Do Satanists believe in god?

[Axiom_Blade]

I read The Satanic Bible when I was 17. It was pretty good, but it didn't really make me want to be a Satanist.

Basically, what it breaks down to is:
A) Do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else (all that stuff about killing kittens and babies is just Christian propaganda). Satanists aren't pacifists, though...they will act in self-defense.
B) Hedonism. I think it went along the lines of "live life to the fullest, and that will make your soul strong enough to survive death".
C) Be "selfish" ala Ayn Rand's Objectivism. (Only help those that deserve it.)

So, it's essentially Objectivism with silly costumes and ritual. LaVey addresses this in the Satanic Bible, however, and argues that humanity needs the silly costumes and ritual because "that's just the way we are". I had serious doubts about this, though, even at 17. I know plenty of atheists now; people who apparently have no desires to dress up in black robes and hold midnight ceremonies in a dark basement, chanting over a naked woman on an altar.




OK, well maybe a little.

 

[Mister Agenda]

Satanists do not believe in Satan or God.

Satan and God are characters in Christianity. Satanists hijack the image of Satan to simply make a rebellious point in the culture they live in.

Those who actually worship Satan as God's enemy are called Theistic Satanists.

Or, in the vernacular, devil worshipers.

 

[moon1969]

Their concept of god is different. Maybe you should read Aleister Crowley to see more what he believed in. Im sure you will get more info from the OTO.

 

[moon1969]

Oh yeah and Aleister Crowley was not a satanist.

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

The Satanists I've encountered are of the LaVey variety, which means they are atheistic.

Basically they believe in selfishness and hedonism, though they wouldn't use such terminology. They are a lot like Libertarians . But they believe in the value of ceremony and ornaments, because humans need that sort of stuff, allegedly.

There are Theistic Satanists, but I have not really had any discussions with them.

 

[moon1969]

Karl Marx never believed in god. Still Grigori Rasputin did believe in god but he was not a satanist. Gerald Gardner was not a satanist and I don"t know if he believed in god or not.

 

[skepticalbeliever]

Satanist have a god, that god is Satan. There is no need to worship Satan to affirm your atheism. I chatted with a Satanist via myspace. She had pictures of serial killers all over. Her hero was Richard Rimarez. She insisted that she didn't believe in a god and that the satanism was just a way of affirming atheism. I don't see it that way.

 

[Steelmage]

I know plenty of atheists now; people who apparently have no desires to dress up in black robes and hold midnight ceremonies in a dark basement, chanting over a naked woman on an altar.




OK, well maybe a little.

I am sure you could find plenty of people to play dress up, especailly when there is a naked woman invovled.

 

[-Fran-]

The Satanists I've encountered are of the LaVey variety, which means they are atheistic.

Basically they believe in selfishness and hedonism, though they wouldn't use such terminology. They are a lot like Libertarians . But they believe in the value of ceremony and ornaments, because humans need that sort of stuff, allegedly.

There are Theistic Satanists, but I have not really had any discussions with them.

The LaVey-ian kind is one of the two only sorts of Satanists I've encountered. The serious ones, if you will. The other sort were people who just wanted to shock people and pretend they were dangerous.

 

[Civilized Worm]

Satanist have a god, that god is Satan. There is no need to worship Satan to affirm your atheism. I chatted with a Satanist via myspace. She had pictures of serial killers all over. Her hero was Richard Rimarez. She insisted that she didn't believe in a god and that the satanism was just a way of affirming atheism. I don't see it that way.

Yeah, never mind what the actual satanists say, "skepticalbeliever" clearly knows their own minds better than they do.

 

[Axiom_Blade]

Satanist have a god, that god is Satan. There is no need to worship Satan to affirm your atheism. I chatted with a Satanist via myspace. She had pictures of serial killers all over. Her hero was Richard Rimarez. She insisted that she didn't believe in a god and that the satanism was just a way of affirming atheism. I don't see it that way.

Most of the atheists I know think that Satanism is just silly.

But if I mention Satanism to anybody who's even the slightest bit religious, they get nervous. Get over it, people! There's no super-secret cabal in your town that's stealing cats!

