I can't seem to understand Satanism. Please help

[dantech]

Hello,

As much as I read about Satanism, it just doesn't make sense to me. I don't mean that in an offensive way. I'd just like to understand what is is you believe in, or worship, and why?

For example, in the overview of this DIR, it says something like Worship of Satan or other Evil beings.
But why would someone acknowledge a being as Evil, and then worship him. I would understand if you didn't see this being as evil.

Also, where do you get your information from? Is there a Satanic "bible"? who/what wrote it?

Again, I really don't mean to be offensive even though it may seem that way.

 

[dust1n]

I'm not expert here, but there is generally theistic Satanism and non-theistic Satanism. Either way, they are used as symbols for more-or-less self-deification.

I'm willing to believe that most Satanists, especially contemporary, are atheist. To answer some of your questions:

"LaVeyan Satanism is a religious philosophy founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey, codified in The Satanic Bible and overseen by the Church of Satan. Its core beliefs and philosophies are based on individualism, egoism, epicureanism,self-deification and self-preservation, and propagates a worldview of natural law, materialism, Social Darwinism, Lex Talionis, and mankind as animals in an amoral universe.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Adherents to the philosophy have described Satanism as a non-spiritual religion of the flesh, or "...the world's first carnal religion".[21][22][23]

Contrary to popular belief, LaVeyan Satanism does not involve "devil worship" or worship of any deities. It is anatheistic philosophy that asserts that "each individual is his or her own god [and that] there is no room for any other god".[24] Adherents instead see the character of Satan as an archetype of pride, carnality, liberty, enlightenment,undefiled wisdom, and of a cosmos which Satanists perceive to be motivated by a "dark evolutionary force of entropythat permeates all of nature and provides the drive for survival and propagation inherent in all living things". He also serves as a conceptual framework and an external metaphorical projection of [the Satanists] highest personal potential. Satan (Hebrew: שָּׂטָן satan, meaning "adversary") is seen as a symbol of defiance to the conservatism of mainstream philosophical and religious currents, mainly the Abrahamic religions, that see this character as their antithesis.[25][26][27][28][29]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism


But there are Satanists that are different in this matter. People who actually believe in a Satanic deity, generally find these same "positive traits" in the thing they worship.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

First off, that info page for the Satanism DIR on here is horribly written. It needs to be scrapped and rewritten.

Anyway, the only "Satanists" who view Satan as evil and still worship/idolize that are ones who are psychopaths or have another serious mental health issue. Those are the "reverse Christian" types. Most Satanists are moral relativists, not believing that good or evil are objective, and view Satan as being good by their definition. They tend to see the Abrahamic god has well as pretty much all the mainstream Right-Hand Path deities as oppressive and often cruel tyrants who limit human possibility. Satan is typically viewed as a liberator, bringer of knowledge and wisdom, a rebel against accepted authority, a bringer of great change and Self-transformation, a symbol of or a being that guides one towards apotheosis, a hedonistic symbol or deity of pleasure and/or power, etc.

Satan is often identified with various pre-Abrahamic deities such as Prometheus, Lucifer, Set, Enki, Pan, etc.

There's various forms of Satanism, as well. There's Gnostic forms of it, atheistic/symbolic forms of it, polytheistic forms, pantheistic forms, monotheistic forms, etc. Some practice ritual magick, some don't. Most abide by the law, some don't. Etc. Satanism is a very disorganized group of religions and philosophies and it really can't be any other way.

 

[Mindmaster]

I concur with the DIR statements needing to be scrapped. They just need to be written by someone who actually participates in it.

Hello,

As much as I read about Satanism, it just doesn't make sense to me. I don't mean that in an offensive way. I'd just like to understand what is is you believe in, or worship, and why?

For example, in the overview of this DIR, it says something like Worship of Satan or other Evil beings.
But why would someone acknowledge a being as Evil, and then worship him. I would understand if you didn't see this being as evil.

Also, where do you get your information from? Is there a Satanic "bible"? who/what wrote it?

Again, I really don't mean to be offensive even though it may seem that way.

It's sort of funny, but I guess I'll throw a Satanic spin -- if we are talking legitimacy then there are historical precedents for a Satan-like figure... (Enki, Pan, Lucifer, Ea, and many many other names..) Such a beast has existed in nearly every culture and has always been associated with the finer things of life -- art, sex, music, and other means of expression... even nature itself.... The new kid on the block is actually Jehovah (who was actually ripped off the Egyptian Aten, by a few Jewish slaves)... No where before that did we have an angry, miserable, and spoiled god who wasn't happy sharing. Moreover, this spoiled brat-god wasn't happy if someone payed more attention to any of these things than him. Is this really the type of god you'd want to follow? To tolerate this requires not a leap of faith, but rather just blindly jumping off a cliff. To follow this god you must reject all of the wonderful things that make you human, and be miserable for it.

