Let's try this again. Please respect this thread. Do not come here to proselytize. This is a Religion forum. This is not a forum for one particular religious group. With that said, let's try this again.

I've been studying (not necessarily practicing) Satanism as of late. I've found it very interesting. Just to clarify, I've been studying about the beliefs and practices of The Official Church of Satan founded by Anton Szandor LaVey back in 1966. LaVeyan Satanists do not believe there is a God. They do not believe there is a Satan. To LaVeyan Satanists Satan is an abstract symbol of how man should live by his carnal desires. From my understanding, LaVey built a religion around all the so called "sins" of Christianity. Most everything that Christians considered good and holy (Jesus, the Ten Commandments, The Crucifixion, ect.) was deemed as man made moral dogma according to LaVey and must be put into question. Of course he felt that way about all religions however it was quite evident that he was mainly biased against Christianity.

A side note, there are a small religious sect of Satanists called Luciferian Satanists, who are similar to LaVeyan Satanists except in one very important way. Luciferian Satanists believe Lucifer (Satan) is a real entity and is to be worshipped and the Christian God is their enemy. Just so everyone is clear, when I'm referring to Satanists here I'm referring to LaVeyan Satanists and NOT Luciferian Satanists.

Here are some beliefs of LaVeyan Satanists.



The Nine Satanic Statements from The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey

1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!

2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!

3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!

4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates!

5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!

6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!

7. Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all!

8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!

9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!



The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth by Anton Szandor LaVey

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.

4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.

6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.

7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.

8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.

9. Do not harm little children.

10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.



The Nine Satanic Sins by Anton Szandor LaVey

1. Stupidity—The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.

2. Pretentiousness—Empty posturing can be most irritating and isn’t applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. On equal footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation these days. Everyone’s made to feel like a big shot, whether they can come up with the goods or not.

3. Solipsism—Can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of “Do unto others as they do unto you.” It’s work for most of us and requires constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you. As has been said, certain utopias would be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far from that point.

4. Self-deceit—It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements” but deserves to be repeated here. Another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit!

5. Herd Conformity—That’s obvious from a Satanic stance. It’s all right to conform to a person’s wishes, if it ultimately benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a master wisely instead of being enslaved by the whims of the many.

6. Lack of Perspective—Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do not be swayed by herd constraints—know that you are working on another level entirely from the rest of the world.

7. Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies—Be aware that this is one of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something new and different, when in reality it’s something that was once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We are expected to rave about the genius of the creator and forget the original. This makes for a disposable society.

8. Counterproductive Pride—That first word is important. Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: if it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you’ve painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow, then do it.

9. Lack of Aesthetics—This is the physical application of the Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the time so they are discouraged in a consumer society, but an eye for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It’s not what’s supposed to be pleasing—it’s what is. Aesthetics is a personal thing, reflective of one’s own nature, but there are universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should not be denied.



PENTAGONAL REVISIONISM: A FIVE-POINT PROGRAM by Anton Szandor LaVey

In recent years, we’ve wasted far too much time explaining that Satanism has nothing to do with kidnapping, drug abuse, child molestation, animal or child sacrifice, or any number of other acts that idiots, hysterics or opportunists would like to credit us with. Satanism is a life-loving, rational philosophy that millions of people adhere to. Now we’re ready for something that goes quite a few steps beyond just explaining our principles. Every revisionist movement needs a set of goals/guidelines that are clear, concrete, and that will effect significant changes.

The following Five-Point Program reflects attitudes which allow others to decide whether they wish to align themselves with Satanism or not. Each is necessary for Satanic change to take place. When asked what we’re “doing,” here’s the answer:

1. Stratification—The point on which all the others ultimately rest. There can be no more myth of “equality” for all—it only translates to “mediocrity” and supports the weak at the expense of the strong. Water must be allowed to seek its own level without interference from apologists for incompetence. No one should be protected from the effects of his own stupidity.

