Satanism

[Obscene Eyedeas]

Well ladies and gentlemen. i would love to hear everyone's point of view on this topic as it is very commonly misunderstood. what are your views on satanism? when stating a view or fact please specify the type of satanism you are refering too. also please be prepared to debate your answers. also please have your facts straight before posting them whatever about your views please do not post incorrect facts. i will debate anyone's post i disagree with so be prepared for a debate. i will reveal my thoughts on this as the thread steams forward.

[Asylum]

i don't frown upon satanism. i don't mind the religion at all. i only frown upon the crazy people in every religion out there that goes hurting other people. In the video someone posted God vs. Satan... it made me think.. could Lucifer be reallly that bad? it's alla matter of opinion in th end anyway. for example think of middle school drama. th popular girl has evryone on her side. she has a way with words, with people, he abiity to make the other person loook bad.. but thother girl with no friends stands up fherself, and tels teh mean girl she is being mea and rises aganst her. badanaloy but oh well.. however for awhle i never beleived in Satan... i'm not positive if i believe in him now...

[Sith Lord 13]

Interesting fact: There is no such thing as a killer satanic cult. All murders linked to satanism are either the result of cover-ups, forensic countermeasures, or deranged individuals, acting independent of any organized sect.

[Continuum]

I don't mind if people worship such a loathsome figure in Christianity. It's their belief, I don't have the right to change that. One thing is, satan's image as the all-out opposition is in major religions all over the world.People are copy-pasting ideas from other religions, for example, Some ideas from Judaism were adopted by Christians, while Islam has citations from Christianity. Hence, spreading the fact that satan is God's rival, one idea, one enemy. People today have more outspoken ideas regarding this world, some of them outrageous like Kim Il Song created everything. It's their right today to express their own thoughts, noone should suppress them unless their ideas are as sick as Ed Gein's. Satanism isn't sick, and their dogma isn't. I may be christian, but today's achievements and discoveries gave me the skeptical perspective on my faith. But I still believe Jesus is awesome, and this is my opinion. Thank you for reading.

[INFERNO]

I've dabbled a bit in LaVeyan Satanism but not so much in theistic satanism, luciferianism nor demonology. I am the same as I am for every other belief: fine with it providing you don't do extreme harm, restrict freedoms & rights, violate other laws or tell believers to get non-believers to reform. LaVeyan is atheistic and many of its philosophical teachings are reasonable to me, nothing extreme. I'm also glad that the magick and rituals aren't required by all believers.

Theistic satanism, demonology, luciferanism and whatever others I only know a little bit about as I have never fully endulged myself into it. From what I know, it's not simply opposing Christianity and saying stuff such as praise Satan or Lucifer or whatever demon for demonology, it has its own teachings and rituals. The concept of Satan and Lucifer is from the Christian bible but the belief is not the polar opposite of Christianity in opposing it and bringing it down like Satan or Lucifer tries in the Christian bible. So my biggest problem is not really with the beliefs as far as I know of them but rather the false stigma they get in movies and by the general public. People such as Richard "Nightstalker" Ramirez did carve or paint satanic symbols on his body after apprehended but it doesn't mean all satanists do what he did, in fact I think he wasn't even a real believer in it.

The one confusion I have is to do with Luciferianism and theistic satanism because I'm a bit lost as to why one does clearly differentiate between Lucifer and Satan while the other doesn't. They kind of hold similar views for Satan but I'm a bit confused on the difference with how Lucifer as a separate entity fits into Luciferianism but not theistic satanism. I suppose this concern is remedied by me doing more reading and research on it.

[Obscene Eyedeas]

I've dabbled a bit in LaVeyan Satanism but not so much in theistic satanism, luciferianism nor demonology. I am the same as I am for every other belief: fine with it providing you don't do extreme harm, restrict freedoms & rights, violate other laws or tell believers to get non-believers to reform. LaVeyan is atheistic and many of its philosophical teachings are reasonable to me, nothing extreme. I'm also glad that the magick and rituals aren't required by all believers.

Theistic satanism, demonology, luciferanism and whatever others I only know a little bit about as I have never fully endulged myself into it. From what I know, it's not simply opposing Christianity and saying stuff such as praise Satan or Lucifer or whatever demon for demonology, it has its own teachings and rituals. The concept of Satan and Lucifer is from the Christian bible but the belief is not the polar opposite of Christianity in opposing it and bringing it down like Satan or Lucifer tries in the Christian bible. So my biggest problem is not really with the beliefs as far as I know of them but rather the false stigma they get in movies and by the general public. People such as Richard "Nightstalker" Ramirez did carve or paint satanic symbols on his body after apprehended but it doesn't mean all satanists do what he did, in fact I think he wasn't even a real believer in it.

The one confusion I have is to do with Luciferianism and theistic satanism because I'm a bit lost as to why one does clearly differentiate between Lucifer and Satan while the other doesn't. They kind of hold similar views for Satan but I'm a bit confused on the difference with how Lucifer as a separate entity fits into Luciferianism but not theistic satanism. I suppose this concern is remedied by me doing more reading and research on it.

ok firstly could the first three posters specify what type of satanism they refer to. I would like to say also that not all types of satanism involve devil worship.

secondly. to inferno,

Some forms of primary theistic Satanism
By "primary theistic Satanism," I mean a religion, spirituality, or worldview in which Satan is not only believed in as a literal deity, but is also the primary (or sole) object of worship/reverence/veneration/whatever, or at least as one of the names of one's primary deity. Some of the more popular kinds are these:

LaVey-based theistic Satanism. Based primarily on Anton LaVey's writings, but with a theistic interpretation, whereas most LaVeyans are atheistic symbolic Satanists.

