Satanism

Due to the many misconceptions society as a whole has against Satanists and Satanism as a whole, I feel it necessary to dispell a few myths beforehand:

• Satanism is not about harming animals or children, ritual sacrifices of babies, etc.

• Satanists do not believe that drug abuse is a great idea. It is actually un-Satanic to cloud the mind and impare judgement.

• Satanism is not merely Christianity reversed. Though most denominations do not believe in all the morals Christianity holds, things are a lot more complex than that.

• Not all denomonations worship an entity called 'Satan', or believe in a devil of any sort. There are those that do, but this is not a defining point among all Satanic denominations.

• Satanists are generally not ignorant, moronic anarchists out to take over and/or destroy the world. Most of the Satanists I've had the pleasure of conversing with were well-spoken, well educated, polite, sane, nice and overall delightful people.

Quotes from Anton Szandor LaVey's The Satanic Bible:

‘The semantic meaning of Satan is the “adversary” or “opposition” or the “accuser”. The very word “devil” comes from the Indian devi which means “god.” Satan represents opposition to all religions which serve to frustrate and condemn man for his natural instincts. He has been given an evil role simply because he represents the carnal, earthly, and mundane aspects of life’ (pg 55)

‘Most Satanists do not accept Satan as an anthropomorphic being with cloven hooves, a barbed tail, and horns. He merely represents a force of nature – the powers of darkness which have been named for just that because no religion has taken the forces out of the darkness. Nor has science been able to apply technical terminology to this force. It is an untapped reservoir that few can make use of because they lack the ability to use a tool without having to first break down and label all the parts which make it run. It is this incessant need to analyze which prohibits most people from taking advantage of this many faceted key to the unknown – which the Satanist chooses to call “Satan” (pg 62).

‘To become a Satanist, it is unnecessary to sell you soul to the Devil or make a pact with Satan. This threat was devised by Christianity to terrorize people so they would not stray from the fold. With scolding fingers and trembling voices, they taught their followers that if they gave in to the temptations of Satan, and lived their lives according to their natural predilections, they would have to pay for their sinful pleasures by giving their souls to Satan and suffering in Hell for all eternity. People were lead to believe that a pure soul was a passport to everlasting life’ (pg 61).

‘Satanism is based on a very sound philosophy,” say the emancipated. “But why call it Satanism? Why not call it something like ‘Humanism’ or a name that would have the connotation of a witchcraft group, something a little more esoteric – something less blatant.” There is more than one reason for this. Humanism is not a religion. It is simply a way of life with no ceremony or dogma. Satanism has both ceremony and dogma. Dogma…is necessary’ (pg 50).