'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