Theistic Satanism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Part of the seal of Lucifer from the
Grimorium Verum, used as a symbol of Satan by some Theistic Satanists
Theistic Satanism, also known as
Traditional Satanism, is the belief that
Satan is an actual
deity or force worthy of reverence or worship.
[1] Within Theistic Satanism there are a wide variety of beliefs. Their concept of Satan is not based on the works of
Anton Lavey, whose Satanism is not the worship of Satan but a form of
individualism[2] using Satan as a symbol of man living in accordance with his nature.
[3] Both types of Satanist may believe in
magic, and use
ritual, but Theistic Satanists also believe in Satan as an independent agent and pray.
[4] Theistic Satanists may consider their forebears to include figures such as
La Voisin. Some Theistic Satanists claim to have been born into a generational or familial tradition of Satanism.
[5].
Contents
[edit] Possible history of Theistic Satanism
Although little is known about Theistic Satanists in history, some Satanists, such as Tani Jantsang of "Satanic Reds", say they are generational Satanists,
[6] and some members of Ordo Flammeus Serpens (OFS), a group that venerates demons, also say that they were trained by a traditional family sect, or are generational demonolators whose religion has been passed down through the family.
[7] Claims such as these are unproven.
[8] Theistic Satanists are inspired by incidences they see as evidence of previous followers of their faith. The concept of "Satan" may incorporate elements from older religions than Judaism.
Ha-satan is the role of one of
God's court, whose duties include testing the faith of humanity; the concept may be derived from a judicial function in Israeli court, similar to a
prosecuting attorney.
[9] The
Jewish Encyclopedia says that parts of the Old Testament where Satan is seen to act independently of God may have been influenced by
Zoroastrianism.
[10] Anne Rice, while not a Satanist herself, equates Satan with
Ahriman, the destructive spirit in Zoroastrianism,
[11] as does
Nikolas Schreck.
[12] The Joy of Satan, an
anti-Semitic group, consider Satan to be Enki,
[13] though most other Satanists, including Diane Vera, do not believe this to be the case, and do not agree with the Joy of Satan's
neo-Nazi views.
[14] The Joy of Satan believes the
Al-Jilwah of the
Yezidi to be the words of Satan and considers
Melek Taus to
be Satan,
[15] however this may be based on
Muslim prejudices about the Yezidi which
Anton LaVey assumed were true, and may not be a reflection of what the Yezidi believe. Historically, accusing someone of Satanism was a pejorative term for those with opinions that differed from predominant religious or moral beliefs.
[16] Paul Tuitean believes the idea of acts of "reverse Christianity" was created by the Inquisition,
[17] but George Battaille believes the mass may have existed prior to the descriptions of it which were obtained through the
witchcraft trials.
[18]
Although
John Milton was unlikely to have been a Theistic Satanist, his
epic poem Paradise Lost, is an inspiration for Satanism to the extent that William Blake said of Milton "[he is] a true Poet, and of the Devil's party without knowing it."
[19] As well as being the inspiration for the
Satanic School of literature
Milton,
Dante,
Marlowe, and
Goethe, are said by
Nikolas Schreck to be the foundation of the modern concept of Satan. He argues that these authors had "access to the Luciferian vision" and a "diabolical consciousness" that flourished due to their separation from the common man, "a radical disruption from the norm that allowed the effulgence of the black light to illuminate their work."
[20]
A depiction of the typical features of historical descriptions of the
Black Mass
In the 18th century various kinds of popular "Satanic" literature began to be produced in France. The
Marquis de Sade also defiled crucifixies and other holy objects, and in
Justine gives a real account of the
Black Mass [21] although
Ronald Hayman has said Sade's need for blasphemy was an emotional reaction and rebellion from which Sade moved on, seeking to develop a more reasoned atheistc philosophy.
[22] In the 19th century,
Eliphas Levi published his French books of the occult, and in 1855 produced his well-known drawing of the
Baphomet which continues to be used by some Satanists today (for example the
sigil of Baphomet). Finally, in 1891, Joris-Karl Huysmans published his Satanic novel,
Lą-Bas, which included a detailed description of a
Black Mass which he may have known first-hand was being performed in Paris at the time.
