are there any satanists on here

[Asmodean Prime]

or do you know any personally? does it make sense to you that after abandoning a belief in God, that a person would consciously choose to worship satan, or the devil?

i mean, if a belief in God seems illogical to you, does it not seem more illogical and even dangerous to worship some body/thing that clearly stands for evil and destruction?  at least it is generally understood that God stands for good, whether you choose to serve Him or not, just as it is understood that the devil stands for evil, and putting yourself first (looking after number one, etc)

what do atheists think?  would you agree with somebody who choose this path, and do you think they have a valid belief and a RIGHT to practise satanism?

[TwistOfCain]

Well, as silly as I think Satanism is, there's no reason that they shouldn't have the right to practice what they want. Most Satanists do not worship Satan as a force of evil, however. The Wikipedia article on Satanism gives a good description.

[Court]

It is silly, though, because there's no more evidence for Satan than for god. If you have the RIGHT to practice such a silly myth-based religion, why shouldn't they also?

[Big Mac]

I'm not a satanist but I own a copy of the Satanic Bible and the book Satanic Practices by LeVoy or whatever his name was. It's really a rather boring book. All it talks about is cursing God and such for the most part and being rahter indulgent. Though certain.....people....here tend to bring that out in me, but not to the extent they preach. For the most part they see "Satan" as a figure to provide knowledge and not of pure evil. It's hard to explain but I don't see why not? I think both Christianity and Satanism are rather quaint religions, both with violent Gods and extravagent promises.

[Court]

This is exactly the kind of stereotyping I hate....why would a satanist be on an atheist forum? They have completely DIFFERENT beliefs (or non-beliefs). They aren't linked in any way... yet, onlyme felt the need to ask such a stupid question, because the church has slandered the name of atheists for so long we've all unknowingly become curse-flinging puppy-killers who worship the devil.

[Big Mac]

Well I once was blind but now I got lasik......was lost then I got GPS, was fat as Farewell but got Lipo....

Eh, Satanists seem like an alright bunch. I think the ones in California are mostly out to get a shock out of people like onlyme. Onlyme, you're getting rather irritating but I think it's more out of ignorance than malice.

[Whitney]

First off...atheists think all deities, good or evil, are imaginary.  Also, most satanists are not devil worshipers.  Satanism is more or less a secular religion based off of celebrating independence and egoism.  Most satanists do not actually believe Satan is a real being...it's symbolic.

Do I think they have the right to worship...yes...freedom of religion means freedom of religion for everyone.  Even if I didn't live in the united states I'd still think every person should have the right to believe whatever they want.  The only time that right should be restricted is if the belief causes harm to other living beings.

[Jassman]

laetus is right. Satanism, as stated by its founder Anton LaVey, is more of a philosophy than a religion. They don't subscribe to the belief in a god or the devil. I think one of its central tenets is that people should earn respect, not be respected by default.

[Asmodean Prime]

to the last two postings claiming that satanism is not devil worship, and concerning the beliefs of anton lavey, here is an interesting article about his own admissions of oprah winfrey.

please bear in mind that i dont believe everything i read on these websites, but they do have some interesting nuggets.

anyway, the point here is that millions seem to be being lulled inwittingly into devil worship, by the insidious practices of the people at the top of the structure

http://www.thewatcherfiles.com/cults.htm

[Whitney]

I'm going to have to go with thinking that site was twisting the truth.  Especially since it say LaVey "virtually admited that Satan is a real entity."  Plus, there aren't any references to the original interveiws.  I've noticed that Satanists will often speak of Satan as if it is real but are actually refering to what the word Satan represents as being real.

The church of satan clearly states in their info packet that they are not devil worshipers and that neither god or satan are real...I looked at it just to be sure, as I never really looked into the details of the CoS other than what other members I have met in various places online have told me about their beliefs:

http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/cosinfopack.pdf

bottom of page 5...sorry, the text wouldn't copy from the pdf for some reason...probably because they want the packet distributed in full as stated in the introduction.

[SomewhereInND]

Satan doesn't exist son.

[Whitney]

Satan doesn't exist son.

, this thread is 4 years old.

[SomewhereInND]

Not any more