8/16/2000 usenet post

[from http://www.swampwitch.com/satanism/ ]

[Satanism Without Satan]

                        By Lila and Serah Ashe
                                   
   If you're looking for flames and convolution and Geraldo-type
   hoopla, you might want to go somewhere else. Such things have no
   place in our Satanism (except the fires of imagination). Our
   point here is to give you a brief overview of LaVeyan Satanism,
   named for the author of the Satanic Bible and first High Priest
   of the Church of Satan, Anton Szandor LaVey (1930-1997). A tip of
   the pointy horns also goes to Friedrich Nietzsche and Ragnar
   Redbeard, whose works inspired LaVey and his Satanic philosophy.
   We hope you will find that there is a greater mental component
   present than you might have assumed. We hope that you can
   understand why we are what we are.
   
   "Satanism without Satan?" "You guys must be Christian!" "Satanism
   is just about hurting other people." "Satanists are cowards."
   "The Church of Marilyn Manson." These are just some of the
   reactions we hear in regard to our path. These barbs don't hurt,
   but they do tickle. In fact, these five statements provide us
   with a neat outline for explaining what LaVeyan Satanism is to
   us.
   
    1. "Satanism without Satan?" Yes, it is possible. In LaVeyan
       philosophy, Satan is a metaphor for the down and dirty human
       nature that society has tried to annihilate. He is a
       figurative Satan, not a literal deity of evil. It is highly
       likely that LaVey chose Satan for the publicity it would
       bring him and his group--and don't doubt that it worked. If
       nothing else, LaVey had an uncanny grasp of the human psyche,
       and knew how to play the media. At any rate, LaVeyan
       Satanists do not worship Satan, but revel in the metaphor by
       savouring life in the here and now.
    2. "You guys must be Christian!" Of course not. Our Satan has
       nothing to do with the Christian devil, unless you count his
       stance of defiance against those who would oppress him.
    3. "Satanism is just about hurting other people." Magic takes
       energy, and so does caring. It's not damn likely that a
       Satanist of our kin would waste her/his precious personal
       energy in hurting another person when they could be working
       to further themselves. Satanism is about the SELF and not
       about the destruction of others. On this topic, we'll point
       out that animal sacrifices or cruelty to animals of any kind
       is strictly forbidden. So much for the talk shows.
    4. "Satanists are cowards." We're not sure where this came from.
       So we'll suppose it has something to do with not facing "God"
       or an "afterlife". As Satanists, we live life as if this is
       it, this is our only spin on this planet. We think this is a
       far cry from the cowardice of placing all of one's chips on
       happiness in the afterlife which may or may not exist. If
       this life is all we get, best that we do as much with it as
       we can.
    5. "The Church of Marilyn Manson." This is truly funny. Manson's
       Antichrist Superstar birthed a renaissance of Satanic
       interest, especially among teenagers. Consequently, it
       appears that many young people who are not mentally ready
       jump onto the Satanist bandwagon in emulation of Manson.
       While Manson is a figurehead and his last tour encouraged the
       audiences to be themselves, he is a minister of the Church of
       Satan and not the High Priest. Our message to young people is
       to let reading and thinking determine your path, not music.
       
   "The twilight is done. A glow of new light is borne out of the
   night and Lucifer is risen, once more to proclaim: "This is the
   age of Satan! Satan rules the Earth!" The gods of the unjust are
   dead. This is the morning of magic, and undefiled wisdom."
   
   For more documentation on LaVeyan Satanism as well as on other
   paths of Satanism, please visit Maledicta, the best storehouse on
   the Internet for information and Satanic goodies.
   
   Thank you for reading! May your journeys be fruitful.
   
   Books by Anton LaVey:
   The Satanic Bible
   The Satanic Rituals
   The Satanic Witch
   The Devil's Notebook
   Satan Speaks!
   
   Works By Friedrich Nietszche (in translation):
   Beyond Good and Evil
   The Birth of Tragedy
   Hammer of the Gods
   Philosophical Writings
   Thus Spake Zarathustra
   
   By Ragnar Redbeard:
   Might Is Right
   
   All books are available through Amazon.Com or Maledicta.

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