[23], or the account may have been based on the masses carried out by the Abbe Guibourg, rather than by Huysmans attending himself.
[24] Quotations from Huysmans' Black Mass are also used in some Satanic rituals to this day since it is one of the few sources that purports to describe the words used in a Black Mass. The type of Satanism described in Lą-Bas suggests that prayers are said to the Devil, hosts are stolen from the Catholic Church, and sexual acts are combined with
Roman Catholic altar objects and rituals, to produce a variety of Satanism which exalts the Devil and degrades the God of Christianity by inverting Roman Catholic rites. George Battaille claims that Huyman's description of the Black Mass is "indisputably authentic."
[25] Not all Theistic Satanists today routinely perform the Black Mass. If the mass seems to have been abandoned, this may be because the mass is not a part of modern evangelical Christianity
[26] and so not such an unintentional influence on Satanist practices. If rites of blasphemy such as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit are used at all they are often solely for beginners in Satanism to help them break away from any past Christian indoctrination or restrictive internalization of society's expectations for behaviour.
Michael Aquino included a black mass in his book
The Church of Satan, and later
Anton LaVey included one in his
The Satanic Rituals. LaVey's work on Satanism, which began in the 1960s, had a great influence on popularising Satanism and making people aware of the possibility of being a Satanist. While his theology is not that of Theistic Satanism as his followers such as the
Church of Satan do not worship Satan, his books and his philosophy are an inspiration to some Theistic Satanists. For a long time, his books were the few available which advertised themselves as being Satanic, although others were influential to occultists of the day and detailed the history of witchcraft and Satanism, such as
The Black Arts by
Richard Cavendish published in 1967. Anton LaVey specifically denounced "devil worshippers" and the idea of praying to Satan.
[edit] Preconceptions and myths
The
Satanic Ritual Abuse scare was often centred on fears or beliefs about traditional Satanism
[27] The existence of large networks of organized Satanists involved in illegal activities, murder, and child abuse is occasionally claimed. Those claims have not been substantiated, and it has been labeled by Satanists and by sociologists as an example of a
moral panic.
Some studies of crimes have also looked at the theological perspective of those who commit religious or ritualised crime.
[28] However, criminals who explain their crimes by claim to be Satanists have been said by sociologists to be "pseudo-Satanists."
[29] and attempts to link Satanism to crime have been seen as scaremongering by Theistic Satanists themselves.
[30] Even seemingly non-Christian writers can include disproven themes popular with the
Satanic Ritual Abuse movement, such as sexual crime being required for Satanism.
[31] Some Christians fear that references to Satan in popular culture and music inspire some people to Theistic Satanism.
[32] Although music cannot make someone become a Satanist,
Christopher Partridge has said that regardless of whether the black metal musicians concerned are genuinely Theistic Satanists, through hearing the lyrics for instance of
Black Sabbath and
Coven (band)[33] people may hear for the first time that there are people who are Theistic Satanists, and may be inspired to then go on to learn more about Theistic Satanism and eventually practice it long-term.
[34]While they may first come upon the more obtainable works of
Anton LaVey, who denied belief in Satan, those who discover his writings may then go on to reach a traditional viewpoint.
[35] Christians may fear that Satanists spend their time blaspheming Christianity,
[36], but while some chose to begin their time as a Satanist by performing a renunciation ritual or rite of blasphemy, so that they can break from any negative
conditioning they may have from previous religions they have followed, and begin their life anew, those who do so may not necessarily make that a regular practice.
[37] Christians may fear that traditional Satanists may attempt to
hex Christian meetings,
[38], and indeed some Theistic Satanists do practice spiritual warfare to accomplish Satan's will and to seek to limit restriction of their freedom of religion.
[39]
Some may choose to live out the myths and stereotypes, but Christianity is not always the primary frame of reference for Theistic Satanists.
[40] Their religion may be based on
dark pagan,
left hand path and
occult traditions. Theistic Satanists who base their faith on Christian ideas about Satan may be referred to as "Reverse Christians" by other Satanists, often in a pejorative fashion.
[41] However those labeled by some as "reverse Christians" may see their concept of Satan as not diluted or sanitized. They worship a stricter interpretation of Satan: that of the Satan featured in the Christian Bible.
