My Thoughts on The Book of Satan by AmateurSatanologist

My Thoughts on The Book of Satan (The Satanic Bible)

Obviously, the first thing to consider is that this first book of The Satanic Bible is largely copied from Might Is Right, but I think there may still be a few good nuggets …

The bits I liked: 

• “I stand forth to challenge the wisdom of the world; to interrogate the “laws” of man and of “God”!” — I agree that laws and dogmas should be questioned. Nobody should accept everything without a gram of skepticism, especially Satanists.
• “No hoary falsehood shall be a truth to me; no stifling dogma shall encramp my pen!” — I feel like this really matches the core ideas of Satanism – finding truth and challenging dogma.
• “I break away from all conventions that do not lead to my earthly success and happiness.” — I like this from a Satanist point of view but also from a wellbeing point of view; how much time and energy do we waste following rules, conventions, and expectations that we actually don’t care about?!
• “No creed must be accepted upon authority of a “divine” nature. Religions must be put to the question. No moral dogma must be taken for granted — no standard of measurement deified. There is nothing inherently sacred about moral codes. Like the wooden idols of long ago, they are the work of human hands, and what man has made, man can destroy!” — One hundred per cent! Religions and ideologies rely on people accepting all sorts purely on faith, conforming, behaving, and never questioning. One thing I really like about Satanism is that it is based on an adversarial character who questioned and rebelled; it is built on skepticism and individuality.
• “As environments change, no human ideal standeth sure!” — The attitude of “we’ve always done it this way” has ruined so much. We must adapt and grow. If we don’t learn and change, we will be left behind.
• “The most dangerous of all enthroned lies is the holy, the sanctified, the privileged lie, the lie everyone believes to be a model truth. The lie that is known to be a lie is half eradicated, but the lie that even intelligent persons accept as fact … is more dangerous to contend against than a creeping pestilence!” — The level of drama here amuses me, but it’s a good point – the most dangerous ideas in our world currently are those that are not easily spotted by the intelligent, educated, informed people.
• “Make the most of life — HERE AND NOW!” — What else is there? We only have one life.
• “Cursed are the gazers toward a richer life beyond the grave, for they shall perish amidst plenty!” — As an ex-Christian, this one hit me especially hard, because I know too many people in the church spend all their time and energy on preparing for the “next life” (that they will never see), and ignoring the life right in front of them.

The bits I wasn’t sure about:

• “Blessed are the destroyers of false hope, for they are the true Messiahs—Cursed are the god-adorers, for they shall be shorn sheep!” — I’m not sure about the “shorn sheep” part, but I do know that false hope destroys people, so I’m on board with that part.
• ““Love one another” it has been said is the supreme law, but what power made it so? Upon what rational authority does the gospel of love rest? Why should I not hate mine enemies — if I “love” them does that not place me at their mercy? … Love your enemies and do good to them that hate and use you—is this not the despicable philosophy of the spaniel that rolls upon its back when kicked?” — I’m in partial agreement here. Yeah, we shouldn’t let ourselves get trampled and taken advantage of, but then I feel like the writer kicks the drama up a notch too far.
• “Blessed is the man who has a sprinkling of enemies, for they shall make him a hero …” — I’m not 100% sure what is meant here but… If it means that having enemies builds strength and resilience, then yeah, I agree. But “make him a hero”?
• “Thrice cursed are the weak whose insecurity makes them vile, for they shall serve and suffer!” — This didn’t sit right with me at first because I have sympathy for people with insecurities and calling them vile is really over-the-top. But if the writer meant this more as a simple observation, and we ignore the word ‘vile’ for a moment, people with insecurities will indeed have it very rough. That might be giving too much benefit of the doubt, though.

The bits I couldn’t get behind:

• “Give blow for blow, scorn for scorn, doom for doom — with compound interest liberally added thereunto! Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, aye four‐fold, a hundredfold! Make yourself a Terror to your adversary …” — This is the passage/idea I have probably spent the most time pondering… And I will probably continue to think about it (too much?). I believe it’s important not to be a doormat, and people deserve to get a taste of what they dish out, but I feel like retaliation with interest is taking it too far.
• “Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth — Cursed are the weak, for they shall inherit the yoke!” — This is too much Might Is Right for me.
• “Blessed are the powerful, for they shall be reverenced among men—Cursed are the feeble, for they shall be blotted out!” — Again, too much Might Is Right for me. The “powerful” shouldn’t necessarily be revered; they don’t all deserve it. Also, I feel like this has a eugenics flavor to it.