Misconceptions about Satanism
Most religions like Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam have well defined
meanings, one exception is Satanism. Most people have their own definition for
Satanism.
Some people feel that non-Christian religions and all Christian
denominations other than their own are forms of Satanism. This would imply that
all Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems, and Jews. In fact at least 75% of the world's
population would be Satanists.
Others feel that all religions other than Judaism or Christianity are
inspired by Satan and thus are forms of Satanism. This would still leave the
vast majority of people in the world being Satanists.
Large numbers of people feel that a wide variety of unrelated, benign
religions (such as Santeria and other Caribbean religions, Druidism, New Age,
Wicca, ect.) are forms of Satanism.
Such definitions create great confusion. The following are recommended
terms and descriptions for four essentially unrelated religions that have been
called Satanism.
The first is Religious Satanism, This faith includes the recognition of
Satan either as a deity or as a principle. Three main denominations exist: the
Church of Satan, the Temple of Set, and the Church of Satanic Liberation. Other
short lived Satanic groups currently exist and have existed in the recent past.
According to Statistic Canada, the 1991 census found 335 Canadians who
identified themselves as Satanists. The actual Number is probably significantly
larger. A United States Department of the Army pamphlet #165-13 "RELIGIOUS
REQUIREMENTS AND PRACTICES OF CERTAIN SELECTED GROUPS - A HANDBOOK FOR
CHAPLAINS" (1978 - April) estimated that there were 10 to 20 thousand members of
the Church of Satan in the United States. Accurate data is impossible to
estimate, since the largest group (The Church of Satan) does not release its
membership totals.
It is important to realize that the Satan they recognize has few if any
point s of similarity with the Christian concept of Satan. The Satanists'
concept of Satan is pre-Christian, and derived from the Pagan image of power,
virility, sexuality and sensuality. To most Satanists, Satan is a force of
nature, not a living quasi-deity. Their Satan has nothing to do with Hell,
demons, pitchforks or profound evil.
The image of Satanism spawned by Christianity is called Gothic Satanism.
It is an imaginary and profoundly evil religion that was invented during the
late Middle Ages. Concepts included ritual killing of children, selling their
soul to the devil, breaking crucifixes, conducting black masses, ect. It has
never existed in the past, and does not exist today, except in the imagination
of the public.
Another form of Satanism is Teen Satanism: A syncretistic religion which
is a blend of Religious Satanism, Gothic Satanism, ceremonial magick, and any
According to the PewResearchCenter, about 70.6% of Americans are Christian. This shows that more than 50% of Americans believe in Jesus. Similarly, more than 50% of Americans believe that Lucifer, the fallen angel is the Devil. Kim Addonizio writes a poem, in which she speaks about Lucifer the devil. She writes in Lucifer’s persona in which he explains why he should take over God’s role. In the poem, “Lucifer at the Starlite” by Kim Addonizio, she proposes the idea that Lucifer the Devil is taking over God’s role through the use of controversial topics and symbols to relate to the reader. Also, she uses sarcasm to make the reader critically think. It is important to note that she uses these literary devices in her poem, because it grabs the
The growing practice of Neo-Paganism in America has caused many to turn their heads. The misunderstanding of the religion has caused many to equate the practitioners with the popular conception of typical "witches," that perform black magic rituals, satanic sacrifices, and engage in devil-inspired orgies. After many years, the Neo-Pagan community has cleared up many misconceptions through the showing that many of them do not engage in activities, and are rather participating in a religion, just as those would that participate in a Christian community. It's unacceptance continues, perhaps due to its non-conformity to the ideal of worshipping a Christian God. Through the use of ethnography, anthropologists and sociologists are able to present the public with a much different view than what we are bombarded with in popular media.
From the medieval times to these modern ages, the Wicca religion is still confused with the unmoral religion of Satanism. The Wicca religion has been around for many centuries. The Christian religion has harmed Wicca’s reputation by spreading fear that Wicca is an evil religion; no better than the worshipping of Lucifer. From the witch burnings in the medieval period till now, Wicca has been classified as part of Satanism. Common witch lore and costumes around the time of All Hallows Eve depict witches as evil beings, doing unspeakable things with malicious intent. This is a very common occurrence and is unfair to all that practice the ancient religion. Granted, uneducated people could easily place Wicca in the same category as Satanism; however, these two religions are completely different from each other and Wicca is obviously the better of the two.
Imagine you are walking through the woods, it’s chilly and from a distance you hear a chanting floating across the wind. The sound has an eerie lulling sound, urging you to follow the new melody. Your curiosity gets the best of you so you follow the noise. You enter a clearing and witness a group of individuals around a fire, chanting and dancing. What is your first impression? Have you stumbled upon a satanic cult? Or maybe are you witnessing a vibrant, misunderstood religion. Wicca, is a religion very commonly misunderstood to be affiliated with the devil and rituals containing black magic. To the uneducated mind, this is what we think when we hear the word Wicca, or more commonly known as Witch.
