Ever read the Satanic Bible?

I've read excerpts and summaries. That's about it. Not impressed.

In fairness to Flash Gordon, Ming in the eighties version looks alot like Ming from the Buster Crabbe version, damn what was that guys's name? Charles Middleton, or is that somebody else. I'm sure LaVey was basing his look on that. You nailed it.

Lavey was hard for me to take seriously, maybe cause in my younger years, the little goth girls found him so fascinating, and the goth guys somewhat idolized him. I find it hard to take anyone serious that teenieboppers look uo to.

I wasn't goth, but do like the female goth fashion.

Gehanna said:

I agree with the lack of being impressed other than with the Ming thing. When I was a teen, the subject of Satanism was popular. Upside down crosses were drawn on schoolbooks and walls by adolescent males who were also advocates of THC.

It is a subject, or fad that seems to have gone dormant or died.

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Yes, I remember that, it was in the middle of the "Satanic Panic" of the 80's. I was thinking about it just the other day, because I saw a movie about Ricky "Say You Love Satan" Kasso, the poster child of Satanic Panic. It was called RICKY 6.

Anton LaVey was atheistic Satanism, though, and whatever Ricky was into was theistic Satanism.

Yep, I was right it was Charles Middleton, shown as Ming in the slide show below:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...mage_result&resnum=6&ct=image&ved=0CBcQ9QEwBQ

I read it. I don't recall being impressed with it.

I read the Satanic Bible when I was a teenager (like 13 or 14). Celia is correct that LaVey's Church of Satan is atheistic, and really has nothing whatsoever to do with worshiping the devil. I got the impression the name was simply a not-so-subtle attempt to antagonize the christians.

I liked it for a while when I was teenager, but it was very much the wrong path for me (I'm not an atheist, by any stretch of the imagination).

LeVey Satanists, which is the largest group of satanists and the one that uses the Satanic Bible, do not practice animal sacrifice. It's explicitly prohibited, and one of the things they point to as being superior to Judeo-Christian tradition.

Gehanna said:

Does anyone here have knowledge of what worshiping the devil is like? Do devil worshipers sacrifice animals? I know of something much more powerful than devil worshipers that would help stop the evil of animal sacrifice...

ASPCA

Gehanna

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LaVey Satanists certainly don't sacrifice animals. I wouldn't be surprised if a theistic Satanist (meaning a person who actually worships the Devil, rather than viewing it as an embodiment of ideals the christians have tried to repress) did, though.

Animal sacrifice isn't evil. It's a part of my beliefs. I substitute sacrifices of dead meat (you know, the stuff you buy at the grocery store), though, but that's because I'm a solitary practitioner and I don't have the proper set-up for a living sacrifice. If I were part of an actual cult I wouldn't hesitate to participate in the sacrifice of a living animal. Proper animal sacrifice is done in a manner more humane than most secular slaughtering. Sometimes the meat is then eaten by the followers in honor of the God, or it can be given back to the Earth or burned to ashes. No-one who eats meat can object to properly-done animal sacrifice, because it's more respectful to the animal than normal slaughtering for food.

Of course the christians have demonized animal sacrifice (while eating meat, the hypocrites), but that doesn't make it wrong. If you* can sacrifice an animal's life to fill your stomach, I can most certainly sacrifice one to worship my Gods.

And no, I'm not a Satanist. I'm a polytheistic Heathen, following the path of the ancient Gods.

*general you


ETA: Yes, I used to be involved in theistic Satanism and demonology too, if you have a specific non-sarcastic question about it.

Chasing the Horizon said:

Sometimes the meat is then eaten by the followers in honor of the God, or it can be given back to the Earth or burned to ashes.

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How is it a sacrifice if you eat it?

No-one who eats meat can object to properly-done animal sacrifice, because it's more respectful to the animal than normal slaughtering for food.

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Yeah, I can. I disagree with killing an animal for any reason other than food or to end the suffering of a sick/injured animal.

On topic - never really understood worshipping Satan. If you believe all that stuff exists, why would you worship the one that's clearly the bad guy of the piece?

