within the Church of Satan the high ranking members say that they are atheist but is is possible to be a member of the COS and follow Satanic ideals without being an athiest? this is a question I've been pondering but cause I agree with everything in the Satanic Bible except I still want hope for life after death I can't accept that I'll just rot in the ground.
The Notorious Doctor Zoom Zoom
Favorite Answer
Many Satanists say they don't believe in God or Satan, but that they worship themselves. That would make it hedonism, and in effect, atheism if that were the case, since atheists basically do the same thing. Many Satanists will tell you they are atheists if you ask them. Satan they will tell you is merely a symbol of the "dark side of nature", symbolizing, lust, greed, etc. Some believe in magic, and some at least claim not to.
I don't think they're technically "athiests". Ayn Rand's followers would be the best definition of an athiest. Satanists belong to a personality cult centered around Anton LaVey.
The view of most Christians (amd the generally public) is that Satanists worship Satan. And there are some Satanists who do believe Satan is a literal entity. The Temple of Set is might be one example. After the publication of the Satanic Bible, many Satanists began to realize the magic spells didn't work, and then tried started to say "Well, it's really a philosophy. It's humanism, yeah, that's the ticket!" But the Satanic Bible gives details for 3 spells, for revenge, sex, and getting Satan's compassion (!) It is quite specific about timing of rituals, instruments to be used, clothing, etc. It seems from this, LaVey was implying results could be achieved through magic. There is a chapter in the Satanic Bible called "On The Choice of Human Sacrifice" which Satanists claim means a victim is to be killed by a curse, not by actually murdering them. But therein lies a problem for the Satanists who don't believe in magic, because then how can they kill their victims with a curse?
You might want to ask "Why don't Satanists become Ayn Rand athiests and forget the wierd label and mystical nonsense? No one will ever take them seriously if they call themselves Satanists." But then they wouldn't have the shock value of being a Satanist that simply being an athiest wouldn't bring! No one's scared of athiests. Satanists occasionally do make the headlines for nefarious acts, however: http://usminc.org/crime.html Plus being a Satanist allows them to feel persecuted for a cause(the "Satanic Panic" media scare), much the same way Wiccans do about the "Burning Times". It's also a way to escape boredom.
The real question is why would anyone want to be a Satanist anyway? Anton LaVey couldn't make it work for him. He was a man who beat his wife, pimped out female followers, lied about all his accomplishments, practiced cannibalism on at least one occasion, and died bankrupt. He wasn't a philosopher/role model or a sorcerer. He was a sociopath and a fraud.
This answer might be helpful too.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApVrin5V52.Xh1.nEfGzSn7sy6IX?qid=20060927203600AAOk89j&show=7#profile-info-60864d174a98628a96670589ad8fd94baa
Pico
I would think so. You can look at it as you have a 'lack of belief' rather than a 'positive denial'. I used to live with a few people that were COS. A couple of them were more serious than the others but they all were into the ideals, etc.. None of them made a big deal about being an atheist or not, they concentrated more on themselves and how they were living their life. I read the books and tried to get into it but I can't fully get 'into' any group activity like that since I've never found one group that I fit into 100%. I'm not comfortable being a 'member' of anything for that reason. It's more about doing what you're comfortable with. You wouldn't be the first COS member who isn't 100% sure of what happens after death!!
dead_elves
As I understand it, Satanism is actually an umbrella term that refers to a number of different "faiths". You've got the Church of Set, LaVeyan Satanism, etc. Some of these groups profess actual devil worship while others are essentially atheistic.
What unites them is that they all follw the "Left-Hand Path", which essentially says the opposite of what most moralistic teachings say: That you should look after yourself first, that the flesh is the highest and should be worshipped, etc.
Personally, I don't believe anybody, Christian, Satanist, Buddhist, Wiccan, Atheist or anything else should box themselves into one set of beliefs. Take what you need from what you've been taught and told, and make it your own. If you feel that there is a higher power, then believe it, and let nobody tell you different.
Anonymous
You can't be an atheist and worship Satan, that doesn't make sense. If you believe in evil (Satan), then you believe in good (god..Jehovah, whatever)
There will always be good and evil in the world, it is not factual to say there is one and not the other.
If you want hope of life after death, than Satanism is not for you........why not be agnostic if you are experiencing questions within yourself.
Go to ex-christian.net
There are some incredibly intellectual agnostics, atheists, and Christians in that forum, it blew my mind when I read it and I was so glad to see there were people out there like me ( i live in the bible belt and was raised in strict southern baptist home)
Ex-Christian.Net will give you opinions from all so you can decide what you truly believe in.
Good Luck!
Anonymous
Despite what some folks choose to believe, you can be an atheistic satanist. Satanists do not worship an independent deity called 'Satan', they try to emulate those things which the mythical ideal of Satan represents.
(I still think LaVey did himself more harm than good by calling his philosophy "Satanism" - the temporary tweak of "Up yours, Christians!" is overshadowed by the amount of explanation Satanists have to do that NO, they DON'T worship the Judeo-Christian concept of Satan.)
I believe that wanting to hold an idea of life after death while following the philosophy of Satanism could be done, however I don't think CoS Satanists would accept you calling yourself "Satanist". If the label is important to you, then that's something you'll have to come to terms with.
With regards to "belief in an afterlife without belief in a deity" - that's Buddhist, isn't it? I suppose the label of "Satanic Buddhist" would do nothing to clarify your philosophy...
(Please note I'm using "philosophy" instead of "religion" - I feel that religion by definition requires the recognition of a Deity, while a philosophy does not. Just my $0.02)