2. Strict taxation of all churches—If churches were taxed for all their income and property, they’d crumble overnight of their own obsolescence, and the National Debt would be wiped out as quickly. The productive, the creative, the resourceful should be subsidized. So long as the useless and incompetent are getting paid, they should be heavily taxed.

3. No tolerance for religious beliefs secularized and incorporated into law and order issues—to re-establish “Lex Talionis” would require a complete overturning of the present in-justice system based on Judeo-Christian ideals, where the victim/defender has been made the criminal. Amnesty should be considered for anyone in prison because of his alleged “influence” upon the actual perpetrator of the crime. Everyone is influenced in what he or she does. Scapegoating has become a way of life, a means of survival for the unfit. As an extension of the Judeo-Christian cop-out of blaming the Devil for everything, criminals can gain leniency, even praise, by placing the blame on a convenient villain. Following the Satanic creed of “Responsibility to the responsible,” in a Satanic society, everyone must experience the consequences of his own actions—for good or ill.

4. Development and production of artificial human companions—The forbidden industry. An economic “godsend” which will allow everyone “power” over someone else. Polite, sophisticated, technologically feasible slavery. And the most profitable industry since T.V. and the computer.

5. The opportunity for anyone to live within a total environment of his or her choice, with mandatory adherence to the aesthetic and behavioral standards of same—Privately owned, operated and controlled environments as an alternative to homogenized and polyglot ones. The freedom to insularize oneself within a social milieu of personal well-being. An opportunity to feel, see, and hear that which is most aesthetically pleasing, without interference from those who would pollute or detract from that option.

This is the encapsulated version of the current thrust of Satanic advocacy. So when someone asks you, “Well, what do Satanists do?”, you will be qualified to tell him.



From "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey

(FIRE)
THE BOOK OF SATAN
THE INFERNAL DIATRIBE

The first book of the Satanic Bible is not an attempt to blaspheme as much as it is a statement of what might be termed "diabolical indignation." The Devil has been attacked by men of God relentlessly and without reservation. Never has there been an opportunity, short of fiction, for the Dark Prince to speak out in the same manner as the spokesman of the Lord of the Righteous. The pulpit pounders of the past have been free to define "good" and "evil" as they see fit, and have gladly smashed into oblivion any who disagree with their lies, both verbally and at times, physically. Their talk of "charity," when applied to His Infernal Majesty, becomes an empty sham, and most unfairly, too, considering the obvious fact that without their Satanic foe their very religions would collapse... (snipped)


THE BOOK OF SATAN

I.
1. In this arid wilderness of steel and stone I raise up my voice that you may hear. To the East and to the West I beckon. To the North and to the South I show a sign proclaiming: Death to the weakling, wealth to the strong!

2. Open your eyes that you may see, Oh men of mildewed minds, and listen to me ye bewildered millions!

3. For I stand forth to challenge the wisdom of the world; to interrogate the "laws" of man and of "God!"

4. I request reasons for your golden rule and ask the why and wherefore of your ten commands.

5. Before none of your printed idols do I bend in aquiescence, and he who saith "thou shalt" to me is my mortal foe!

6. I dip my forefinger in the watery blood of you impotent mad redeemer, and write over his thorn-torn brow: The TRUE prince of evil, the king of the slaves!

7. No hoary falsehood shall be truth to me; no stifling dogma shall encramp my pen!

8. I break away from all conventions that do not lead to my earthly success and hapiness.

9. I raise up in stern invasion the standard of the strong!

10. I gaze into the glassy eye of your Jehovah, and pluck him by the beard; I uplift a broad-axe, and split open his worm eaten skull!

11. I blast out the ghastly contents of philosophically whitted sepulchers and laugh with sardonic wrath!


II.
1. Behold the crucifix; what does it symbolize? Pallid incompetence hanging on a tree.

2. I question all things. As I stand before the festering and vanished facades of your haughtiest moral dogmas, I write thereon in letters of blazing scorn: Lo and behold; all this is fraud!