Wiccans may consider most Satanism to be reverse Christianity,
[42] and the head of the
Church of Satan, Peter Gilmore, considers "devil worship" to be a Christian heresy.
[43] Diane Vera considers reverse Christianity "default Satanism", saying that for those teenagers who live in a Christian culture, or for people who've just left Christianity, this form of Satanism is the one they would arrive at on their own, before they learn other ideas.
[44]
Satan in the Garden of Eden, depicted by
William Blake
[edit] Values in Theistic Satanism
Seeking knowledge is seen by some Theistic Satanists as important to Satan, due to his being equated with the Serpent in Genesis encouraging mankind to partake of the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that they might become as God, and giving mankind a greater intellect.
[45] Some perceive Satan as
Baphomet, a hermaphroditic bestower of knowledge (
gnosis.) Other Satanic groups, such as Luciferians, and some individual Satanists also seek to gain greater
gnosis. For some Satanists, this is a form of
gnosticism where they view
Yahweh as the demiurge and Satan as the transcendent being beyond, of whom they seek knowledge. Jehovah they believe is a creation of Satan
[46] and lies about his powers, and so his Bible is not to be trusted.
[47]Satan they believe is about freedom as opposed to all the rules and commandments of Christianity.
[48] Eating the fruit of the tree also meant that humans could not be immortal, and must make the most of their time on earth.
[49]
Self-development is important to Theistic Satanists. This is due to the Satanists' view of Satan, who is seen to encourage individuality and freedom of thought, and the quest to raise one's self up despite resistance, through means such as magic and initiative. They believe Satan wants a more equal relationship with his followers than the Christian God does with his. The main sin as the Christian god and his followers see it is that someone does not bow down to God.
[50] Some Satanists seek to remove any means by which they are controlled or repressed by others and follow the herd, and reject authoritarianism.
[51]
As Satan in the Old Testament tests people, theistic Satanists may believe that Satan sends them tests in life in order to develop them as an individual. They value taking responsibility for oneself. A dark self-spirituality may raise self esteem and reduce anxiety, guilt and doubt.
[52] Despite the emphasis on self-development, Theistic Satanists often feel that there is a will of Satan for the world and for their own lives. They may promise to help bring about the will of Satan,
[53] and seek to gain insight about it through
prayer, study or
magic.
[54] In the
temptation of Christ in the desert, Satan says that if Jesus worships him, he can give him all the kingdoms of the earth. Satan is known in the Bible as the prince of this world,
[55] and Satanists may feel that he can help them meet their needs and desires if they pray or work magic. They would also have to do what they could in everyday life to achieve their goals, however.
Theistic Satanists may try not to project an image that reflects negatively on their religion as a whole and reinforces stereotypes, such as promoting Nazism, abuse or crime.
[56] However, some groups believe the emphasis on promoting a good image for Theistic Satanism has led to attempts to dilute and sanitize it. In particular, there is argument over animal sacrifice, with most groups seeing it as both unnecessary and putting Satanism in a bad light, and distancing themselves from the few groups that practice it.
[57]
Note: Satanists do not kill babies or animals. For proof, read the scriptures of "Anton Szandor LaVey's Satanic Bible"
Paganism
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"Pagan" and "Heathen" redirect here. For other usages, see
Pagan (disambiguation) and
Heathen (disambiguation)
Mayan priests dancing around fire at a ceremony
Paganism (from
Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller, rustic", also called
paynim) is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world. It is a term which, from a Western perspective, has modern connotations of
spiritualist,
animistic or
shamanic practices or beliefs of any
folk religion, and of historical and contemporary
polytheistic religions in particular.
The term can be defined broadly, to encompass the faith traditions outside the
Abrahamic monotheistic group of
Judaism,
Christianity, and
Islam. The group so defined includes many of the
Eastern religions,
Native American religions and mythologies, as well as non-Abrahamic
ethnic religions in general. More narrow definitions will not include any of the
world religions and restrict the term to local or rural currents not organized as
civil religions. Characteristic of pagan traditions is the absence of
proselytism and the presence of a living
mythology which
explains religious practice.
