[from http://www.evilone.org/jezebel/satanism.html ]

                              "Satan"ism
                      -By Jezebel Evenio-Solomon
                                   
   The question that brought this on was: "Would Satanism exist
   without Christianity to oppose?" but it neatly describes exactly
   what Satanists do (and DON'T) believe in. Also, FTR: Some of what
   I say caused confusion. I do not mean to imply that no religion I
   do not mention has a Christ figure, nor that the ones I *do*
   mention believe in Jesus. They were just examples.
   "IMNSHO, it certainly would. Assuming for the moment that
   Christianity= All religions with a Christ figure (Islam, all
   sects of Christianity, Buddhism, most multi-deity paths etc. So
   we remove all such religions from the equation. This leaves
   Earth-based religions, some Native american/Indigenous Tribal
   religions and some Pagan religions. Satanism itself is, in my
   opinion, merely a matter of Honesty and being exactly who you
   want to be, doing exactly what is right for you- and not
   apologizing for it. It is hard to say "All Satanists believe...."
   or "All Satanists do this..." since the very purpose is to do
   what *you* want to. The other telling mark of a Satanist is that
   they worship no god higher than thier own self. Note that that
   does not mean that they do not believe in gods- nor does it
   translate into we don't give gods and the respect desrved of
   them, they just don't worship them. Honesty is not a concept that
   most in Society-at-large are comfortable with. People, in general
   are much to concerned with keeping up images and not hurting one
   anothers feelings. Confront them with blunt Honesty and watch the
   sparks fly! People are very content to hold in negative emotions
   like anger because they fear the consequences of honestly
   addressing thier concerns or feelings with the target of them.
   LaVey particularly discouraged that- urging people to let thier
   target *know* what they felt. After all, if you don't direct
   Anger or Disappointment at something or someone else than its
   going to be directed inwardly towards you- and why should you
   suffer because of what someone else did to you? Address it and
   move on.
   As for the question of would Satanism exist without
   Christianity's pre-existence: Of course it would! Of course,
   without the Christian model of Satan to name itself after, we
   would be called something else. The ideas behind LaVeyan Satanism
   are really nothing more than Objectivism with a workable model
   for Anger. As an aside, in many respects I consider Thelema to
   equal "Satanism+Mysticism+A little more maturity" Humans, by
   nature, want spirituality spoon fed to them. Society, by nature,
   will always produce charismatic leaders willing to lead the
   masses by doing just that. Satanism- by another name- would
   spring up in responce to the blatant hypocricy and fundamentalism
   found in pretty much any religion. And so the weak-minded would
   still be lead by thier Shepherd, while the strong would still
   gather together in opposition of such. [Of course, one should
   note at this point that there are true believers and hypcrites in
   every religious path out there. Failing to recognize the former
   in your opposition or the latter in your Fellows is about the
   wost mistake imaginable]
   {{Does that mean you're terrified of New Age fundies? My
   understanding is that magick is magick. Those who get tangled up
   in duality are merely showing they're rank amateurs (not that I
   claim to be more than a beginner. EvenLeos can keep their egos in
   check :)}}
   Abso-fucking-lutely. Trust me, you are going to regret getting me
   started on this. My big problem is with those white light,
   crystal waving earth mother freaks who go in for that 3 fold law
   deal. (Disclaimer: THis is in no way a statement on all such
   crystal lovers, just my experience with a handful IRL and more
   than a handful online.) I have met many individuals who live by
   the mantra of "An it harm none, do what thou will" which is a
   cool theory- on paper. But in application it is pretty
   frightening. Said individuals seem to feel that they can go
   around performing whatever workings thier little heart desires
   with no consequences. And maybe they won't have direct
   consequences but My Gods! What if everyone in the world
   participated in such ludicrous judgment. Can you just imagine the
   horrifying imbalance sure to result from such juvenile acts? Face
   it, every act of Magick (yeah yeah yeah I like the friggin K
   myself- so sue me) has consequences on many levels. If you take
   responsibility for those consequences, and even incorporate them
   into teh Work great. But some of these people- too many ime-
   think that they can do whatever they want and thier good
   intentions will come back to them three-fold. Sorry, but it just
   doesn't work that way. And the fact that some of these people
   consider themselves "Serious *Mages*" when they are really just
   teenagers with a Walden's Prefferred Reader card is kinda scary
   in and of itself.
   I don't personally consider myself a mage in any way shape or
   form, while I am ranting. I consider magick to be- not something
   to be practiced- but something to *live*. And I don't really
   think anyone can sit down and say "here are my magickal beliefs
   and practices" If they are really your beliefs than they should
   be so ingrained into the very fiber of your being that you don't
   *have* to think about them. I have tremendous respect for
   Christians who have this kind of faith in thier religion, but I
   have noticed that those that do are few and far between. Sadly,
   those of "alternative" paths are increasingly joining the ranks
   of the majority of christians."
   Now if you will excuse me I have to go finish making candles out
   of baby fat.
   A amour, contoisse et empatique;
   Jezebel Evenio-Solomon
   
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