Originally posted by Geifodd
Satanism is not actually a single religion or belief system, but an entire family of inter-related belief systems, most of which are vastly different from each other save for one common theme: a sympathetic reinterpretation of the force/character/entity that is most well known and recognized in modern Western culture as "Satan."
The term "Religious Satanism" is used to describe Satanisms which are religious in nature. The reason there is a need to make such a distinction is because the term "Satanism" is also used as a literary term. If you check up the word "Satanism" in the Oxford Dictionary, you will find that one of its secondary definitions is a style of literature. Authors and poets who produced such literature were known as members of "the Satanic school," which became notorious for writing literature that supposedly takes the Devil's point of view. People included in the genre of "literary Satanism" include John Keats, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron among others. None of these people were religious Satanists -- that is to say, none of them practiced Satanism as a religion -- but they were "Satanists" in the sense that they created a literary tradition structured around several unorthodox views and techniques, including an often sympathetic portrayal of the Devil.
Agreed so far. However, I disagree with some of your terminology below.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Religious Satanism is primarily divided into two major categories: Theistic Satanists and Atheistic Satanists. The theistic branch of Satanism is the branch in which it is believed that Satan is an actual deity or supernatural being of some sort, who is to be revered or worshiped. The atheistic branch of Satanism is the branch in which it is believed that Satan is merely a force in nature or a symbol of man's animal nature, which itself is regarded as the object of worship. Typically, theistic Satanists can be understood to be Satan-worshipers (although there are exceptions), while atheistic Satanists can be understood to be Self-worshipers.
The atheistic branch of Satanism is divided into three categories. First come the symbolic Satanists, who believe that Satan is merely a symbol representing certain characteristics and traits that the atheistic Satanist finds desirable.
Actually, I would not define symbolic Satanists as a subset of atheistic Satanists. There also exist some people who are symbolic Satanists in the sense of having a favorable regard for Satan as a symbol and do not believe in Satan as a literal entity, but who are
not atheists, i.e. they do believe in one or more
other gods. So I would consider atheistic and symbolic Satanists to be heavily overlapping sets, but neither one ideentical to the other.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Next are the deistic Satanists, who believe that Satan is actually real, but that He is not a being, but rather a force. Specifically, He is described as being "the Dark Force in Nature" which rules over this world and the carnal natures of human beings. Deistic Satanists sometimes prefer the term "Dark Deists." Some practice what are called "the Dark Doctrines," which essentially teach that "Satan" was originally revered in the ancient East as "Sat" and "Tan," two Sanskrit words which essentially describe a mysterious Dark Force in Nature and its eternal process of continually creating and destroying all things in existence. Deistic Satanists such as these sometimes prefer the term "Sat-Tanists" in order to differentiate themselves from other varieties. The major organization representing deistic Satanism at this time is known as The Satanic Reds, who are also (interestingly enough) a Communist group.
I would not consider deists to be a subset of atheists. A deist is anyone who believes in an
impersonal supreme being of whatever sort. A deistic Satanist would be anyone who believes in Satan as that impersonal supreme being, force, or whatever.
The Satanic Reds can be characterized as pantheist as well as deist. I would NOT consider the Satanic Reds to be the major Satanic organization representing deistic Satanism, though they certainly did raise the visibility of that perspective back in the mid-1990's. LaVey's
Satanic Bible speaks of Satan as a "Dark Force in Nature" and speaks of the cosmic God as an impersonal "balancing factor in Nature." LaVey's Church of Satan seems to include both deistic and atheistic symbolic Satanists. Another large group -- much larger than the Satanic Reds -- which represents a deistic/pantheistic perspective is John Allee's First Church of Satan.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Perhaps the most important variety of atheistic Satanists are the LaVeyans. LaVeyans take their name from Anton Szandor LaVey, who authored The Satanic Bible and who founded the Church of Satan in 1966. LaVeyanism actually combines aspects of both symbolic Satanism and deistic Satanism, with the addition of the practice of magic. LaVey taught that Satan was the "Dark Force" rather than a personal god, but rather than focus on Eastern concepts as the Dark Deists tend to do, LaVey focused more on the symbolic concept of worshiping the Self as the center of its own universe. He also taught the practice of magic, not as the exercise of supernatural power but as a form of theatrical psychodrama which was intended to help the practitioner overcome their inhibitions and become a full-fledged "personification" of Satan -- the Dark Force -- in the flesh.
Agreed.
Originally posted by Geifodd
The theistic branch of Satanism is divided into many more subcategories than the atheistic branch. Perhaps the oldest variety of theistic Satanism of which we know are the Yezidi, who are a Middle Eastern sect that originated in the area which is currently known as Iraq.
