Theistic Satanism

A friend who is as close as family asked me what Theistic Satanism meant recently and I've been struggling to put it into words. She's a devout Christian and this is obviously not an easy subject to go into with someone who is that spiritually far away. But I'm going to try. I apologize in advance for any erroneous or incomplete information. I am far from an expert in this area and learn a lot as time goes on. I also do not intend to come up with an exhaustive list of every kind of Theistic Satanist on the planet. There's almost as many different beliefs as there are practitioners.

In it's absolute most basic form, Theistic Satanism believes in a power they call "Satan" as real, an existing being, a divinity of some sort. This differs from Non-Theistic Satanism which is essentially worship of the self. It is usually associated with the Church of Satan founded by Anton Szandor LaVey. He thought of Satan as a force or symbol of man's inner nature. Theistic Satanists view their Satan as real, outside themselves.

The most commonly thought of Satanists are the types seen in movies and in some metal bands that pretend to be Satanic to shock people. These are the people who claim that Satan really is a fallen angel, all that God calls evil is actually good, and that Satan will rise again and, despite being an angel created by this All-Powerful Lord will somehow actually defeat Him. The number of Theistic Satanists who fall into this category is allegedly rather small, done on the amount of research I've done into it. Most other Theistic Satanists, while believing in things that would be blasphemous to Christians don't give the Judeo-Christian God the importance to declare Him the actual "Creator" of Satan.

There are some who believe Satan and God are equal or nearly equal forces fighting some cosmic battle. I do not know much about this form of belief so I will not go heavily into it. I do not know what these people actually feel God and Satan represent.

Then there are the Satanists who believe Satan is a God or one of a number of Gods and Goddesses in a more pagan fashion. They may practice magic or perform other rituals. They may take him to be the horned God that predates most, if not all, other religions in Western Civilization. He represents sexuality and freedom and can give power to His disciples. He may be worshiped and prayed to and, in some cases, other Gods and/or Goddesses are also worshiped and prayed to.

Then there is one I have done some research on and have figured some things out about. The things I say here do not hold true for all followers of this branch. They may each have their own definitions. It is a Satanism based on Gnosticism. It was not uncommon for Gnostics, Christian and otherwise, to believe that the God of the Old Testament was a being called the Demiurge. Not a true God. A being who elevated Himself to the position of sole God and enslaved humanity and introduced all the horrors of life into the world. A Gnostic Satanist may see the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve as a bringer of knowledge and as freeing them from the ignorance the Demiurge intended to keep them in. Some believe serpent/Satan/what have you, is the true Son of or the actual manifestation of the True God who lies behind the Demiurge and wants freedom and insight and wisdom from humankind. To free us from the bonds of moral codes and servitude to a being who cursed us all to die someday and threatened us with the torments of the damned if we did not follow Him. This is not comprehensive. I'm sure every Gnostic Satanist would have a different spin on it. However, this is a taste of what some of them may believe. It is the area I find myself closest to in my personal life.

Another aspect of my own personal belief is that the Mystical Nihilist Void that contains some kind of Consciousness beyond the ken of any mortal is that the Void itself is Satan and that our consciousness dissolves in Him when we die. Why do I call it Satan? The negation of all the things we've been told through the centuries about God and what He wants and demands from us. Do I like to shock people? Partially. I like to shock people into thinking about why they believe what they do. I want to shock people into seeing things in a different light. But it's not all shock value. It's a purging. I was brought up in a very Catholic household, at least after my father left. My mom was in church every week, I was even an (unmolested) altar boy for a good long time. And I asked a lot of questions. And the answers to those questions stuck in my mind. And a few times over the years, I drifted back to various forms of Christianity and eventually the same doubts and questions and inconsistencies drove me away again. So, it is a catharsis. To use the name Satan, to brand an upside down cross into my left bicep, to reject, not God as such, but God as the Judeo-Christian tradition, followed by Islam, has portrayed Him, is a much-needed release of spiritual energy that would otherwise be spent in meaningless battles with Christians over their beliefs. Instead, I can believe things are very opposite from what a Christian believes but still be able to have Christian friends, because my utter rejection of their concept of God means that their beliefs are no longer a threat to me. I can listen to them, understand what they say, what they do, why they do it, love them as people, and not need to feel the burning desire to drag them kicking and screaming away from Christ. I am my own personal Antichrist. That's valid for my life and my life alone and that is enough for me. One spirit is enough for me to worry about.

I am still doing research. I asked a member of a black metal band, Infernus of Gorgoroth, what his take on Gnostic Satanism was. He hasn't responded yet, don't know if he will, but if he gives me any insights and I think they would add to this post and I get his permission to post them, I will update later. It may be quite a shock to some people to discover that someone who embraces Satanism can be a kind, friendly, loving person who tries his best to harm no one. Christians have long declared that good behavior can only come from their God. I believe what Christians term "morals" are just the wisdom implanted in humans either divinely or genetically or both to attempt to guide us away from completely destroying ourselves. They are guidelines. The guidelines change. Seek freedom, seek knowledge, seek to break free of your bonds. That is how I try to live my life.