Are Satanists actually serious?

[Id82]

I ask this question because in my life I have never encountered an actual Satanist.
Do Satanist actually truly believe in Satan much like a Christian believes in God? Or are they actually just parodying religion much like people who believe in the FSM?
Are they just atheists out there having a good time, or are they actually following the biblical lord of the underworld?

[Witchyjoshy]

Depends on which Satanists you're talking about.

Luciferians really do believe in Satan, and they believe he's a force for good against the tyrannical God (or they think that he works with God, depending on which Luciferian you ask).  Even among Luciferians you'll find a variety, ranging from everyday folk to neo-Nazis.  Luciferians are more likely to fit into the "pagan" umbrella.

LaVeyan Satanists, however, are taking the piss.  They view Satan as an allegory, and seek to free themselves from the tyranny of religion by doing so.  That's not to say it's a joke - they are very serious about what they do.  "What they do" just happens to involve pointing out everything that's wrong with religion, among other things.  They do tend to follow a very libertarian "I've got mine, fuck you" philosophy, but I'd venture to say the average LaVeyan is a lot more compassionate than the average conservative Christian.

tl;dr: It's complicated as fuck.

[RavynousHunter]

I think they more see Satan as the lesser of two evils; he's less restrictive, more interesting, and a far more relatable character than Yahweh.  Think about it: he gets the hell kicked out of him for encouraging others to question authority, he leads a (failed) uprising against a repressive regime, and spends his time encouraging people to question the "unquestionable."  Yahweh's your stodgy, socially and politically backwards grandfather who occasionally lapses into either ranty, holier-than-thou bents, or frightening psychotic episodes.  Satan's your cool uncle that you sometimes visit during the summer that makes nachos, barbecues, and lets you listen to whatever music you want, watches R-rated movies with you while you're still technically underage for such things, and lets you play his impressive, oftentimes violent game library.  Sure, he smokes and is occasionally a bit weird, but he's everything grandpa isn't...and that is, in a single word, cool.

Satan appeals to the rebellious teenager in all of us.  Besides, Christians get to be "actually serious" about their side of the Bible, why can't Satanists?  I'm honestly surprised that there aren't more out-and-about Satanists.

[Ultimate Paragon]

There was this one Metal musician who was a theistic Satanist... and a deeply disturbed individual.  He was Euronymous, and he was a fucking monster.

[kefkaownsall]

They make more sense if you view the snake in the garden as chaos and god wanting to keep man ignorant as order

[rageaholic]

Years ago when I was having a crisis of faith, I looked up the Satanic Bible to see what all the fuss was about.  All this "Horrible Evil" book did was encourage a "live and let live" lifestyle.  It actually made sense unlike the martyr bullshit preached in Christian churches.  But of course since it tells you to take it easy and not worry about all these little sins, Fundtards will see it as the most evil thing in the world. 

[Kat S.]

I actually met a Satanist when I was on active duty.  For what it's worth, this guy even had a "Satan rides in my passenger seat." bumper sticker on his car.  When others asked what exactly he believed, he stated something along the lines of LaVeyan Satanism, but also claimed to not being a devout Satanist.  He further explained that he became a Satanist to go against the grain in his family so to speak.

By the way, yes, this was while on active duty for the United States Army.  Fundies heads would explode if they actually knew the kinds of people who joined the military.

[Sylvana]

Not sure about the type of satanist in question here, but it should be pointed out that Satanism as a religion does not relate to Christianity at all. I know Christians want to believe they are the center of the universe and that Satanists are just worshiping their bad guy to spite them, but Satanism that I have seen is completely independent of Christianity.

They follow Satan in much the same vein as a christian follows god, however for a satanist, they dont actually believe in the christian god. They are two separate realms of religion, which makes sense considering that Satan as a bad-guy in Christianity has its origins in European paganism and was adopted to encourage conversion to Christianity.

That said, I haven't really seen anyone who is serious about it though. The principles of Satanism make it a very relaxed religion. Living in a conservative christian country like I do, I haven't met any satanists, just encountered the satanic "bible".

[Ghoti]

It depends on what you consider "serious" satanic practice. Because satanism is more free-flow than, say, Christianity, it stands to reason that there are a lot of different ways to be a satanist with varying degrees of seriousness. I know people who ascribe to "so long as it harms none, do as thou wilt" as the guide for their moral behavior, yet a lot of them would be insulted if I called them satanists. I also know people who identify as satanists yet make more factual errors per sentence than a Faux News talking head. Considering how many different brands of Christianity (a relatively static, dogmatic religion) there are, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of ways to take satanism seriously is very close or equal to the number of satanists.

[Cloud3514]

There was this one Metal musician who was a theistic Satanist... and a deeply disturbed individual.  He was Euronymous, and he was a fucking monster.

Barring Hellhammer, who, as far as I can tell, is only slightly more fucked up than most people (and, ironically, recorded an album with a Christian band once), Euronymous is the least of the batshit insanity that is Mayhem.

[Cerim Treascair]

I feel this might be relevant to the discussion, since... well, topic.  But Moviebob gets into a bit of the historical nuances here, and he's doing a part 2 this week at some point.

Here's the link:  http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/8735-The-Devil-You-Know-Part-I

[I am lizard]

THOSE STUPID SONS OF BITCHES ARE FUCKING ASSHOLES! I JOINED THERE SHITTY CHURCH HOPING TO PERFORM AT LEAST ONE GODBLESSED SACRIFICE BUT DID THEY? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! THEY JUST TOLD ME THINGS LIKE "I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE" AND "PUT DOWN THAT KNIFE" "I'M CALLING THE COPS" AND I HAD TO SPEND 3 WEEKS IN JAIL FIGHTING OVER CHEESESTICKS WITH A GUY NAMED NELSON BURNS! AND I NEVER GOT TO FUCKING SACRIFICE ONE LOUSY CHILD TO LUCIFER!
SATANISM IS A LOAD OF CRAP!

[mellenORL]

THOSE STUPID SONS OF BITCHES ARE FUCKING ASSHOLES! I JOINED THERE SHITTY CHURCH HOPING TO PERFORM AT LEAST ONE GODBLESSED SACRIFICE BUT DID THEY? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! THEY JUST TOLD ME THINGS LIKE "I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO LEAVE" AND "PUT DOWN THAT KNIFE" "I'M CALLING THE COPS" AND I HAD TO SPEND 3 WEEKS IN JAIL FIGHTING OVER CHEESESTICKS WITH A GUY NAMED NELSON BURNS! AND I NEVER GOT TO FUCKING SACRIFICE ONE LOUSY CHILD TO LUCIFER!
SATANISM IS A LOAD OF CRAP!

<using a roll of paper towels to mop up the piss taken all over this thread page>
<keeps clicking the ghost of the fuck yeah button>

[Cerim Treascair]

Well done :3

And as a followup from my previous post, part 2:  http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/8754-The-Devil-You-Know-Part-II