1 of 9

Write now Article Tools

Page 3 of 4

force of change, chaos, and rebellion which makes all progress possible; it is not, however, a 'being' who takes any particular interest in human affairs. LaVey saw existing religions and their repressive, prescriptive deities as social control mechanisms designed to increase the power of human beings. The Church of Satan and Satanic beliefs are not specifically anti-Christian, though in the Christianized west the Christian Church provides the easiest target for expressions of the Satanic philosophy. LaVey had plenty of vitriolic words for self-denying eastern and New Age religions as well.

To the Satanist, life is seen as a Darwinian struggle in which only the strongest can survive and prosper. Therefore, a good life lays in doing the best one can to look out for #1 (this is known as ethical egoism). Your only moral obligations lie in following your own desires and interests and respecting the freedom of other people to do the same. This is only rational, as you are the only one who must live your life, therefore nobody else has the authority to tell you how to live your life or to promote their own interest as being more important to you than your own. Thus, Satanism is a perfectly consistent and rational moral philosophy. It is not a simplistic 'evil=good' theology, as the Christian Church would have you believe. Satanic morality, for instance, does not encourage meaningless blood sacrifices or mindless sexual promiscuity and depravity. It does, however, promote indulgence of all of the passions of the flesh, sexual liberty to pursue the sexual pleasures that fulfill you (as long as nobody is involved who does not wish to be), ruthless vengeance against those who have wronged you, and the limiting of generosity to those one chooses to support for one's own reasons instead of wasting it on 'psychic vampires' or destroying oneself through unfocused altruism. All of these positions are in direct opposition to the tenets of not only the Christian Church, but to most social control mechanisms such as Communist and Consumerist/Corporatist ideologies. At base, however, Satanists do not follow a fundamentally different morality than most people.

Another aspect of Satanism is the practice of 'black' magic, the use of the power of human will to achieve effects on reality which could not otherwise come about. LaVey reserved some of his most vicious disparagement for 'white' magicians, who he felt were powerless tools of the social control institutions. According to

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about The Church of Satan?
We want to hear your view. Write now!