Religious Satanism, 16th century
Satanism, Satanic Dabbling, etc.
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Overview:
There are probably dozens of different religious belief systems and practices
that have been called "Satanism." Depending upon the precise meaning given to the word, the total
number of Satanists in the world can be anything from a few thousand to four
billion individuals. Dialog on the topic is almost impossible because there is such
variability in the meaning of "Satanism" and "Satanist."
In this section, we describe seven main activities which have been commonly
referred to as Satanism: religious Satanism, and six forms of pseudo-Satanism --
practices that either don't exist or are unrelated to any worship of Satan as a
deity.
Groups (other than well-established groups like the Church of Satan
and Temple of Set), appear to have a half-life of about 6 months. It has proven impossible
for us to maintain an up-to-date listing. Some useful references are:
A non-Satanic group publishes an interesting, anonymous essay "In
praise of the devil." It discusses Satan on a purely symbolic level at:
http://www.lucifer.com/lucifer.html
The Satanic Community maintains a web site at
http://www.the600club.com/ with a
forum, links, recommended books, a registry, etc.
Spiritual Satanism follows the teachings of prophet Sheik Adi in the
12th century CE. See:
http://www.joyofsatan.com/
You can safely buy the following books from Amazon.com's online bookstore. Some of these books are by Satanists;
others are books by conservative Christians about their concept of Satanism:
Not stocked by Amazon is a new book by "Kurz" called "The
Little Satanist." It is the first Satanic bedtime story for children. It is
the "...story of a young man who realizes he cannot live among the masses and
their religious idols. Similar to Hendry David Thoreau, he leaves for the woods
and is driven by common sense and reason..." See:
http://www.thelittlesatanist.com/