Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 09:37:53 -0600
From: harwer2@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: What is Satanism
Newsgroups: alt.satanism,alt.magick
Message-ID: <873728500.30294@dejanews.com>
Organization: Deja News Posting Service
To: ondrejkd@genco.com
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Hey, Dave! Good to see someone putting some substantive
content in alt.satanism.  (alt.magick added because of
the Crowley comments).

In article <873261764.13958@dejanews.com>,
  ondrejkd@genco.com wrote:

> > If you mean LaVeyan Satanism (CoS), then we don't believe in the Xtian
> > version of Satan or any other god, for that matter.  We believe in the
> > Archetype of Satan.
> >
> > The whole belief is summed up in  the classic quote: "Do what thou wilt
> > shall be the whole of the law."  You could almost call it a worship of the
> > self.
>
> 0UCH.
>
> The first paragraph is pretty accurate.  Most forms of Satanism, in fact,
> don't pay much attention to the Christian paradigm.  (Excepting the
> ever-present trolls and teenagers-in-rebellion.)

Within the magickal community (I'm including everyone from New Agers
to hard-core Satanists), I've found that Jesus has become the new
"Satan."  It's politically incorrect to mock any faith or any god ...
unless, of course, you're talking about Christianity or Christ.
What makes this even funnier is that, for the most part, the whole
Newage/Wiccan/"Karmic Law" paradigm is just a restatement of
classical Christian ideas, minus some of the sex-negativity and
homophobia.

In general, I've found Satanists (trolls and teen misfits
excepted) to be less concerned with Christianity than others
in the magickal community.

> "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" was the 'motto' of
> Aleister Crowley -- who, despite claims to the contrary by many ignorant
> Christians, was not a Satanist (though he did have some Satanic
> leanings).  The idea of the COS is light-years away from that phrase's
> actual meaning.  The TOS (Temple of Set) is probably closer to it, though
> only partially.

Crowley identified himself with the "Beast of Revelation" and
seemed quite enamored of figures like Lucifer.  While he wasn't
a Satanist in the LaVey or _La Bas_ senses of the word, I certainly
think he had some Satanic leanings.

Anton LaVey's _Satanic Bible_ could more accurately be compared
to Twain or Bierce than to Crowley.  LaVey's a classical American
misanthrope, not a mystic.  The Temple of Set is a great deal
closer to Thelemic ideals than the CoS, but it adds in some ideas
of its own.  (Set "gifting" monkeys with altered DNA, the _Book
of Coming Forth By Night_, etc.)

Peace
Kevin Filan

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