LaVeyan Satanism

[VoidCat]

Disclaimer: Tho I worship Lucifer I am not a LaVeyan Satanist. LaVeyan Satanists are atheists not theistic and have a very very different theology to me. I'm still learning about it and have yet to finish reading on their theology and so far it has been thoughtprovoking reading about it. I just found this interesting and wanted to discuss it. I'm putting it in the debate section cuz im sure it'll spark debate.
I am currently reading the Satanic bible. It's thought provoking and I can agree with some of it but most of it so far I feel is too much Social Darwinism for my taste. I mean I don't know much about Social Darwinism so cant debate it much but the whole survival of the fittest thing bothers me as it's been used to justify racism and eugenics of disabled folk. Here is a passage I found interesting to read mainly cuz it's a bastardization of Matthew chapter 5 and is so very different from it, and has a very survival of the fittest feel to it...i disagree with it mostly but here it is
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What are y'alls thoughts?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

My thoughts? It's a garbage book written by a con artist. He plagiarized much of the section you're talking about from an older social Darwinist screed called Might is Right. He also ripped off Ayn Rand. He was just a liar in general. His name is fake, his claimed biography was a pack of lies, he was a racist self-hating Jew who paled around with neo-Nazis (there's a video clip of him using racial and homophobic slurs to curse his "enemies" - non-whites and gays) and his more notable daughter denounced him as a charlatan and despises him (he's rumored to have molested her and fathered her son and, sickly, it makes sense).

My advice is to seek elsewhere. There's no wisdom to be found there. It's a belief system that encourages narcissism and sociopathy. What good there is can be found in healthier places. I used to be into that stuff but all the stuff I learned turned me off from it.

 

[VoidCat]

My thoughts? It's a garbage book written by a con artist. He plagiarized much of the section you're talking about from an older social Darwinist screed called Might is Right. He also ripped off Ayn Rand. He was just a liar in general. His name is fake, his claimed biography was a pack of lies, he was a racist self-hating Jew who paled around with neo-Nazis (there's a video clip of him using racial and homophobic slurs to curse his "enemies" - non-whites and gays) and his more notable daughter denounced him as a charlatan and despises him (he's rumored to have molested her and fathered her son and, sickly, it makes sense).

My advice is to seek elsewhere. There's no wisdom to be found there. It's a belief system that encourages narcissism and sociopathy. What good there is can be found in healthier places. I used to be into that stuff but all the stuff I learned turned me off from it.

so far I disagree with most of it anyway. But tell me...what are your thoughts on Michael W. Ford? if you know anything about him that is...you do seem more knowledgeable on lefthanded paths I found a book by him called Luciferian Witchcraft and haven't read it yet.

 

[epronovost]

LaVeyan Satanism, even more so than most other forms of Satanism, doesn't really appeal to me due to the centrality of aesthetic. LaVeyan Satanism is more a fashion statement than an actual philosophical or theological position. It's basically rebellion, contrarianism, counter-culture and individualism given a religious aesthetic mostly to freak out other people, especially Christians, but also humanists. It's most central doctrine is basically provocation and confrontation. It's about looking cool and rebellious more than anything else. The fact LaVeyan Satanism is so individualistic if not even narcissistic makes it rather bad at this entire "rebellion" charade. The Satanic Temple, another group of non-theistic Satanist whose shtick is also to use Satanism as a way to shock and offend mainstream Christianity has proven far superior at its job of "religious troll" at the defense of religious freedom and other civic liberties. And yes, as it has been mentioned by @Saint Frankenstein , Anton LaVey was a piece of ****.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

so far I disagree with most of it anyway. But tell me...what are your thoughts on Michael W. Ford? if you know anything about him that is...you do seem more knowledgeable on lefthanded paths I found a book by him called Luciferian Witchcraft and haven't read it yet.

The best way to describe Ford's ideas is that it's basically a Satanic form of Wicca, with Samael and Lilith as his divine (infernal?) couple. It's not really all that deep but it is actual religious belief and practice.