So, why Satan? It's just a convenient colloquial name for something that has been with us since the beginning. It's that spark that makes us say "Why?" It's the reason we make art, and form languages (thousands of them), keep inventing new types of porn, and communicate. This forbidden power also lets us think and make up our own minds. If it were up to Jehovah and friends we wouldn't be allowed to do any of this -- they have worked to destroy all of these things. These Promethean endeavors which trace back far beyond Jehovah are the very things of the gods, and to ignore them is to spit in the face of our real creator. Thus, a Satanist strives to manifest themselves fully to worship the true god -- the one whom made us more than a bunch of hairless apes. This true god, or Satan, doesn't want slaves he wants others to learn as he did and reach into that abyss -- and exalt themselves by mastering these gifts. The relation isn't a master/slave situation -- it is student to respected teacher. I figured I'd just directly clarify that since often it is the Christians, Jews, and Muslims who have very slavish ways of practicing their religion. To illustrate the point, Satanists rarely allow a mediator between themselves and Satan -- they are experiencing that relationship directly. Abrahamic religions typically have a grand poobah whom has the authority, and thus robs the follower of any direct interaction. Even worse, in these supposed religions... To have direct interactions are "sinful"... Satanism is much more simple -- there are no sins... Now you can get on with worrying about the important things.

The atheist Satanists have a bunch of "valid" reasons for what they do, but it is more of a philosophy than a religion. They can speak for themselves... Being a theistic Satanism is a lot more than the fascist/hedonistic/objectivism to me mix and I've just moved somewhere else.

 

[Adramelek]

This true god, or Satan, doesn't want slaves he wants others to learn as he did and reach into that abyss -- and exalt themselves by mastering these gifts. The relation isn't a master/slave situation -- it is student to respected teacher. I figured I'd just directly clarify that since often it is the Christians, Jews, and Muslims who have very slavish ways of practicing their religion. To illustrate the point, Satanists rarely allow a mediator between themselves and Satan -- they are experiencing that relationship directly. Abrahamic religions typically have a grand poobah whom has the authority, and thus robs the follower of any direct interaction. Even worse, in these supposed religions... To have direct interactions are "sinful"... Satanism is much more simple -- there are no sins... Now you can get on with worrying about the important things.

Great post! I like how Mindmaster translates his understanding in down to earth language, that all may understand.

 

[Demonslayer]

I don't know jack squat about Satanism, but one day I stumbled upon the 11th Satanic Commandment and it's awesome.

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

I love that!

 

[Adramelek]

I don't know jack squat about Satanism, but one day I stumbled upon the 11th Satanic Commandment and it's awesome.

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

I love that!

Yeah, that is a warning - don't try to bully a Satanist.

 

[Demonslayer]

Yeah, that is a warning - don't try to bully a Satanist.

I just like the message of 1) don't mess with people 2) if people mess with you, give them a break at first but 3) don't continue to take crap if someone persists. It's a good balance of live and let live, and don't be a pushover.

 

[Adramelek]

I just like the message of 1) don't mess with people 2) if people mess with you, give them a break at first but 3) don't continue to take crap if someone persists. It's a good balance of live and let live, and don't be a pushover.

There is also this Satanic adage - "If someone smites you on one cheek, smash them on the other."

 

[LittlePinky82]

I concur with the DIR statements needing to be scrapped. They just need to be written by someone who actually participates in it.



It's sort of funny, but I guess I'll throw a Satanic spin -- if we are talking legitimacy then there are historical precedents for a Satan-like figure... (Enki, Pan, Lucifer, Ea, and many many other names..) Such a beast has existed in nearly every culture and has always been associated with the finer things of life -- art, sex, music, and other means of expression... even nature itself.... The new kid on the block is actually Jehovah (who was actually ripped off the Egyptian Aten, by a few Jewish slaves)... No where before that did we have an angry, miserable, and spoiled god who wasn't happy sharing. Moreover, this spoiled brat-god wasn't happy if someone payed more attention to any of these things than him. Is this really the type of god you'd want to follow? To tolerate this requires not a leap of faith, but rather just blindly jumping off a cliff. To follow this god you must reject all of the wonderful things that make you human, and be miserable for it.

So, why Satan? It's just a convenient colloquial name for something that has been with us since the beginning. It's that spark that makes us say "Why?" It's the reason we make art, and form languages (thousands of them), keep inventing new types of porn, and communicate. This forbidden power also lets us think and make up our own minds. If it were up to Jehovah and friends we wouldn't be allowed to do any of this -- they have worked to destroy all of these things. These Promethean endeavors which trace back far beyond Jehovah are the very things of the gods, and to ignore them is to spit in the face of our real creator. Thus, a Satanist strives to manifest themselves fully to worship the true god -- the one whom made us more than a bunch of hairless apes. This true god, or Satan, doesn't want slaves he wants others to learn as he did and reach into that abyss -- and exalt themselves by mastering these gifts. The relation isn't a master/slave situation -- it is student to respected teacher. I figured I'd just directly clarify that since often it is the Christians, Jews, and Muslims who have very slavish ways of practicing their religion. To illustrate the point, Satanists rarely allow a mediator between themselves and Satan -- they are experiencing that relationship directly. Abrahamic religions typically have a grand poobah whom has the authority, and thus robs the follower of any direct interaction. Even worse, in these supposed religions... To have direct interactions are "sinful"... Satanism is much more simple -- there are no sins... Now you can get on with worrying about the important things.

The atheist Satanists have a bunch of "valid" reasons for what they do, but it is more of a philosophy than a religion. They can speak for themselves... Being a theistic Satanism is a lot more than the fascist/hedonistic/objectivism to me mix and I've just moved somewhere else.

My understanding as well. I was raised in a Christian home and in my later 20's started to get away from things. I even started thinking about things in this regard with Satan. What if God was really the "evil one" and not Satan? We're always told "knowledge is power" but the God of Christianity at least doesn't like people knowing things because you're not blindly following him and you question and all that. And I agree with no sins. If you really wanted to you could make everything in life a sin. Where could you learn and grow and discover yourself without "sinning" in some things?