'The Satanic Temple' and Other Losers, Tainting the Devil's Name

There's been a lot of coverage across various media platforms over the last several days pertaining to groups, or in some cases individuals, claiming to be Satanists (in one case presented in this blog it was actually someone else labelling someone, but they had the decency to clarify the contrary). This is serious business, and while most Satanists would simply ignore it and continue on with their lives, these matters cannot be ignored and must be addressed.

First on the list is this pseudo-Satanist group called 'The Satanic Temple'. From what I can gather, they operate out of New York and do various protests and such around the country. Their most recent news debaucle was for desecrating the grave of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps' mother. You can read the article here. They performed what they call a 'Pink Mass' in which same sex couples made out over the grave stone and some even rubbed their genitals on it. Their 'logic' behind it was to turn Phelps' dead mother gay in counter-protest to the WBC's plans to protest the funerals of the victims of the Boston marathon bombing. Not only is that idea retarded it gives Satanism a bad name because the masses don't know any better, so by reading this garbage they are not only confusing this for Satanism, they are also under the impression that this is what we do with our free time.

This is not Satanism, and these are not Satanists. The Church of Satan issued a statement on their News page clearly disassociating these people with Satanism, explaining that by aping the douchebaggery of Christian extremists one only reduces themselves to a similar level of douchebaggery. There are a lot of people out there who don't seem to understand that there are no 'sects' to Satanism as there are with Christianity, you either are or aren't a Satanist. The only way to know is to read The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey, who founded The Church of Satan in April of 1966. LaVey codified and defined Satanism nearly 50 years ago, subsequently calling "dibs". Despite what many think, there were no self-labelled groups or religions prior to 1966 named Satanism. It never existed. The tenets and philosophy are spelled out more than adequately in the various publications of our Membership.

Now on to the next recent example of assholes riding LaVey's coattails. Comedy Central recently aired a special that was intended to appeal to Satanists by interviewing a Satanist, then using the material to create a comedic special. The problem is, they forgot to interview a Satanist. Instead they interviewed some guy named Zach, an ex-CoS member and founder of a group called the Satanic International Network (SIN). This guy's claim to fame is YouTube, where he started as a CoS member talking about Satanism, but eventually outted himself as an asshole. One of the 11 Rules of the Earth (which is mentioned in this material) states "If a guest in your lair disrespects you, treat them cruelly and without mercy". In one of his YouTube videos, he talks about an encounter where he trespasses on LaVey's property and is seemingly surprised when he is threatened to leave. His renouncing of CoS membership is also on YouTube. He's one of a few that went off to found their own organization (read: "website") after LaVey's death.

For whatever reason, some people seem to think that the transition of control within the Church of Satan had nothing to do with LaVey. They're wrong. I've gotten to know some of the folks back at HQ in some capacity or another and to think that this wasn't planned is foolish. That is far more revealling of the person who left's character than one might think. I've been a member of the Church of Satan for seven years and can say they've been the best seven years of my life. It's like a massive brain trust for those who are willing to utilize it, and the results speak for themselves.

Moving on to case #3: The LA Times covered this case where a man was sentenced for brutally killing his mother. Throughout the proceedings the prosecution decided to throwback to the days of the Satanic Panic and accuse this guy of human ritualistic sacrifice. Thankfully the defense attorney has some sense and clearly pointed out that the prosecution was playing to an outdated notion and that Satanism has 'renounced human sacrifice'. We never, in the 50 years this religion has been going, condoned human sacrifice, but hey at least he pointed out the flawed logic. Satanism is a secularist philosophy that supports self exploration and gratification so long as it hurts no one.

It scares me that people still prescribe to these archaic lines of thought. As a Satanist (born, not made) I cannot stand by and tolerate these media indiscretions, especially when they occur so frequently. Please, when in doubt, always return to the Source.

Hail Satan!

Mister 47
Satanist 1st Degree
Citizen of the Infernal Empire

What to expect for XLVIII AS

As I mentioned previously, I became recognized as an Active member of the Church of Satan and by rights am recognized as a true Satanist by the tenets and philosophy of The Satanic Bible. This is a great honor, and I intend to keep the steam rolling so here is a short itinerary to get the wheels going.

First off, I need to mention that my Macbook recently suffered a sad demise, which means I have to get a new one. This will be quite a costly setback and to compound things further, has left me with no means to produce art by my normal standards as a digital artist.

But fear not, for being the ever resourceful artist, scholar, and Satanist that I am I have managed to cook up a rather entertaining contingency to hold everyone over until I can get back to working on my graphic novel and the many other projects that were powered by Mac.

June XLVIII A.S. - Revive the "My Little Baphy" prototype and continue working on it.

During college, I constructed a toy prototype that I jokingly called "My Little Baphy". It was a toy that juxtaposed "My Little Pony" with Satanic imagery. Below is an in progress photo along with the finished prototype.

I will be creating a series of these toys, and selling them when they are finished. Each one will be a different type of creature and will be named after various figures of Satanic imagery (Lucifer, Belial, Mephistopheles, etc). The process is entirely done by hand with a blank base doll, wire, scrap materials, and Sculpee. The finished piece is then treated with acrylic paint.

August XLVIII A.S. - Collect principle imagery for J.C. and Stan, continue production for Draven: The Vampire Chronicle.

By this time I should be on a new Macbook, so I will be back to working on my comics, both graphic and web. Pandora's Soap Box is planned to have more episodes, though the main focus for web comics will be to launch J.C. and Stan: The College Years. J.C. and Stan is a web comic I've been developing in my notebooks for awhile. It is a sort of modern interpretation of Paradise Lost
 with my own little twists added for fun. The essential idea is that it is an allegorical following Jesus and Satan as modern day college students, and roommates.

Next on the agenda will be to continue pushing Draven. I was in pre-production for the next set of pages when my Macbook met its unfortunate end, so I will be picking up where I left off when all is well again.

October XLVIII A.S.

I'm planning special Halloween promotionals, though all the details are still being worked out and will be given as they develop. It will be a tremendous amount of work and fun.


More to come. Ever forward!

HS!

Mister 47
Citizen of the Infernal Empire

Active Membership in the CoS

I received notice recently that I am being approved for Active Membership in the Church of Satan. This is a great recognition. For those outside of the Church or Satanism in general, the Church recognizes members by two types: Registered and Active. Registered members are people who have opted the join the organization, with no real requirements for membership. Active members are people who are actively involved in the Church, local members, and the philosophy of Satanism.

Active membership is divided into five degrees. More information on membership status can be read at the source. So after many years of networking and putting together my own projects and building my own path, I have been recognized by the Church as a Satanist First Degree.

This is only the beginning...

I have many plans for the future, and I assure those reading this that things have only begun.

HS!

~Mr 47