I’ve been reading about “Satanism” (or “Philosophical Satanism”) on the web, and have found that not only has it got nothing to do with the Devil per se, but that it looks right up my street!
Are there any “Church of Satan” (COS) members, or Satanists in general, on this forum, and if yes, could you tell me a bit about it and why you went for it?
Dr. Satanical
i used to be a follower of the First Church of Satan (one of many splinter groups), indeed, it was my stepping stone to nietzsche.
its just too ad hoc for my liking, so ill just stick with simple atheism and take the general attitude of confrontational hedonism. 
I know Satan pretty good. Something I could help you with? If you prefer talking to a representive of Satan…You may have to speak to a high up leader in the church though.
I swear we have talked about Satanism so many times here it should all be collaborated into one thread.
The origins of the term must be found to predate the religions documentation s in which they are used, or else the meaning of the term does not exceed the credibility of the metaphors as they are used to explicate the values. Which is to say, if one is discoursing about the nature of “Satanism” as it is espoused by Christianity, it doesn’t metter what other metaphorical interpretations exist elsewhere because all of them are of the same substance. What people fail to understand is that the very idea of the meaning you “have” of Satanism cannot go beyond what it is you have learned about Satanism, as of course at some point you didn’t know anything. These points are established is a contingent religious vocabulary, and therefore have no lasting metaphysical, philosophical, or scientific value. If, on the other hand, the idea wished to be portrayed in the literary use of the term “Satanism” can be rooted in a context that has no religious subtext, then it can be established as a real theory and not a pseudo-philosophy.
From here the subtle contradiction in the ideology can be found: it professes atheistic principles, or rather, it borrows the principles of atheism/nihilism from a senior philosophy (Nietzsche being a heavy influence, obviously…he was always used carelessly) and tries to exemplify those outside of the context set by the theme of the use of “Satanism” in the very religious text its was originated from. Conclusion- a religious ideology professing anti-religious sentiments.
In addition, the meaning of Satanism in its religious context always involves the inevitable loss and destruction of the evil of that pathos. Exercising a Satanist ideology is a bit sadistic, better, it is extremely illogical if it truely exists as a choice to be decided in contrast to the opposing ideology of what Satan does not represent. It amounts to a person who is under the impression that the etymology of the word is beyond the metaphorical subtext in which it is generated, as if it were anything but contingent, and the conscious effort to practice principles that are revealed to be evil at the end of time. What? Do you want to burn in hell for eternity? Are you mental?
But one shouldn’t have to go that far. Satanism is a goof. It cannot be anything more than a trend of pseudo-philosophy. And if it was, it wouldn’t be Satanism. It would be the pieces of the philosophies and term genealogies it borrowed from in its predecessors.
Satanism is bad reruns.
I think what hes trying to say is just be yourself.
I’m from the church of Appliantology, by L Ron Cupboard.
Our motto is “The earth created humans to get plastic.”
We buy and create household appliances to accommodate ourselves to modern economic living, therefore providing solutions for everyday problems. Eventually we hope to destroy the entire human race, at which point computers will run the world. Plastic and silicon are the divine substances and will be the final life-forms.
Its definately possible.
‘final’ - no. Next - probably. You with me? The indication would appear to be that plastic and silicon based life might be able to morph ‘beyond’ that. On the other hand we could just make improvements to these bodies, there are plenty of advantages to being a human.
Have you ever read Donna Haraway?
You forgot to add the offical church position on ‘modern consumerism’: “If it’s new for you, it’s new for you…”
James
I’ve read a little Donna Haraway for one of my classes. We are all cyborgs!! Yeah!! I always wanted to be a cyborg. Or a Borg from Star Trek. Or in bed with Seven of Ni…err, yes, I’ve always wanted to be a cyborg… 
James
Hi.
I am a member of the CoS, although I have grown in a bit of a different direction than they, so I am not active in their organization any longer.
I do however, still consider myself a Satanist.
From my childhood I always saw things from a different perspective than most. Always an atraction to the ‘dark’ side. A preference for cold hard reality to sugar coated fantasy. A disdain for all things ‘metaphysical’ and ‘spiritual’ A drive to get to the bottom of things, while others were satisfied with peripheral knowledge.
The day I read the Satanic bible I realized my personality type had been given a label, coined if you will. I read it and saw myself there.
After much introspection I realized I was a Satanist, and always had been.
It’s really that simple. If TSB resonates with you as if it were your own thoughts, you are probably a Satanist. If you have to struggle to understand what LaVey was going on about, you aren’t.
To de’trop.
Your contention that it isn’t a real philosophy because it is built of others is kinda silly. No philosophy is born in a void.
Also, your contradiction about Satanism being an anti religion religion is only a paradox until you consider the distinction of ‘spirituality’ Satanism isn’t ‘anti-religion’, but it IS the worlds only ‘carnal’ religion, which stands juxtaposed to ‘spiritual’ religions.
I still stick to the theory that the “true” satan is the hacker trying to introduce his program into God’s robots. To steal them…or get worship from them…I have no clue.
Dr. S, what would you do if you found out satan was a prophet doing his job, updating the robots program?
Would you be sore at him?
What do you want Satan to be? What is YOUR idea of a God?
Please don’t think I am attacking you or your beliefs…I just want to understand why you feel the way you do. Maybe you are right…
Enlighten me please.
I know, if Seven of Nine is the future of womankind then we’re going to be having a lot of fun in the years to come…
There is no such thing as a literal physical Satan. It is a concept, an archtype.
The closest thing to a ‘god’ in my life is…Me…so I fill that role for myself.
Thanks for replies.
Judas I.
Yes, I probably will end up contacting one of the officials, although whether or not I actively do anything in RL will be another matter.
détrop
That’s an interesting idea (and one I’ve had myself ). Something I’d add to that is that our “distorted” spacetime-based way of perceiving the universe could well be improved on by future artificial lifeforms, thus giving them a “better” window on the world than us.
Dr.Satanical
Same here!
The thing I like about Satanism (insofar as I understand it) is that it’s very similar to the position I’m at due to my own unguided thinking. The ideas of following one’s own instinctive morality and of unashamedly acknowledging that one is at the centre of one’s own universe (and therefore the most important thing in it) strike a chord with me.
When you say you’ve gone in a different direction, do you mean you don’t adhere to the letter to what they say (I don’t either) or that there’s something you believe that’s fundamentally at-odds with them?
I’m keen to get my hands on a copy of LeVey’s bible!
Dr.LaVey held the position that ‘Satanists are born, not made’. This means that Satanists are not converts, but rather have found a religion/philosophy that fits what they already are.
Read the Satanic bible. It is a short read, you can do it in an hour or two. It costs about 10 bucks.
It may change your life.
It changed mine.
As for me and the CoS…
Since the death of Dr. LaVey, they have gone in a different direction. They focus too heavily on the ‘legality’ of things, and though I am no criminal, I find shaping your morality around an ever changing man made system of law to be rather constraining.
Also, I really dislike the fact that now, anyone with 200 bones can join. Back in the day they actually screened for quality, but now it is just a cash cow for peter gilmore and his cohorts.
I am sure captain hook is disappointed…
27 bones in the hand, that means he only has (at most) 179…
-Imp
Heh
IMP for president!
How does this qualify as philosophy?
At best it’s religious, more along the lines of dubious and ignominious. LOL