Ophite Gnosticism is older, though it has not existed as a continuous tradition as far as I know. Of course, as is the case with Yezidism, it's debatable whether Ophite Gnosticism should properly be called a form of "Satanism" since neither of these religions have used the name "Satan" for their deity.
Snipping your further discussion of Yezidism, we now get to the Gnostic Luciferians:
Originally posted by Geifodd
Next are the Gnostic Luciferians, who are descended from the Gnostic Christians. The Gnostics believed that originally everything that existed was pure spirit; then the Demiurge (who was identified as the god of the Old Testament) trapped our souls in matter and cut us away from the Source. The Gnostic Christians believed that Jesus Christ was an incorporeal spirit that had been sent into the world not to save the human race by dying on the cross, but to teach the way of discovering Gnosis -- i.e., knowledge of the divinity within -- which was believed to be the only way to escape the sinfulness of the material world. While some Gnostics believed that it was necessary to abstain from worldly pleasures in order to transcend the material world, others believed that Gnosis could be achieved by indulging in worldly pleasures and by "exhausting" their sinfulness. This is where the Luciferians came from.
Not all ancient Gnostics were Christian. If I'm not mistaken, some Gnostics favored various pagan mythologies over Jewish/Christian mythology. Also, some, as you describe below, used an inverted Jewish mythology, regarding Yahweh as the Demiurge and regarded the Serpent of the Garden of Eden myth as the bringer of knowledge. These were known as Ophite or Ophidian Gnostics. However, they identified the serpent
not with Satan but with Sophia, a personification of wisdom.
Originally posted by Geifodd
The Luciferians identify the One sent into the world by the Source to teach humans of the Gnosis was actually Lucifer, and not Christ. The reason for this is found in the Genesis story. Gnostic Luciferians believe that when the serpent (Satan) tempted Adam and Eve with the Knowledge of Good and Evil, He was really tempting them with the Gnosis and thereby freed them from the authoritarian power of the Demiurge (Jehovah). Gnostic Luciferians, therefore, worship Lucifer as the Bringer of Light, who helps us to transcend the imperfections of earthly existence by enticing us to indulgence, rather than abstinence. There is currently no major Gnostic Luciferian organization in existence of which I am aware, though it has been speculated that the Gnostic Luciferians had a bit of influence over the Freemasons. Whether this is actually true or not is anyone's guess.
One of us should read Albert Pike's
Morals and Dogma at some point....
Originally posted by Geifodd
However the Gnostic Luciferians are not the only kind of Luciferians. Some Luciferians believe in Lucifer as the fallen angel, who rebelled against the Creator and was cast down, and who will eventually be thrown into the lake of fire after the end of days. These Luciferians tend to be known as Christian-based Duo-theists. Even though they agree with most of the Biblical views, such as the view that Lucifer will lose the battle with Jehovah, they choose to side with Him anyway because they believe He is truly the force for good. And they would rather side with the force for good, even in the face of failure, than side with the force for wrong and win. As with the Gnostic Luciferians, there is currently no major Christian-based duo-theist organization in existence.
I wouldn't use "Luciferian" as a theological category within Satanism. Theistic Luciferians, like theistic Satanists in general, hold a variety of theologies. And, for any given theological position held by a theistic "Luciferian," you can probably find at least one theistic "Satanist" who holds it too, and vice versa. Just like theistic Satanists, theistic Luciferians can be polytheists, monotheists, duotheists, deists, pantheists, or even extraterrestrialists. So, as far as I'm concerned, "Luciferianism" and "Satanism" are synonymous. The main actual difference, as far as I can tell, is that "Luciferians" have a somewhat easier time making themselves look respectable in Pagan/occult circles due to their use of the L word rather than the dreaded S word. Also, Luciferians can claim that Lucifer was really an ancient Roman god (albeit a minot god -- the morning star, son of Aurora, goddess of dawn) but in fact their actual mythology typically draws more on Christianity than any actual ancient Roman myth.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Next we have the Setians. The Setian denomination was founded by Dr. Michael A. Aquino in 1975. Aquino was a priest of the Church of Satan who left over a dispute with LaVey concerning the existence of the Prince of Darkness. Aquino then started his own church called the Temple of Set. The Setians believe that the Prince of Darkness' "true" name is Set, and that before He became known as "Satan" in Judeo-Christian mythology, He was known as Set in ancient Egyptian religion. Setians believe that the Prince of Darkness is a god who is responsible for creating consciousness -- the ability to perceive, to be aware and to take deliberate action. They believe in a mystical concept called "Xeper," an Egyptian word pronounced "Kheffer" which means "I have Come into Being." Xeper is what the Egyptian sun god, Ra, would proclaim each morning at dawn after his nocturnal journey through the underworld. Set was the god who protected Ra during this journey from Apep, the serpent of darkness and chaos. In protecting Ra, Set enabled the sun to "Xeper" each morning, and this myth is taken to be symbolic of Set's power to enable us to become newly created beings with each self-determined action that we take in life. In this context, the term "Xeper" means something similar to "I think therefore I am," though it could be said to take an additional meaning: "The MORE I think, the MORE I am."
