Adherants of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan will tell you that their Satanism is the only Satanism. In a way, this is true. Anton LaVey coined the word and built the first organization dedicated to publicly embrace the Left-Hand Path. This is certainly not to be underappreciated or downplayed. The official Church of Satan set into motion a philosophical and religious revolution that brought the occult out of the underground and into mainstream culture. We only need to look at films like Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, The Exorcist, and countless other films and books that have become so popular since the 60's. The late 80's and 90's saw a "Satanic Panic" rush through America. Newspapers, magazines, and television exploded with stories about Satanic cults that practiced ritual slaughter of virgins, children, and other innocent people. It is important to note that CIA and FBI investigations found NONE of these allegations to be true. Still, people like Richard Ramirez have commited horrible acts of violence in the name of Satan. But let's be sure to weigh that fact against the Jim Jone's of the world...evil has been done in the name of Satan, Yaweh, Allah, and almost every other deity.

The world has changed a great deal since the turbulent 60's and 70's when Anton's church was at its peak. The fault in Anton's church is that it has not changed with the times; it is static and infalable, much like the Right-Hand Path religions he so opposed. I have conversed with many members of Anton's church over the years and their unmoving faith in Anton's philosophies has made them benighted and malignant.

This static face of Anton's church has birthed countless offshoots of Satanism...The First Church of Satan, The Order of the Nine Angels, Suitheists, The Temple of Set, Order of the Left Hand Path, and countless other theistic and atheistic groups practicing their own brand. Belief structures vary from devil worship and black magic to self-worship/deification to strictly philosophical groups that more closely resemble Humanism.

In future posts, I hope to explain a great deal about Satanic philosophy and theology in detail. My goal is to educate the reader and hopefully prove that Satanism and Satanists are not what Hollywood and the Religious Right have made us out to be. I welcome any and all questions and criticism, as long as you are respectful. I am not here to convert or blaspheme, merely to educate.

Sincerely,

Octavius

LaVey cannot be credited with the coining the word Satanist. It was used in English as early as the 18th century for certain, and likely in the 17th....

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Grassaf, Eolas

Thanks octavius for the informative background on satanism. I look forward to reading your upcoming posts and I am sure I will have some questions : )
I admit I do have reserves (unjustified) about satanism and hope that these are removed once I learn more about it. Thank you for making your beliefs available to me/us and for being willing to answer questions.

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May your awareness be perfection

Eolas, please cite your source. Thank you.

"Satanism "worship of Satan" dates from 1896, with ref. to France, where it was said to be active at that time; Satanist is attested from 1559, applied by their enemies to Protestant sects. "

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?...earchmode=none

Is an easy, but incomplete on line reference. I am pretty sure the Oxford will give you earlier references, and is available in most, if not all, public libraries. I recollect the reference to the 17th and 18th centuries, although the years may have made this slightly inaccurate.

Certainly, it cannot be attributed as a term to LaVey.

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Grassaf, Eolas

I stand corrected.