities say Olga Pukhova, Anna Gorokhova, Varya Kuzmina and Andrei Sorokin were then stabbed 666 times. Some of their body parts were cut off and their hearts ripped out as part of a ritual.  The Satanists then built a bonfire, threw some of the parts into the flames, and ate some of the roasted pieces. According to press reports, authorities eventually found the mutilated bodies of the missing teens buried in a forest a few months later. The spot was marked by an upside down cross upon which a small rodent had been crucified. The leader of the group, Nikolai Ogolobyak, told police he wasn't concerned about his arrest because he believed Satan would help him "avoid responsibility" because "I made a lot of sacrifices to him." Another member of the group, said he turned to Satan when his prayers to God went unanswered.  "I tried to turn to God but it didn't bring me any money," he said. "I prayed to Satan and things improved." Ogolobyak received the maximum sentence of 20 years and the four minors involved in the crime received the maximum possible sentence for murder which is 10 years. Another member was convicted of murder but was pronounced insane and sentenced to compulsory psychiatric treatment. Cases such as these aren't limited to Russia, however. Law enforcement officials in the U.S. say Satanic crimes are occurring in ever increasing numbers all over the world as well as in every state in the U.S. - on a regular basis!  Reports of ritual killings, ritual abuse, grave robbing, animal sacrifice, and destruction of property are happening every day in this country and abroad. As more and more people are drawn away from God into a secular culture and occult-oriented alternative religions, more and more of them end up involved in the worship of darkness even though most never intend to do so. Youth are particulary vulnerable to the lure of Satan, especially those who have been de-sensitized to the occult by popular fiction such as Harry Potter, Twilight, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, etc. Who can forget the horrible case of 14 year-old Tommy Sullivan who was only involved in Satanism for a few weeks when he murdered his mother and committed suicide, leaving behind a diary where he recorded the pledge he made to Satan to kill his family.  Another bizarre case involving teens occurred in New York where a group of Satanists beat and stabbed another teen to death, then cut out his eyes, all in the name of Satan. Camille Regan, a mental health counselor who sees many young people involved in the occult, told Johnnette in her book The New Age Counterfeit, that the middle-school years are when children are most likely to become involved in the occult because this is when they are searching for an identity.   “ . . .Kids that are in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade start to peak an interest in the  the occult through books, games, comics . . . . Most of these kids are searching for an identity at that particular age and a lot of these kids who get inducted into the occult are children who don’t quite fit with the family. The family might be a high achieving family and this child might not be a high achiever. Or the family’s goal might be to be socially prominent and this child doesn’t quite make it in the social groups the parents wish he would be in.”   The world's most famous exorcist, Father Gabriel Amorth, says another reason why young people are more vulnerable to satanic activity is “because the young lack faith and ideals; therefore they are those most exposed to disastrous experiences. Even children are very vulnerable, not because of personal fault, but because of their weakness. Many times when we exorcise an adult we discover that the demonic presence can be traced to early childhood or even worse, to the moment of birth or even to their gestation.” Stories like these should be a wake-up call to all of us - we need to start educating ourselves about the way Satan is active in our world today so that we can stop falling for his deadly tricks! The New Age Counterfeit, Johnnette's classic expose on the New Age, is a must read! Click on New Age Resources on the navigation bar above for more information.