Re-Defining Satanism

The slogan "Evil is Live spelt backwards" was effective (though "Devil" on the same principle put us in the past tense) but its shock value and therefore usefulness has long since receded. It is now counter-productive if being evil is regarded as a necessary qualification to be a follower of the Left Hand Path. So let us relegate that myth to the junk-heap, along with the other nonsense about Satanism being an offshoot of Christianity (even the Christians' bible testifies against that).

Satanism is no longer a hook upon which the unenlightened can hang their guilt complexes. Two thousand years of being the "scapegoat" has inevitably left us on the defensive. In any statements for public consumption, we have expanded too much time ands energy in explaining what we are not, and this preponderance of the negative has created a void rather than a valid exegesis. Now we are once again being accused of sacrificing babies and indulging in illegal sexual acts. People assume that we gain some advantage by so doing, though no-one has ever detailed how such acts could increase Knowledge, and Knowledge is what Satanists are seeking.

Orthodoxy substitutes Faith for Knowledge. No-one can form an objective judgment without experience, but experience is forbidden to the followers of establishment religions. Belief is demanded. Centuries ago, this may have been a useful contribution to the stabilisation of Society (though the excesses of the Inquisition and similar efforts in all European countries and their colonies give rise to some doubt about this method being justified).

However, in the present day, it is illogical to think that the survival of nations and alliances would be affected by people's belief or lack of belief in any religious system. Freedom is today's demand, and freedom of thought is one of the essential liberties.

Probably the greatest question on Earth is the inescapable fact of death. Freed from the tenets of orthodoxy and its improbable placebos, we want to know what really happens when our mortal body ceases to function. We also wish to learn how to become more effective whilst on Earth, how to achieve in many ways. Myths and legends do not interest us. We are concerned with Reality. We want to know. These four words summarise the satanic quest.

We do not believe that some mysterious and awesome deity (whether or not he has horns and a tail) is going to hand us that Knowledge in return for our allegiance (or that problematic entity the "soul"). Knowledge is achieved by learning, working, experimenting, experiencing and thinking. That is why the orthodox religions fulminate against us, because they are aware of the insecure foundations of their own dogma. It is our existence that threatens them.

Faith is the true evil. Blind, unquestioning faith in a religion or a cause has made men go to war, commit unspeakable acts of persecution and terrorism against other human beings. The Satanist does not offer such allegiance. It is his principle to ask "Why?" One little word that could shatter empires. No wonder they are so afraid of us.

Anonymous article taken from the Dark Lily Journal No 8, Society of Dark Lily (London 1989).