3. Gather around me, Oh! Ye death-defiant, and the earth itself shall be thine, to have and to hold!

4. Too long the dead hand has been permitted to sterlize living thought!

5. Too long right and wrong, good and evil have been inverted by false prophets!

6. No creed must be accepted by authority of a “divine” nature. Religions must be put to the question. No moral dogma must be taken for granted -- no standard of measurement defied. There is nothing inherently sacred about moral codes. Like the wooden idols of long ago, they are the work of human hands, and what man has made, man can destroy!

7. He that is slow to believe anything and everything is of great understanding, for beliefe in one false principle is the beginning of all unwisdom.

8. The chief duty of every new age is to upraise new men to determine its liberties, to lead it towards material success -- to rend the rusty padlocks and chains of dead custom that always prevent healthy expansion. Theories and ideas that may have meant life and hope and freedom for our ancestors may now mean destruction, slavery, and dishonor to us!

9. As environments change, no human ideal standeth sure!

10. Whenever, therefore, a lie has built unto itself a throne, let it be assailed without pity and without regret, for under the domination of an inconvenient falsehood, no one can prosper.

11. Let established sophisms be dethroned, rooted out, burnt and destroyed, for they are a standing menace to all true nobility of thought and action!

12. Whatever alleged “truth” is proven by results to be but an empty fiction, let it be unceremoniously flung into the outer darkness, among the dead gods, dead empires, dead philosophies, and other useless lumber and wreckage!

13. The most dangerous of all enthroned lies is the holy, the sanctified, the privileged lie -- the lie everyone believes to be a model truth. It is the fruitful mother of all other popular errors and delusions. It is a hydra-headed tree of unreason with a thousand roots. It is a social cancer!

14. The lie that is known to be a lie is half eradicated, but the lie that even intelligent persons accept as fact -- the lie that has been inculcated in a little child at its mother’s knee -- is more dangerous to contend against then a creeping pestilence!

15. Popular lies have ever been the most potent enemies of personal liberty. There is only one way to deal with them: Cut them out, to the very core, just as cancers. Exterminate them root and branch. Annihalate them, or they will us!


III.
1. “Love one another” it has been said is the supreme law, but what power made it so? Upon what rational authority does the gospel of love rest? Why should I not hate mine enemies -- if I “love” them does that not place me at their mercy?

2. Is it natural for enemies to do good unto each other -- and WHAT IS GOOD?

3. Can the torn and bloody victom “love” the blood splashed jaws that rend him limb from limb?

4. Are we not all predatory animals by instinct> If humans ceased wholly from preying upon each other, could they continue to exist?

5. Is not “lust and carnal desire” a more truthful term to describe “love” when applied to the continuance of the race? Is not the “love” of the fawning scriptures simply a euphemism for sexual activity, or was the “great teacher” a glorifier or eunuchs?

6. Love your enemies and do good to them that hate and use you -- is this not the despicable philophy of the spaniel that rolls upon its back when kicked?

7. Hate your enemies with a whole heart, and if a man smite you on one cheek, SMASH him on the other!; smite him hip and thigh, for self-preservation is the highest law!

8. He who turns the other cheek is a cowardly dog!

9. Give blow for blow, scorn for scorn, doom for doom -- with compound interest liberally added thereunto! Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, aye four-fold, a hundred-fold! Make yourself a Terror to your adversary, and when he goeth his way, he will posses much additional wisdom to ruminate over. Thus shall you make yourself respected in all the walks of life, and your spirit -- your immortal spirit -- shall live, not in an intangible paradise, but in the brains and sinews of those whose respect you have gained.


IV.
1. Life is the great indulgence -- death, the great abstinence. Therefore, make the most of life -- HERE AND NOW!

2. There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth!

3. Say unto thine own heart, “I am mine own redeemer.”

4. Stop the way of them that would persecute you. Let those who devise thine undoing be hurled back to confusion and infamy. Let them be as chaff before the cyclone and after they have fallen rejoice in thine own salvation.

5. Then all they bones shall say pridefully, “Who is like unto me? Have I not been too strong for mine adversaries? Have I not delivered MYSELF by mine own brain and body?”


