Why would anyone choose Satanism?

[Lucian Hodoboc]

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

 

[Rival]

Within Judaism Satan is an angel on G-d's side, so it also makes no sense from this context, but most Satanists don't identify with the Christian Satan. A lot are, in fact, atheists.

 

[crossfire]

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

Faith needs Doubt in order to test it for truthfulness. Does Doubt really a lose when it is dispelled?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

A lot of satanist aren't christian or believe in the bible and biblical satan. So, I don't understand how they would lose when they are not on any sides to begin with?

 

[McBell]

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

Seems to me you should really learn what Satanism is before you do a public rant on what you think it is.

 

[Rival]

Seems to me you should really learn what Satanism is before you do a public rant on what you think it is.

Satanists would have done well to choose a better title for their faith. There is a good reason that Satan is perceived as a Christian figure: because he is. And he has been for the past 1,800 or so years. He's part of the Christian cultural milieu now. If they didn't want to be associated with Christianity/Abrahamic faith in general, they should have chosen a completely different label. It would have saved them a lot of trouble.

 

[McBell]

Satanists would have done well to choose a better title for their faith. There is a good reason that Satan is perceived as a Christian figure: because he is. And has been for the past 1,800 or so years. If they didn't want to be associated with Christianity/Abrahamic faith in general, they should have chosen a completely different label. it would have saved them a lot of trouble.

I do not disagree that calling it something else would have made it easier for them.
However, the fact remains that the OP should learn what Satanism is before ranting on and on about what it ain't.

 

[herushura]

Satanism is a satire of Christianity, the Satanic verses and Satanic Bible are satire too. that's what Satanism is all about.

 

[McBell]

 

[LuisDantas]

It seems to me that there are several varieties of Satanism.

Some of them are essentially mocking the Bible. Others may well feel that there is a genuine need to balance what they perceive as excessive reliance on conformity in the Biblical text, for whatever reason.

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

Seems to me you should really learn what Satanism is before you do a public rant on what you think it is.

Theistic Satanism - Wikipedia

Oops... I meant the ones that worship Satan, not those that are allegedly atheists...

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Theistic Satanism - Wikipedia

Oops... I meant the ones that worship Satan, not those that are allegedly atheists...

Those that worship Satan don't believe the biblical narrative. Either because Satan shares identities with other gods such as Set or because he's more of a Prometheus character which the gods malign. (Or both.)

Besides, not all gods worshipped are all-powerful or will always come out on top. Odin was never going to survive Ragnarok, after all. Sometimes the principal is more desirable than the ultimate fate for some.

 

[Mindmaster]

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

Better to die and be destroyed a free man, than to suffer eternity as a slave.

But, to be clear...

I don't:

1) Believe Jehovah is the one true god, the only god, or a god at all. I am directly aware of many, and he is not on the list. From where I am, he is a made up fairy tale.

2) Believe that the bible is true, as rarely, if ever, has it been.

3) I do not see the universe in a good/evil dichotomy nor in a dualistic way. If I must be a villain by necessity because of this or any reason related to the first two, then so be it.

4) Theistic Satanists, such as I, do not worship as a slave but aspire to the greatness of Satan. We have reverence, but not are not sycophants, like Christians.

 

[Liu]

Within Judaism Satan is an angel on G-d's side, so it also makes no sense from this context, but most Satanists don't identify with the Christian Satan. A lot are, in fact, atheists.

Why wouldn't it make sense? Jewish Satanism would then basically be venerating YHVH's destructing aspect, but not be in opposition to him.
I think I encountered some whose incorporated such into their beliefs, but it is rare.

Satanism is a satire of Christianity, the Satanic verses and Satanic Bible are satire too. that's what Satanism is all about.

No.
Satire is certainly a part of it, but not the main purpose, mostly a tool.

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

It was already explained by other users here in general terms, but since Satanism is a manifold religion I'll also describe my own reasons behind it.
In my case, I don't exactly believe in the Christian concept of Satan, or in hardly anything of Christian theology at all. There are Satanists who do, but they are rather the exception.
What I do believe in is a kind of deity, or principle or force, which I decided to call Satan (besides a lot of other names) due to mainly two reasons:

- I've read a lot of texts written by other Satanists and what they seemed to describe as Satan tends to share many similarities to the deity I venerate.
- In the culture I live in, Christianity is the main religion (although atheism might be more wide-spread; I'm not in the US), and so I'm more familiar with its myths than with those of other religions. Also, I noticed that pretty much everything that Christians would call the work of the devil seems to be a comparatively direct manifestation of aspects of my deity, or at least subjectively feels like it.

As a pantheist, I believe that my deity is in pretty much everything, so that last argument might sound pretty pointless, but I differentiate between more and less direct manifestations of it (e.g., one's own innermost will is a very direct manifestation - other people's will influencing one's own will is much less direct).

 

[Rival]

Why wouldn't it make sense?

Because modern Satanism is generally against hierarchy, organised religion etc. It would also make no sense. Why not just worship G-d in full, why just one of His angels? Just a bit odd.

