From: locklin@titan.ucc.umass.edu ()
Subject: The Alt.Satanism FAQ
Organization: Campus Crusade for Cthulhu
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 23:06:21 GMT
X-Posted-From: titan.ucc.umass.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu



Here it is, reposted so as to reach the newbie.
Note that this is still under construction....

-------------------------Chop with Double headed Axe---------------------------
1. What is Satanism?
 
Satanism is difficult to define. As there is no authoritative, "divinely
revealed" text of Satanism as there are for most major religions, nor a body of
oral traditions, the individual Satanist must define a philosophy for
him/herself. Thus, you will find some widely diverging opinions in this
newsgroup. However, there are a few generalizations I can make:  the average
Satanist disagrees with much of xianity, believes in no absolute moral code,
and places emphasis on the individual and personal rights.
 
The following categorization of Satanism was paraphrased from Fra. Auditus'
article,"What is Satanism" in ABRASAX#4. While these categories are not all
truely "Satanic," many have chosen to label them as such, and consequentally
they are included. Also, most "Satanic" groups could fit in several of these
categories, both philosophically and historically (the yezidis are an example
of a group that could be part of several categories).
 
1. _The Classical Satanist_: This is the common, media view of what a Satanist "is". These Satanists believe in being "evil" (note the quotes)as a way of life
and worship Satan as an evil god. They have sacrifices, blood ritual,orgies 
etc., all the trappings associated with Satanism in the group consciousness.
Some theorise that these people see the world as a basically evil place, assume
the world is under the rule of "satan" and ally themselves accordingly. While 
there is some evidence for these groups, it is generally agreed that they are
rare in comparison with other "Satanist" groups.
 
2. _The Primitives_: Worship a malicious or capricious god who sometimes hurts
people. While many Satanists would disagree with their being categorized as 
such, it is part of the popular image of Satanism & so included. Some examples
of these cults are the Kali-worshippers, various african cults, such as the 
Shango and voudoun, certain types of taoism & shintoism,etc... These people 
follow ancient rites, and see the world as being a chaotic, spirit-filled
place. Though they get bad press, they are generally harmless... 
 
3. _Antinomial Gnostics_: While most gnostics were into self-denial as a way
to achieve salvation, the Antinomal Gnostics choose the opposite path. The
"Monestary of the Seven rays" is an example, as is the  American Gnostic 
Church, Daimond Sutra Buddism (different path-same philosophy) and the
knights templar (supposedly-take any knights templar stuff with a grain of 
salt). Crowleyanism can usually be seen in groups of this type, though in 
certain obvious cases (Diamond sutra) it is not an influence, but a paralell.

4. _The Hell-Fire Rakes_: this is the Satanism of Sir Frances Dashwood, and
Benjamin Franklin. While occultism was a part of their activities, these groups
were mainly an excuse for debauchery. There were various occult lodges in the
17th century that could be put in this category, & some may survive today.

5. _Churches of Satan_: These groups are less interested in religious or
spiritual activities than in social ones. They believe in individualism, 
strength, self-indulgance etc.. They work against oppressive religious 
regulations and mores, especially christian ones. Most USENET Satanists 
probobly fall more or less in this category.

6. _Evolutionary Force_: these groups see Satan as an evolutionary force with
a non-existant or indifferent creator. This is a semi-gnostic concept, but many
of the other gnostic concepts are not adhered to. The Temple of Set is one
of these groups. They tend to be more hierarchal than the Church of Satan, and
take a more spiritual path, placing less emphasis on the "indulgance" advocated
by the Church of Satan. 
the Temple of Set can be contacted at this address
Temple of Set
P.O. Box 470307
San Fransisco CA 94147

7. _Rosemary's Baby (yikes!)_: This is a purely imaginary conspiracy of devil
worshippers invented by witch hunters of the middle ages, and such notables
as Montague Summers, Jeffrey Russell, Pat Robertson and certain portions of
the John Bircher society. They are supposed to have killed babies, tried
to overthrow the authority of the church, cause misery and destruction &
other noble persuits. As they are widely recognized not to exist, or have 
existed, no examples can be cited.

