Atheists are quick to criticize Christians, but how do they feel about practicing Satanists?

Question

Satanists worship an unseen being, and many groups practice animal sacrifice and encourage sexual practices that violate the law. Many of their rituals are kept secret because they violate laws of the land, which Christans are taught to obey. [ I will readily concede that some Christians break the law, so please save your fingers on that accustion.] It occurs to me that they have I have never seen them ridiculed for their belief, and many Avatars seem to suggest they are represented here and while they may mock Christians, they seem never to be under fire themselves.

Many of you are quick to assume you know where I have been and what I have seen. I became a Christian at 37 years of age, and had explored many other paths, and winessed many dark places before I converted. I was not raised in church so I have not been brained-washed by denominational dogma. Satan is very happy to keep a low profile, all the easier to deceive those who do not understand his fate is already sealed.

Thank you Spike for you wise answer. Bring it on devil worshippers!

Answer 1

There seems to be some conflict in defining "satanism" in the references that I checked. If there is confusion on so called "expert sources" then I can see how THE WORLD AT LARGE is also confused by the subject.

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American Heritage Dictionary

Sa·tan·ism (stn-zm)

NOUN:

1. The worship of Satan characterized by a travesty of the Christian rites.
2. satanism Profound wickedness.

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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Satanism

The cult of Satan, or Satan worship, is in part a survival of the ancient worship of demons and in part a revolt against Christianity or the church. It rose about the 12th cent. in Europe and reached its culmination in the blasphemous ritual of the Black Mass, a desecration of the Christian rite. The history of early Satanism is obscure. It was revived in the reign of Louis XIV in France and is still practiced by various groups throughout the world, particularly in the United States. One of the largest and most influential Satanic groups is the Church of Satan (1966), founded by Anton LaVey in San Francisco. A splinter group, the Temple of Set (1975), was organized by Michael Aquino. Many Satanic groups, including the ones mentioned, attest that such worship does not necessarily imply evil intentions, but rather an alternative to the repressive morality of many other religious groups. Such groups see no harm in their indulgence in "worldly pleasures" that other religions forbid. Other, more severe brands of Satanism likely exist, although much of the activity pegged as "Satanic" has less to do with the religion than with various forms of sociopathy. Indeed, reliable research has found no evidence indicating the existence of alarming, large-scale Satanic phenomena. An unfortunate mistake is the unfounded–yet common–linkage of minority religious traditions, such as the African-derived voodoo and Santería, with Satanism. See also witchcraft.

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http://www.religioustolerance.org/satanism.htm

There are probably dozens of different religious belief systems and practices that have been called "Satanism." Depending upon the precise meaning given to the word, the total number of Satanists in the world can be anything from a few thousand to four billion individuals. Dialog on the topic is almost impossible because there is such variability in the meaning of "Satanism" and "Satanist."

In this section, we describe seven main activities which have been commonly referred to as Satanism: religious Satanism, and six forms of pseudo-Satanism -- practices that either don't exist or are unrelated to any worship of Satan as a deity.
We strongly recommend that the terms "Satanist" and "Satanism" be used only to refer to religions that have some direct involvement with Satan in some form. Thus a "Satanist" is one who either:

1. Worships the Christian devil. Although the Christian Churches taught during the Renaissance that devil worshipers were very common, such individuals were in fact extremely rare, and remain so. The very few who do exist appear to be solitary practitioners; they do not appear to have formed an organization.
2. Accepts Satan as a pre-Christian life-principle concept worth emulating. These are religious Satanists, who follow a number of religious traditions, of which the largest by far is the Church of Satan.

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The term "Satanist" appears to me to be a misnomer IF the second definition above is to apply. Upon hearing the term, I cannot help but jump to the conclusion
of "devil worship".

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Best description is here >>>>

http://www.religioustolerance.org/satanis4.htm

partial quote >>> "Satanism is Satanism not due to our worship of any deity, but for the philosophy that we stand for. We recognize ourselves as gods, and we hold our own perspective on life as holy and revere our own experiences as the only truth we can ever know. "

"Satanism is the utter rejection of the spiritual way of theistic religions, and the honest admittence [sic] that we are just animals who evolve as any other complex system."


EITHER WAY I FEEL THAT "Satanist" ARE NOT ONLY DECEIVED, BUT ARE PRACTICING EVIL. THEY WORSHIP THEMSELVES AS GODS AND REJECT THE ONLY TRUE GOD OF THE HOLY BIBLE.

