A Matter of Sacrifice

Back in the late 80's and early 90's a phenomena we now call "The Satanic Panic" had gripped middle America in a vice of fear. Geraldo and the supermarket tabloids made sure that each and every American was well aware that there was a Satanist under every rock, and that they were so bloodthirsty that is would be downright uncommon to not have a baby kidnapped and devoured, whether you lived in Nebraska or Los Angeles. So convinced were people that an entire industry thrived for well over a decade on the fear and dollars of the masses. And almost as fast as it started, for a variety of sociological reasons, it ended, leaving only the shattered lives of the falsely accused and blameless.

Satanism, however, began to thrive in the post-Panic age. The internet allowed people from all areas and walks of life to learn about the Satanic religion from Satanists, as opposed to those with a vested interest in defaming them. Methods of communication, and the speed at which relationships could grow encouraged a generation of smart kids and young adults to join the established Satanic clergy in a religious renaissance. When the Church of Satan survived the death of it's founder, Anton Szandor LaVey in 1997, and in fact grew even larger under new High Priest Peter Gilmore, it became obvious that the birth pangs of the new religion of Satanism were over. Today, with members all over the world, the Church of Satan's only real problems are the misconceptions some strill hold, and the ultimate thorn in a Satanist's side, Christian Heretics who worship a literal devil, and attempt to call themselves Satanists.

To put it plainly, Satanists are aggravated that the pastors and ministers, the priests and the evangelists are actually the people creating these heretical devil worshipers, and yet Satanists are those who pay for the actions of those they consider vermin. They find it most annoying that Christianity creates these malcontents, and then treat them less well than bastard children when they end up doing something heinous and illegal--which is exactly what they heard from the pulpit Satanists do. The problem is that Satanists do virtually nothing they are accused of from those pulpits. Despite the allegations of desperate ministers Satanism has far more rules and far less forgiveness than Christianity.

Imagine you are a bored kid in church. Life is dull, church is dull, at least until the man starts talking about the dangers of the occult and Satanism. Orgies. Candles. Chanting. Sacrifice. Well, that certainly has a bit more romance than godliness, doesn't it? And really, the devil in the Bible has ten times the charisma than anyone else in the entire book! Once the pastor starts equating Satanism with rock and roll,. gluttony and violence, he has practically handed the kid a license to sin.

So now we have a phenomena that is actually as dangerous, albeit much, much smaller in scale, as perceived during the Satanic Panic. We have Christian Devil Worshipers who call themselves Traditional Satanists, or Spiritual Satanists. The Church of Satan refuses to acknowledge these inverse Christians as Satanists at all. Nothing about them is in accordance with Satanic dogma, and genuine Satanists regard them with all the fondness one reserves for car salesmen or bill collectors.

Satanists are operational atheists. This means they either believe in no gods, devils, demons, angels or hobbits, at all, or that they believe if anyone supernatural exists, they are clearly uninterested in the travails of mankind. Satan is merely an archetype, a religious metaphor adopted by the Satanist. Devil worshipers believe in a literal Satan, as put forth by the Holy Bible. Satanists identify themselves as their own god, acknowledging that they alone are responsible for themselves. Devil worshipers actually pray to and ask for assistance from Satan. Satanists are commanded, religiously, to be law-abiding. Devil worshipers see acts of crime as a part of exalting their negative god.

Satanists operate knowing that without god forms there is no need for any sort of literal sacrifice. More importantly children particularly revered in the Satanic religion. The prohibition against hurting them has no exceptions, and hunting for food is the only pass for hurting an animal for a religious Satanist. These Christian heretics, from all their years in church, have been fed a steady diet of Hollywood-esque sacrifice. They use their belief in this Christianized view of Satanism to support their already existant sociopathy and hurt animals.

There are other ways to differentiate a Satanist from a devil worshiper. Few are the Satanists who dress all in black, and most would sooner be shot than be caught wearing a heavy metal t-shirt outside of their homes. Satanists refuse to recruit or attempt to convert others, while devil worshipers firmly believe in joining together---another obvious latent aspect of their inherent Christianity. Mostly, devil worshipers do the one thing that a true Satanist would never do, they get on the knees before a god form. The Satanist always takes personal responsibility for his actions, no god to thank, no devil to blame.

The solution is obvious. If mainstream clergy would just read The Satanic Bible instead of feeding into every gross and dangerous stereotype there is, less heretics would be created. More over the clergy might find something they find even more scary than sacrifices and orgies---a religion where people take personal responsibility and have no use for god.