Do you think Satanists are Evil?

[vkxxiii]

First off, Im Agnostic, not Satanist.

For awhile now, I have been hearing how satanists are getting a bad rap for some crazy Ideas! People are saying they eat babies, drink blood, and worship all things evil. But Guess what i found out, They Dont!

I Guess True Satanists actually have there own set of rules that they follow, just like in the bible. They cant hurt Animals, etc, etc. They feel that they are part of nature, and that everything is connected.

What do you think, Are Satanists bad people, or Is there Religion just as good as any other if used correctly?

[Oic]

I think it is generaly a evil idea they are worshiping a figure which is completely evil and instead of giving people second chances would kill and torture. I also look at their church's website and they have what they call Eleven rules of the Earth

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.

Their rules just basically say in my opinion to keep to yourself and if anyone does anything to annoy you can do whatever you want to him

[bowman]

I am against satanists as they lead us nowhere. God is the only way, even if atheists are against God's philosophies, they should be good and not be satanists who most probably do all sorts of evil deeds.

[reviewer]

Satanists generally aren't evil. It's a troubling belief system, as it encourages revenge, but I can't say that's evil - most people behave this way, they just don't admit it to themselves. But, then again, I'm not religious, so the "Satanist" label isn't as charged and inflammatory for me as it would be for a Christian.

[RBseatown]

First off, Im Agnostic, not Satanist.

For awhile now, I have been hearing how satanists are getting a bad rap for some crazy Ideas! People are saying they eat babies, drink blood, and worship all things evil. But Guess what i found out, They Dont!

I Guess True Satanists actually have there own set of rules that they follow, just like in the bible. They cant hurt Animals, etc, etc. They feel that they are part of nature, and that everything is connected.

What do you think, Are Satanists bad people, or Is there Religion just as good as any other if used correctly?

I won't say they are evil, just attention seeking. Why would you worship a figure like satan? What is there about his character to worship? It makes no sense to me.

They definitely come across as confused to me. I will admit though, I know very little about their beliefs, and am in no position to speak on them.

[reviewer]

I think to clarify I should state that Satanists are not devil-worshippers. They use Satan as a symbol of rebellion, but they do not literally worship Satan (nobody in a Christian belief system would worship Satan literally - since he's up against an omnipotent God, he's obviously the losing side).

[bowman]

Satanists are the ones who are against all gods, they don't limit themselves to anti-Christianity alone. Even in our land there are satanists, but of a different kind.


I think to clarify I should state that Satanists are not devil-worshippers. They use Satan as a symbol of rebellion, but they do not literally worship Satan (nobody in a Christian belief system would worship Satan literally - since he's up against an omnipotent God, he's obviously the losing side).

[2010]

There's much misconception about that religion, the core of it is not to worship Satan as others have mentioned.

However, to some they are evil and although they are not directly worshiping Satan, they still are in the eyes of some Christians as they are not accepting Jesus properly. As for those who drink blood, sacrifice things etc. they are just lunatics who exist in every religion.

[Liquid]

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.

I do not know much about satanists. But after rading their rules as above, I can say that they are not good people. Number four and eleven for example are clearly the opposite of what's good.

[jonathon]

I can understand Satanism, Satanists don't worship Satan, but what the mythological character stands for in Christianity knowledge, nonconformity, not suppressing yourself, Devil worshipers worship a dark divine being that they believe exists, They're actually atheistic.

[RBseatown]

I think to clarify I should state that Satanists are not devil-worshippers. They use Satan as a symbol of rebellion, but they do not literally worship Satan (nobody in a Christian belief system would worship Satan literally - since he's up against an omnipotent God, he's obviously the losing side).

Interesting. I didn't know that. But why would they use satan as a their symbol instead of something else?

[Gmorkster]

I do not know much about satanists. But after rading their rules as above, I can say that they are not good people. Number four and eleven for example are clearly the opposite of what's good.

I'm not trying to prove it wrong, but let's analyze those two a bit:

Number 4: "If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy."

Your "lair" (aka your home) should be your own private place, where you can feel feel good and, above all, safe. It's your right, and no one should try to take it from you. What would you do if you caught a burglar in your house? Invite him over for a night cap or grab that shotgun and blow his brains out? I know, you will argue that the latter is too much a drastic measure and there are ways inbetween (for example, call the police). But how do you know that the burglar is not heavily armed and you won't make it till the police comes? How do you know what his intentions are anyway? I believe almost everybody would shoot to kill in this situation.

