About the Church of Satan

In a recent post, I reported on rumors that Alice Cooper, a rock musician who has been promoted as a "born-again Christian," has now publicly declared himself as a member of the Church of Satan.  This may all be some sort of publicity seeking April Fools prank.

Some information on the Church of Satan: first and foremost, this is not the baby-killing devil worshippers of the public imagination as depicted in such films as Rosemary's Baby, Race With the Devil, The Devil's Rain, or Michel Soavi's The Church. Members of the Church of Satan are emphatic that they do not worship or even believe in the Christian Devil.  Peter Gilmore, the current High Priest of the Church of Satan, has said, "My real feeling is that anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some level is insane. ... Satanism begins with atheism."

The Church of Satan was founded in the late 1960's by Anton Szandor LaVey (d. 1997) who wrote The Satanic Bible in 1969.

Satan is seen as the ultimate representation of the individual self.  This is not benign "rational self interest."  This is placing one's carnal self and will above everything else.  One's self is the only god that exists.

http://www.google.com/search?q=anton+szandor+lavey&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3gduUdv7A5TU9AT8ioGgAw&sqi=2&ved=0CIsBEIke&biw=1202&bih=812

Book Comment: New Religions

     An extremely interesting book you may wish to check out from your local library is New Religions. A Guide, edited by Christopher Partridge.  This is a knowledgeable guide to the new 

religious philosophies which sprung up in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.  You may never have heard of George Gurdjieff, Anton LaVey, Helena Blavatsky, or Alistair Crowley, but each of them had a profound influence upon the development of Twentieth Century history.  These and many other religious figures are profiled.

Partridge, Christopher, ed., New Religions. A Guide.  New Religions, Movements, Sects, and Alternative Spiritualities (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).