The Setian holy text is The Book of Coming Forth by Night, which was supposedly dictated to Michael Aquino during a ritual channeling with the Prince of Darkness in 1975. Setians are often indecisive over whether or not they consider themselves Satanists. Many times, Setians consider themselves to be a part of the Satanic subculture and indeed they are, since they grew out of the Church of Satan (strangely enough). However, often they will claim that they are a "higher" form of Satanism that is much too sophisticated to be ensared in "the bastard title of a Hebrew,"
That's "bastard title of a Hebrew fiend," if I'm not mistaken.
Originally posted by Geifodd
so they will try to pass their religion off as something completely different. However, for all their neo-Egyptian mysticism, they continue to refer to Set as "the Prince of Darkness" and they continue to use the Satanic pentagram (i.e., two points up, so the star is shaped like a goat's head) as their sacred symbol. Therefore, most Satanists continue to consider the Setians to be a denomination of Satanism.
Well, you and I consider them a denomination of Satanism. I would hesitate to generalize about how most Satanists feel about them, though.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Traditional Satanists are somewhat of a strange breed. They are sometimes called Generational Satanists.
Here I disagree strongly. A "generational Satanist" would be someone who claims (honestly or not) to come from a family tradition of Satanism over many generations. There are many Satanists who call themselves "traditional" who don't claim to be "generational."
Originally posted by Geifodd
The term "Traditional Satanism" was originally used as a synonym for theistic Satanism in the 1990's, but recently it has come to have a more specific usage.
Different people have used the term "traditional Satanism" to mean many different things. The most common use was and still is as a synonym for "theistic Satanism." Theistic Satanists of many different theological stripes have called themselves "traditional Satanists."
Originally posted by Geifodd
The term is more specifically used to describe theistic Satanists who (1) believe that Satan and Jehovah are the only two gods in existence (duo-theism), and who (2) believe that Satan and Jehovah are engaged in a cosmic war. Unlike the Christian-based Duo-theists, however, traditional Satanists typically believe that Satan will win the final battle with Jehovah.
That's not a difference with Christian-based duotheists, who
in general typically believe that Satan will win the final battle, though they vary in their level of confidence on this matter. Anyhow, there's no good reason to associate the term "traditional Satanism" exclusively or primarily with Christian-based duotheism. If I'm not mistaken, the first group to use the term "traditional Satanism" was a British group called the Order of the Nine Angles, whose theology was not Christian-based at all but more like the theology of some forms of Pagan Witchcraft, with a well-balanced quartet of dark god, dark goddess, light god, and light goddess. Also even the extraterrestrialist "spiritual Satanists" have sometimes called themselves traditional Satanists as a preferred synonym for theistic Satanists.
Originally posted by Geifodd
They also claim, quite often, to be "orthodox Satanists"
Quite often? As far as I'm aware, "orthodox Satanism" is a new term that was coined just this year by one particular not-very-large group.
I would add that I consider the very idea of "orthodox Satanism" to be utterly ridiculous. Theistic Satanists simply do not have an established orthodoxy of any kind.
Originally posted by Geifodd
-- which is to say they claim that they are practicing a tradition that has been passed down to them through several centuries, uninterrupted. Some of them even claim to have had their tradition passed down to them generationally, hence the term "Generational Satanist." However, most people who claim to be Generational have very little evidence to prove that their form of Satanism pre-dates the 1950's. Traditionals/Generationals typically believe that the Endtimes are immanent, and that there will be an Antichrist and a Second Coming, even though they believe Satan will win.
"Generational" Satanists do NOT necessarily hold the above Christian-based beliefs, and in most cases probably don't. I would expect the majority of genuine "Generational Satanists," if indeed any exist, to hold beliefs derived from the Western occult tradition, i.e. I would expect them to be pantheists, deists, and/or gnostics.
Originally posted by Geifodd
The two most well-known Traditional Satanist organizations at this time are the Orthodox Temple of Satan and the Cathedral of the Black Goat. To date, these are the only two Satanic churches which profess a belief in the practice of animal sacrifice.
Actually, Madame WolfLady's group used to profess a belief in animal sacrifice too, but probably doesn't anymore now that MWL has become a "Modern Satanist" (i.e. a LaVeyan atheistic symbolic Satanist).