ToS-paradigm Satanism. Forms of theistic Satanism strongly influenced by the writings of Michael Aquino, founder of the Temple of Set, which itself no longer identifies as "Satanist," but which nevertheless has been a major influence on subsequent Satanist and "Left Hand Path" groups and writers. Geifodd's General definition of Satanism, written in 2001 or 2002, is a concise example of a ToS-based Satanist paradigm. (But Geifodd himself no longer holds this view; see Your Friendly Neightborhood Devil Worshiper for more recent writings of his.) The Society of the Onyx Star (SotOS), an offshoot of John Allee's First Church of Satan (FCoS), is an example of a group that adopted a ToS-based paradigm. (SotOS does not currently have a website.)

Pantheistic or panentheistic Satanism. Pantheism is the belief that the universe itself is God. A related view, panentheism, is the belief that all things in the universe are part of God but God is more than the sum of all things. In pantheistic or panentheistic Satanism, Satan is seen as a name of "the All" or as a personification of some cosmic principle. Two of the better-known groups in this category are the First Church of Satan (FCoS) and OFS Demonolatry. The FCoS is also somewhat LaVey-based, whereas OFS Demonolatry is not at all LaVey-based. Pantheistic/panentheistic Satanism typically includes a lot of traditional Western occult philosophy, e.g. Hermetics. (Most occultists and most pantheists and panentheists, though, are not Satanists.) OFS Demonolatry sees Satan as "the All," whereas John Allee, founder of FCoS, sees Satan as one of the many names of a cosmic "male principle," as part of a cosmic All which contains both a "male principle" and a "female principle." Allee does not personally identify with the label "theistic," but his belief system does fit my own definition thereof.

Polytheistic Satanism. Satan is the main focus of reverence, but is seen as one of many gods. The gods of many non-Abrahamic cultures are believed to exist and are not seen as mere servants of either Satan or Jehovah. In many though not all forms of polytheistic Satanism, Satan Himself is seen as the Christian-era manifestation of some known ancient pre-Abrahamic god, such as Set, Pan, Prometheus, Shiva, Loki, or Enki. Polytheistic Satanism overlaps with pantheistic Satanism, insofar as some polytheists are also pantheists or otherwise embrace the idea that all the many gods are facets of an underlying One. But polytheistic Satanism also includes hard polytheists, who see the gods as distinct entities and not facets of the One.
(My own group, the Church of Azazel, is polytheistic with a leaning toward hard polytheism, and does not officially identify Satan with any specific known pre-Abrahamic god. See Our core beliefs and their here-and-now basis and Theology of the Church of Azazel. See also Post-Copernican natural theology and The here-and-now principle in theology.)

The "Joy of Satan" group, a highly idiosyncratic form of polytheistic Satanism, and its many offshoots. (See Joy of Satan (JoS), et al in my listing of Other theistic or theistic-friendly Satanism/LHP websites.)

Gnostic Luciferianism, based on ancient Ophite Gnosticism, usually combined with subsequent Western occult traditions. Lucifer is typically seen as both a bringer of spiritual enlightenment and a champion of individual liberty. Some Luciferians are also strongly influenced by LaVeyan Satanism or by the Temple of Set paradigm, though most are not. Luciferians typically make a sharp distinction between "Lucifer" and "Satan" and between "Luciferianism" and "Satanism," although their idea of "Lucifer" typically does borrow at least some themes from the Christian Devil concept. But a few Gnostic Luciferians do identify as "Satanist" as well as "Luciferian"; a well-known example was Herbert Sloane's Lady of Endor Coven, founded back in 1948. Those relatively few Gnostic Luciferians who do see "Lucifer" and "Satan" as the same entity (or as aspects of the same entity) can be considered primary theistic Satanists. Because most Luciferians do not consider themselves to be "Satanists," I won't list any Luciferian groups here, but it is easy to find a few by Googling "Luciferian Gnostic."

Christian-based duotheism, also known as "reverse Christianity." Essentially Christian in its theology, except for a belief that (1) Satan has at least some chance of winning in his war against the Creator and (2) such a victory is desirable, usually because Satan is seen as a champion of human freedom. Many non-Satanists erroneously assume that all Satanists are Christian-based duotheists. Many ex-Christian Satanists embrace some form of Christian-based duotheism when they first become Satanists, but in most cases move on to other beliefs later - sometimes other forms of Satanism, sometimes back to Christianity, and sometimes other religions.

and of course many more.

Soruce: http://theisticsatanism.com/varieties/index.html

In all honesty i would love to hear someones thoughts on satanism, on whether it is "truely evil". I want people who believe this to come forward with reasons as to why they think it

[Sith Lord 13]

I was referring to all kinds of Satanism before. None have been tied to murders or serious crimes.

I found your post largely insightful. I didn't know about all the variations that existed. Thank you.

Evil? I don't see how it can be considered evil, unless you consider all religious beliefs outside your own evil.

[Obscene Eyedeas]

many people brand people who commit foul acts as satanists, such as rapists or murderers.

[Sith Lord 13]

many people brand people who commit foul acts as satanists, such as rapists or murderers.

You hit the nail on the head there. BRAND. They say if someone does bad things they must be a satanist. Meanwhile, in reality, you're more likely to run into a serial killer at a Sunday mass than at a black mass.

[CaptainObvious]

I think most forms of satanism are like normal religion but a littler dumber. And I think that LaVeyan satanism is misnamed for effect.

[Sith Lord 13]

I think most forms of satanism are like normal religion but a littler dumber.

Can I ask what makes you say that?

[CaptainObvious]

Can I ask what makes you say that?

I see most forms of Satanism as largely reactionary to more established mainstream religions, and that strikes me as even dumber than the aforementioned mainstream religions themselves.