 

[VoidCat]

The best way to describe Ford's ideas is that it's basically a Satanic form of Wicca, with Samael and Lilith as his divine (infernal?) couple. It's not really all that deep but it is actual religious belief and practice.

I'm personally am making my own path for me to follow and looking at as many authors and ideas as I can which is why I asked. Thank you for your response

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I'm personally am making my own path for me to follow and looking at as many authors and ideas as I can which is why I asked. Thank you for your response

You're welcome. Best wishes.

 

[crossfire]

Goats are herd animals just as sheep are.

 

[Revoltingest]

What are y'alls thoughts?

I'm certain that my copy of The Satanic Bible that I
lent to a co-worker in 1977 will never be returned.

 

[Lazy Old Devil]

I'm personally am making my own path for me to follow and looking at as many authors and ideas as I can which is why I asked.

I think that's a good approach. Taking what works for you and forging your own path is more in the spirit of Satanism anyway, rather than just copying someone else's ideology. The Satanic Bible was inspirational to me in the days before the Internet, when you couldn't read much about that kind of thing. (I remember a friend mentioning it, and I imagined it to be a creepy looking tome bound in leather, and it was just an Avon paperback!) But, LaVeyan Satanists often seem to miss the point when they regard it as the be-all-and-end-all of Satanism, and regard LaVey's word as 'law' - they claim "I am my own god" yet then practically deify the bald bloke instead! (LaVey, that is, not Larry David).

 

[EtuMalku]

Disclaimer: Tho I worship Lucifer I am not a LaVeyan Satanist. LaVeyan Satanists are atheists not theistic and have a very very different theology to me. I'm still learning about it and have yet to finish reading on their theology and so far it has been thoughtprovoking reading about it. I just found this interesting and wanted to discuss it. I'm putting it in the debate section cuz im sure it'll spark debate.
I am currently reading the Satanic bible. It's thought provoking and I can agree with some of it but most of it so far I feel is too much Social Darwinism for my taste. I mean I don't know much about Social Darwinism so cant debate it much but the whole survival of the fittest thing bothers me as it's been used to justify racism and eugenics of disabled folk. Here is a passage I found interesting to read mainly cuz it's a bastardization of Matthew chapter 5 and is so very different from it, and has a very survival of the fittest feel to it...i disagree with it mostly but here it is
20220102-211500
20220102-211506
20220102-211515
What are y'alls thoughts?

Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan became the next logical evolution of the Left Hand Path after Aleister Crowley. As you mentioned, The CoS was/is atheistic, which is one of the reasons Dr. Aquino and half of the membership withdrew from the Church and initiated the Temple of Set, where they approached the Egyptian Set from a more theistic viewpoint. LaVey's & Aquino's Satanism were incredibly important to the Satanic Movement and laid the groundwork for the many organizations we have today.

May I ask why you use the word 'worship' and why Lucifer?

 

[VoidCat]

Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan became the next logical evolution of the Left Hand Path after Aleister Crowley. As you mentioned, The CoS was/is atheistic, which is one of the reasons Dr. Aquino and half of the membership withdrew from the Church and initiated the Temple of Set, where they approached the Egyptian Set from a more theistic viewpoint. LaVey's & Aquino's Satanism were incredibly important to the Satanic Movement and laid the groundwork for the many organizations we have today.

May I ask why you use the word 'worship' and why Lucifer?

To me leaving offerings to a deity and/or invoking their name in ritual is a form of worship. that's why i use the term cuz i do both. however I don't serve Lucifer i serve only myself above all others and as for why Lucifer I don't know why I was drawn to him. I was cuz i admired him and saw him as a good guy and I still do. Hes a very interesting deity. Im still trying to figure out my own path as a pagan and as a Luciferian and I know my path isn't purely LHP but nor is it purely RHP. I consider myself somewhat LHP cuz of the focus on the self and the ego and currently Im working to understand self-deification as it seems like something I'm interested in and I do have an altar up to myself. I also have other reasons for considering me somewhat LHP. Im new to left handed paths in general tho having only recently got involved with it in the middle of last year I believe. Im still learning there is so much to learn and as I learn my beliefs have been changing

 

[VoidCat]

@EtuMalku out of the folks on RF I think the person who has beliefs most similar to mine tho Im not 100% sure on all her beliefs is @Viker I say this cuz she is a Dark pagan and is into Diabolism. but my views are very different from hers as Im still forming my beliefs and she's been involved in lefthanded paths for a longer time plus both our paths are individualistic. I want to study many different LHP paths before creating a fully sound theology for myself to follow.