Believe in THE LORD JESUS

JESUS IS GOD

dave

Answer 2

I'm an atheist and you do make a good point. Satanists are every bit as irrational as Christians and I do tend to let them slide, as far as rigorous logic is concerned. My only, rather lame, excuse is that Satanists are a recent phenomenon and lack Christianity's long and infamous history of human rights abuses. Nevertheless, you are absolutely correct and I promise to properly lambaste the next Satanist foolish enough to post a question that irritates me.

Edit: Whoa! Boy, am I ignorant. I thought Satanists actually did worship God's fallen angel, the Master of Hell. I was obviously wrong. Hear that everybody, I WAS WRONG! I'm sorry, I guess you'll have to beat up on the Satanists without my help. Oops!

Answer 3

If they believe in an actual invisible magical being, I would certainly criticize their beliefs as being as mistaken as any other religion. However, I'm not that familiar with Satanism since I've only known one or two Satanists very casually...though I do know their beliefs and practices are varied. Some take the figure of Satan not as an actual "real" being but as metaphorical (much like Gnostic Christianity).

Also, how many Satanists 1) knock on your door and preach to you or 2) tell you you're going to hell if you don't accept Satan as your savior? They tend to keep a low profile and leave other people alone.

Answer 4

Just like all christians do not have the same doctrines neither do all satanists. I do not condone anything hurtful but not all satanist practice what you describe either. LeVeyan Satanists do not believe in deities, nor heaven and hell, they believe in themselves first and foremost and they are the majority of practicing satanists.

I criticize christian doctrine; I was raised with it and do not believe it. However, I would not criticize you for following it as it is your choice. If someone takes it personally that I criticize doctrine then I cannot help that as that is their perception of what I say. Everyone has the right to their own beliefs.

Answer 5

I am an agnostic, not an atheist, but for the purposes of clarity, let's not split hairs. I have the same attitude about Satanists, as I have toward Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or any other religion. If you need religion, to get through the day, then by all means enjoy! Let me say this simply, and make it perfectly clear how I feel about religionists. Practice your faith, but STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!! Now, do you understand where most agnostics/atheists are coming from?

Answer 6

I think you have a grand misunderstanding of what Satanists actually practice.

I suggest you start researching things before you speak on them.

Are you trying to tell me that Christians don't worship an unseen being, have never held their practices in secret because they were against the law of the land? If so, they you obviously don't know the history of your own religion.


Satanists worship man with all his follibles; they worship the self as a god.. That's what they worship - not a construct of the church in the 11th century.

Answer 7

If they're doing illegal stuff, hurting children and involuntary members, animals etc. they can rot in jail, for all I care. Real Satanists don't do this stuff. And neither do real Satanists attempt to impose their beliefs on the rest of society. So I have no problem with any real Satanist.

Answer 8

As many others have pointed out, the Church of Satan actually is atheistic, using Satan as a symbol of their rejection of christian belief and philosophy.

And don't be so sure that satanists don't take their fair share of lumps. Most of the ones that I have met personally, are just overgrown goth-kids who can't seem to get beyond the fact that Marilyn Manson wasn't all that great to begin with.

As with most religions/philosophies, there are certain things worth utilizing in one's worldview, and many things worth ignoring completely.

Answer 9

Encourage sexual practices that break the law. Where can I join?
Satanist, in 62 years never met one, never seen one, never heard one, they must keep secrets very well.
On the other hand, christians are out bothering everybody else, banging on doors, trying to pass or over turn laws.
I'd prefer to live next door to a devil worshiper than a christian as long as he was quiet and sacrificed all of the stray cats that crap in my flower beds.

Answer 10

The thing you'll find with Satanists is that they don't stand on street corners with sign's saying "abortion is murder...keep it up", telling people how happy they are having accepted Satan into their lives or even going door-to-door to spread The Bad News.

It's for action like that that christians get hounded, if Satanists went out of their way to make themselves noticed we'd hound them too.

Answer 11

i'm thinking that maybe you're talking more about devil worship? i've added a link to some very general 'info' about satanism...but you do raise an interesting point...it seems that a large number of 'atheist' posts attack Christians exclusively and specifically...their own sense of 'logic' would, imho, suggest that ALL religions based on a deity would be subject to their scorn and ridicule...but maybe the 'logical thinking' thing is just another myth....