8. _Guardians of the Abyss_: these are the various occult groups following the
western magickal tradition (tarot/quaballa/hermetic/enochian/alchemy). They
see Satan as the "gaurdian of the abyss"; Pazuzu. The magus must cross the 
abyss, the "dark night of the soul" as part of hir initiation. This tradition
takes much from Jung, and the grail legends.

9. _Horned God Cults_: some ancient pagan cults worship the horned god. The
basis of identifying Satan as a horned god was probobly that of the inquisitors
trying to identify the religious practices of these pagans with something
more sinister. With the modern revival of "witch-cults" the horned god has
undergone a modern renaissance.
 
 
2. Satan is a xian god!
 
Most (possibly all) religions have gods or demons that represent the principle
of evil. Satan is one among these, originally conceived by the Jews long before
the birth of Jesus. I believe the name first appeared (in _The Bible_, at
least) in the book of Job.
 
3. Why use the name Satan? Why not use another name?
  
Satan is an archetype. One of the most direct archetypes available in our
(euro-american) culture. It brings to mind many things immidiatly. Some of
these things are negative (sacrifice goats & all that crap), but many are
not;sexuality, power over the earth, lucifer as the "bringer of light",
 freedom from inhibition etc. No other archetype brings these things to mind
as effectively as Satan.

Another reason is the association with, and borrowing from the old pagan 
horned god ceremonies. Though the Satan in the bible has no horns, this is
the image of the _Archetype_ & so an equivalent thing.

Yet another reason (for Church of Satan anyway) is the association with
the yezidis, gnostics who revered a horned god (which was identified with
satan)

 
4. What is _The Satanic Bible_?
 
_The Satanic Bible_ describes the philosophy of the Church of Satan, founded by
Anton LaVey. This organization holds the view that there is no higher god than
oneself, and that one whould worship accordingly--a form of egotheism. Although
many Satanists don't agree with much of the book, most probably would agree
with some of its philosophy as summed up in the Nine Satanic Statements. _The
Satanis Bible_ can be found (in America, at any rate) in most bookstores in the
new age, philosophy, or similar sections. The Church of Satan can be contacted
at:
 
    Church of Satan
    P.O. Box 210082
    San Fransisco, CA 94121
 
$100 will get you a lifetime membership. Contrary to popular belief, the church
is not tax-exempt.
 
There is a perennial debate in alt.satanism as to whether or not the term
'Satanism' is appropriate for the church's beliefs, due to its atheistic
stance. While I personally consider the label somewhat misleading, the Church
of Satan appears to be well-established and its use of the word is probably
here to stay, although it is not the *only* definition.
 
5. You people aren't real Satanists.
 
A popular image of Satanism is that of a group of individuals meeting secretly
to perform blood rites involving human sacrifice, cannibalism, and molestation
of children. This idea is encouraged by the proliferation of 'true crime' books
detailing alleged Satanic sacrifices. To date, there is no evidence I know of
to support such a belief. The few 'Satanic crimes' known to have been commited
were motivated by more prosaic desires--any Satanic element was peripheral.
 
6. _The Bible_ says...
 
Many Satanists--myself for example--are Satanists because they have read _The
Bible_, carefully considered all of its contents, and come to the conclusion
that it, and the claims of xianity, are unbelievable, repulsive, and
hypocritical. I have dedicated my life to ridding the world of this menace.
Repeated posts on alt.satanism to the effect that following _The Bible_ and its
childish God is my only hope of salvation only serve to reinforce my decision.

7. For the Christians among us...

  Quite often, members of fundamentallist christian groups see fit to post 
various evangelical messages in alt.satanism. The reason for this is not
clear. It has been suggested by various members of this net, who I shall
lump under the convenient category,"Satanist"; that the reason for this
posturing is that many, perhaps most Born-Again christian types are closet
masochists. It has also been suggested that christians need to save a certain
number of souls to get a good seat in paradise, similar in spirit to selling
candy-bars or magazines to fund various extra-curricular activities in school.
Presumably Satanist souls, being sold to the devil already, are worth more 
points. While these theories have some merit, considering the teachings of 
their (allegedly) chosen religion, an attempt should be made to be open minded
enough to see their side of things.
  Many Christians, when asked why they do this, respond something to the effect
that it is chairity, something they do out of the goodness of their hearts,
out of concern for people etc. etc... Well, if the christian is really 
concerned with people, why not preach to those who have not heard the message?
Most "Satanists" are well aquainted with the messages of christianity. They
have been preached to ad-infinitum, and are fed up with it. That is part of the
reason they are Satanists instead of plain- old agnostics. Many Satanists are
angered by such posts, and justifiably so.

