Actual Satanists Reveal The Biggest Misconceptions Everyone Has About Their Religion
Satanists get a bad rap. Common misconceptions people have about Satanism dredge up images of animal sacrifice, devil worship, gruesome satanic rituals, blood, evil, murder... you get the picture. Interestingly enough, Satanists don’t actually worship the devil or sacrifice cute baby animals. Instead, they promote responsibility for one’s self, are against murder/killing unless it’s in self-defense, and encourage folks to live their lives as they see fit. These accounts of the common misconceptions people have about about Satanism will explain the true tenets of the movement. These true stories told by Satanists reveal the truth about their practice, the different schools of thought, and the beginnings of the religion.
Do What Makes You Happy, But Don't Be Rude
From user: domestic_omnom
“I was a Satanist/Luciferian of the rare theistic variety for over 15 years.
In Satanism you have the philosophical kind (Lavey, Church of Satan), who really just follow a life philosophy that can be summed up by "do what makes you happy, but don't be a d*ck."
In the theistic kind, you have the ones that worship Satan/Lucifer as a being of knowledge and beauty. If you read the stories of the old testament, god is a bit of a tyrant. See the book of Job for more information. The devil's only crime is letting humanity know they have a choice, that they can think for themselves. Yes, you can eat of the tree of knowledge.
As far as being "dark," no, it's not. Yeah most practice some form of ritual/magic/witchcraft whatever you want to call it. But ultimately, it’s about living life to the fullest.”
Satanism Was Created To Point Out The Flaws In The Church
From user: notsostandardtoaster
“I'm somewhat of a LaVey satanist, but I usually don't identify as any religion simply because I'm too lazy to keep up with any rituals/traditions.
I'd say the biggest misconception about satanism is that it involves worshipping a deity. It is (for the most part) atheistic, and Satan represents the part of yourself that you find strength in. Of course, there are a few satanists who really do believe in a higher being, but for the most part people usually don't.
Another thing that you might not know about satanism is that it was created as a response to Christianity. It's basically a more hardcore/serious version of Pastafarianism. You can see that their 11 rules are like upgraded versions of the 10 commandments. A lot of the religion was made by one-upping Christianity, and yes, it seems really childish. But at the end of the day, satanism was created to point out the flaws in the Church, and that's going to seem childish no matter how you put it.”
Satan Doesn't Harm The Innocent, God Does
From user: TheLolomancer
“As an atheist who has read the bible cover-to-cover, if I was ever confronted with concrete evidence that everything in the Bible was true, I would, without hesitation, pledge myself to Satan over God.
God is jealous, vindictive, petty, and violent. Satan does not once harm an innocent, while God harms thousands in what one can only assume is collateral damage in pursuit of his "greater good." Lucifer's fall itself arose out of the fact that he questioned God's methods, which God brands as "prideful," and kicks him to the dirt. As the serpent in the Garden of Eden, he is once again an advocate of doubt and awareness, since an eternity of utopic, brainwashed slavery is still slavery. Even his name, Lucifer, means "bringer of Light," so it's pretty clear he's the one enlightening Adam & Eve with knowledge, and through that, the capacity to choose and experience freedom.
From my reading of the Bible, Satan seems like the good guy, and between him and God, the only one of the two worthy of adoration."
There Are Successful and Unsuccessful Satanists
From user: GOODahl
"I know a very successful LaVeyan Satanist (healthy family, lots of friends, makes over $100K a year, beautiful house.) I've also met "Satanists" who are living in mom's basement, are chronically unemployed, and saddled with constant drama due to self- directed f*cking up (arrests, addiction issues, trying to steal sh*t when they haven't realize they are going to get caught easily.)
My point in sharing this is - some people gravitate towards Satanism b/c of the "self-worship" aspect... however if your Self is sh*tty, has no self-control, is lazy and stupid... your life will be a testament to all your faults & NOT your potential as a glorious human animal.
Just saying. I HATE HATE HATE seeing un-successful Satanists. It's not that hard to be a successful Satanist if you are intelligent...
(btw I am a Satanist.)"
You Aren't Really Defined As A Satanist
From user: ivene-adlev
“We don't actually believe in Satan (most of us. There are theistic satanists but most are atheists.) Instead, Satanism at its core is literally an antithesis of Christianity. Where Christianity promotes denial of pleasurable things (sex, some hobbies, being gay) Satanism vouches for it. Where Christianity says 'turn the other cheek' Satanism says to f*ck that b*tch up as much as they did you. And maybe a little more, as a lesson. Where a lot of Christians will give their opinions on things that do not concern them at all, Satanists dislike this and try not to do so.
And mostly, the religion is hardly that. There are no official church masses or anything. The only thing that really defines you as a Satanist is either saying 'Hey, I'm a Satanist' or buying a $200 card that says 'Hey, I'm a Satanist'. There are no special rituals you go through, and you are free to leave at any time, without requesting permission to officially leave from a Pope or anything stupid.”
We Treasure This Life Because We Don't Believe In The Afterlife
From user: LordRuby
“I've been a Satanist for over 15 years. I keep it totally secret from everyone except for my husband and my grade school friends. Since not many people know, it not that important to me what misconceptions people have. Mainly I worry about things like, what if the government started persecuting non-christians, we would be first because people think we sacrifice babies.
Murder is against the beliefs of Satanists because Satanists don't believe in an afterlife, so if you kill an innocent person you took away the only life they will every have.
I don't believe in the supernatural, but I think it's possible that there are things that we are so far from understanding scientifically that we might as well act like they are supernatural. So a curse probably has not effect, but if something bad happens to someone I cast one on it makes me feel like maybe some sort of weird physics thing we don't understand happened and it make me feel better if I pretend I caused it.
The reason I worship myself is I don't think anything is spiritually superior to myself, I don't understand why there would be any hierarchy. I do eat animals even though I see them as equals because they are not humans so they are not part of human society.”