Ok Gear88 here we go. I'm just going to cherry pick from you to answer as best I can. Thanks again for the in depth thoughts. sorry for the long wait for a direct reply.
In fact you stated a few things that some of these guys do it just for shits and giggles. And the question that pops into my head is "Why do something a so-called ritual if it has absolutely no bearing nor desire". In other words "Why bother doing it at all" "Why be in this religion".
I will readily admit the thought that has popped into my mind a ultra atheistic thought is a atheist special is "Why bother being in a religion and not enjoying your life and having freedom" "Why be in something that does absolutely nothing".
Beyond all else in both of your posts, these two comments are at the crux of the problem outside of the JoS, and most other theistic groups. Thus why I would like to tackle this topic first.
You make a solid point. why bother with a religion or having one, if you don't feel it in your bones. if it doesn't give you any motivation to get out of bed in the mornings, to be creative, or just in general be a good person? Say what you will about Christians and other such groups, but at least they use their religion as a good moral compass in most modern instances. (There will always be exceptions to this point.)
I don't even mind a true atheist. At least they don't pretend to be something they are not.
Where I get my problem is when you get your "Christian Atheists" or as is the popular thing to be nowadays "Atheistic Satanists". This latter term is complete Gilmorian garbage, that has been perpetrated by Peter Gilmore and his "Itheistic" flunkys in the current CoS. Even LaVey's daughters flat out said that what Gilmore was preaching and saying, was not their fathers ideologies. They both left CoS and founded their own individual groups.
(By the way. This is a topic I've been researching for years, and can provide a mountain of concrete proof LaVey was not an Atheist, and really did believe in a very real Satan. If anyone is interested in me presenting this evidence please let me know. I would be happy to submit my findings for examination. That is assuming the clergy has no qualms with it. Otherwise folks will have to wait for the republishing of the expanded edition of my book to read it.)
This asinine notion that Satanism is some form of glorified Atheism has become a rampant plague. It is rooted in the myth that LaVey was supposedly an atheist. (Like it or not folks, LaVey is seen as the guy who brought Satanism out of myth into the real world. So most forms of Satanism is based (sometimes only loosly) on his original system.) The argument ignores the fact that LaVey himself openly and flatly stated that Satanism was
NOT humanism or atheism repeatedly.
Now we get The Satanic Temple in the picture. originally founded as a joke trolling group for political satire using Satanic imagery for shock factor in 2013. They have since exploded onto the seen. On one side they have helped open the door for public Satanism. We don't have to hide as much. They have started after school groups, and fought to raise public Satanic monuments. But on the flip side, they have perverted what true Satanic practice is for political reasons. The members of this group step further and further away from real Satanic values, and even from LaVeys own core set of rules.
These trolls have no respect for the history of the Real Satanic Religions. I've seen them slander recently all other branches of Satanism. If it is Jewish corruption you hate, this group is ripe with it. They openly promote Marxist ideals, and mock Satanic rituals through perverted parodies. (The Pink Mass, Pardoning of the Goat, just to name a couple.) I even busted a few personally here in my own town burning LaVeys Bible once.
The problem here is now we see the effects of Gilmore's Atheism. Publicly the Church of Satan is what people use as a sounding board for what Satanism should and shouldn't be. So if it says that it is Atheistic, and it's adherents are "Atheists", we in turn get the problems we now have. People loose sight of the original principles the religion was built on and it becomes little more than some Halloween side show.
To me this makes
ANY sort of theistic or Spiritual Satanism all the more vital in our modern era. Be it what JoS preaches, or even my own "Classical Theistic" Laveyanism. Both are now vitally important if Satanism has any hope of a future in which its true values are known and respected.
Your statements just kinda sour me about religions or alternatives. In other words I get the feeling that there are a number of people that do NOT want to improve their lives or do anything with it. Spirituality is lacking these guys at least with ToS Aquino tried a spiritual/national socialist path and paid with it.
Don't get down or "sour" because of this. Find faith in your beliefs is what I say. Now more than ever, we must bring the different paths of theistic Satanism together, and say to the world that, enough is enough and we wont stand for the Bull Shit any longer.
And you're dead right! Look at the world around us! Schools are now see record drop out rates. Homelessness is rampant across our nation, by folks who are not only drug addicts, but refuse to get a normal job. We have multi-generational welfare families here in America. Families who literally make an entire career living off the welfare system! All they do is shit out more and more kids just to get more money from the government!
They play the perpetual victim. Life is so hard! Give me money! I can't find god, give me money! My boss fired me for jacking of in the bathroom! He is so closed minded! Give me money! General society has become little more than a pit of Social Vampires!
As you pointed out with Aquino, I'll point to most religionists of any type for this next part. Look at Americas middle and upper classes. The common threads there is they know what their faiths are. They don't pretend to be something they're clearly not. They draw strength and moral direction from their given religion. Because of this they hold stable jobs and live good lives.
Take me for example. I became homeless when I was 18. It didn't stop me. I didn't mope about and devolve into finger pointing. I simple looked at myself and assessed my errors and found strength in my faith. ( I was a Wiccan at the time.) I've never been great at holding down a solid job. Heck finding one is often very difficult for me. Yet I knew I had to keep trying and working to always improve my life. To me it was demanded by the Gods, and later by Satan himself that I never stop striving by what ever meens I have. Now decades later, I'm a member of the middle class.I own my own home, of which we will be selling soon, as we are about to begin looking for a new house with acres of land. This in my opinion is the result of what real faith can do for a person.
In the end I'll answer this final statement of yours.
In the end I guess the question that pops up is "Why do others hate us if we are just another Satanic sect". Just like them we have rights to exist. What Nazism is too much, meditation is too much, rituals are too much. I just don't understand the fear others have. Begs the question why they are even Satanist in the first place.
They hate you, not because of the nazi aspect or what not. Heck LaVey was very interested in Nazism and incorporated various elements of it into his doctrines. No it all comes down to the Theism vs Atheism thing.
JoS is different from 99% of all the other Satanic groups out there. You're not afraid to acknowledge Satanism's link with controversial political ideologies is only one small aspect. The bigger picture is that if the Devil is seen as a real entity in Satanism, then the invasive Atheists have no where to go. They like hamming up the spooky vibes and pretending to have a religion. If Satan is nothing more than a "metaphor", they can use him to further their agendas. But if suddenly Satan comes out of the shadows in any way potentially real, even in the remotest sense of the notion, then suddenly their "truths" and agendas crumble. They loose their ability to satirically poke fun at religions.
They hate you because you are a potential threat to their "Atheistic" views. You stand for everything they hate. everything that they have worked to say is not true. If Joy of Satan suddenly decided to one day put down the key boards and step out from behind the computer monitor, and present itself openly in front of the world, and at full power in person. Satanic Temple, Church of Satan, and all of these other "Itheists" and Atheists, would have a total melt down. They would point to your National Socialist political views and try to scream down at you ineffectually. They would call you "Devil Worshipers".
They would scream in horror if you then turned their own satire against them. There is no arguing the fact that true Satanists do enjoy a little tongue in cheek humor, and can pull it off perfectly when the time is correct.
So yeah there you have it. Spiritual satanism is starting to go the way of the DoDo bird. It's getting to the point where there isn't many options left for us to go. JoS is probably one of the last few groups left in America. There is one or two across the pond in Europe, but that does little good here state side. There is one other group state side that I can think of. But frankly I find them and their High Priestess repugnant and disgusting. (She plays with her old menstrual blood and thinks it's funny.)
So there you have it man. I hope I gave you a good response to your posts. if you got any other questions don't hesitate to ask me.
