Why Satanism? Why not Catholicism? These two institutions are very much different. The essential teachings of these two beliefs are very much different. You can easily break the differences of Catholicism vs. Satanism into: bettering the whole vs. bettering yourself.
The Catholic Church teaches you should look out for others, avoid sinning, and to revere God above all. The church teaches that things such as coveting, premarital sex, physical self-gratification, and indulging are sins.
The Satanist believes basically the opposite. It is believed by the Satanist that the self is more important then the group and that revering of God is a waste of time. Satanism teaches that coveting something without getting obsessed is fine. Sexual fulfillment, is believed by the Satanist to be perfectly natural and that you should be physically satisfied. And the First Satanic Statement reads, " Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence!"
These are the basic beliefs behind these two religions. If you
delve deeper into the beliefs of these two, you will find even more
differences. With the way our society is now a days it isn't a bad idea
to go back and look to see which belief system better suits the modern
day.
If you read the "Satanic Bible" you will recognize this statement as one of the Nine Satanic Statements: "Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!"
This statement is absolutely true. If the world followed the teachings of the church without fail, what use would there be for a church? If it were not for the church saying that certain natural actions are sins, the need for the church would be much less.
Lets look at one example of what is meant here. The church
says that coveting something is a sin. Coveting something is to long
for it, to want it. Have you ever wanted a book. nearly died to get
that shirt, drooled over that game that you knew you couldn't get? In
each of these times you were coveting. Coveting things is perfectly
natural. The church considers this perfectly natural act a sin. It's a
"sin" that we all experience, and the church uses to instill guilt in
the masses. By saying that such an act is a sin the church is ensuring
the return of the "faithful". It's rules like these, which make natural
acts sins, that keep people returning to church week after week.
Remember:
The church teaches abstinence,
Satanism teaches indulgence.
WHO IS THE AUTHOR?
Was the Satanic Bible written by Satan? Was the Christian
Bible written by God? The answer to both of these is no. Even the
Catholic Church understands that the Bible was not written by God
himself. That is one of the problems with every religion, the people
want to believe that their religious book was written by some deity.
Even some Satanists want to believe that the Satanic Bible was written
by Satan himself. The truth is that the Satanic Bible was not written
by Satan.
The Catholic Church understands that the Bible was not written
by God. The church teaches now that the Bible is the Word of God
filtered through the human mind and put on paper by people. In other
words, they believe that the Bible was divinely inspired by God, but it
was not written word for word by God. It is understood that God did not
come to earth, write this book, and then sell it to a publisher. It was
written by humans.
One of the things that has come out recently is the churches
views on the first book of the Christian Bible. The first book is the
Book of Genesis. This book is supposed to relate the story of the
creation of the world and the history of early man. Now the church
teaches that these stories are not historically accurate. The church
teaches that these stories do not tell the history of the world or
portray a historic truth. These stories portray a "religious truth."
The church doesn't even believe that part of its own religious book is a
hundred percent accurate.
Was the Satanic Bible written by Satan? No, it was not written
by the deity known as Satan. As a matter of fact we can pin down the
exact author of the Satanic Bible. Unlike the Christian Bible, which we
know had many contributing authors, the Satanic Bible was written by one
man. This man being perhaps one of the most well known Satanists of the
present day. This man is Anton Szandor LaVey.
The Satanic Bible even has a date of authorship. The Christian
Bible was written over a period of many centuries. The last 27 books of
the Christian Bible took nearly 200 or so years to be written. And we
don't have exact dates for when these things were written. With the
Satanic Bible we can tell during what time period it was written, who
wrote it, and when it was published. The Satanic Bible was written by
LaVey prior to 1969, when it was first published.
We know that the Satanic Bible was not written by Satan
himself. We know that the Satanic Bible was written by a human being,
here on earth, in the United States. We even know the name of the
author as being Anton Szandor LaVey. Throughout the existence of the
Satanic Bible, LaVey has not claimed that it was written by Satan. Why
hasn't he claimed this? Because he knows that this claim would be false
and would be taken the wrong way by the people.
The authority of a teaching should be based on its accuracy and
relevance to the situation. Authority shouldn't come from the claim
that some great all knowing deity said so. The church constantly is
referring to its books, teachings, and traditions to gain its authority.
The authority it has from these sources all come from the idea that
these things were divinely inspired. The Satanist and the organized
Satanic Church do not gain their authority from the idea that their
beliefs were inspired by Satan. Instead their authority comes from
their use of the truth and current situations. The Satanist knows that
to claim that what is being said is inspired by some deity is useless
and untrue.
The religious books and the sources of authority should be
considered when looking at different churches. If the authority is a
claimed authority without any solid backing, is it really authority?
