So... I'm writing up another post in notepad with a lot of Reddit comment formatting code and whatnot as a starter for creating quality stickies. Here's what I'm working with currently. There will be more to come. Feedback is welcome:


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Link to previous Q&A sticky: Sticky 1, Sticky 2

Unlike many other subreddits, we at /r/Satanism enjoy nearly complete freedom of speech. The tradeoff for that free speech is that sometimes you will be exposed to ideas or opinions that you don't agree with. Keep in mind that bad behavior and not bad ideas will get people banned from this subreddit. As Satanists most often believe in stratification, the voting buttons in /r/Satanism can be used to that end. Because of this, moderators like myself likely will not remove links to sites that you would expect to be removed from other subreddits.


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FAQ:

Note: This FAQ is written by moderator of /r/Satanism and member of the Church of Satan, /u/modern_quill. I am trying to remain unbiased and fact-based in these Q&A responses, so if you feel that I have somehow misrepresented your organization or philosophy, please let me know and we can work together to make the appropriate corrections.





Q: What is Satanism?


A: This is a simple question, but it has a complex answer because it depends on who you ask. Satanism as a philosophy and religion was first codified by Anton Szandor LaVey in his 1969 publication of The Satanic Bible. Some people refer to this secular Satanism as "LaVeyan Satanism" as a nod to Anton LaVey. The Satanic Bible borrows from the works of Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard, Ayn Rand's Objectivism, and Frederich Nietzche's Der Wille zur Macht. This is the most widely practiced form of Satanism and is championed by the Church of Satan (CoS) to this day. At its most basic definition, "LaVeyan Satanism" is about living the best life that you want to live, and bending the world around you to your will to achieve that goal. A Satanist sees themselves as their own God. There is, of course, much more to Satanism than that very basic definition, but we expect people to do their own research as well. Most LaVeyan Satanists will simply call it Satanism, as there is only one form of Satanism from the Church of Satan's perspective. Members of the recently formed secular organization called The Satanic Temple (TST), by comparison, see Satanism as political activism. The Satanic Temple often makes news headlines with their efforts to establish a separation of church and state and do not include The Satanic Bible as part of their organization's canon, but rather The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France. There are also theistic Satanists, some believe in a literal Satan and some do not. Ask a theist like /u/Ave_Melchom what they believe and they'll likely share their thoughts with you, but you probably won't find very many theists that share the same philosophy. There are also more esoteric organizations such as the Temple of Set (ToS), which was formed by former Church of Satan member Michael Aquino after infighting within the organization in 1975 caused many theistic members to split away and become Setians. /u/Three_Scarabs and /u/CodeReaper moderate /r/Setianism subreddit and are a wealth of information on the subject. There are also organizations that fall into a more neo-nazi ideology such as the now defunct Order of Nine Angles (ONA or O9A) and self-stylized "Spiritual Satanists" of the Joy of Satan (JoS), which are often not tolerated by other members of this subreddit. The words, "Fuck off, Nazi!" have become somewhat of a meme on /r/Satanism.





Q: If Satanists don't believe in Satan, why call it Satanism at all? Why not Humanism?


LaVeyan A: Modern secular Satanists see humans as just another animal within the greater animal kingdom, no better than our avian, reptilian, or mammalian friends. Our technology and our intellectual advancements may have placed us at the top of the food chain, but it has merely encouraged humans to be the most vicious animals of all. To us, Satan is a metaphor that represents our strength, our pride, our intellect, our carnality, and all of the so-called sins as they lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification. The Hebrew word Satan simply means adversary, and Satanists take that adversarial stance to a great many things in their lives; the way we approach an issue, the way we tackle a problem, the way we overcome an obstacle. While Humanists may try to live like Bill & Ted and be excellent to eachother, a Satanist recognizes that emotions like anger, even hate are natural to the human animal and we shouldn't feel guilty for such natural inclinations. While Christians may turn the other cheek when wronged, you can be sure that a Satanist will have their revenge, with interest.


*

Q: Do you sacrifice or molest children/animals? Do you drink blood?*

LaVeyan A: No. Sacrifice is a Christian concept that was projected on to innocent Satanists during the "Satanic Panic" of the 80's and early 90's by charlatan law enforcement "consultants" and Christian religious "experts". One trait common to Satanists is their love of life as Satanists view life as the greatest of indulgences; children and animals represent the purest forms of life and imagination that there are. In fact, the abuse of children and animals is forbidden by the Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth. Also, why would we want to drink blood? Christians* are the ones that (symbolically) eat the flesh and drink the blood of their savior. I'd rather enjoy a nice scotch.

Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
   
   
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
   
   
3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
   
   
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
   
   
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
   
   
6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.
   
   
7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
   
   
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
   
   
9. Do not harm little children.
   
   
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
    
    
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.
    
    
    ***
    
    

    More FAQ Below - (10,000 character maximum per post.)

Sure let's see what you can refute.

CONSCIOUSNESS AS AN ONTOLOGICAL PRIMITIVE: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD(S)

• Consciousness is empirically proven to be ontologically distinct from matter. This can be shown by comparing the properties of both, such as minds being nonspacial and matter taking up space, the contents of mind being subjective and those of matter objective, the contents of mind private to the individual and those of matter accessible to anyone, the contents of mind being about things and the contents of matter lacking aboutness, and these are only a few examples. Anyone can test this at any time. For instance, the volume in a room your body takes up will be the same if you're actively consciously thinking or dead, there's no difference. Or that no matter who you love the most, they cannot actually access those feelings. [1]
  
  
• Consciousness is an absolute certainty, it is the one thing we know directly and can be sure exists. The existence of the Self and Consciousness is an axiomatic fact, it must be true and cannot even be logically argued against without violating that same logic. Anything that is Not-Consciousness in known through Consciousness, including the material world, body, and brain. Anything you ever have or will know about matter relies on consciousness, and while consciousness cannot have its existence doubted [2-3], we can EASILY doubt matter (such as brain in a vat, solipsism, idealism, philosophical skepticism, etc.) [4-7]. To reduce what we know is
  axiomatically true and we know with direct certainty, into something we can doubt and never directly or certainly know, is height of unreasonable.
  
  
• Consciousness, even in less advanced beings like animals, comes with very specific traits. This includes being aware of the self and others to some extent, having needs and desires, seeking either social situations or isolation actively, emotions, and so forth.
  
  
• CONCLUSION: since consciousness axiomatically exists, cannot be doubted, and is proven ontologically distinct from matter, consciousness must be a separate “substance” or “thing”, an ontological primitive. We know this primitive because we have direct access to it, so we can know about the nature of consciousness. An ontological primitive – something immaterial and eternal – which desires, has emotions, experiences, is self-aware, etc. is the best possible definition for a God. Therefore at least one God exists.
  
  
  
  THE NATURE/RISE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: THE INTERFERENCE FROM GOD(S)
  
  
• Not only are the properties of consciousness mutually exclusive from those of matter, but what we see consciousness is capable of, at least in humans, does not line up with the deterministic, linearly moving, material universe. For instance the mind of humans can question, manipulate, and even go against this linear, deterministic matter. Questioning is proven in this very writing, we are stepping outside of the system and looking in to figure out how it works, something which, to our knowledge, no other life does. If it does they certainly and evidently don’t to the same extent. We can manipulate nature such as the creation of complex chemical medications, the harnessing of electricity itself, the building of mega-structures that stand the tests of time [8-9], not to mention devices such as what you’re reading this on which would never have grown in a consciousness-less nature. Contradiction of this material nature is scientifically proven in things such as Self-Regulation, Cognitive Therapy, and Placebos without Deception [10-12]. All of these prove that we can willfully recognize our deterministic patterns and freely choose to act differently.
  
  
• The rise of the higher consciousness possessed by humans is suspicious even if we ignore that this consciousness came to be able to contradict nature, and doesn’t fit with what we know about biological evolution. This is specifically in the Great Leap Forward of the Upper Paleolithic Revolution, a scientifically proven event well known in anthropology. Mankind went from “just another animal” to an abstractly questioning and thinking being. Art arose, religion, language, math, cultures, agriculture, and society and civilization themselves. This has never occurred to the same extent in another species, not even close. Further, there was no genetic change that occurred at this time, and biologically modern humans had already existed for over 100,000 years when the UPR happened![13-15]
  
  
• CONCLUSION: The nature of consciousness the UPR birthed, along with the scientifically evidenced fact that it occurred abruptly and without biological evolution, suggest the interference of something outside of nature, i.e. a God.
  
