...but back to Satanism

[Whickerman]

Hi all. Regarding Fingerprint's question - it's gone very much away on a tangent so I'm starting a new thread - I've read the Satanic Bible, and some other Lavey books. Frankly they're simplistic twaddle. But the Church of Satan is still going strong, though these days they refer to Satan as being man's bestial nature rather than the dark angel of lore. Bit of a cop out if you ask me. Still...

[jake-the-peg]

Yes but Satan is all rather mixed up. In fact we seem to have a few "Satans".

We have the fallen angel that leads a revolt against God - and we have the Satan that works with God's permission to tempt Job. He's the snake in the garden of Eden and the cloven hoved Lord and chief torturer of Hell in Dennis Weatley and Hieronymous Bosch.

And doesn't he look suspicously like Pan?

He probably comes about from the time of the Jewish exile when there would have been a lot of exposure to Zoroastrianism. In that religion God is not seen as all powerful but a Good power with an evil counterpart both locked in a struggle in which good deeds help the force of good.

Because the Abrahamic religions have a problem with the source of Evil being in conflict with an all-knowing, all powerful God you can see how some of these Zoroanistrian ideas are creeping in.

You start with "the tempter" and the evil power gets in later through the Zoroastrian influence.

There's quite a good discussion program on the devil here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/ inourtime_religion.shtml

(bottom of the second section)

[monkeyeyes]

Well, perhaps you can tell me then ?

Is Satan left-handed ?

Sorry..............sorry........

I'll be honest apart from reading 'Paradise Lost' I've never sat myself down and read-up much on Satanism. I DID read a bit of Crowley as a teenager (and suspect that had it been 20 years later I would have been wearing a lot of black and purple and eyeliner.......:o)) But in conversations, either real or electronic, I've never really found a satisfactory answer to just how evil Satanism actually is.

I've been told about Satanism but only in terms of Christianity. The 'dark' to Christianity's 'light'. The main thrust of Christianity seems to be than the ultimate torment is we will 'never know God'...................which is a sort of circular argument and I really would like a linear one.

[monkeyeyes]

Doh ! I've not long since got up and I really should have read that back before I hit Submit..............

I do actually KNOW that P.L is NOT about Satanism; when I'm properly awake I do, anyway. :o)

[Whickerman]

Hi Guys

I totally agree. I mention Lavey's Church of Satan as the original post specifically asked about it.

So: http://www.churchofsatan.com/

I won't post quotes as a) they're famously litigious about copyright, and b) it's not worth quoting.

This is a very interesting article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satan
as is this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Satan