Let’s talk about Satanism

[an anarchist]

Let’s talk about Satansim!

(@JustGeorge stole your idea, but I don’t believe in intellectual property heehee)

I used to identify as a Satanist for a little while a couple years back while I was on this site. An auto theist to be specific. Autotheism for me meant that I was my own God and had access to the power of God. I was equal to God because I was God.

Satanism still has a negative connotation unfortunately. One time, my group therapist was filling out a sheet on me and asked my religion and I told her I was a satanist and she was absolutely shocked and didn’t want to write that down because she didn’t want to believe me.

Satanism is an umbrella term. So, how do you understand it? What comes to mind? People wearing goat heads dancing around a bonfire worshipping a red skinned, dual horned, trident wielding Lucifer?

For me, it was about freedom and liberating power.

 

[TheloniousX]

Without Abrahamic religions and Christianity there would be no Satan. It would seem that your choice in identifying as a Satanist was you, “tempting fate” socially, or perhaps “stirring the pot”.

 

[an anarchist]

Without Abrahamic religions and Christianity there would be no Satan. It would seem that your choice in identifying as a Satanist was you, “tempting fate” socially, or perhaps “stirring the pot”.

Well I’m not gonna debate you, I’ll simply state that I believe Satanism can and does exists outside the abrahamic paradigm.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Well I’m not gonna debate you, I’ll simply state that I believe Satanism can and does exists outside the abrahamic paradigm.

What is Satanism within the "abrahamic paradigm"?

 

[The Hammer]

Without Abrahamic religions and Christianity there would be no Satan. It would seem that your choice in identifying as a Satanist was you, “tempting fate” socially, or perhaps “stirring the pot”.

Neither of those are necessarily a bad thing.

 

[JustGeorge]

Let’s talk about Satansim!

(@JustGeorge stole your idea, but I don’t believe in intellectual property heehee)

Hey, I'm happy you did! I was hoping my string of "Let's Talk About..." threads would encourage more.

I used to identify as a Satanist for a little while a couple years back while I was on this site. An auto theist to be specific. Autotheism for me meant that I was my own God and had access to the power of God. I was equal to God because I was God.

Interesting!

Satanism still has a negative connotation unfortunately. One time, my group therapist was filling out a sheet on me and asked my religion and I told her I was a satanist and she was absolutely shocked and didn’t want to write that down because she didn’t want to believe me.

I think that's inappropriate of her to state that... if she couldn't cope with it, she should have found you someone who could without the commentary.

Without Abrahamic religions and Christianity there would be no Satan. It would seem that your choice in identifying as a Satanist was you, “tempting fate” socially, or perhaps “stirring the pot”.

I agree, the concept of Satan came out of Abrahamic religion, I agree with @an anarchist here --->

Well I’m not gonna debate you, I’ll simply state that I believe Satanism can and does exists outside the abrahamic paradigm.

It's come into its own at this point.

 

[TheloniousX]

Well I’m not gonna debate you, I’ll simply state that I believe Satanism can and does exists outside the abrahamic paradigm.

Outside of Judaism, Islam and Christianity the word Satan becomes a metaphor for Evil or Adversary rather than the entity that seduces or tempts people and no longer takes the form of a serpent or dragon and merely becomes a concept.

You could just as well follow the trickster Loki and his daughter Hel who rules the underworld in Norse Mythos, or Hades of the Greek mythos, or Rakshasas and Asuras of the Hindu mythos. They are all, for the most part representative of the same. But, in order to follow you must first acknowledge their origin or understand what they represent.

No need for debate, I just have never been able to wrap my head around those who claim to follow Satan but refuse to acknowledge the Christian faith, Islam or Judaism because he doesn’t exist without those religions.

 

[jhonsteve111]

Let’s talk about Satansim!

(@JustGeorge stole your idea, but I don’t believe in intellectual property heehee)

I used to identify as a Satanist for a little while a couple years back while I was on this site. An auto theist to be specific. Autotheism for me meant that I was my own God and had access to the power of God. I was equal to God because I was God.

Satanism still has a negative connotation unfortunately. One time, my group therapist was filling out a sheet on me and asked my religion and I told her I was a satanist and she was absolutely shocked and didn’t want to write that down because she didn’t want to believe me.

Satanism is an umbrella term. So, how do you understand it? What comes to mind? People wearing goat heads dancing around a bonfire worshipping a red skinned, dual horned, trident wielding Lucifer?

For me, it was about freedom and liberating power.

How do false ideas about Satanism impact those who follow it, especially with all the stereotypes people believe?

