Bitterfly
Member
Pretenders to the Throne
If you read the Satanism section of the forum (And I don't blame you if you don't, the interesting topics being few and far between), and if you care enough to recognize a pattern, you might see that Church of Satan members and its' supporters hold contempt for people who practice different religions and want to refer to themselves with a similar name.
To Church of Satan members people who literally believe in an external deity and/or like to read off spiritual gobbledygook to one another without understanding the subjective nature of human spiritual experience, or believe things and behave in ways that contradict what we are about, and choose to call themselves Satanists are a source of embarrassment and annoyance.
As little as we are concerned about our admittedly irredeemable public image, inverse Christians (our umbrella term for "other kinds of satanism") evoke images and impressions of us in the mainstream eye that resemble the ones we had to fight tooth and nail by appearing on television talk shows and radio programs during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and early 90s. Worse, when your esoteric gibberish has no practical application in daily life, or contains some good ideas but muddled in pompous, superfluous language, it's no wonder that your organizations quickly fizzle out (if they even get off the ground).
I once met a woman who claimed to be a Satanist yet was addicted to heroin and was a prostitute, complete with a pimp. I might have forgiven her being a prostitute had she strengths in other areas, but no: she was an emotionally immature little girl who wallowed in her own misery. Not exactly the embodiment of human potential and worldliness that we strive for. The initial individual nature of our organization, the fact that you must seek out and pass criteria for active membership before you can engage socially with other Satanists, means that she was never given a chance to be called on her nonsense. Had she not been led astray by kooks claiming to use our literature as an inspiration, perhaps she would have woken up and made something of herself. Perhaps. I could give other examples, including people who are currently dead, having killed themselves as a result of their stupid behavior. Drug use, illegal activity, a lack of discretion, focus, or direction are certainly not characteristics of an individual or group that strives for worldly accomplishment.
When an inverse Christian occultnik says on the internet (the only place you ever see them, besides of course when their kooky antics make the ten o'clock news), "Well I want to call myself a Satanist and you must accept that" or "Well that's just your opinion", when I even bother to respond I strongly disagree. Members of the Church of Satan have been writing books, publishing magazines, creating art, composing and releasing music, speaking on radio shows, and inspiring people to realize tangible accomplishments. I find the attitude, "Why do you care so strongly about a name?" contemptuous as well. The men and women who are in leadership positions in my church are some of the most accomplished people I have known and had the privilege of calling my friends. Not moose lodgey merit badge accomplishments that only matter inside the group, but real successes in the world.
If anyone wants to use our name I challenge anyone who is a part of such an organization or group to prove that they are of equal or more merit to the mantle of Satanism. As LaVey and his contemporaries like to say, the proof is in the pudding.
If you read the Satanism section of the forum (And I don't blame you if you don't, the interesting topics being few and far between), and if you care enough to recognize a pattern, you might see that Church of Satan members and its' supporters hold contempt for people who practice different religions and want to refer to themselves with a similar name.
To Church of Satan members people who literally believe in an external deity and/or like to read off spiritual gobbledygook to one another without understanding the subjective nature of human spiritual experience, or believe things and behave in ways that contradict what we are about, and choose to call themselves Satanists are a source of embarrassment and annoyance.
As little as we are concerned about our admittedly irredeemable public image, inverse Christians (our umbrella term for "other kinds of satanism") evoke images and impressions of us in the mainstream eye that resemble the ones we had to fight tooth and nail by appearing on television talk shows and radio programs during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and early 90s. Worse, when your esoteric gibberish has no practical application in daily life, or contains some good ideas but muddled in pompous, superfluous language, it's no wonder that your organizations quickly fizzle out (if they even get off the ground).
I once met a woman who claimed to be a Satanist yet was addicted to heroin and was a prostitute, complete with a pimp. I might have forgiven her being a prostitute had she strengths in other areas, but no: she was an emotionally immature little girl who wallowed in her own misery. Not exactly the embodiment of human potential and worldliness that we strive for. The initial individual nature of our organization, the fact that you must seek out and pass criteria for active membership before you can engage socially with other Satanists, means that she was never given a chance to be called on her nonsense. Had she not been led astray by kooks claiming to use our literature as an inspiration, perhaps she would have woken up and made something of herself. Perhaps. I could give other examples, including people who are currently dead, having killed themselves as a result of their stupid behavior. Drug use, illegal activity, a lack of discretion, focus, or direction are certainly not characteristics of an individual or group that strives for worldly accomplishment.
When an inverse Christian occultnik says on the internet (the only place you ever see them, besides of course when their kooky antics make the ten o'clock news), "Well I want to call myself a Satanist and you must accept that" or "Well that's just your opinion", when I even bother to respond I strongly disagree. Members of the Church of Satan have been writing books, publishing magazines, creating art, composing and releasing music, speaking on radio shows, and inspiring people to realize tangible accomplishments. I find the attitude, "Why do you care so strongly about a name?" contemptuous as well. The men and women who are in leadership positions in my church are some of the most accomplished people I have known and had the privilege of calling my friends. Not moose lodgey merit badge accomplishments that only matter inside the group, but real successes in the world.
If anyone wants to use our name I challenge anyone who is a part of such an organization or group to prove that they are of equal or more merit to the mantle of Satanism. As LaVey and his contemporaries like to say, the proof is in the pudding.
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