Satanist reporting in (ritual, Deist, beliefs, church, worship)

[Anatasp]

I liked the idea of a multi-faith forums, so I decided to register an account here. I just want to say that it's a wonderful idea and offers a chance for a little "show and tell" so-to-speak, if one desires to partake in it. And oh yes: Hi.

There are a few problems with the Satanism forum I'd like to address, and I am hoping I am not coming off as overbearing to the site administrator.

1. The subtitle for the Satanism forum contains the phrase "Satanic fellowship". There is no such thing. Satanism is an individualistic religion, in every respect. The word "Fellowship" implies that all of its members consider one another "brothers" or "fellows" when it is simply not the case. Satanists are not obligated to like or converse with one another. In fact, the vast majority practice alone. Some do not even tell others about their affiliation. Perhaps this was not your intention, and perhaps it is not that big of a deal, but if you're shooting for accuracy it would really help to clarify.

2. I noticed that the "Satanism" forum has Luciferians, or inverse Christians posting, claiming to be Satanists. If you believe in the Christian personification of evil as a deity who actually exists in some form, you are not a Satanist; you are a Luciferian or Deistic Satanist. The label "Satanism" was first embraced as a religion by Anton LaVey when he founded the Church of Satan in 1966. For centuries prior, the term "Satanist" was a loosely used and defined term to describe anyone who chose not to submit to the will of the all-powerful church. Now, it is important to differentiate between the deistic and non-deistic, as they are as different as night and day.

Remember: Luciferians (Deistic Satanists) believe that Satan, the Christian antithesis exists as a real being, while Lavey/Modern Satanists believe that Satan is an archetype or a symbol of individuality and carnal desire; everything the Satanist stands for. He does not believe that Satan exists as anything more than a symbol. Lumping these two religions together is misleading.

That is all I can think of right now. I hope to have been of some help.

[Saw11_2000]

Hi, and welcome to the forums.

[Paw]

Can you tell us why you decided to become a Satanist?

[robtex]

Great to meet you yankee. What are a couple of hobbies and interests and what are you studying in school? How familiar are you with Alister Crowley ? I don't know much about him but I understand that Lavey was influenced by his works.

[Fluffy]

2. I noticed that the "Satanism" forum has Luciferians, or inverse Christians posting, claiming to be Satanists. If you believe in the Christian personification of evil as a deity who actually exists in some form, you are not a Satanist; you are a Luciferian or Deistic Satanist. The label "Satanism" was first embraced as a religion by Anton LaVey when he founded the Church of Satan in 1966. For centuries prior, the term "Satanist" was a loosely used and defined term to describe anyone who chose not to submit to the will of the all-powerful church. Now, it is important to differentiate between the deistic and non-deistic, as they are as different as night and day.

Maybe it might be a good idea to create a seperate sub forum for both religions, though just because another group decides to call themselves Satanists doesn't mean you can tell them they aren't allowed and have to call themselves Luciferians or whatever. There isn't a copywright on religious names as far as I know. I know it is confusing and I think it is a mistake not to have a subforum for each or at least not state specificly what the overall forum is for. Afterall it would be like me making up a new religion, naming it Christianity, even though it shared none of the same beliefs, and then getting lumped together all the time. Understandable but avoidable on forums like this.

[Anatasp]

Originally Posted by Fluffy

Maybe it might be a good idea to create a seperate sub forum for both religions, though just because another group decides to call themselves Satanists doesn't mean you can tell them they aren't allowed and have to call themselves Luciferians or whatever. There isn't a copywright on religious names as far as I know. I know it is confusing and I think it is a mistake not to have a subforum for each or at least not state specificly what the overall forum is for. Afterall it would be like me making up a new religion, naming it Christianity, even though it shared none of the same beliefs, and then getting lumped together all the time. Understandable but avoidable on forums like this.

Agreed. I hold no contempt for Deistic Satanists, but I DO get annoyed when someone sees my ritual items and asks why I worship Satan. I understand however that the very nature of Satanism, LaVeyan or Deistic, is somewhat controversial in the public's eye.

[Rex]

So what if I just had this forum for Satanism, and added a subforum within it for Luciferism ?

[Anatasp]

Originally Posted by RearingArabian

Can you tell us why you decided to become a Satanist?

