Religious Satanism (sometimes referred to as Traditional Satanism or Theistic Satanism) is the form of Satanism whose followers believe Satan is a force (or energy) in nature. Contrary to popular belief, most forms of Satanism understand Satan as a symbol, and not as an actual entity; therefore, Religious Satanism is very rare. A more common denomination of Satanism is called Philosophical or LaVeyan Satanism. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gustave Dores depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan (Standard Hebrew: , Satan Tiberian Hebrew ; Greek , Satanás; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: شيطان, Shaitan) is a Abrahamic term which is traditionally applied to an angel, demon, or minor god in many belief systems. ... The deepest visible-light image of the universe, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... LaVeyan Satanism is a religion based upon the philosophy of Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey as outlined in The Satanic Bible and other works. ...

Unlike Satanists affiliated with the Church of Satan who are largely atheistic or agnostic, theistic Satanists experience a "dark" divinity or powerful entity behind the forces of darkness, knowledge, animal energy and freedom in their lives. He (or She) is sometimes perceived as the Muse and the Bestower of knowledge (Gnosis). Theistic Satanists may place a great emphasis on the Serpent in the Biblical tale of Genesis, whom they perceive to be one of the many emanations or incarnations of Lucifer or Satan. According to such teachings, Satan blessed mankind with the "forbidden" fruit of knowledge of good and evil. From this perspective, knowing good is a good thing, but knowing evil is even better, for someone who knows and recognizes evil is better-armed and equipped to fight evil. It is for this reason that Theistic Satanists perceive Satan not as a Force of evil but rather a Force of good. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... The term agnosticism and the related agnostic were coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1869. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of...

Overview

Religious Satanism is often similar in outlook and attitude to Philosophical Satanism, though it is generally a prerequisite that the Satanist accept a theological and metaphysical canon involving one or more God(s) who are either Satan in the strictest, Biblical sense, or specially created to identify with or represent the practitioner. A Satan represented in the latter group may be entirely of the practitioner's mind, or may be an adoption from another (usually pre-Christian) religion. Forms of Satanism LaVeyan Satanism | Luciferianism | Religious satanism | Sat/Tan Satanism | Setianism Associated Organizations Misanthropic Luciferian Order | Church of Satan | First Church of Satan | First Satanic Church | Order of Mars | Order of Nine Angles | Order of the Left Hand Path | Temple of Set Symbols and Figures Baphomet | Blanche Barton | Peggy... Gustave Dores depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan (Standard Hebrew: , Satan Tiberian Hebrew ; Greek , Satanás; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: شيطان, Shaitan) is a Abrahamic term which is traditionally applied to an angel, demon, or minor god in many belief systems. ...

Depending on the Satanists in question, this God (or Gods) may be any in a variety of deities, sometimes taken from ancient faiths; with common ones being Seth of Egyptian theology, any number of ancient Mesopotamian Gods or Goddesses, sometimes Gods of Greek or Roman mythology (Mars, for instance). Others claim a largely original God, although it is usually said by those Satanists that their deity is in fact very old, perhaps from ancient pre-history and often being the first God worshipped by humans (though such claims are unverifiable at best). Seth or Shet (שֵׁת Placed; appointed, Standard Hebrew Šet, Tiberian Hebrew Šēṯ, Arabic ÔíË), in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the third son of Adam and Eve mentioned by name, and brother of Cain and Abel. ... This is an article about the ancient middle eastern region. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and a magical flower (or Jupiter). ...

Others worship a stricter interpretation of Satan: that of the fallen angel featured in the Christian Bible, though unlike many who see him as being evil as defined by the Christian Church, they instead believe him to be correct in his rebellion against God. All these faiths hold in common, however, with each other and with Philosophical Satanists, that man, and specifically the self are the highest priorities. This view is often supported by Satanists' view of the god, who is seen to encourage individuality and freedom of thought, and the quest to raise one's self up through means such as magick and similar to Nietzschean Will to Power. The term Christian Church, or Catholic Church, as it was known by Christians beginning in the second century, expresses the idea that organised Christianity (the Christian religion) is seen as an institution. ... This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ...

