From: cbbrowne@csi.uottawa.ca (Christopher Browne)
Subject: Re: What do you do when your child thinks Metallica is cool?
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Ottawa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 04:20:09 GMT

In article <nestabro.721874832@nova> nestabro@nova.gmi.edu (Noel Estabrook) writes:
>jsteiner@anwsun.phya.utoledo.edu (jason 'Think!' steiner) writes:
>
>>it might be helpful to know what their false doctrine -is- before
>>you try to counter it.
>
>If I don't know it, I can always ask.
>>> out error and shine the light. 
>
>>you may not have to go to a sacrificial ceremony (i never suggested
>>such a thing), but you'd better know what the Satanic bible says
>>before trying to counter it with what the Bible says. do you realize
>>how many satanists there are who have been falsely accused of what
>>Christians -assumed- they believed out of ignorance of what they
>>really believed?
>
>Again, if I'm in doubt, I can ask.  Satanism is really quite simple, though.
>They believe Satan is the evetual victor and Christ is the enemy.

Not quite.

The Satanic Bible is NOT simply a reversal of the stereotypes of Satan
promoted by Dante's Inferno.

Satanists, who follow the ideas of The Satanic Bible, by Anton LeVey,
founder of modern Satanism, do not believe in a personal Satan.  They
believe that they are "tapping in" to "dark powers."  Satan isn't
treated as an individual, but as the representation of the "dark
powers."

They think that the Wiccans that claim to practice benign "white
magic" are a little silly, in not acknowledging that "dark powers" are
more powerful.

Surprisingly, REAL Satanists (as opposed to rebellious teenagers that
try to put on a "show" of evil, that get lots of attention, but are
far less numerous and influential) are very little different from
other practitioners of New Age "powers."  The major difference seems
to be that Satanists acknowlege that the powers are NOT benign.

Shirley MacLean might suggest that "you can become Jesus Christ."
(She HAS said things like this.)  A Satanist would instead propose
that "You, like I, can become Satan."

My source?  My church's College & Careers group got a speaker in for a
retreat last year that talked about the New Age movement.  Since
Satanism is quite related, and is a topic about which there are many
misconceptions, it did come up as a topic.  

It might not be a particularly worthwhile thing to simply study cults
for the sake of knowing about them.  It can provide the opportunity
for temptation.

However, the "illustrius" speaker brought forward the theological
issues that DO make it important to know something about the New Age.

(1) There are a large number of religious and non-religious movements
that have been influenced by New Age ideas.  Wicca (typically known as
witchcraft), TM, Visualization, and Satanism are all quite distinct,
but if looked at carefully, seem to be just different branches on the
same "New Age vine."

(2) There ARE a tremendous number of things that have been influenced
by New Age ideas.  The whole self-improvement idea has been quite
permeated by it.

More dangerously, some people in the Church have accepted some of the
heresies associated with the New age.

Wassisname set up several tables showing research copies of different
New-Age related materials.  (You can't refute it if you don't have a
copy.)

There was one with materials that were very clearly occultic in
nature.  The sealed copy of the Satanic Bible.  Various books with
clear titles involving "Witchcraft/Occult/Magic/..."  These sorts of
things are probably considered to be at the "fringes" of New Age, but
are probably a little more straightforward in their treatment of the
nature of the powers they claim to deal with.

The point of this is that THIS sort of material shows where New Age
thinking comes from, and eventually goes to.

A second table had books relating to more "benign" forms of New Age
material.  Shirley MacLean, Elizabeth Clair Prophet, and the likes.
The mainstream stuff, that's most clearly recognizable as "New Age."
Not terribly useful, as such.  Obviously harmful, but it's hard to
grasp anything detailed from this sort of stuff.

A third had the "subtle" stuff.  Self-help books, and the likes.  Some
of it probably contains some "good ideas," but unfortunately it's
leavened with things that are NOT good.

You might run into some of this subtle stuff in a course that your
employer sends you to.  THIS is one of the points to having the "New
Age" study - so that you know how to avoid poison.  22 out of 24
lessons might be FINE - and you might not notice the other two behind
the "camoflage" of the "good" material.

A fourth had, horror of horrors, "Christian" books, some by (horrors!)
fairly reputable authors that have New Age components.  And that's not
WARNINGS against evil - but proposals that you ought to do things that
are "New Ageian".

Again, like table #3, it might be easy to get led down a wrong path,
by not seeing that there IS an evil there.  When a book comes from a
pretty good publisher, and from someone that is fairly prominent in
the "Christian" community, you might let your guard down.

A fifth had (maybe most practical :-)) a set of books by various
Christian authors, describing the dangers of the New Age movement, and
discussing how some New Age heresies are creeping into churches.

Remember that old chestnut about how "The guys that search for
counterfeit bills don't spend their time looking at fake bills - they
learn to know what money is real by looking at the real thing?"  It's
just a legend, re-used by generations of preachers.
-- 
Christopher Browne                |     PGP 2.0 key available
cbbrowne@csi.uottawa.ca           |===================================
University of Ottawa              |  The Personal Computer:  Colt 45
Master of System Science Program  |  of the Information Frontier
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