Are the religious books worth the paper they are written on? Are they
accurate? Do they portray the truth as it relates to the current
situation? Look at these things once and ask yourself what authority
these religions have.
MASS vs. RITUAL
How do Christians celebrate their beliefs? By going to a church service or mass. All religious groups celebrate their common beliefs by joining together to hear about their beliefs. Satanism is no different from Catholicism, in the fact that they both hold religious services. The Catholic calls it mass. The Satanist calls it a Ritual. All religious groups have some form of ritual which serves to enlighten people of their faith. The Satanist performs a ritual in order to reaffirm their beliefs and way of life.
The Satanic Ritual is often the high point of the Satanic religion. This is when an individual or group of Satanists come together to praise their way of life. As with the Catholic mass, the Ritual does not require that there be more than one participant. The only real requirement is that those taking part believe in Satanism.
There are various Satanic Rituals that can be performed. Perhaps the most famous of Rituals is the Masse Noire, or Black Mass. This is the Ritual that has received so much bad press from the church. The Black Mass is the most famous but often the least understood Satanic Ritual. There is a reason for this misunderstanding. That reason is because the church doesn't want the truth to be known.
It is unclear what the origins of the Black Mass are. It is known that the Black Mass was being practiced during the time of the Inquisition. We know that the Black Mass dates back at least through the middle ages. It is known that the Black Mass was originally performed by priests of the Catholic Church. It was performed under secrecy, thus the name the Black Mass.
The purpose of the Black Mass was originally to mock the standard Catholic mass. The performance of the Ritual and the objects used were originally items of the church, used for a different purpose or said some what differently. Priests who disagreed with or wanted change often partook in these Black Masses as a form of rebellion against the established church.
The Satanic rituals are so misunderstood. The function and purpose of these Rituals is greatly exaggerated. If you're not Catholic you may not understand what a mass is. If you're not Muslim you may not understand what a Mosque service is. And if you're not Satanic you may not understand what a Ritual is.
A Ritual is like a church service. It is how Satanists can perform, in a physical way, their religion. The Ritual serves as a way for the Satanist to concentrate their energy. It serves as a way for Satanists to come together and support each other in their beliefs. Just as the Catholic mass serves as a way for Catholics to come together and celebrate their common belief.
Would the Satanist face so much persecution if the purpose and
practice of Rituals was better known? Most likely the Satanist wouldn't
face this persecution. People fear what they don't understand, and
Satanism is a prime example of something that is not understood.
People have a tendency to misunderstand different things. One of the more annoying misunderstandings deals with the common understanding of the Christian/Satanic Eucharist. The Satanist often times understands or acknowledges the Christian Eucharist. Where as the Satanist usually doesn't understand or even accept the fact that the Satanist has a form of Eucharistic belief.
During the middle ages in the Catholic Church the theology of the Eucharist was emphasized. The belief that the Eucharist was the body and blood of christ took shape. A church council in 1215 gave us the doctrine of transubstantiation. This doctrine says that the Eucharist when consecrated changes physically into the body and blood of christ, though it does not change appearance.
The Satanist also believes in the doctrine of substantiation. In the Black Mass the priest consecrates the Host, thus turning it into the body and blood of christ. Even Catholics will admit that Satanists believe in this. The only two religious groups which believe in this doctrine are the Catholics and the Satanists.
The problem with this common belief is that the Satanist is then blamed for vandalism to the Catholic Churches. People often associate the breaking into the church and stealing of the Host with the beliefs of Satanists. The truth is that a Satanists does not need to steal already consecrated Hosts. It is directly stated in the Black Mass that the priest consecrates the bread and wine during the ritual. The Catholics blame the Satanists because it is an easy target.
The belief in the Eucharist is found in many religions. The only difference in the beliefs is whether it is the actual body of christ, the bread and wine plus more, or just a living memory of christ. The Satanic belief is that it is the body and blood of christ. Not all Satanists will accept this belief, those who do are usually your people who converted from a Catholic based religion or who are intent on mocking the church. Those who do not accept this belief are those who usually just want to be there own god, and don't want to accept that there is any other divine entity.
Yes, the Satanists does believe in the Eucharist. Yes, the
Satanist does believe that it is the body and blood of christ. No, the
Satanist does not have to steal consecrated Hosts for a Black Mass. No,
the Satanist does not need a Christian priest or pastor to consecrate
the Host. Yes, the Satanist can consecrate his or hers own Host during
a Black Mass.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Satanism 101
Chapter 2: Civil Satanism
Chapter 4: That Feels Good
Chapter 5: Who Knew?
Omega: The Closing