As a witch, what is your opinion of Satanism and those who practice it?

several of my best friends are Lavey satanists--wonderful people who don't hurt anybody!

I'm not a witch, but I used to be.

From the three Satanist friends I've had:

I think that it is MAINLY just existentialists flaunting pentagrams, very rarely a religion at all. Generally, people either become Satanists out of shock value and/or anger against the Christian god. This is not always true, however, and Satanism is a very broad term. WIth some people, it's a religion. With other people, it's more of a philosophy. And I apologize if I am offending anyone. This is just my opinion, and I could very likely be wrong about the entire thing. This is the nature of 'opinions', yes....? And Satanists tend to embrace the human right to having them, which is at least one thing I admire. I disagree with many of the other Left Hand philosophies, however.

I dont call myself a witch but I lean more towards a pagan-type religion where I believe whatever i want...Having said that...witches are hardly concerned with Satanist as those dont even believe the devil exists. Witchcraft is the polar opposite of Satanism....for one thing Satanism is a stem from Christianity given that it worships an entity introduced by Christianity alone, accept for his appearnce which was taken from a pagan god. Secondly, Satan is an evil entity and witchcraft's major rule is to harm none and accept all.

Most people are romantic of it and don't have the total understanding of what evil truly is.

Adam and eve summed it up pretty good but to understand what this tree and apple are you must eat from it. Thus you have err and heresy the true forms of what satanism is.

Most Satanists I've met really aren't - they just play the part for fun/shock value. They're usually rather amusing. The few real ones I've known of are another story. Dark, creepy. Basically I think of them as Christians who are rooting for the bad guy. Not a barrel of fun.

I don't have a problem with anyone practicing any religion as long as NO harm comes to others.

It is just a path different from my own. I really don't know enough about it to have an educated opinion.

The thing that I enjoy most about Satanism is that it's people who are trying to stand up to the things that they fear the most, mainly judgment and even the mainstream world, by aligning themselves with the most negative thing that there is. These people are demonstrating the courage of their convictions and it has the ability to make them better people for it.

I will ring your doorbell and run away!!!

I have the same opinion I have toward other beliefs: It's your business what you believe. If it makes you feel better about yourself, go for it.

Don't really mind. Its the persons personality that counts, not there religious stance.