One example of this would be the Biblical Satan, such as the Serpent in Genesis encouraging mankind to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, saying "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil", with the clear implication, coinciding with the beliefs of all Satanists, that mankind should know what is better for itself than any God which would forbid knowledge and self-government. Because of the common position that their faiths are in fact very old, or the oldest, Religious Satanists sometimes refer to themselves as "Traditional Satanists" and Philosophical Satanists as "Contemporary Satanists". Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... In the Hebrew Bibles Book of Genesis, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Hebrew: עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע) was the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden from which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat. ...

Types of Religious Satanism

Setian Satanism

Main article: Setianism

According to this sect, the Egyptian deity Set, is the real Dark Lord behind the name Satan. They have their own concept of the Black Flame. Setianism comprises magical, philosophical and religious concepts related to the ancient Egyptian god Set. ... Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Set, in KV34 Set (also Setekh, Seth, etc) was originally a god of strength, war, storms, foreign lands (and foreigners) and deserts in Egyptian mythology. ... Black Flame is an imprint of BL Publishing, the publishing arm of Games Workshop and a sister imprint to the Black Library and Solaris Books. ...

This type of Satanism maintains that the Hebrews ran into an adversary in Egypt who was the Pharaoh of the Seti Dynasty, when Set was the principal pharaonic Deity. After the Pharaoh expelled the Hebrews from Egypt, the Hebrew Bible scribes wrote "Exodus", demonstrating the enormity of this event to the Hebrew people. However, there are apparently no Egyptian records to back up any of the Hebrew claims except a passing mention of the Pharaoh kicking many foreigners out at that time — not just Hebrews. Even so, the impact of this expulsion was large enough to the Hebrews to warrant their calling Egypt and its Seti Pharaoh "ha stn", the adversary. Setian Satanists theorize that "Satan" is a wrong or slanderous label for a legitimate Egyptian God, the God Set. Hebrews (syns. ... Pharaoh (Arabic فرعون ; Hebrew פַּרְעֹה ; Geez ፈርዖን FärÊ»on) is a title used to refer to the rulers of Egypt in the pre-Christian and pre-Islamic period. ... Some SETI observations have been conducted using the 305m radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hÄ“ biblos, the book) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), is the name used by Jews and Christians for their differing (and overlapping) canons... Illustration of a 15th century scribe This is about scribe, the profession. ... Exodus is the second book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and also the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), and the Christian Old Testament. ... Hebrews (syns. ... Pharaoh (Arabic فرعون ; Hebrew פַּרְעֹה ; Geez ፈርዖን FärÊ»on) is a title used to refer to the rulers of Egypt in the pre-Christian and pre-Islamic period. ...

The practices and theology of the Set sect are very oriented towards cultivating selfhood. They reject the dissolving of the individual into oneness with existence, and celebrate the separation of the individual self from the rest of the universe. Some followers believe in Set as a real theistic conscious being that appears in revelations and delivers messages, while others revere Set as a more of a principle. How historically correct their picture of Set is might be considered debatable. Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ...

This type of Set-Satanism is a legally tax-exempt religion in the United States.

Sat/Tan Satanism

Main article: Sat/Tan Satanism

Sat/Tan Satanism is a quasi-philosophical/quasi-theological brand of Satanism which maintains both religious and non-religious philosophical influences, either inwardly focusing or outwardly. Sat and Tan are Sanskrit words meaning respectively "Being" and "Becoming" (stretching forth), and it has been called by followers often also Dark Doctrine or Dark Discipline Satanism. It maintains that before the universe existed, there was a vast Darkness which represented the concepts of chaos and night, and within that Darkness, there was a Flame or Light which represented Divine Right, or creative capacity. The Flame or Light flared up and spread to the uttermost corners of the Darkness, creating the universe as we know it. Sat/Tan Satanism maintains that today a theoretical "Darkness" still exists throughout the cosmos, and that while all life possesses the creative Flame or Spark of Divine Right, only those individuals defined in this article as Satanists recognize and properly nurture their own Divinity (in the Sat/Tan sense). Those who neglect it are seen as living in the Darkness of ignorance. As such, the movement may be at least superficially compared to certain forms of Gnosticism or Manichaeism. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ...

