Normalizing Satanism in Public

Conn 7

Normalizing Satanism in Public

The satanic panic
was caused by religious superstition, which caused a lot of fear over
simple and insignificant things. The fear was so normalized that
churches, a place that claims to spread love and accept others,
closed their doors to whole families simply because their child
played board games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Ouija boards, and
their justification was that it was centered around magic. This and
many other examples are why Anton and LaVey said that the church was
corrupt, which inspired him to form the Church of Satan. Many people
think satanism is about devil worship and human sacrifice; however,
these are nothing more than dramatics used by Hollywood and
fearmongering that has been spread by the church. To add to this, the
symbolism used in satanism has origins from many faiths and cultures,
such as the pentagram; however, it's considered satanic by a large
portion of the world, Which has led to it losing its meaning. To
understand why satanism should be normalized, one should know what
satanism is about, the meaning and history of its symbolizing, and
what benefits it'll bring to people.

The term satanism is
described as worship of Satan and accusations of devil worshiping can
be seen throughout most of Christian history, but most of these
accusations have no reality to them. Christians view Satan as an
angel who has rebelled against god. This view is not biblical and was
mostly created by a broad acceptance from Christians. Satan was
considered as a ruler of demons, which is what Christian's blamed
for the worship of non-Abrahamic deities, which they called pagans.
However, by the Middle Ages pagan faiths were no longer an adversary
to Christianity and the church would later attempt to drive people
away from other practices. They began to accuse groups that were
heretical, according to the Roman and orthodox churches, of actively
worshiping Satan, committing sexual orgies, and child sacrifice.
These groups were mostly Jews, or other Christian practices such as
paulicians, waldenses, bongo mills, Cathari, etc and called them
satanists or satanic. Until recently, the terms "satanist" and
"satanic" were mostly used by Christian churches to justify
persecuting other religious groups, primarily during the inquisition,
satanic panics, which hysteria such as the Salem witch trials, and
other similar events. Satanism was not a real organized religion
until the forming of the Church of Satan during the 1960s. The church
was founded by a musician and former carnival worker named Anton
LaVey, who held night classes about the occult. If someone is
interested in joining satanism, they should look into the differences
in the different types of satanism, atheistic and theistic. Theistic
satanism is the less common and has no notable organization,
furthermore they see Satan/Lucifer as a being they wish to worship or
work with. On the other hand, atheistic satanists view Satan as a
symbol and not a real entity, it's the most common form of satanism
and has two notable organizations, the Church of Satan and The
Satanic Temple. The Satanic temple doesn't have any sacred books
like the satanic bible and they don't follow the satanic bible or
the teachings of Anton LeVay. The Satanic Temple's guidelines
differ greatly then what other organization follows. Their guidelines
are called "The Seven Fundamental Tenets". The Church of Satan
has a couple of books to help people understand what satanism is
about. Their most known book is "The Satanic Bible" but
the church also recommends "The Satanic Witch", The
Satanic Rituals", "The Devil's Notebook", and
"Satan Speaks". The church of Satan's guidelines are
labeled as "The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth." Satanism does
not see Satan as an entity but instead as a symbol. The Nine Satanic
Statements says Satan represents indulgence, vital existence,
undefined wisdom, kindness to those who deserve it, vengeance,
responsibility to the responsible, man as just an animal, and all the
so-called sins. Satanists do not worship the same way most people
worship, nor do they view the title of god the same way. In satanic
philosophy, the individual is the highest power in one's own life,
and therefore they see themselves as their own god. The rituals and
practices of satanism are mostly used for self-help and doesn't
include any sexual events or sacrifices.

The most recognized
symbols used by satanists is Baphomet, which is depicted as a human
body with the head of a goat and wings. In the 11th century the first
known mention of Baphomet was made by Anselm of Ribemt in a letter
during the first crusade, and he claimed that the Turks called loudly
upon Baphomet which is believed to be a change of "Mahomet" or
Muhammad. In 1307 the Templar's that resided in France were arrested
by the command of Philip IV under the accusations that the Templar
were worshiping Baphomet. Freemasons were falsely accused of
worshiping Baphomet in the 19th century. The symbolism and imagery of
Baphomet was made by iphas Li which, in his book The
Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic, is described as a winged
hermaphrodite Human figure with the feet and head of a goat which is
surrounded by esoteric symbols which he described to represent
duality. Another popular symbol that is regularly associated with
satanism is the pentagram and pentacle. The pentagram is a five
pointed star and is usually made with one continuous line, while the
pentacle is simply a pentagram with a circle encompassing it. The
meaning of both symbols has changed erratically throughout history
and cultures. Some Greeks used the pentagram as a symbol of
Pythagoras who was a mathematician and philosopher, it represented
health and knowledge. In middle age Europe it was a symbol of the
five knightly virtues, while in other places and cultures it
represented magic and protection. In some Christian practices, the
pentagram represents the five wounds of Jesus. The list of symbolism
and meaning of the pentagram goes on and on for thousands of years.
In modern day, it's used in many kinds of cultures for symbolism
and representation of many things.

One major reason
that satanism should be normalized is the amount of threats and hate
crimes that satanists deal with on a regular basis. On April eighth,
Sean Patrick Palmer was arrested for throwing a pipe bomb at the
Satanic Temple headquarters and a handwritten message was Left saying
"Elohim send me 7 months ago to give you peaceful message to hope
you repent. You say no, Elohim now send me to smite Satan and I happy
to obey." . Seven months earlier, the Headquarters was vandalized
with bible verses in white paint. This is not the only incident that
has occurred, A man was arrested in January for plotting to bomb the
temple and in June 2022 a man was arrested for starting a fire at the
temple. This has become such a common occurrence that the locals have
become paranoid of the dangers to themselves and not just the temple.
One local said, "I'm just annoyed that the next door neighbors
can't be left alone? They're nice people." Another said, "every
few months. Bomb threats called, authorities come, and it just
creates a lot of chaos." Satanism is a recognized religion and has
the same legal protections as other religions and is allowed to be
displayed in public places however many states have banned symbolism
that is considered "satanic" this includes symbols that have
origins and meanings outside of satanism, such as the pentagram. This
means that those who wish to wear a pentagram can not do so, even if
it's for religion or simply just for aesthetics. A lot of hatred
towards the religion and symbols is due to ignorance and aftermath of
the satanic panic. People to this day still accuse groups of satanic
rituals and devil worship even if they have nothing to do with
satanism, such as those that fight for LGBTQ rights. Nicholas Rossi
posted videos that accused Mike Leavitt and his wife of not just
participating but leading a cult of ritual sex abuse. Many people
still believe that devil worshipers would hide as trusted members of
a community and would look for children to abuse and sacrifice,
however there is no evidence to support these claims.

Normalizing satanism
will help to tear walls that our ancestors have built. The philosophy
of satanism is not to cause harm, the meaning of the symbols that are
used do not promote any kind of evil, and it'll allow for people to
feel safe within their own communities, and it will remove fear that
has been spread over the years. It will require at least some action
to allow this to happen but that doesn't mean that people have to
protest, however if people would simply do their research, wear
so-called satanic symbols and have an open mind it will help to
remove the negative outlook on the religion. Simply read the Satanic
Bible by Anton LeVay and expand your knowledge.

Works Cited

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