Quote:
Originally Posted by eschwartz
An interesting question:
If the Satan of these satanic religions is the mischaracterized and misrepresented Satan of Abrahamitic religions, then does that mean there is no Satan (insomuch as Satan is a term for that Big Evil) and therefore they're not really Satanists?  |
In a way, yes. Anton LaVey was an atheist and chose the name "Satanist" to mean that he was an adversary of the church in the way that Satan was an adversary in the Bible. While there are probably people that call themselves Satanists and try to somehow worship Satan as an entity, adherents to the Church of Satan are universally atheists.
From the
official website:
Quote:
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As Anton LaVey explained in his classic work The Satanic Bible, Man—using his brain—invented all the Gods, doing so because many of our species cannot accept or control their personal egos, feeling compelled to conjure up one or a multiplicity of characters who can act without hindrance or guilt upon whims and desires. All Gods are thus externalized forms, magnified projections of the true nature of their creators, personifying aspects of the universe or personal temperaments which many of their followers find to be troubling. Worshipping any God is thus worshipping by proxy those who invented that God. Since the Satanist understands that all Gods are fiction, instead of bending a knee in worship to—or seeking friendship or unity with—such mythical entities, he places himself at the center of his own subjective universe as his own highest value.
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Edit: I missed that you were talking about "theistic" Satanists. In that sense, "Satan" only came to mean "the big Evil" in later Judaism and Christianity. When he was referred to in the earlier Bible/Torah (Job, for example), "satan" seems to have beeen more of a job title ("the adversary") than a proper name. So I would expect that those Satanists are worshipping an entity that they believe is in opposition to God, rather than simply being "evil".