(11-14-2014, 06:06 AM)Ashtoreth Wrote: If you guys had to choose one, which would you rather eat?
Kidneys
Snails
Gooseneck barnacles
Monkfish
My answer: All of them. Nom nom nom
Snails. Never had a snail. With garlic and butter, or whatever goes good with snails. The only offal I used to like was liver and that got ruined for me when I mucked out a chicken pen that one time. "This smells familiar..." Barnacles, no. Monkfish... isn't that just whitefish? Boring.
(This post was last modified: 11-14-2014, 01:38 PM by Ghieri.)
(11-14-2014, 05:12 PM)endosine Wrote: satanists are merely atheists(laveyan/modern ones to be exact)... you're thinking of luciferians or some shit.
Ok, let's clear this up. I've put it in spoiler tags so it can be avoided by anyone who feels it might offend their faith, but there is nothing evil about the alternative religions described below. I myself don't believe in any of them, I'm just playing devil's advocate. Lulz.
Also coz it's long. I started typing then got carried away. I do that, you might have noticed.
Spoiler below!
Satanism can be divided into two kinds, Theistic Satanism and Philosophical Satanism.
Levayan Satanism is the brand of Philosophical Satanism put forward by Anton LeVay. Since LeVay liked to cause controversy, I suspect he liked the idea of it being called "Satanism". Philosophical Satanists are indeed atheists: they don't believe in God or Satan. What they do believe in are principles like freedom, power, justice and seeking pleasure, but responsibly and not at the expense of others. In some times and places, the pursuit of these ideals might have been at odds with Christianity/mainstream religions. They see Satan as a fictitious, symbolic figure representing the nature of human beings. Many Atheistic Satanists don't practise ritual magic, but in LeVay's doctrine it is used as psychological exercise designed to focus the emotions of the celebrants.
Theistic Satanism is only slightly different. Theistic Satanists do believe in God and Satan, but they see Satan as a benevolent and messianic figure. In practice, they pursue the same ideals as Philosophical Satanists, but they are inspired to do so by worship of the figure of Satan. To them, Satan was mistreated by God and misunderstood by established religions, and they see him as a kind of saviour. They practice ritual magic, and they believe it has power, but like Levayan Satanists, it is essentially meditation, chanting, incense, prayer and the like. We're not talking about sacrificing babies here.
Luciferianism is sometimes regarded as a subset of Satanism, but most Luciferians would disapprove of that view. They revere the figure of Lucifer, which was Satan's name before he was cast out by God. They see Lucifer as a symbol of enlightenment and balance: he was the highest and wisest angel, and the closest to God before the big bust up. They believe in ethics and intellectualism, and the pursuit of knowledge through science and philosophy. They would criticise Satanists for being too self-indulgent and pleasure-seeking, and for being too focussed on pursuing ideals specifically because they are forbidden by Christianity/mainstream religions. They also do not see themselves as subservient to Lucifer - even their god must earn their respect. They also practise ritual magic, usually through meditation and prayer, in order to commune with and learn from Lucifer.
Like Satanism, Luciferianism also has an atheist version. Arcadic Luciferianism teaches the same ideals, whilst not believing in Lucifer or God, or any gods, as real powers. They see them as symbolic. Unlike Atheistic Satanists, some Arcadic Luciferians do practise ritual magic, but they see it as a cultural tradition and respect it as such, more to venerate the myths and keep them alive than because they believe in them.
And, while we're at it, let's mention Witchcraft, Wicca and Neopaganism, not because they have anything to do with Satan/Lucifer, but because Christianity/mainstream religions throughout have tried to eradicate them as "devil worship". These three faiths, and others like them, are about worship the forces of nature, and might include personifying them as deities. They too involve ritual magic, again mainly through meditation and prayer, sometimes to attempt to influence the world but more often than not as a psychological tool.
What do all these religions have in common? Well, they are all based on the pursuit of enlightenment, or improving oneself or the world. None of them worship evil deities or do evil things.
If you are of a particular faith, for example Christianity, where you believe that your God, Jehova, is inherently Good and that Lucifer/Satan/any other deity is inherently Bad, then you should probably learn to accept the idea that the Lucifer you denounce is a different Lucifer from the one that a Luciferian would worship, because their Lucifer is also inherently Good.
I think that anyone who proclaims to belong to any one of these religions would agree that deliberately worshipping a figure of evil is insane. If there was such a thing as a Christian Satanist, who believed in God and Heaven and Hell and wanted to do evil things to appease an evil Satan so that they could join him for eternal pain and torment, that person would be very, very conflicted.
Search
Member List
IRC
Help
Fandom Gruff ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ) UNFLIPPED THREAD
![[Image: tumblr_nf1237Iwl51stkp7lo1_250.png]](https://33.media.tumblr.com/5ba12a879920ee2924905f9479285584/tumblr_nf1237Iwl51stkp7lo1_250.png)
![[Image: tumblr_n6m5lsQThQ1qc99nxo1_250.gif]](http://38.media.tumblr.com/1461b0756c6012af12c1a10f4dcfafc0/tumblr_n6m5lsQThQ1qc99nxo1_250.gif)