  
  
  
  TELEOLOGY OF MIND AND BODY: THE PLAN OF GOD(S)
  
  
• There is a Telos to the mind which was proven by psychological scientist Abraham Maslow in his Hierarchy of Needs. This shows the best path for human beings to follow in order to reach their ideal life, something that applies across times in cultures. Maslow showed that there is a “proper” hierarchy to human priorities, and a “proper” end-goal of Self-Actualization whatever that may before you. [16]
  
  
• There is a Telos to the body which was proven by the Yale School of Medicine, especially through the works of Dr. Harold Burr. It shows that there are external fields creating and controlling, not simply produced by, the physical forms of all life. Anything from trees to amphibians to human beings. Readings of these “Life Fields” can predict cancer, ovulation, birth defects, and much more. Unfortunately Dr. Burr believed this to be evidence of an intelligent plan (it is…), so it has been largely swept under the rug in favor of (much more profitable!) materialism. [17-19]
  
  
• CONCLUSION: There being a clear proper path for both all matter and consciousness shows that there is a Telos, or purpose, to human life and that we do not exist or evolve randomly.
  
  
  
  
  PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: DIRECT EXPERIENCES OF GOD(S)
  
  
• Every single culture has experienced Gods. Hundreds of millions of people throughout human history and across cultures have experienced Gods, and these experiences have extremely similar characteristics. In fact these are so clear the can be categorized into 3 specific types of experiences (see Philosophy of Religion, and Introduction, by atheism William Rowe for example) [20]. Yes, the pantheons experienced seem to differ, but this is exactly what we would expect from cultures dependent on different geography, weather, economy, class system, and so forth. To say this shows the experiences are invalid would be like saying the stars don’t exist because cultures came up with different constellations.
  
  
• We also don’t inherently reject any human experience as delusion off the bat. We accept people experience pain, love, fear, happiness, depression, etc., despite never having actual access to their experiences. Yet when it comes to religious experiences many non-believers fall back on SPECIAL PLEADING, which is to judge this one type of experience differently from the rest. [21]
  
  
• CONCLUSION: since we would expect gods to be interpreted differently by cultures, and without reasons to reject religious experiences (which would have to be on an individual basis, such as pain), all we have is something all cultures have consistent experienced across time, which parsimony would suggest means they actually experienced them.
  
  
  
  
  
  POLYTHEISM: MORE THAN ONE GOD
  
  
• There are experiences of all different gods throughout time, and so if one accepts experience (you have to without reasons specific to that individual case, such as intoxication or mental illness) they cannot say THEIR god is valid while others are not without SPECIAL PLEADING.
  
  
• Monotheistic gods have been logically defeated, such as by the problem of evil, lack of miracles, lack of answered prayers, etc.
  
  
• CONCLUSION: If you believe ANY gods exist, it is more reasonable to believe MANY do.
  
  
  References
  
  1- Mind/Body Dualism, SEP
  https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dualism/#MinBod
  
  2- Axiom of Consciousness http://wiki.objectivismonline.net/Axiom_of_Consciousness
  
  3- Ontological Argument for Idealism by Bernardo Kastrup
  
  4 to 7- Skepticism and Content Externalism https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/skepticism-content-externalism/
  
  8- Making Medicines
  http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/treatments/medicines
  
  9- Powering a Generation
  https://americanhistory.si.edu/powering/generate/gnmain.htm
  
  10- How to Practice Self Regulation
  https://www.verywellmind.com/how-you-can-practice-self-regulation-4163536
  
  11- Cognitive Appraisal
  https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-1005-9_1115
  
  12- Placebos Without Deception
  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015591
  
  13- Framework of the UPR
  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0392192107076869
  
  14- Modern Humans Take the World
  https://www.thoughtco.com/upper-paleolithic-modern-humans-173073
  
  15- UP Technology, Art, Culture
  https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/origin-humans-early-societies/a/paleolithic-culture-and-technology
  
  16- Hierarchy of Needs
  https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
  
  17- The Electrical Patterns of Life
  http://www.wrf.org/men-women-medicine/dr-harold-s-burr.php
  
  18- Harold Burr's Biofields
  http://www.energymed.org/hbank/handouts/harold_burr_biofields.htm
  
  19- Electromagnetics of Life (PDF)
  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://journals.sfu.ca/seemj/index.php/seemj/article/download/401/362&ved=2ahUKEwjv6Mm9xe_kAhW_CTQIHSjDCd8QFjAHegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw0xWf76krbzIG2DWHWuOP4q&cshid=1569537305106
  
  20- Phi of Religion https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Religion-Introduction-William-Rowe/dp/0495007250
  
  21- Special Pleading
  https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/163/Special-Pleading

Anything particular that you're looking for? Here are three of my favorites outside of the usual recommendations.

