Satan And His Army
Posted by Alexander Marquez on June 19, 2009We humans are a complex bunch, always in search of something that can complete us. Perhaps this is why we have to believe in something to give us purpose.A great portion of the world follows a religion centered on A God or Gods, whether it’s Christianity’s teachings of the holy trinity or Allah in Islam, you can somehow find a connection between these faiths. There are, however, some religions that are truly taboo and cause someone to become really uncomfortable at the mere mention of them.
One of these religions, if it can even be called that, is The Church of Satan, containing the “S” word that causes Christian’s jaws to drop. How can Satan have a church? We are all aware of how the word is seen in the Bible, a book that describes Satan as a fallen angel, one of God’s first creations, and a traitor of his maker. We all know, as well, than any movement must have an undisputed leader, and in the case of The Church Of Satan, this is no different.
Well, that undisputed leader is non other that the infamous Anton Lavey. He is no longer with us, but his death has not ended his considerable legacy, for better or worst, for his mark is very well felt in our times and resides in the dark chambers of his church. So who in the world is Anton Lavey? By looking at the images, you can’t help but have the impression that this man looks nothing like the leader of an entire movement, but let’s not be that quick to judge, for there is something hidden behind the look, a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.
He was born in Chigago, in 1930, to Jewish parents, but later on moved to California, before moving on to Arizona. He was a high school dropout who became cynical at the hypocrisy he perceived within the religious order, criticizing its members for acting as saints at church, only to have a double life later on. But this is not a biography of Anton Lavey, so I fast forward you to the part where he created The Satanic Bible, the book that is the primary book of worship for The Church of Satan. Let’s do a quick overview of this book.
As I mentioned before, The Satanic Bible contains the essence of the beliefs of The Church Of Satan, a book written by Lavey, containing his essays, Satanic rituals, and his overall observations.All of his stunning ideologies can be found within this book, and without this book, we might have no satanism, for it is the root and the foundation of the movement. What is found within this book is truly shocking and hard to stomach. LaVey used his influences,Ragnar Redbeard and Ayn Rand, as inspiration throughout his writings.
We have four main books that form The Satanic bible, and these are “The Book of Satan”,”The Book of Lucifer”, “The Book of Belial”, and “The Book of Leviathan”. The Book of Satan Is LaVey’s way of introducing Satanism with a bang, and I have to say he accomlishes his goals, for within it you will find the important elements that are part of Satanism. The Book Of Lucifer is quite extensive, comprising of twelve essays in which the philosophy of Satanism is developed and explained.
Within these essays, LaVey takes the time to focus on mainstream religions and their hypocrisy, while posing the question as to whether we are our own God.He seeks to legitimize the Satanic movement as a religion and not merely a philosophy. One important revelation he makes is that he does not view Satan in the way you and I see him, but perhaps in a symbolic, for the Hebraic translation of the word means “adversary”, which is a word that can be applied to anyone that opposes you.
He does confess that Satan in the literal sense is the perfect symbol for his religion, a symbol of rebellion and to one’s desire to satisfy the flesh. Though he proceeds to express the notion that love is a likely emotion to arise in the heart of a human being, hate must not be ignored, for he believed living without hate for certain elements or individuals would be a mistake and unpractical.
Thus, within this religion, hating your enemies is simply an acceptable, natural emotion. LaVey refutes the idea that Satanism is based on hate, allegations he declared as blatantly false and ignorant. According to LaVey, this idea goes against what the religion truly stands for. The view on sex is highly interesting within The Book of Lucifer, for it explains that all sexual behavior is accepted as long as no one is hurt and that no laws are broken. He doesn’t criticize people who prefer to stay with one partner sexually or those who decide they want to abstain from sex completely. There is much more within The Book of Lucifer, but one point that stands out is the fact that he condenms using animals for sacrifice but accepts placing curses on your enemies, which can be seen as a form of “human sacrifice”.
LaVey proceeds to talk about life afer death, basically declaring that there is no afterlife and we must take care of the only life we have. He then outlines their religious holidays, of which the most important is your own birthday. The Book Of Belial discusses, in five essays, the acts of magic that are a big part of Satanism. The Book of Leviathan concludes The Satanic Bible discussing the ways to speak to Satan during rituals.So, after having led to you through a careful dissection of Satanism, and its church, I must say that, whether you are appalled with the church’s or its founder’s views, you have to admit that the topic is fascinating, maybe not in a good way, but in a way that shocks us as we explore the darker sides of humanity. LaVey died in 1997 but his message did not die with him, as his followers will continue carrying his message like a torch, one that we will have a hard time putting out.
The truth is that if we are to criticize those that practice Satanism, then we cannot have a blind eye toward the mainstream religions, for they have not been without flaws, and its members continuously struggle to live by the strict way of living imposed upon them. Who can provide solid, reasonable evidence that there is even a God, considering that every religion has their own philosophy and deities? Who are we to judge the ones who choose to practice something different than us, so long as they don’t harm anyone or participate in illegal activity? I am not a Satanist but I am also not religious. I am a man with an open mind that invites you to do the same. Our minds are begging us to acquire new knowledge, and it is important that we do not stop our pursuit of this. Expand and challenge yourself to be enlightened. This might set you free.
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Thanks for posting about this, I would like to read more about this topic.