What is the Satanic bible?

The Satanic bible is a collection of essays, composed and compiled in 1969 by Anton LaVey, detailing the basic, fundamental Satanic rituals and ideology. Its proponents regard the Satanic bible as the foundation of the Satanic paradigm, while maintaining that the book is not subject to revision nor interpretation and that no ritual or ideology contrary to what is depicted in the Satanic bible is compatible with Satanism. Note – the vast majority of Satanists do not even believe in the existence of a personal being named Satan. Rather, Satan is a symbol of struggle against a tyrannical God.

The Satanic bible is divided into four books, namely, “The Book of Satan,” “The Book of Lucifer,” “The Book of Belial,” and finally “The Book of Leviathan.” It is generally believed that LaVey obtained this hierarchy from “The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage,” in which the above four demons are said to be the chiefs of hell. Each book addresses a different principle of Satanism, and serves a unique purpose within the book as a whole.

The Satanic bible builds upon the traditional secular humanistic philosophy that each individual can be his or her own “god.” This leads to the arrogant and self-centered worldview that man on his own can determine truth, independent of any notion of God or higher authority. This is clearly in sharp contrast with the biblical teaching that we will be held accountable to God for all things we have done in this life (Jeremiah 17:10) and is the same deception which Satan fed to Eve in the Garden of Eden, asserting that “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

The Satanic bible argues that sin is an inherent part of mankind’s character and is, for the most part, not immoral or shameful. The argument goes that Christianity chose carefully such actions which are part of mankind’s instinctual drive to declare as sin in order to ensure man’s continued dependence on Christ and His mercy. LaVey argues that sin in the biblical sense is to be encouraged rather than frowned upon. Conversely, the Bible teaches that sin is indeed an inherent part of human nature, for “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible makes it emphatically clear that the ultimate consequence of sin is death and eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23) and also offers words of encouragement: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Same-sex relationships and other forms of sexually immoral behavior are openly condoned by the Satanic bible. On page 69 of the Satanic bible, LaVey states that “Satanism encourages any form of sexual expression you may desire, so long as it hurts no one else.” This is also expressly in conflict with the Bible, which makes it abundantly clear the place of sexual relations is exclusively within the context of marriage, which is intended by God as a relationship between one man and one woman for life. First Corinthians 6:18-20 commands us to “flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

The teaching of the Satanic bible concerning the existence of the afterlife is that there is no such thing as life after death, and thus life must be lived to the full in this world. This is the premise on which many of the Satanic teachings are based, for it removes the element of accountability. Hebrews 9:27, however, indicates that “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” There are two ultimate afterlife destinations—heaven and hell. After death, the determination of where one will spend eternity is absolute and final. The destination to which one is headed is dependent on whether one has accepted Christ as personal Savior, through faith, and thus has received his free gift of salvation made available through the death of Christ, paying the penalty for man’s sin.

In conclusion, the Satanic bible and its pertaining dogma is to be considered diametrically opposed to the key principles of Christianity. The Satanic religion is based on unbiblical and false doctrines. Eternal destruction is the only thing that will result from its false teaching. The fires of hell will be a bitter reality for those who have been taught that hell does not exist.

What is Satanism?

Satanism is not easily defined. There are several “divisions” of Satanism. In contrast to Christians, Satanists themselves disagree on their very fundamental principles. Christians may differ in opinion or conviction about interpretation of certain Bible passages, but they believe the same foundational principle that Jesus is God’s Son who paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. Satanists argue among themselves whether Satan even exists and whether they are worshiping him or themselves. In essence, they are a confused group bound by lies. John 8:44 perhaps applies to Satanists: “You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

It is because of these lies that there is a plethora of ideologies within Satanism. Some of Satanism’s practices are constant, and Satanists’ unity is found more in rituals than in an underlying belief system. Satanists docertain things; they do not have to believe certain things.

Most Satanists, devil worshipers, diabolists, Luciferians, and members of the Church of Satan claim to have roots in LeVayan Satanism, named after Anton LeVey, the author of the Satanic Bible and founder of the first Church of Satan. LeVey presumably started the First Church of Satan in 1966. As a self-proclaimed authority on everything evil, he began giving weekly lectures at a cost of $2.00 per person. And thus the Church of Satan was born.

The basic commonality in all the branches of Satanism is a promotion of self. All forms of Satanism claim that life exists to consume and that selfishness is a virtue. Some Satanists hold that the only existence they will ever know is here on Earth. Thus, devil worshippers live for the moment, and their creed is gluttony and debauchery.

Satanism pledges its allegiance to Satan, even while some in the Church of Satan believe that no God or devil exists. Most in the Church of Satan also believe that there is no redeemer for them or anyone else. Each person is fully responsible for the path of his own life. Still, they pray to Satan in rituals, asking for his sovereign hand to be manifest in their lives.This kind of thinking reveals the influence of lies and deceptions in their philosophy. Whether Satanists believe in him or not is irrelevant to Satan. The end result is the same—their souls are in bondage to him, and, unless God’s grace intervenes, they will experience eternity in hell.

In short, Satanism may or may not involve worshiping Satan, but it is a conscious effort to NOT worship the one true God. Romans 1 gives a clear look into the heart and motives of a Satanist. They have “depraved minds to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness” (vv 28-29). People who have been misled by Satan into this lifestyle have a hard time understanding God’s concept of grace and freedom. Instead, they live for themselves, by themselves.

Second Peter 2 contains a warning to anyone who would follow after Satanism or any other thing rather than God: “These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity” (vv. 17-19).