The Unique and Its Property (aka The Ego and His Own) by Max Stirner. Updated translation of the OG book on Egoism

The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan. Great read on the the scientific method, skepticism and developing a baloney detection kit.

Captivate by Vanessa van Edwards. The best guide for lesser magic out there.

Edit: fixed links. I was posting from my cell phone which caused a lot of issues.

Hedonism tends to be compulsive, a constant search for maximum pleasure. Satanism leans towards Epicureanism, which focuses on a lack of pain/discomfort (see LaVey's comments on Catism). If you want a deeper analysis of this, I highly recommend picking up The Devil and Philosophy: The Nature of His Game, High Priest Peter Gilmore discusses this exact question with two philosophy academics.

Atheism means you don't believe in deities. That's all it means. It says nothing about anything else. Do you believe you need deities in order to have ceremonies or rituals? Which deity do wrestlers recognize when they blast their themes and march down to the stage? Or at graduation ceremonies or secular funerals? Not trying to be snarky, but these questions can help illustrate the importance of symbolism, drama, metaphors, and theatrics without the need for believing in supernatural deities.
A mistake that many people make is that they look at a Satanic ritual or ceremony and quote lines where we refer to Satan or demons and proclaim "See! You Satanists DO believe in the devil!" What they failed to read is the big disclaim in both the Satanic Bible and the Satanic Rituals that clearly states that all rituals and ceremonies take place inside a moment in time where you willingly play ignorant. The purpose of this is to use any and all symbols, names, callings, etc. that will stimulate you and help you achieve the state of mind you're aiming for.

For more on rituals and ceremonies, see the Church of Satan's FAQ on the topic.

> History of satanism I am hesitant of this as the history of it is very unclear.

depends on how broadly you wish to cast that net and which sources you choose to accept. there's no shortage of kooky counterfactual history from occultists and christian conspiracy theorists.

> Satanism vs. Luciferianism I've noticed that many here don't know much about Luciferianism.

to be fair, many luciferians don't know much about luciferianism either.

> I imagine I would have to split atheistic satanism and theistic satanism because the beliefs are fucking broad.

entirely depends on how detailed you'd want to get; quick guide verse compendium. it's your prerogative if you'd want to drag joy of satan, temple of set, satanic reds, or supposed order of nine angles into the mix. at some point it's like doing taxonomy on every furry sparkledog.

> I would also like to include demonaltry somewhere in it.

and that's the point.

> I would like to include various beliefs of Satan

that's a little cooler. plenty of well researched legit respectable academic books on the subject of satan as a character. i got done with a history of the end of the world a while ago, not specifically satan themed, but some evolution of character is included.

Congrats on getting the book out!! I can add this to my loooong list of books to get! 😋🥀

Here’s some alternate links, the ones provided kept trying to do something with Facebook that wasn’t working though the reddit mobile app’s browser.

Lulu- http://www.lulu.com/shop/robert-j-leuthold/obsidian-odes-a-collection-of-erotic-horror-verse/paperback/product-24263834.html

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/dp/0359938973/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-cUVDb9429SEM

B&N- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/obsidian-odes-robert-j-leuthold/1133865100

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48474165

I'm a big fan of Horns, by Joe Hill . The movie was absolute garbage though.

You really can't go wrong with Tim Curry in Legend.

The only one I found was "Satanism: A Beginner's Guide to the Religious Worship of Satan and Demons Volume I: Philosophy" (amazon link), and I do not agree much with his view (maybe not at all). It is however interesting as a read on how one particular person did choose to construct his personal satanism. The author seem to view his version as defining, but I see it only as a possible variation.

Might not be exactly the one you're looking for, but similar: The Devil's Apocrypha.

You should check out these two.

Infernalia: The Writings of Michael Rose

https://www.amazon.com/Infernalia-Writings-Michael-Rose/dp/0988553694

Anathema!: Litanies of Negation
https://www.amazon.com/Anathema-Litanies-Negation-Benjamin-DeCasseres/dp/0988553627/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468883759&sr=1-14&keywords=anathema%21

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RF5FYKX/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_jPMjDbXXFYV6J

I’m currently reading The Black Arts. This shit is interesting asf

• The Invention of Satanism (2015)
  
• Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism (2016)
  
• Satanism: A Social History (2016)
  
• The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots (2005)
  
  There are also some other books on amazon that i have not read but that seem to fit your description:
  
  
• The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity (2012)
  
• Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology (2009)
  
• The Devil: A New Biography (2014)
  
• The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day (2016)