Hero can be distinct as an individual who is accepted or idealized for bravery, exceptional accomplishment, or dignified traits. On the other hand, Satan is known as the leader of all wickedness. With these descriptions in mind, one can determine that John Milton’s character, Satan, in Paradise Lost, is in fact the epic’s hero. Although non-traditional, one can determine that Satan is the epic hero because of textual evidence found in all twelve books of Paradise Lost. The implications implied throughout the twelve books of Paradise Lost entail Satan as the hero because of the information Milton provides to the reader about Satan’s actions and results thereof.
people regard them as "evil" or a "tool of the Devil", yet they continue to be
Dante introduces Satan in the “Inferno” as the worst sinner of all times, and he relates his complexity with the sins that he committed and his punishment. Satan is described as the angel who rebelled against God, and hence he has wings. The wings of Lucifer are not the wings that an angel would have; instead he has bat-like wings, which demonstrates that now he has the wings the dark creatures as bats have. He is firstly in the story presented as an impure monster that is trapped in ice and unable to escape. “No feathers had they, but as of a bat their fashion was, and he was waving them, so that three winds proceeded forth therefrom” (Canto 34, 50).Dante’s depiction of Satan is different from the common known version of Satan, which is
All of the decisions that humans make come out of their worldview, so it is the devils job description to keep humans feeding on ungodly things. For example, Rob had a Biblical Christian worldview, while Ian had a secular worldview. Ian’s worldview impaired his decisions; consequently, he made adequate decisions. God has specifically put this tactic on my heart. Everything my mind feeds on whether it is music, media, or movies affect my choices. This thought completely changed my outlook on the media. I am constantly listening to music, putting minimum thought into the lyrics. The devil uses this tactic so often, because when listening to music I decided which songs I like depending on the beat rather than the words. Without reading through
Cultic activity has taken place since the practice of religion was established thousands of years ago. Since then, literally thousands of denominations have been inoculated throughout the world, especially in the United States. A cult, according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. By definition, this includes organizations such as Baptists, Catholics as well as Satanists and Witches. While this maybe true, cults have been popularly perceived as Separatists who are consumed by the belief of apocalyptic events, and the leader is someone who believes he or she is chosen by God or some other deity to lead those who are to follow him or her. One group that fits this description is the Branch-Davidians. In the early 1990’s the Branch-Davidians made national headlines when they had a deadly standoff with government agents in Waco, Texas, where many perished, including their infamous leader, David Koresh. To understand why this happened, we must understand the history, beliefs and the determination of the Branch-Davidians to defy the government by stockpiling arms, supplies and taking refuge in Waco, Texas. We must also enter the world of David Koresh to make sense of how he was able to have the impact he did on the minds of members of the Branch Davidians.
The great debate whether Satan is the hero of Milton’s Epic Poem, Paradise Lost, has been speculated for hundreds of years. Milton, a writer devoted to theology and the appraisal of God, may not have intended for his portrayal of Satan to be marked as heroic. Yet, this argument is valid and shares just how remarkable the study of literature can be. Milton wrote his tale of the fall of man in the 1674. His masterpiece is an example of how ideas of a society change with time. This is because it wasn’t until the 1800’s during the Romantic era, that people no longer saw the hero of literary works as perfect in every way. It started to become more popular to develop the flawed character similar to the ones written in the classics. A literary criterion that is based on a protagonist, who undergoes conflict on the outside and from within and is prevented by a specific flaw to accomplish their main goal, creates an epic Hero. In Paradise Lost, God does not face conflict because he is perfect and all-knowing, and Adam’s conflict is not presented from the very start, Satan’s is. Because Satan is the main character of the work and possesses qualities that would deem him heroic, such as his determination against tough odds, his ability to lead, and his human-like nature to error, he can be seen has the Hero of the famous poem.
We start with Animism. In animism, spirits are considered to inhabit familiar objects in the landscape. There are traces of animism in the Judeo-Christian and Jewish religions. For instance, Satan was represented as a serpent; Jehovah, like Osiris(Deity in ancient Egyptian religion), was worshiped as a bull; Christ was the lamb of God, and the Holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove. However, these are only symbols themselves and are not worshiped themselves.
Most of us inherited our concept of Satan, and it is saturated in unfounded and fictional beliefs. Kelly does a remarkable job of peeling away the layers of traditional sediment that have accumulated over hundreds of years. Inasmuch as the Satan of the NT is the same Satan of the OT and Christianity is an outgrowth of Judaism, the Satan of today is basically the same old Satan. Kelly, has gave us a good overview of Adam and Eve with the connection with Satan in the Garden of Eden. The author stay on track with his thesis in descripting the story of Adam and Eve. He showed us throughtout that Adam immediate punishment was not death for the sins he committed however, death is the ultimate punishment for sin. The authors, recommendations were
On the evening of May 5, 1993, three boys from West Memphis, Arkansas, were last seen riding their bikes together. In the early evening, Chris Byers' stepfather, John Mark Byers, reported that his stepson had not come home and he was becoming worried. The police were also notified of two other boys who had been with Chris and were considered missing, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. The police and the parents of the missing children searched the neighborhood unsuccessfully until 3AM the next morning. The bodies of the three eight year old boys were discovered in a wooded area in Robin Hood Hills the next day at 1:30 PM. The boys had been hog-tied and severely beaten. Their naked bodies were located in a shallow creek in an isolated patch of woods behind the Blue Beacon truck wash. However, the question that remains until this day is whether justice was served in this case. Perhaps you are not familiar with the West Memphis Three, otherwise known as the Robin Hood Hill Murders. Most people would not of heard of this case unless they were citizens of the small town; however, HBO produced a documentary, "Paradise Lost," which graphically showed this case in a different light. This Peabody Award winning documentary brought the story of this crime and its aftermath into the national spotlight in 1996. The implication it left was that satanic panic, public hysteria and media sensationalism was responsible for the convictions in the case, not solid evidence. This is a shattering account of what a fundamentalist community in the south can accomplish toward the blatant destruction of American justice.
Discuss Milton’s presentation of Satan in Paradise Lost. There has been considerable critical interest in the figure of Satan in Paradise Lost. and in the possibility that he may be the true hero of the epic poem. The opening of The poem finds Milton in a tough spot: writing an epic poem without an epic hero in sight. The sand is a sand.