One Nation, Under Satan...

So I've been very critical of religion on this blog, and those of you who have been reading for a while know exactly why, but this does not necessarily mean I subscribe to no "religion." I do in fact possess a very strong belief system, it's just not one that the flock readily understands. Let me demonstrate a typical conversation on this subject.

"Do you believe in God?" ask the sheep.

"No. God is bullshit." I reply.

"So... you're a buddhist?"

"No. While the eastern philosophies have their charms, most of that is bullshit, too."

"So... you're an atheist?"

"Yes... and no."

"Well then what are you?"

"I'm a Satanist." I say. This is where a look of abject horror washes over their face.

"You worship the Devil?!" they say.

"Um, NO. Devil worshipers worship the Devil. I'm not a Devil worshiper. Devil worshipers are idiots." This is where horror morphs into confusion.

"But... you're a Satanist."

"Right."

"You're a Satanist, but you don't worship the Devil. Why is it called Satanism then?"

"I don't know. Shock value would be my guess." This is where horror and confusion degenerate into frustration and they give up before I can explain exactly what it is that I believe in.

First off, what is Satanism NOT? It's definitely NOT Devil worship. To worship the Devil would first require belief in God, which Satanists do not. Satanists are, by definition, and despite the name, agnostic. There ARE "Devil worshipers" who call themselves Satanists, but they're deluded fools who are likely just seeking attention. Devil worshipers have no more success in channeling Satan than Christians have in channeling God. It's all bullshit. Yes, I know, it's about faith, but really, faith in what, 2000-year-old fairy tales? C'mon!

Well Satanism is also about faith, but a different kind.

Essentially, Satanism is religious ritual for people without religion. It's the belief in oneself. It's about self-empowerment, individuality, independance, self-reliance. It's called Satanism for shock value(probably), but also because it represents a rejection of traditional organized religious belief. It's having faith that YOU can accomplish things on your own, it's believing that YOU and your fellow man can save yourselves. That's it. That's all it is. It really is that simple. As I mentioned before, Satanists are agnostic, meaning that we do not necessarily confirm or deny the existence of whatever, we simply believe it is not within the comprehensional capacity of Man to understand the nature of God. We pretend to know NOTHING. We accept the world for what it is, NOT what we HOPE it could be. We are not willing to wait around, following arbitrary rules about what is "good" or "bad," in the vain hope that there is some kind of reward awaiting us when we die. LIFE IS NOT A FUCKING GAME SHOW, and Satanists have merely accepted that fact.

Now, having read that, think about this: self-empowerment, individuality, independance, self-reliance. Am I wrong, or is that not the classic "American Way" I've just described? I think it is! Those four above mentioned qualities, what is it that they really add up to? Freedom. FREEDOM!!! And what's more American than that? In one way or another, we are ALL Satanists. I'm just willing to admit it.