Originally posted by Geifodd
The Spiritual Satanists are rather weird. Satanists who call themselves "Spiritual Satanists" tend to believe, like Christian-based duo-theists and Traditionals/Generationals, that there is a cosmic struggle going on between Satan and Jehovah. However, the Spirituals (having read too much Zechariah Sitchin) believe that Satan and Jehovah are not actually supernatural beings, but mortal aliens living on a distant planet across the universe, who communicate telepathically with human beings and who are engaged in a psychic mind-war over our allegiance. Spiritual Satanists tend to believe that all of the gods worshiped by human beings throughout history are really extra-terrestrials. The Spirituals also believe that Satan was originally the pre-Christian Sumerian deity Enki, before He became corrupted into the fallen angel concept. Some of them have actually taken to calling themselves Enkians. I am afraid I cannot do the Spiritual Satanists justice in this post of mine, as I am quite opposed to their interpretation of Satanism. However, the major organization devoted to Spiritual Satanism is a group known as the Joy of Satan, who are commonly laughed at and ridiculed by other Satanists as being the Satanic equivalent to Raelians.
Pantheistic Satanists are theistic Satanists who believe that everything that exists is one in Satan. They actually represent a "stepping stone" between theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism, for their perspective of Satan is somewhere between being a personal being and the "Dark Force" of the atheistics. Pantheistic Satanists tend to be the theistic version of the deistic Satanists mentioned above. The best known organization representing pantheistic Satanism at this time is the First Church of Satan in Salem, Massachussetts.
Demonolators are not exactly Satanists per se, although they are accepted as a part of our subculture. Demonolators are people who worship Demons, as opposed to Satan Himself. They believe that the Demons are not actually fallen angels, but really pre-Christian pagan deities who represent the "dark side of Nature." Demonolators consider themselves to be Dark Pagans (i.e., worshipers of Nature who are tuned to the dark side). They do not really have much of a public presence, though it is known that they are organized. They remain underground because they prefer not to be confronted by others about their beliefs.
I would add here that the main group of Demonolators, the First Temple of Demonolatry, seems to have roots in the Western occult tradition. Based on what little I've seen of their public literature, it seems to be a blend of pantheism and polytheism, of a sort common among Pagans and occultists.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Lastly, I will speak of the Devil Worshipers. This is where I fit in. While it is true that most theistic Satanists can probably be described as Devil Worshipers (except for the Setians -- who have quite an aversion to that word "worship"), it will probably surprise most of my readers to learn that the vast majority of Satanists frown upon the term "Devil Worshiper," in much the same way that many gays frown upon the word "queer" and many African Americans from upon the dreaded "N" word. Satanists who embrace the term "Devil Worshiper" and actually use it as a term of self-reference are, surprisingly enough, a minority within a minority.
The term itself does not really propose any particular theological worldview -- save for a belief in Satan, and a belief in worshiping Him. Other than these two points, Devil Worshipers can embark upon a wide variety of theological perspectives -- polytheism, pantheism, henotheism, duo-theism, etc. The major qualification for being a Devil Worshiper is that you take a primarily devotional approach to the Prince of Darkness. Most other varieties of Satanism place emphasis on the practice of magic or the attainment of Gnosis over worship and prayer (in fact the Setians will tell you that worship and prayer are "un-Satanic"). But Devil Worshipers unashamedly worship the Devil as their God, and we also unashamedly refer to Him as our Master -- another "taboo" that most other Satanists refuse to accept.
As you've pointed out, those of us who identify as "Devil worshippers" overlap with many, perhaps all, of the other theistic categories you've mentioned. "Devil worship" isn't a theological category, more an attitude.
The taboo on the term "Devil worship" originated with LaVey's Church of Satan, who basically have the attitude that they are the only true Satanists and the rest of us are "Devil worshippers" whom they despise and tend to lump with the criminal fringe.
Originally posted by Geifodd
Basically, Perhaps the only organization dedicated to honest-to-Satan Devil Worship is the Church of Azazel.
Actually, there's also a group called the Order of Eternal Darkness who identify as Devil worshippers. Also a new group called the Temple of Diabolic Youth, if I'm not mistaken.
Originally posted by Geifodd
However, the Church of Azazel is still just starting out, and is only beginning to gain acceptance among some of the other denominations.
Actually, we started out last year and are now temporarily defunct. Hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime we run a collection of Yahoo groups, some of them fairly large, devoted to discussion of theistic Satanism in general.
TheologyWeb Campus
» World Religions Dept.
» Comparative Religions 101
»
The Varieties of Religious Satanism