 

[VioletVortex]

Two reasons, from most common to least common:

1. They were raised in a strict Abrahamic background (usually a Christian one) and have been oppressed by their family's religious values, and therefore they begin to rebel. Typically, this manifests in the form of atheism or LaVeyan Satanism. In some cases, this will progress into Theistic Satanism, Paganism, Luciferianism, Thelema, or some combination of these religions.

2. They have done research about the origins and spread of Abrahamism (generally triggered by the first reason I mentioned) and have decided that it is a malice, instead finding kinship with Satan.

Also, remember that most Satanists have nothing to do with the bible, they see Satanism as a religion that exists entirely distinct from Christianity. Generally, they explain this using speculations of prechristian origins of Satanism (as in, it was demonized by the Jews). I think that this is partially true, though the nomenclature has been distorted through the years.

 

[VioletVortex]

Satanism is a satire of Christianity, the Satanic verses and Satanic Bible are satire too. that's what Satanism is all about.

The aesthetic facade of many forms of Satanism could be considered a "satire", though it isn't a satire in the comedic sense. The idea of the "Black Mass", for example, has its origins in early Catholic propaganda. It is basically a Catholic representation of Pagan ritualism. It was revived by Anton LaVey, with the espoused purpose of a "cleansing from one's Christian upbringing". The mast majority of serious Satanists have likely never performed a "Black Mass". Satanic rituals borrow primarily from Pagan traditions, which predate Christianity by far, and have nothing to do with it.

 

[Liu]

Because modern Satanism is generally against hierarchy, organised religion etc. It would also make no sense. Why not just worship G-d in full, why just one of His angels? Just a bit odd.

I'm not that well-versed in the theology of Judaism, but I encountered the belief that Satan would be more of an aspect of YHVH than an independent being, and I'd assume that this belief would also be shared by this kind of Satanists.
You are right that modern Satanism is generally against hierarchy etc., and that's why such a belief is very rare. But first and foremost, Satanism is about following one's will, and if someone is so inclined to enjoy venerating this concept of Satan, then why not?
Some of us even think that Satanists who worship Satan at all wouldn't be proper Satanists. Imo that's BS, but it's wide-spread enough as a concept that it gives a wrong impression to what Satanism is about for those who do enjoy worshiping.

Two reasons, from most common to least common:

1. They were raised in a strict Abrahamic background (usually a Christian one) and have been oppressed by their family's religious values, and therefore they begin to rebel. Typically, this manifests in the form of atheism or LaVeyan Satanism. In some cases, this will progress into Theistic Satanism, Paganism, Luciferianism, Thelema, or some combination of these religions.

2. They have done research about the origins and spread of Abrahamism (generally triggered by the first reason I mentioned) and have decided that it is a malice, instead finding kinship with Satan.

Then what about the many of us who were raised secularly?
The first reason doesn't apply to me, and the second is also far from being my main reason.

Also, remember that most Satanists have nothing to do with the bible, they see Satanism as a religion that exists entirely distinct from Christianity. Generally, they explain this using speculations of prechristian origins of Satanism (as in, it was demonized by the Jews). I think that this is partially true, though the nomenclature has been distorted through the years.

Outside of certain rather peculiar groups this search for prechristian origins of Satanism seems rather uncommon to me. Why yes, we tend to believe that the force/entity/concept of Satan can be found in any culture. But to see any direct link from a previous culture to the Jewish concept of Satan, let alone in form of a demonization done by Judaism, is rarely done. If any, then the Jews demonized their own formerly god-abiding concept of Satan by adopting parts of Zoroastrianism. They did demonize some foreign deities, but those were connected to Satan only in Christianity, as far as I know.

 

[The Holy Bottom Burp]

I don't understand why anyone would willingly choose to become a Satanist? We all know that The Bible clearly states that - spoiler alert - Satan will be defeated in the end and all his followers will be tortured and / or destroyed. Why would you willingly join the side that you already know will lose?

Okay, so we've established you are talking about people who believe in the existence of a literal biblical satan (slow down dude, you are posting a lot of stuff!). Is it so silly to side with satan? We know that god is capricious, he can change his mind and decide to wipe people out if things aren't going his way; like the flood for example, where he wiped out the majority of life on Earth (supposedly). When you read Job you are left in no doubt this deity has an ego the size of a bus; "Who are you to question the one who has created everything...etc." (forgive my paraphrase).

Maybe Lucifer saw this maniac for what he is, maybe he is the resistance against a tyrant. Perhaps the bible is nothing more than the propaganda news sheet of a malevolent god?

Feel safe when you get to heaven do you? Maybe god will change his mind again and decide to annihilate you if you go the wrong way. Who are you to argue that this would be unjust?

Just saying!

 

[shunyadragon]

Within Judaism Satan is an angel on G-d's side, so it also makes no sense from this context, but most Satanists don't identify with the Christian Satan. A lot are, in fact, atheists.

I agree that most Satanists do not identify with the Christian Satan, and I believe their belief is more out of rebellion against Christianity and what the consider the absurdity of Christian belief in the Fall, Original Sin and the Biblical view of God. It is possible that some are in reality atheists, bur I hesitate on this generalization.