 

[SalixIncendium]

Without Abrahamic religions and Christianity there would be no Satan. It would seem that your choice in identifying as a Satanist was you, “tempting fate” socially, or perhaps “stirring the pot”.

Outside of Judaism, Islam and Christianity the word Satan becomes a metaphor for Evil or Adversary rather than the entity that seduces or tempts people and no longer takes the form of a serpent or dragon and merely becomes a concept.

You could just as well follow the trickster Loki and his daughter Hel who rules the underworld in Norse Mythos, or Hades of the Greek mythos, or Rakshasas and Asuras of the Hindu mythos. They are all, for the most part representative of the same. But, in order to follow you must first acknowledge their origin or understand what they represent.

No need for debate, I just have never been able to wrap my head around those who claim to follow Satan but refuse to acknowledge the Christian faith, Islam or Judaism because he doesn’t exist without those religions.

There are forms of Satanism beyond theistic Satanism. LaVeyan Satanism would be an example of this.

 

[Kfox]

Let’s talk about Satansim!

(@JustGeorge stole your idea, but I don’t believe in intellectual property heehee)

I used to identify as a Satanist for a little while a couple years back while I was on this site. An auto theist to be specific. Autotheism for me meant that I was my own God and had access to the power of God. I was equal to God because I was God.

Satanism still has a negative connotation unfortunately. One time, my group therapist was filling out a sheet on me and asked my religion and I told her I was a satanist and she was absolutely shocked and didn’t want to write that down because she didn’t want to believe me.

Satanism is an umbrella term. So, how do you understand it? What comes to mind? People wearing goat heads dancing around a bonfire worshipping a red skinned, dual horned, trident wielding Lucifer?

For me, it was about freedom and liberating power.

My understanding of Satanism is that they don't worship him, as much as they honor him. They credit him for humans being as we are today rather than like animals of a field. Before the fall, they see Adam and Eve as akin to animals grazing in a field, not learning, not growing, just eating and living. But due to Satan, they were removed from the garden where they became knowledgeable allowing mankind to become more knowledgeable than any other animal; as we are today

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

For me, it was about freedom and liberating power.

Basically this. Although I prefer to be called a Luciferian these days as it's less tied to Abrahamic baggage and "dark" imagery as a necessity. It just goes along with my overall spiritual worldview of preferring to venerate/worship beings that are more inclined towards giving gifts and accompanying the devotee on a path of spiritual development (such as the heroic journey), as opposed to more wrathful beings who demand humans go against our nature and limit ourselves. As an aside, even Zeus was referred to as "Satan" in Revelation.

 

[Jimmy]

To each their own

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

How do false ideas about Satanism impact those who follow it, especially with all the stereotypes people believe?

It can definitely lead to misunderstandings and there can be consequences, which can be major or minor, depending on where you live. I'm also not going to lie and pretend there aren't Satanists and others into dark occultism who do commit murder, church desecrations and also animal sacrifice of whatever animal they can get their hands on. It does happen. It's just not something you can get into and expect mainstream society to embrace.

However, every religious group as its members that the rest find embarrassing. The thing that must be understood about Satanism and the Left-Hand Path in general is that it is a highly individualistic thing. There is no authority in it that speaks for everyone and the groups that exist only speak for themselves. People are kind of left to develop their own views on it. So what some Satanist does shouldn't necessarily be used to judged all Satanists, because the only thing all Satanists really have in common is that they view Satan, whatever that means to them, in a positive light and is part of their worldview. It's actually much like modern Paganism in that way. It actually makes all the infighting within those groups rather silly as no one has a realistic way of enforcing their views on anyone else, unless they're part of a given group.

 

[jhonsteve111]

It can definitely lead to misunderstandings and there can be consequences, which can be major or minor, depending on where you live. I'm also not going to lie and pretend there aren't Satanists and others into dark occultism who do commit murder, church desecrations and also animal sacrifice of whatever animal they can get their hands on. It does happen. It's just not something you can get into and expect mainstream society to embrace.

However, every religious group as its members that the rest find embarrassing. The thing that must be understood about Satanism and the Left-Hand Path in general is that it is a highly individualistic thing. There is no authority in it that speaks for everyone and the groups that exist only speak for themselves. People are kind of left to develop their own views on it. So what some Satanist does shouldn't necessarily be used to judged all Satanists, because the only thing all Satanists really have in common is that they view Satan, whatever that means to them, in a positive light and is part of their worldview. It's actually much like modern Paganism in that way. It actually makes all the infighting within those groups rather silly as no one has a realistic way of enforcing their views on anyone else, unless they're part of a given group.

Satanism is very personal, with no single authority, so one person's actions don't define the whole group, much like modern Paganism.