[1]
The term "pagan" is a Christian adaptation of the "
gentile" of Judaism, and as such has an inherent Abrahamic bias, and
pejorative connotations among Westerners,
[2] comparable to heathen, and
infidel,
mushrik and
kafir (كافر) in Islam. For this reason,
ethnologists avoid the term "paganism," with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as
polytheism,
shamanism,
pantheism, or
animism; however others criticise the use of these terms, claiming that these are only aspects that different faiths may share and do not denote the religions themselves.
Since the later 20th century, "Pagan" or "Paganism" has become widely used as a self-designation by adherents of
Neopaganism.
[3] As such, various modern scholars have begun to apply the term to three separate groups of faiths;
Historical Polytheism (such as
Celtic polytheism and
Norse paganism),
Folk/
ethnic/Indigenous religions (such as
Chinese folk religion and
African traditional religion), and
Neo-paganism (such as
Wicca and
Germanic Neopaganism).
Contents
The term
pagan is from Greek
paganus, an adjective originally meaning "
rural", "rustic" or "of the country." As a noun,
paganus was used to mean "country dweller, villager." The semantic development of post-classical Latin
paganus in the sense "non-Christian, heathen" is unclear. The dating of this sense is controversial, but the 4th century seems most plausible. An earlier example has been suggested in
Tertullian De Corona Militis xi,
"Apud hunc [sc. Christum] tam miles est paganus fidelis quam paganus est miles infidelis," but here the word
paganus may be interpreted in the sense "
civilian" rather than "heathen". There are three main explanations of the development:
- (i) The older sense of classical Latin pāgānus is "of the country, rustic" (also as noun). It has been argued that the transferred use reflects the fact that the ancient idolatry lingered on in the rural villages and hamlets after Christianity had been generally accepted in the towns and cities of the Roman Empire; cf. Orosius Histories 1. Prol. "Ex locorum agrestium compitis et pagis pagani vocantur." From its earliest beginnings, Christianity spread much more quickly in major urban areas (like Antioch, Alexandria, Corinth, Rome) than in the countryside (in fact, the early church was almost entirely urban), and soon the word for "country dweller" became synonymous with someone who was "not a Christian," giving rise to the modern meaning of "Pagan." This may, in part, have had to do with the closeness to nature of rural people, who may have been more resistant to the new ideas of Christianity than those who lived in major urban centers and were cut off from the cycles of nature and the forms of spirituality associated with them. However, it may have also resulted from early Christian missionaries focusing their efforts within major population centers (e.g., St. Paul), rather than throughout an expansive, yet sparsely populated, countryside (hence, the Latin term suggesting "uneducated country folk") until a bit later on.
- (ii) The more common meaning of classical Latin pāgānus is "civilian, non-militant" (adjective and noun). Christians called themselves mīlitēs, "enrolled soldiers" of Christ, members of his militant church, and applied to non-Christians the term applied by soldiers to all who were "not enrolled in the army".
- (iii) The sense "heathen" arose from an interpretation of paganus as denoting a person who was outside a particular group or community, hence "not of the city" or "rural"; cf. Orosius Histories 1. Prol. "ui alieni a civitate dei..pagani vocantur." See C. Mohrmann, Vigiliae Christianae 6 (1952) 9ff.
--
Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989)
"
Peasant" is a
cognate, via
Old French paisent. (
Harry Thurston Peck, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquity, 1897; "pagus").
In their distant origins, these usages derived from
pagus, "province, countryside", cognate to Greek πάγος "rocky hill", and, even earlier, "something stuck in the ground", as a landmark: the
Proto-Indo-European root
*pag- means "fixed" and is also the source of the words
page,
pale (stake), and
pole, as well as
pact and
peace.
While
pagan is attested in English from the 14th century, there is no evidence that the term
paganism was in use in English before the 17th century. The
OED instances
Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776): "The divisions of Christianity suspended the ruin of paganism." The term was not a
neologism, however, as
paganismus was already used by
Augustine.
[4]
Less than twenty years after the last vestiges of paganism were crushed with great severity by the emperor Theodosius I
[5] Rome was seized by
Alaric in 410. This led to murmuring that the gods of paganism had taken greater care of the city than that of the Christian God, inspiring
St Augustine to write
The City of God, alternative title "
De Civitate Dei contra Paganos: The City of God against the Pagans", in which he claimed that whilst the great 'city of Man' had fallen, Christians were ultimately citizens of the 'city of God.'