Before I was a Satanist, I was a Christian, a Mormon, and a Buddhist. I also briefly investigated Islam.

The entire time I was a part of these right-hand path, altrusitc, mindlessly-follow-the-leader religions, I continually had to convince myself that I did, in fact, have faith in the shady areas of their respective doctrines. I had "faith" that Jesus died for my sins and that he was the son of God, I had "faith" that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

The Buddha taught to never accept a religious doctrine unless you found for yourself it to be true, that no faith is involved; yet Theravada Buddhism is full of metaphysical beliefs, all requiring faith.

I was a good Christian and a good Mormon. I gave others my testimony that I 'knew' that the doctrines were true, when subconsciously I doubted. Religious leaders personified my doubts as evil workings, "Satan" trying to steer me away from the "holy path" and God's great, cosmic reward. It was a lot easier to combat my instinctive human intellect which screamed loudly "This is a lie!" when one places that doubt tantamount with evil.

The clergymen and the bishops and the cult-followers were not successful in stamping out my doubt. I think what helped with this is the fact that my household is not a fundamentally religious one; My loving mother is an Irish protestant, but is quite secular, and did not see the religion I chose as important. I wouldn't be hurting my family relationships by changing to another religion.

In my opinion, this is the root of radical fundamentalism; the religious parents' determination to indoctrinate their child into their religion, denying them the freedom to find his or her own path in life. I can not tell you how infuriated I get when a parent refuses to let their child research and choose their own religion; these people see their children not as intelligent young people to be cherished, but as clay to mold into the perfect and prettiest ornament for all others to see. That or they do not want to bother with teaching their children morality by example, preferring instead to let the church officials teach the child their version of morality (Which I will address momentarily). "My child is the perfect follower, see how good of a parent I am?" The opposite is true: they are terrible parents for denying their children intellectual freedom. They can tell me all they want that they are doing it because they love their child and want him or her to go to heaven; i'm sure this is true in most cases. Sadly, the wish to have a 'pretty ornament' of a child to feed their weak ego is present also. It is an abomination.

I researched everything. Buddhist schools, Islam, Hindu, I delved further into Christianity and concluded that it was falsehood, I found that the so-called prophet of Mormonism was a liar and a nutcase whose accomplishments included burglarly, using his leverage as a "prophet" to get young, unwilling, and often married women into his bed, and that he died in a pistol shoot-out.

And then I found The Satanic Bible. Reading its words was like having the sun appear from behind the clouds, if I may borrow a Buddhist metaphor. I rediscovered what I had always known in my heart : That I am one-hundred percent responsible for my own life, and that I should strive to make the best of this life while I am here without hoping for a better life after my flesh fails, that life is too short to waste time worrying about pleasing and appeasing others. That "white-light" religions are based upon altruistic philosophies that worked in the Dark Ages but are useless and detrimental to human progress in this age of steel and technology, that these philosophies from the past, meant to keep order then, do nothing but hamper now, that these so-called holy doctrines make a man deny himself and his natural, carnal desires. THIS is why I am a Satanist.

[Anatasp]

Originally Posted by Rex_Admin

So what if I just had this forum for Satanism, and added a subforum within it for Luciferism ?

I recommend a forum for Satanism, then having two sub-forums: One titled Luciferism/Deistic Satanism, the other for LaVey/Modern Satanism.

[Anatasp]

Originally Posted by robtex

Great to meet you yankee. What are a couple of hobbies and interests and what are you studying in school? How familiar are you with Alister Crowley ? I don't know much about him but I understand that Lavey was influenced by his works.

I am currently studying Criminal Justice, and am in my final year of High School. I've lost interest in Criminal Justice, however, along with my faith in the Justice system, so I could never be in law enforcement. Now, I am setting my sights on becoming a nurse, and from there I hope to get accepted into medical school and become an anesthesiologist.

I'm not too familiar with Alister Crowley. Do not take my word for truth, but I believe LaVey hailed Crowley as a crazy man with some excellent and fresh ideas that were considered "dark". Let me state, though, that my knowledge is based upon thumbing through a New Age Religion book titled "The Book of Lies: a study of the occult" for a few hours; I usually skipped Crowley and went straight to LaVey and Nietzche.