 

[EtuMalku]

To me leaving offerings to a deity and/or invoking their name in ritual is a form of worship. that's why i use the term cuz i do both. however I don't serve Lucifer i serve only myself above all others and as for why Lucifer I don't know why I was drawn to him. I was cuz i admired him and saw him as a good guy and I still do. Hes a very interesting deity. Im still trying to figure out my own path as a pagan and as a Luciferian and I know my path isn't purely LHP but nor is it purely RHP. I consider myself somewhat LHP cuz of the focus on the self and the ego and currently Im working to understand self-deification as it seems like something I'm interested in and I do have an altar up to myself. I also have other reasons for considering me somewhat LHP. Im new to left handed paths in general tho having only recently got involved with it in the middle of last year I believe. Im still learning there is so much to learn and as I learn my beliefs have been changing

It's a long difficult path, I wish you the best of luck. Should you have any questions feel free to contact me here.

 

[VoidCat]

It's a long difficult path, I wish you the best of luck. Should you have any questions feel free to contact me here.

thank you. Ill be sure to message you.

 

[VoidCat]

I think that's a good approach. Taking what works for you and forging your own path is more in the spirit of Satanism anyway, rather than just copying someone else's ideology. The Satanic Bible was inspirational to me in the days before the Internet, when you couldn't read much about that kind of thing. (I remember a friend mentioning it, and I imagined it to be a creepy looking tome bound in leather, and it was just an Avon paperback!) But, LaVeyan Satanists often seem to miss the point when they regard it as the be-all-and-end-all of Satanism, and regard LaVey's word as 'law' - they claim "I am my own god" yet then practically deify the bald bloke instead! (LaVey, that is, not Larry David).

I'd rather form my own path then follow someone else's. After all i know what I believe other folk don't get to dictate that.

 

[VoidCat]

I'm certain that my copy of The Satanic Bible that I
lent to a co-worker in 1977 will never be returned.

That's like when I was a kid I borrowed 30 books for summer reading from a teacher to return the next school year cuz I was going to go back to that school for the next grade level. I never returned them cuz I switched schools the next year

 

[Onyx]

I mean I don't know much about Social Darwinism so cant debate it much but the whole survival of the fittest thing bothers me as it's been used to justify racism and eugenics of disabled folk.

I think it's more in the sense of the weak-minded. Some members of the Church of Satan are disabled, there are people of color, etc. Neo-Nazism is generally frowned upon, from Satanism: The Feared Religion:

In the recent past we have seen certain evangelists and even misinformed academics calling Satanism a neo-Nazi movement. This is an inaccurate label. The Nazi movement drew much of its power from a racist doctrine of Aryan superiority. Satanism is far more discerning than that. While there are provable biological differences between the races and statistically demonstrable performance levels in various activities, it is quite irrational to think that someone can be advanced or not simply because of the color of their skin.

It's true that LaVey's Satanism is a synthesis of ideas that are not original. He took what he liked about certain philosophies and left the rest, which is what I do.

 

[VoidCat]

I think it's more in the sense of the weak-minded. Some members of the Church of Satan are disabled, there are people of color, etc. Neo-Nazism is generally frowned upon, from Satanism: The Feared Religion:


It's true that LaVey's Satanism is a synthesis of ideas that are not original. He took what he liked about certain philosophies and left the rest, which is what I do.

That's kinda how I understood it but it still rubs me the wrong way for some reason.

 

[Onyx]

I'm certain that my copy of The Satanic Bible that I
lent to a co-worker in 1977 will never be returned.

Too bad, some of those older copies can go for big money now.