JimmyB27 said:

On topic - never really understood worshipping Satan. If you believe all that stuff exists, why would you worship the one that's clearly the bad guy of the piece?

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I can understand why someone of the Judeo-Christian tradition would choose to worship Satan over God. Many people view the God in the bible as being a tyrant. You have to do what he says, when he says and how he says to do it, or he'll kill you (probably along with thousands of others who may have had nothing to do with it) and send you to hell. But Satan rebelled against the absolute authority of God and as such is seen as a protector of freedom and individuality.

As for LaVey, I find him interesting. I haven't read the Satanic Bible, but his book, The Devil's Notebook, is a good read in my opinion. Also, I generally agree with the 11 Satanic rules of 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.

JimmyB27 said:

How is it a sacrifice if you eat it?

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You sacrifice the animal's spirit to the God, then eat the meat in the God's honor.

Yeah, I can. I disagree with killing an animal for any reason other than food or to end the suffering of a sick/injured animal.

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So you disagree with killing an animal because it's a threat to humans? After all, you didn't include that on your little list.

If you care about animals so much, become a vegetarian. Otherwise objecting to animal sacrifice is the height of hypocrisy.

Chasing the Horizon said:

You sacrifice the animal's spirit to the God, then eat the meat in the God's honor.


So you disagree with killing an animal because it's a threat to humans? After all, you didn't include that on your little list.

If you care about animals so much, become a vegetarian. Otherwise objecting to animal sacrifice is the height of hypocrisy.

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Actually the height of hypocrisy would be vegetarian's wearing leather.

Not that your point isn't near the top.

I've read it. Have it in my collection. He has a pretty high opinion of himself and a low opinion of forces he doesn't adequately understand.

I've not read it, nor anything in this area, but I did notice a banner ad at the top for satanic jewelry...

Chasing the Horizon said:

You sacrifice the animal's spirit to the God, then eat the meat in the God's honor.

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So it's really the animal giving the sacrifice?

Chasing the Horizon said:

So you disagree with killing an animal because it's a threat to humans? After all, you didn't include that on your little list.

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Ok, so I forgot one. Yes, that's a good reason to.

Chasing the Horizon said:

If you care about animals so much, become a vegetarian. Otherwise objecting to animal sacrifice is the height of hypocrisy.

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Bullshit. Are you seriously suggesting that accepting killing in one situation means that I have to accept killing in every situation? I believe that killing a man in defence of a child is ok. Does that mean that I also have to accept that murdering a man because I feel like it is ok?

I have the SB and I once had another book of his.

Some of the stuff is good and practical, such as, don't encourage psychic vampires (dependent personality disorders) who come around with little gifts and flatter hell out of you and suck out all your energy.

But as for the rituals ... WTF?

No one would seriously expect to become drunk by shouting "bottle". We all know that you need to actually drink some vodka, beer or whatever.

So why do the Laveyan rituals tell us to shout "Shemhamphorash!" and expect magic to happen because of that?

Sometimes I write "YANKEE ROSE" at the bottom of certain things. It's a little nod to the showmanship LaVey demonstrates in the book.

Oh my goodness, I picked it up for a buck at a used book sale, and feel that I was overcharged.

Its basically a Nietzschean nullification of all christian values, without the level of thought that the real Nietzsche employed. Its not just anti-christian, its anti-social, a dogma for the modern misfit. Its a celebration of the strength and independence that its target audience would like to think that it has.

While I am not, in principle, against the idea of an ethics based on the idea of strength, I find it incredibly amusing to hear the so called representatives of the strong whine about how they are oppressed by the multitudes of the weak. Guess what! The weak working in cooperation are stronger than the so-called strong. This is one reason I could not take this book seriously.

Stylistically, it was pretty poor as well. It had none of the charm of the Bible or Koran, even, to say nothing of the stylistic grace of the Tao Te Ching or Bhagavad Gita.

I spent a while looking into the occult in college. Just a lot of mumbo-jumbo. Vague, impractical nonsense. So add me to the "not impressed" gang.

To me, the people who wrote the various works were far more interesting than books themselves.