From a Protestant's standpoint, in Lutheran Catechism, which is a class you take to become a member of the church when you're about 14 or so, we cover evil and Satan. This is a good link.
http://www.lifeoftheworld.com/believe/waangels.php
It mentions passages that explain Satan's pride made him hostile to the idea of following God. It also explains that Satan to this day knows he is defeated and will suffer and is just trying to drag as many humans as he can down with him. He's not the powerful leader of hell you see in movies and tv. He's a defeated creature who knows his time is limited, so he tries to make everyone as condemned as he is by tempting them to go against God too.
So I'm pretty sure Catholics and Protestants are basically agreed in their views of what Satan is and how he operates.
Originally posted by XvampbenjiiX666
The meaning of lifeIf you are his minion then it is the purpose of your life to serve him. It is a divine calling, and it is a mundane calling. Divinity and mundane life become one and balanced when you use all of the talents you were given in life to serve Satan. And what higher purpose could their be? Our work is holy, that wich is done in the name of Satan. It is not so much an evangelistic calling, for there is nothing more worthless than a bum on the street that preaches to you of the values of Christ. Rather it is that you project the will and energy of Satan in all things that you do, and as others observe you the black energy of the master will manifest in their hearts.
Hope
When there is no hope of redemption, seek peace in vengeance. It is not the will of Satan that you suffer for the actions of others, it is a test of you character. Rise up and bury your enemy in his own blood. If not, do not succumb yourself to the weakness of human emotional dispair. Let the strength of Satan be with you and move through you in every day that you live and all actions that you do. He is always closer than you think.
Dawn of the New Satanism
We are standing in the first lights of the infernal dawn of the New Satanism. The Church of Satan and Anton Lavey's Satanism are not but products of 20th century culture. What did LaVey promise us at the end of his Satanic Rituals Book? That by the year 2001 Reason would triumph over radical religion and the Church of Satan would be at the center of this new age of reason. He was as wrong as he is dead! 2001 brought the global religious war of the Motheists to its pinnacle as thousands died at the hands of Muslim extremists. The world is in flames, a clash of religions bathing in more blood than even the Crusades of the Middle ages. And where is the Church of Satan? They can only cower and hang their heads in embarassment. If they were the only Satanism then Satanism would be as good as dead. Their weakness and intellectual idealism sickens me. I implore you to truncate these wretches at every turn. I predict that the Church of Satan will completley cease to exist by the year 2020 if not earlier. They never were a Satan Worshiper religion, and their philosophy of humanism is obsolete in the world we live in today.
And so was formed CATHEDRAL OF THE BLACK GOAT. The religion of the warriors of lord Satan. Unabashedly forged of iron will, servants of Satan to death. It is the only Satanism that will survive as those who are without make war around us.
Hails belong to Satan Alone!
All these words, 'satan', 'church' 'cathedral' only have meaning in relation to Christianity. Satanism is therefore compltely reliant on Christianity for its existance.
Not just on Christianity, but Judiasm and Islam too.
Originally posted by lil bitchiness
All these words, 'satan', 'church' 'cathedral' only have meaning in relation to Christianity. Satanism is therefore compltely reliant on Christianity for its existance.Not just on Christianity, but Judiasm and Islam too.
Well, his idea of Satanism is basically a sort of counter Christianity. I wouldn't say that it is more dependant on Christianity as it is vice versa, but they have a connection.
Words like Satan, Cathedral and church on the other hand are entirely independent from Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Originally posted by willofthewisp
I'm not saying that American Jews, Muslims, etc should or do celebrate Christmas. I fully understand how left out those people can be at that time of year, having Jewish acquaintances from college who were disappointed they weren't going home for Hanukkah but were going home later for no reason that was relevent to them. What I was saying is that people who never go to church, never pray, and never even think about God celebrate Christmas and Easter in spite of the fact that Jesus' birth and subsequent resurrection play a miniscule part in their lives, if at all. It's the commercialism of both that make it pretty much secular for those people.
not specifically disallowing people to participate in the overwhelmingly pervasive public holiday does not a secular holiday make
and ya, capitalism doesn't negate religion... unless of course you have the Christian perspective 😉 (re: you no longer have the monopoly)
No one is making the claim capitalism negates religion. The entire reason I brought up Christmas in the first place was to ask a particular satanist how he regards that time of year. I'd rather we get back on topic now that I got my answer straight from the horse's mouth, which is a figure of speech and not meant to be condescending.
Satanism is so foreign to me that I really wanted to delve in and see what makes it so appealing to some people and what their particular doctrines are. Since xvamp said he needed time before answering my question, I'll pose it to anyone.
I think it's basically a teenage search for individuality for most people. I remember when I was about 14-16 I was obsessed with the idea of being different, though the nearest I got to satanism was reading about Anton Levay in Marilyn Manson's biography.
As for real satanists - I doubt there are that many about, at all. Also, they probably praise satan in more of Romantic sense, not all the shit that Xvamp's going on about.