Well, you can't have good without evil, in theory. A superhero needs a supervillain to fight, and the church needs an example of [strong]how not to do it[/strong].
Satanism: Misunderstood
- Thread starter Rorschach II
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gah. anyone who bitches about satanism needs to go reread the bill of rights. starting with number one.
I doubt that this is how every satanist feels. I bet the guys that cut themselves and plot weak murder attempts till their mom calls them for dinner think this way
Sorry if this view offends anyone, but to me Satanism has always seemed rather purile. It just implies that you're going deliberately against established faith for the hell of it (terrible pun, I know) without making any real point as you're still following the same idea, just on the other side of the equation rather that actually thinking anything different. It's like some maladjusted kid trying to break the rules for the sake of breaking the rules rather than because of any real reason. I know that my inability to feel faith means I'm probably not thinking about this in the same terms as the rest of you.
Don't hold me to this, but I think some of the hollywould ideas about satanism, such as virgin sacrifice, actually come from some old aztec beliefs. The rest is just the random superstitions that built up around the stories about witchcraft, which was mainly an atempt by the church to increase prejeduce against other religions.
Don't hold me to this, but I think some of the hollywould ideas about satanism, such as virgin sacrifice, actually come from some old aztec beliefs. The rest is just the random superstitions that built up around the stories about witchcraft, which was mainly an atempt by the church to increase prejeduce against other religions.
A lot of Christians think that Satan is just an idea. I personally don't think their is a literal guy who follows you around making you do bad things. Jesus even calls Peter Satan at one point.
Nooooooo. And yes. Kind of. The whole "sacrificing virgins and burning churches" part of Satanism, is as you have said, just breaking the "rules" for the sake of it, as a reaction to Christianity. The Church of Satan and all that guff is just funny.annoyinglizardvoice said:
As far as I can gather, Satanism just comes down to being a bit selfish, believing in yourself and, if you like, the god inside you, rather than wearing inverted crosses and drinking blood and shit. I think. I'm not a believer in anything, I just find it interesting.
I'm actually suprised at how grown up this discussion has been (with a few exceptions from some twats trying to be funny, no names) and I think some really interesting points have been raised.
I think that a lot of the negative stereotypes that are associated with 'satanism' (note the lower case s) are just the oppositions of what christianity pushes on people. Obviously many of the pagan traditions were coined as 'Satanic' but that is purely as they are anti christian. Its pretty shocking when you realise the influence that christianity has on a society/ country/ies that it dominates. A prime example being (you'll have to excuss the fact that I studied film at uni) vampires and dracula in film. The original Nosferatu had an aversion to sunlight and was a myth from Transylvania, the character was not harmed by the 'cross,' in fact I dont think it appeared once in Nosferatu. When the very famous Dracula was released (the one starring Bela Lugosi) very anti-christian traits were added to the character to make him more 'evil.'
That leads to the second point which I think needs to be addressed as a lot of people have kind of touched on it: the concept of good and evil, right and wrong.
A lot of people have posted on here saying that God is good and Satan/Lucifer/whatever is evil but good and evil is all a matter of point of view. If you do read the satanic bible it doesnt really say that the christian god is evil, it just says that their views (a satanists views) are just slightly different to christian beliefs. Its all stuff like "dont turn the other cheek, if someone hits you, you should hit them back."
I think its just giving an alternative to faith and giving a different philosophical view on things and therein lies another problem. People, not everyone but a silly amount, rely on faih, on a belief of some higher power and if they were to be without it they would fall apart.... but maybe thats another topic for another time.
I think I've ranted enough for now
(I dont think my notifications are working either but checks will have to be made)
I think that a lot of the negative stereotypes that are associated with 'satanism' (note the lower case s) are just the oppositions of what christianity pushes on people. Obviously many of the pagan traditions were coined as 'Satanic' but that is purely as they are anti christian. Its pretty shocking when you realise the influence that christianity has on a society/ country/ies that it dominates. A prime example being (you'll have to excuss the fact that I studied film at uni) vampires and dracula in film. The original Nosferatu had an aversion to sunlight and was a myth from Transylvania, the character was not harmed by the 'cross,' in fact I dont think it appeared once in Nosferatu. When the very famous Dracula was released (the one starring Bela Lugosi) very anti-christian traits were added to the character to make him more 'evil.'
That leads to the second point which I think needs to be addressed as a lot of people have kind of touched on it: the concept of good and evil, right and wrong.
A lot of people have posted on here saying that God is good and Satan/Lucifer/whatever is evil but good and evil is all a matter of point of view. If you do read the satanic bible it doesnt really say that the christian god is evil, it just says that their views (a satanists views) are just slightly different to christian beliefs. Its all stuff like "dont turn the other cheek, if someone hits you, you should hit them back."
I think its just giving an alternative to faith and giving a different philosophical view on things and therein lies another problem. People, not everyone but a silly amount, rely on faih, on a belief of some higher power and if they were to be without it they would fall apart.... but maybe thats another topic for another time.
I think I've ranted enough for now
(I dont think my notifications are working either but checks will have to be made)
Don't believe everything the television tell you.pantsoffdanceoff said:
Back on topic. From what you've got it doesn't sound to bad. I'm one of the people who think dogmatic religion is kinda bogus. I'm not trying to convert anyone so don't start sending me hate mail.
Kinda surprised to find a discussion on LaVeyan Satanism here of all places. I'm far too fond of the concept of altruism to consider following the religion myself, but I don't have any objections to it.
It even manages to avoid drawing the contempt I feel for Objectivism, which is kind of bizarre. Might be that whole "leave animals and children the fuck alone" specification, or the fact that its founder seems to follow his philosophy...
It even manages to avoid drawing the contempt I feel for Objectivism, which is kind of bizarre. Might be that whole "leave animals and children the fuck alone" specification, or the fact that its founder seems to follow his philosophy...
That is not what it is about, she is an anti communist after the Russian government forcibly took control oh her father's pharmacy. Communism was crippling the country, it wouldn't allow people to shine and make the country advance. So her philosophy was based that people have aright to do what they want with their money and their businesses and the government should be a limited government.Corneliusthederelict said:
I have met a satanist and it is very different and infact a real eye opener. The thing was that as a Christian I enjoyed talking to her because her religion was basically one of self worship, it wasn't about killing or the stereotypes people claim. I have my own religious views but she respected mine and never questioned mine and vice versa.
I learnt a lot from her on what satanism truly is and while I don't agree with it I was happy to learn more about it and understand just what it was.
Actually, I find satanism to be the rational conclusion to arrive at when one embraces atheism. Since no divine law exists, then why not act to your own benfit? It would be irrational otherwise.