Number 11. "When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him."

Distroying someone can have different meanings, don't take it too literally :D Here's a joke that shows what "distruction" can mean:

A very shy guy goes into a bar and sees a beautiful woman sitting at the bar. After an hour of gathering up his courage he finally goes over to her and asks, tentatively, "Um, would you mind if I chatted with you for a while?"

She responds by yelling, at the top of her lungs, "No, I won't sleep with you tonight!" Everyone in the bar is now staring at them. Naturally, the guy is hopelessly and completely embarrassed and he slinks back to his table.

After a few minutes, the woman walks over to him and apologizes. She smiles at him and says, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. You see, I'm a graduate student in psychology and I'm studying how people respond to embarrassing situations."

To which he responds, at the top of his lungs, "200 DOLLARS? YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!" (source: here (http://funmeme.com/archive/2008/06/23/a-shy-guy-goes-into-a-bar.aspx))

The point is you should't let others abuse you, one has to fight back instead of turning the other cheek.

[reviewer]

Interesting. I didn't know that. But why would they use satan as a their symbol instead of something else?It's a potent and recognizable symbol. Virtually everyone in the Western world would recognize it. Can you think of any other symbol that evokes a powerful, rebellious figure?

[onethreeseven]

They are probably just mad at some parental or authority figure who forced ridiculous beliefs on them. They in turn take on equally ridiculous and "shocking" beliefs as a sort of passive aggressive 'jab' at whomever.

[Gmorkster]

"Mad at parental authority"?? Come on, you've got to be kidding me. Blanche Barton, Michael Rose, Peter Gilmore and many other founders of the Church of Satan are recognized as philosophers, they're not some rebelious "emo kids". Please do your homework ;)

[onethreeseven]

"Mad at parental authority"?? Come on, you've got to be kidding me. Blanche Barton, Michael Rose, Peter Gilmore and many other founders of the Church of Satan are recognized as philosophers, they're not some rebelious "emo kids". Please do your homework ;)


I've never read much on Satanism, but I am intimately familiar with Thelema which a lot of people claim influenced Satanism to the point of Satanism being called its counterfeit. I don't know for sure if this is true and I don't really care either way.

I'll guess that these "philosophers" combined some Nietzsche with a taboo, contrarian symbol with the hopes of selling a few books. To me, the idea that something which is suppose to embody moral repugnancy suddenly is turned into something virtuous indicates some sort of psychological trauma. People would be drawn to such a loaded -ism if they wanted to subvert what they have been taught about right and wrong. They want to subvert it because their trust in the integrity, motivations and/or intelligence of the people in their lives who claim to know what is right and wrong, probably their parents, has been compromised in some fundamental way.

I could be wrong of course, but this theory fits with every person I've ever met who ever had an interest in satanism or a host of other occultisms. Most of them came from broken or otherwise unstable homes. I'm sure these people have damn good reasons to have lost that trust, and with that respect, I apologize that I sounded dismissive in my first post.

[Lorena_Palin]

Most satanists I know just were pissed off with Christianity for one reason or another, liked a lot of death metal, and being 18-25ish loved partying...the end result was they joined the church of satan.

[katiebelle]

how many od you realise that heaps of christian rituals and beliefs come from paganism? the pagan religion is believed to be evil by many christian churches. easter, one of christianitys biggest rituals is mostly a pagan ritual, thats why its after the equinox.
i dont think sananism should be judged simply because their symbol is an apparently evil character. yes i would agree that items 4 and 11 my seem a bit extreme but all the others sound like the way i feel most of the time.

[Kurt]

There is neither "good" nor "bad".
Whatever seems good to one person, could seem bad to the other. So one must acquire a larger perspective to see the truth behind things.

From any religions perspective, all that is, comes from God... and that includes satanists.

The only evil resides within ourselves. It has no horns and no red skin and all of that stuff.
The evil inclinations inside of us (the will to receive only for ourselves) are the only things that need to be corrected.
For, if a person was already corrected and in a perfect state, why would that person exist among us?