From: drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake)
Subject: Re: Some views about satanism
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:23:11 GMT

Just so you understand my prejudices here, I have been influenced greatly by
the views of the Temple of Set.  I am not an active member of the Temple
at this point, however.

kk@nic.funet.fi (Kimmo Koistinen) writes:

>own life, I just followed blindly every word god said. Even swearing caused
>me to think about how this person's soul should be "saved" and so on. 

Do you believe in God?

>horns and trident in hand, pointing at me saying "you belong to me". That
>dream was the beginning of the introduction to my darker side. I left god and
>Jesus to their own value and prayed Satan every night. 

How was it your 'darker' side?  Merely because it wasn't Christian?

>   First of all, Satan isn't the only powerful force of evil. There is Belse-
>bub, lord of lies, Satan, who represents suffering and fire, Lucifer who 
>represents enlightement and freedom, and Leviyathan who represents universum
>as whole. To reach the point where Lucifer at last brings the light to life
>and gives deeper understanding about ways of life and answer to question WHY,
>one must travel through the paths of Satan and Belsebub.

I am curious as to how you arrived at these.  I would question the semantics
you use to describe their 'fields of interest,' however.  Instead of being
the 'lord of lies,' could Beelzebub not be merely one who strips away the
illusions which you have been using to protect yourself from the Truth,
and who knows the ins-and-outs of the little games humans play, but often
do not know, to make sure that they are comfortable in their lies?

As to Satan, you realize that gold is purified by fire, of course, and
strength is learned through resistance to suffering.  "What does not
kill me makes me stronger," the philosopher said.  And this is true.

>   In my life, Belsebub represented the confusion about what was true and what
>wasn't. (about views of what forces are helpful and what are just limiting and
>for weak) Satan represented depression. Lucifer represents the freedom from 
>strict and life-limiting moral code of christianity, which I have, after many
>years of thinking about things I have reached at last. 

And you see that the confusion and depression, while not good things in and
of themselves, were tools you used to bring yourself to the point you are
at today.  What of Leviathan?  Where does he fit in your life?

>  Christian can be emotionally trapped when he is in blinding light, and so
>can be satanist, when he accepts to limit his studies about satanism to level
>where all his satanistic beliefs limit to drawing upside-down crosses to 
>concrete walls.

Yes.  I agree with you totally here.

>zone in life and be free from the emotional trap. Student of white magic 
>isn't exactly trying to free himself from this emotional trap but rather 
>become one with this brightness/light. Satanist/student of black magics is
>(or rather, I am, because I don't know any other satanists but some of the
>readers of this area) trying to be in position, where he is free from the
>emotional traps and can view universe just as it is, without blinding light
>or blinding darkness. 

And establish himself as an entity separate from either the light or the
darkness, with the ability to use both but restricted to neither.

>   Personally I have been in both ends and now, granted by the influence of
>Lucifer, I am now advancing towards higher understanding of life. Perhaps
>my goal is same as the setians, perhaps not. I haven't so far read their 
>ideas with thought, and I am not ready to tie myself up to any organization.

I believe it is similar.  I might suggest that your words seem to imply
that you see Satan more as a substitute for God, someone who can do things
for you rather than allowing you to do things for yourself.  Am I reading
you right?  Do you see a problem with this?

-- 
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