[6]
[edit] Heathen
Heathen is from
Old English hęšen "not Christian or Jewish", (c.f.
Old Norse heišinn). Historically, the term was probably influenced by
Gothic haiži "dwelling on the
heath", appearing as
haižno in
Ulfilas' bible as "gentile woman," (translating the
"Hellene" in Mark 7:26). This translation probably influenced by Latin
paganus, "country dweller", or it was chosen because of its similarity to the Greek
ethne, "
gentile". It has even been suggested that Gothic
haiži is not related to "heath" at all, but rather a loan from
Armenian hethanos, itself loaned from Greek
ethnos.
[edit] Common word usage
Perchten procession in
Klagenfurt, Austria.
Both "pagan" and "heathen" have historically been used as a
pejorative by adherents of
monotheistic religions (such as
Judaism,
Christianity and
Islam) to indicate a disbeliever in their religion. Although, in modern times it is not always used as a pejorative. "Paganism" frequently refers to the religions of
classical antiquity, most notably
Greek mythology or
Roman religion, and can be used neutrally or admiringly by those who refer to those complexes of belief. However, until the rise of
Romanticism and the general acceptance of
freedom of religion in
Western civilization, "Paganism" was almost always used disparagingly of
heterodox beliefs falling outside the established political framework of the Christian Church. "Pagan" came to be equated with a Christianized sense of "
epicurian" to signify a person who is sensual, materialistic, self-indulgent, unconcerned with the future and uninterested in sophisticated religion. The word was usually used in this worldly and stereotypical sense, particularly among those who were drawing attention to what they perceived as being the limitations of paganism, for example, as when
G. K. Chesterton wrote: "The pagan set out, with admirable sense, to enjoy himself. By the end of his civilization he had discovered that a man cannot enjoy himself and continue to enjoy anything else." In sharp contrast
Swinburne the poet would comment on this same theme: "Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath; We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death."
[7]
Christianity itself has been perceived at times as a form of paganism by followers of the other Abrahamic religions
[8][9]because of, for example, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the celebration of pagan feast days,
[10] and other practices
[11] – through a process described as "baptising"
[12]or "
christianization". Even between Christians there have been similar charges of paganism levelled, especially by Protestants,
[13][14] towards the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches for their
veneration of the saints and images.
[edit] Heathenry
"Heathen" (Old English
hęšen) is a translation of
Paganus. The
Germanic tribes were distributed over Eastern and Central Europe by the 5th century, and their
dialects ceased to be mutually intelligible from around that time,
Christianization of the Germanic peoples took place from the 4th (
Goths) to the 6th (
Anglo-Saxons,
Franks) or 8th (
Alamanni,
Saxons) centuries on the continent, and from the 9th to 12th centuries in Iceland and Scandinavia.
[edit] Pagan classifications
Pagan subdivisions coined by
Isaac Bonewits[15]- Paleopaganism: A retronym coined to contrast with "Neopaganism", denoting a Pagan culture that has not been disrupted by other cultures. The term applies to Hinduism, Parsism, Shinto, pre-Migration period Germanic paganism as described by Tacitus, Celtic polytheism as described by Julius Caesar, and the Greek and Roman religion.
- Mesopaganism: A group, which is, or has been, significantly influenced by monotheistic, dualistic, or nontheistic worldviews, but has been able to maintain an independence of religious practices. This group includes aboriginal Americans as well as Australian aboriginals, Viking Age Norse paganism. Influences include: Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Spiritualism, and the many Afro-Diasporic faiths like Haitian Vodou, and Santerķa. Bonewits includes British Traditional Wicca in this subdivision.
- Neopaganism: A movement by modern people to revive nature-worshipping, pre-Christian religions, or other nature-based spiritual paths. This definition may include anything on a sliding scale from Reconstructionist at one end to non-reconstructionist groups such as Neo-druidism and Wicca at the other.
[edit] Historical polytheism
Further information: Prehistoric religion and Polytheism Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity (as opposed to
Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Indian religions)
Late Antiquity to High Middle Ages (as opposed to Abrahamic and Indian religions)
Know your facts before you knock it!