So this guy is the founder of the Church of Satan
Yes, that is for real, their silly 90s retro homepage. As a kid I was really scared of this guy and of satan worshippers. For some reason I had the impression they were all over kenmore west. I think it was because lots of kids in the 80s wanted to be "satan worshippers" to rebel and I was young and impressionable enough to believe they were. A visit to the old train tracks near military on the border between kenmore and riverside would convince you.
Then there was the whole drama with John Justice killing his family and everyone blaming it on dungeons and dragons and satan worshipping. Clearly, he was just disturbed.
John Justice, 17, of Kenmore, N.Y. on September 16, 1985 murdered his brother Mark, 13, stabbing him eight times, then killed his mother Mary, stabbing her 14 times. He then drove and picked up his father John, Sr., took him home and stabbed him four times. He then attempted to kill himself, slashing his forearms. He drove off and had a car accident, killing Wayne Haub,22. He reportedly was a devotee of Dungeons and Dragons and very angry with his mother. Some report he was into teen satanic cult and sacrificed his family on his dungeon master's orders. His parents fought frequently. John had developed an obsession with killing well before the massacre(Buffalo News 9/17/85 and People Magazine).
Anyhow, maybe the whole satan worshipping thing was a joke. As an adult, satan worshippers seem kind of funny, like "leather daddies mixed with ritual" And the fact that LaVey was a circus act to start just adds to it. Its hard to retroactively see what was acting and what was seriousness.
Another interesting tidbit is that the satanic bible and a lot of his writing were rumored to be inspired by Ayn Rand.
LaVey has stated that his religion was "just Ayn Rand's philosophy, with ceremony and ritual added",[9] though many say that he should be given credit for his creative synthesis of the thought of others into what has become the most influential statement of modern Satanism.
I also found it ironic he died in a catholic hospital. That must have been a scene. I wonder if it is as much of a nightmare for a satan worshipper to die in a catholic hospital as it is for a catholic to die in a satanic hospital (if they existed).
So then what does it generally boil down to? Not totally sure but after watching the video below, I realized they are actually atheists putting on a show - for some sort of emotional release. Wow, that seems like such a serious waste of time. All of the ritual and pomp of religion without any of the afterlife rewards.
So then there is there new spokesmen
The Video
And here it is with the horses mouth. As soon as this Mr. Lispy Lisp said, "going into a theatrical space", and "magically appropriate" I realized that in fact it is very much like the "leather daddies." Its interesting to see they don't believe in the spiritual aspects of it. I guess it is very much a theatrical joke.
Even Sammy Davis junior was a member. So not only was he a rare black/jew combo. He is an even rarer black/jew/satan worshipping combo.
Beliefs of the Church Of Satan
Wikipedia boiled their philosophy down to a few tenants that I think shed some light
Some of them are totally ridiculous. I think my favorite is "Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal." I guess I don't understand what the penalty is. I guess there isn't after watching the video.
The Nine Satanic Statements
The Nine Satanic Statements outline what "Satan" represents in the Church of Satan.
Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.
Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams.
Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit.
Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.
Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.
Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires.
Satan represents us humans as mere animals, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of our "divine spiritual and intellectual development," have become the most vicious animals of all.
Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, having kept it in business all these years!
The Nine Satanic Sins
Stupidity
Pretentiousness
Solipsism
Self-deceit
Herd Conformity
Lack of Perspective
Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies
Counterproductive Pride
Lack of Aesthetics
The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth
Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
When in another's lair, show them respect or else do not go there.
If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat them cruelly and without mercy.
Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
Do not harm little children.
Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they don't stop, destroy them.
don't kill non-human animals unless they attack you. Guess human animals can be killed without reason.
I have to say this is one of the most interesting posts I've read in some time. Assuming what they are saying is really the truth to them it sounds a lot better then a lot of other faiths. I'm not saying I'm going to join.
Those seem like a fairly good set of rules. Summing up they seem to say: "Mind your own business". I say that's better than most other overzealous nose-pokey "religions".