Granted, there have been a few nut cases who've used Satanism as a rationale for why they chopped up their neighbors; but that number pales in comparison to all the people that've done the same thing because God told them to.

 

[Dogdoctor]

The Satanists I met believed in god and also believed that they could do whatever they wanted to as long as they repented their sins before they died. Their worst fear was to die suddenly and not be able to repent. I really think it was just an excuse to have orgies.

 

[IgnorantGenius]

Or, in the vernacular, devil worshipers.

I like sounding modern and sophisticated.

 

[Dancing David]

Well that is an interesting question. Crowley believed that the devil had fooled Christians into worshipping him - that only the enemy of mankind would demand that mankind relinquish the proud upright position God had given them by kneeling.

So that appears to suggest that he believed the real God is the person the Christians refer to as Satan.

Um, I am not sure of that, I have read a lot of Crowley's writing, except for the expansive Equinox, although I know many people who have gone through that beast as well.

In reading Crowley there are the multiple manifestations to consider:
-'the evilest man in the world': a stage persona to annoy Xians
-'the most annoying man in the world': the vitriolic and sarcastic Crowley
-'Crowley the teacher': often hides his truth in plain sight
-'Crowley the sexual': where he is in code or straight out talking about many strange (to me) sexual practices.

So say when you read the 'Rite of Phoenix' which is a transubstantiation where the operative cuts themselves with a knife on the chest.
-the 'evil' of self mutilation becomes the best form of sacrifice
-he is making fun of all sorts of people
-given the numbers of the eleven fold cross there are layers of interpretation
-given that there is a huge battle in the OTO over the meaning of the eleventh degree and if it is homosexual, it is likely the eleven fold cross involves sex, the 'cutting of the chest' is an allegory

There are however participants of the OTO who perform the rite of the Phoenix with a razor.

 

[Dancing David]

Absolutely, I have often mentioned in this forum that Crowley's tongue was lodged firmly in his cheek at most, if not all times.

The question is which cheek.

 

[Beerina]

I read The Satanic Bible when I was 17. It was pretty good, but it didn't really make me want to be a Satanist.

Basically, what it breaks down to is:
A) Do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else (all that stuff about killing kittens and babies is just Christian propaganda). Satanists aren't pacifists, though...they will act in self-defense.
B) Hedonism. I think it went along the lines of "live life to the fullest, and that will make your soul strong enough to survive death".
C) Be "selfish" ala Ayn Rand's Objectivism. (Only help those that deserve it.)

So, it's essentially Objectivism with silly costumes and ritual.

So it's the same thing as Hedonism!

 

[beeksc1]

I know LaVey did not believe in God. But the posters who say that Crowley did not believe in divine powers also have noted that Crowley was a trickster; and that is very true, Crowley did pride himself on his prowess of deception. If you have gotten the impression that Crowley did not believe a higher power, do you think Crowley may have misled you?

Did Crowley virtually go insane (psychotic, lose a solid grip of reality) when he was on his death bed?

 

[kmortis]

The question is which cheek.

And who's...

 

[kmortis]

I know LaVey did not believe in God. But the posters who say that Crowley did not believe in divine powers also have noted that Crowley was a trickster; and that is very true, Crowley did pride himself on his prowess of deception. If you have gotten the impression that Crowley did not believe a higher power, do you think Crowley may have misled you?

Yes. It is very possible that Uncle Al misled me through his writings. At this stage in my life that deception is moot as I don't follow anything that we wrote.

Did Crowley virtually go insane (psychotic, lose a solid grip of reality) when he was on his death bed?

Don't we all loose a grip on reality on our death beds? Isn't that what death is?

 

[beeksc1]

Yes. It is very possible that Uncle Al misled me through his writings.
...
Don't we all loose a grip on reality on our death beds? Isn't that what death is?

No, some people (even those with really positive outlooks, compared to the typical human) look forward to the death of our bodily vehicle. It seems like it will be a liberation from our tangible being.

So, are you saying that your Uncle Al did or did not end up in a state of serious mental psychosis, shortly before his death on Earth?