An undoubtedly interesting note is that there are parallels between Sith religion of Star Wars and Sat/Tan Satanism; where The Force is seen as the Flame and the Jedi and their dogma are seen as living in the Darkness of meek or ignorant submission to the so-called "Will of the Force" (the Sith believe the Force has no will except when put to proper direction by the will of the Sith Acolyte himself). Darth Vader and the Emperor (Darth Sidious) Within the fictional Star Wars universe, the term Sith is used to describe two separate but related groups. ... The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the modified original Star Wars Trilogy. ... The Force is a binding, ubiquitous power that is the object of the Jedi and Sith monastic orders in the Star Wars universe. ... Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (right) & his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi (left), from The Phantom Menace. ...

Devil Worship

The term "Devil worship" has a wide variety of associated meanings, but in its most objective sense, it simply refers to a religious belief in and worship of a Devil or devils. Devil worship can also be referred to as Diabolatry (from the Greek "diabolos" - devil - and "latreia" - worship), or as theistic Satanism. It is a controversial term, since it has been used by LaVeyan Satanists as a term for those criminals who commit crimes citing Satan or Satanism as part of their justification.

However, despite this, there is widespread assumption that Devil Worshipers and Satanists and criminals conducting abhorrent acts under the name of either of these terms, are the same. Reasons for this include: (1) For many people (even Satanists), the terms "Devil worshiper" and "Satanist" are synonymous; (2) The media continues to use the term "Satanist" instead of "Devil worshiper" for criminals who commit crimes in the name of Satan (most likely because "Satanist" is shorter and fits more easily in a headline), (3) Many criminals who commit crimes in the name of Satan call themselves "Satanists," not "Devil worshipers," and (4) Referring to Satanism and Devil worship as "completely separate concepts" is often interpreted by non-Satanists as semantic gerrymandering and "hair-splitting" at best, or outright lying and deception at worst.

Other common arguments includes that throughout history, there have been far more many crimes committed in the name of Jehovah, Jesus Christ and Allah than there have been in the name of Satan; yet people do not typically use the term "Christ worship" to be synonymous for criminal activity. Therefore, it makes even less sense to use the term "Devil worship" as a label for criminals, and the idea of claiming that someone is a criminal simply because they worship a particular deity or principle is pure nonsense.

Part of the reason why many Satanists demonize the term "Devil worshiper" is because of the LaVeyan teaching that worshiping a deity is a sign of intellectual weakness. It is also commonly claimed that anyone who worships the Devil is necessarily constrained by Christian theology and dogma, whereas Satanism is "freed" from such. In fact most forms of contemporary Devil worship tend to divorce themselves from strict Christian theology in any event. The Joy of Satan is a good example of Devil worshipers who identify their idea of Satan with Sumerian mythology rather than the Bible, and the Church of Azazel practices a polytheistic form of Devil worship that combines elements of Deism and the African-based Diaspora religions (e.g., Vodou, Santeria, Umbanda) and emphasizes the importance of philosophy and intellectualism to its adherents.

See also

• Azazel
• Cultural Satanism
• Devil
• LaVeyan Satanism
• Left Hand Path
• Luciferianism
• Order of Nine Angles

A modern interpretation of Azazel, from Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal (Paris,1825) This article is about the Biblical and post-Biblical character Azazel. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A modern interpretation of the devil, in red with goat like characteristics. ... LaVeyan Satanism is a religion based upon the philosophy of Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey as outlined in The Satanic Bible and other works. ... The Baphomet, symbol of some Left-Hand Path religions. ... Forms of Satanism LaVeyan Satanism | Luciferianism | Religious satanism | Sat/Tan Satanism | Setianism Associated Organizations Misanthropic Luciferian Order | Church of Satan | First Church of Satan | First Satanic Church | Order of Mars | Order of Nine Angles | Order of the Left Hand Path | Temple of Set Symbols and Figures Baphomet | Blanche Barton | Peggy... The Order of Nine Angles is a group of Satanists who believe that Satanism is a dark quest to create a new, higher, type of human being, and, ultimately, a new type of human society. ...

External links

• Articles and essays about Religious Satanism
• Theistic Satanism
• Theistic Satanism Site Map
• Joy of Satan