Yes, I am addressing this post to the Church of Satan, that organization started by Anton Lavay (I think that’s the correct spelling). Why? I don’t know; I am more of the mind that rather than condemn and then ignore those with whom you most disagree, it is better to try to persuade them otherwise and get them to change their minds. Probably futile, in this case; but it is worth a shot.
Now, on to the letter.
I must confess that I don’t see the point of your church. I understand how one could come to dislike Christians and their religion (though I, personally, do not). Certain elements of the various sects of the religion have developed a reputation for being annoying. They hound you and pester you in a never-ending attempt to “save your soul.” You try to politely tell them to leave you alone, and they keep coming. You get angry and forcefully tell them to leave you alone, and they keep coming. And so on, and so on. They just won’t leave you alone. Ultimately, the harder they try to convert you, the farther away they drive you.
I understand that.
What I don’t understand is how that leads one who wishes to seriously reflect on life and its purpose to the worship of their Devil? To me that seems, and I’m being brutally honest here, petulant at best. As Plato/Socrates once said, “If life is worth living, it is worth living well.” That should be pretty self-explanatory: you have your life; what you decide to do with it is worth reflecting on for a bit. Why, then, would one decide to devote your life to devil worship? To me, there seems to be two possibilities: one, you are out-and-out evil. That is, you think the accomplishments of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are worthy of emulation. And perhaps you would go farther and actually endorse ritualistic human sacrifice. If so, your association with the Church of Satan would be an advertisement to Law Enforcement to come and arrest you for murder. At one point in time, I read some of Anton Lavay’s “Satanic Bible” (I don’t remember how far I got). From what I recall, Anton Lavay went out of his way to say that he did not endorse human sacrifice; he endorsed more of a philosophy of hedonism and self-indulgence. If so, associating it with Satan strikes me as bad marketing. Given Satan’s reputation, describing oneself as a Satanist seems to “suggest” the human sacrifice stuff. Satan wasn’t just a hedonist—that’s merely part of it——he was supposed to be thoroughly evil. In which case, we go back to the cops. If you are interested in hedonism, I think Epicureanism might be more “sophisticated;” it might not endorse quite as much debauchery as you are accustomed to, but it seems to be a “saner” starting point. I still don’t agree with it, but … there you go.
Associating your belief system with Satan just strikes me as a form of petulant rage. You’re angry with the Christians because they annoy you, so you are going to go out and worship their Devil? That treats an important question—how you live your life—with a fraction of the thought it demands. I can’t force you to reconsider your life path or your belief system, but I honestly think you are being very foolish. Perhaps you don’t really worship Satan, but merely endorse nihilism and simply think what you believe doesn’t matter and you can do whatever the heck you want to. You just end up being dust anyway, so … indulge in all the pleasures that take your fancy. Still, then why paint it up as Satanism? Better to embrace an irreligious belief system like the aforementioned Epicureanism, or maybe existentialism. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but, honestly, Satanism seems to me, almost like a caricature of rebellious thought. It’s almost like something I’d find in a D&D style game (in this adventure the brave PC’s will infiltrate and wipe out the Satanic cult!) not real life.
Now that I’m sure I’ve insulted you, I shall turn you off completely—I’m the antichrist. I’ve met Satan. He invented pain, suffering, and death because he wanted to be worshipped as God. You want to worship That Which Kills? Go ahead. I’ll pass.
Doubts and Questions 