Now consider this: you will never convert a satanist over USENET. You either
1) are too infuriating
2) look like a fool

There is NO logical reason to convert to christianity. The only appeals are to
the emotions, and as stated before they either look foolish or infuriating.
Things like, "But Jesus LOVES you; he died for your sins!" or
"Your soul is in danger!!" are appeals to guilt and fear respectively; not
reason. As most Satanists have chosen this path out of reason, these appeals
will never work. As for those Satanists who are so for emotional reasons, their
minds are as closed as that of the Born-again christian.
Perhaps, if indeed preaching is done for humanitarian, and not egotistical
or masochistic reasons, your energies are better spent educating those who
know little of your faith; those born atheistic, communists, buddists etc.
If, as suspected, your purposes are more egotistical (look reverand; I 
converted a Satanist!) forget it. There are no "lost souls," waiting to be
found, in this community. For the masochistically inclined, we suggest
self-flagelation. It costs less disk space, is probobly more satisfying, and
is certainly less offensive to the general public...

otherwise;
GROWL! BOOGA BOOGA! 
HASTUR ASTAROTH LEVAITHAN ISHTAR!!!!!!!!!
XILKA XILKA!
BESA BESA!
  
go away already...

 
8. Recommended reading.
 
_The Satanic Bible_ by Anton Szander Lavey.
This is the only book written by a Satanist with a coherent presentation of any
form of Satanic philosophy.
 
_Satan Wants You_ by Arthur Lyons.
An excellent book giving a brief history of Satanism and an overview of
Satanism today. Well written and researched. He was written another book, _The
Second Coming_, which I have not had the pleasure of reading.

_ABRASAX#4_
A magazine published by the American Gnostic Church. Issue #4 is dedicated to
Satan & satanic matters generally. They can be reached at 
PO BOX 1219
Corpus Christi,TX 78403-1219 (this is an old adress-I have not checked yet)

_The Occult_ by Colin Wilson
An excellent unbiased introduction to the subject.

_Cosmic Trigger_ by Robert A. Wilson
This book describes various initiations and occult phenomena experienced
by Mr. Wilson. Mr Wilson has had a great influence on 20th century occultism,
and his books should be read by any serious student of the occult.

_Apocalypse Culture_ collected by Adam Parfey
A shocking work, depicting the worldviews of various "fringe" sects and 
individuals, ranging from necrophilliacs to ultra-right wing christians.

The Collected Works of H.P. Lovecraft
Excellent "satanic" fiction.

_The Dead Sea Scrolls_ there are many good books on this subject for those
who feel a need to debunk christianity historically as well as 
philosophically.
  
What *not* to read.
There are a number of books oout today purporting to cover the topic of
Satanism, focusing on the alleged criminal aspect. These book suffer seriously
from credulity. They are usually located in the non-fiction or true-crime
sections of bookstores, and are easily identified by their lurid covers and
sensationalist claims. Particularly guilty authors include Bob Larson and Mike
Warnke. While these books may be read for entertainment value, I strongly urge
you seek another source for serious information.





-------------------slice with broken bottle glass------------------------------

comments;
we now have some better info on Temple of Set. A paragraph or two of propaganda
from uncle Setkmet (or whatever) might look nice in the FAQ. A paragraph or
two about the church of Satan would look good as well; actually seperate FAQ's
on these groups would be the most appropriate (IMHO).

Any other FAQ ideas? Some of Bill Ellis' stuff would look good in a FAQ....

keeper of the FAQ (untill Semhaza is finished)
-Scott