V.
1. Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth -- Cursed are the weak, for they shall inherit the yoke!

2. Blessed are the powerful, for they shall be reverenced among men -- Cursed are the feeble, for they shall be blotted out!

3. Blessed are the bold, for they shall be masters of the world -- Cursed are the righteously humble, for they shall be trodden under hoofs!

4. Blessed are the victorious, for victory is the basis of right -- Cursed are the vanquished, for they shall be vassals forever!

5. Blessed are the iron-handed, for the unfit shall flee before them -- Cursed are the poor in spirit, for they shall be spat upon.

6. Blessed are the death-defiant, for their days shall be long in the land -- Cursed are the gazers towards a richer life beyond the grave, for they shall perish amidst plenty!

7. Blessed are the destroyers of false hope, for they are the true Messiahs -- Cursed are the god-adorers, for they shall be shorn sheep!

8. Blessed are the valiant, for they shall obtain great treasure -- Cursed are the believers in good and evil, for they are frightened by shadows!

9. Blessed are those that believe in what is best for them, for never shall their minds be terrorized -- Cursed are the “lambs of God,” for they shall be bled whiter than snow!

10. Blessed is the man who has a sprinkling of enemies, for they shall make him a hero -- Cursed is he who doeth good unto others who sneer upon him in return, for he shall be despised!

11. Blessed are the mighty-minded, for they shall ride the whirlwinds -- Cursed are they who teach lies for truth and truth for lies, for they are an abomination.

12. Thrice cursed are the weak whose insecurity makes them vile, for they shall serve and suffer!

13. The angel of self-deceit is camped in the souls of the “righteous” -- The eternal flame of power through joy dwelleth within the flesh of the Satanist!

I'm sick of you Satanists shoving your religion down our throats! Your truth is fine for you, but it isn't the only truth! Why can't you understand this you facist!

...I don't see what you guys get out of doing that.

Thanks for sharing.

I am repulsed by this topic. It makes me sick.

Oh...but it's just fine to shove christianity down peoples throats?...If you don't like it...don't open the thread.

I don't shove anything down anyone's throat.

this post seems to violate one or your own posted rules under....

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth by Anton Szandor LaVey

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.!!!

i know you are apparently into your beliefs, but at the very least don't make it so long... if someone gets really interested they can go find all that stuff anyway... what is the point of this long ass post?

Earth to vardlokkur...come in vardlokkur.

It's called sarcasm. Thank you for making my point, by being a perfect Christian hater. It's always "Christians are shoving their religion down my throat" but when you guys talk about your religion there is nothing wrong with it. You, sir, are a hypocrite.

Who said I hate christians?..bad assumption on your part.Oh and it's not my religion..bad assumption number two..care to try for three?

Eh, sounds like a intellectual thought he was better than everyone else and made a religion out of it, but i don't pay attention to people like that.

vardlokkur,

Reading is fundamental.

You obviously aren't full of love for Christians...




Point is, we only hear about Christians shoving their religion down others throats, if the post is about any other religion, there's nothing wrong with it.

vard.... Welcome to the world of frog-giggin!!! You wanna borrow my trident?

thank you.

i don't either but it seems every time someone brings up the bible,you'll hear someone say "quit trying to shove Christianity down out throats!".is that the only thing they learned to say?

The word "my" does not appear in my post anywhere. And I've never had a satanist knocking on my door on a saturday trying to get me to go to their church.

knocking on your door? i thought only jehovah's witnesses did that?

Oh we get those to...lol

JWs don't believe that Jesus is God, they aren't Christians. They are a cult because they say that only JWs will be saved.

thats why i said JWs not christians. how are you spider?

Ok... this really is not my "thang"...to each his own...

This...however... sounds so so familiar...




5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!

Lady V, I will be back for a more in depth reading. If I run and hide because something sounds scary, but I know absolutely nothing about it other than my own fear of a name -- what purpose have I served, except wallowing in ignorance enabling my own stagnation and possibly a gross misrepresentation of one of my fellows.

"When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we’re all free to worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free"

Above quote: Garth Brooks song "We Shall Be Free".