See A. LaVey, Satanic Bible (1969); A. Lyons, The Second Coming (1970) and Satan Wants You! (1989); J. T. Richardson and D. Bromley, ed., The Satanism Scare (1991).
Worship of Satan, or the devil, the personality or principle regarded in the Judeo-Christian tradition as embodying absolute evil, in complete antithesis to God. Cults associated with satanism have been documented, however sketchily, back to the 17th century. Their central feature is the black mass, a corrupted and inverted rendition of the Christian Eucharist. Practices are said to include animal sacrifice and deviant sexual activity. Worship is motivated by the belief that Satan is more powerful than the forces of good, and so is more capable of bringing about the results sought by his adherents.
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Theistic Satanism, also called Spiritual or Traditional Satanism, is the worship of Satan, and consists of several viewpoints and groups. One group that falls under the definition of Theistic Satanism are called "reverse Christians"; this is sometimes used as a disparaging term by other theistic Satanists, and embraced to a lesser or greater extent by the groups given this label. Groups called "Reverse Christian" are said to practice what Christians claim Satanists do, and worship the enemy of Christ and God. Some other groups of Theistic Satanists do not accept the Bible as depicting the true Satan to the same degree. The Spiritual Satanists however see Satan as a god that looks just like any other human, but as with all religions, is not uniform throughout all believers. While there are those who view Satan as a human-like entity, there are those who accept the ancient Roman image of Lucifer, and even those who imagine him as the image of the Greek god Pan. Spiritual Satanists tend to focus their time on meditation and self expansion. Their beliefs have nothing to do with Christianity or the Bible, and their view on Satanism.
LaVeyan Satanists are technically Atheists and Agnostics, and believe that Satan is a metaphor that represents the natural urges of mankind. The term LaVeyan Satanist or symbolic Satanist, is used by other Satanists to refer to supporters of the writings of Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey and successors such as Peter H. Gilmore. Use of the word Satanism in this context, according to religioustolerance.org, refers to a "small religious group that is unrelated to any other faith, and whose members feel free to satisfy their urges responsibly, exhibit kindness to their friends, and attack their enemies.
However, while some debate their authenticity, other artists have professed Satanic beliefs. Glen Benton, vocalist and bassist of the band Deicide, once openly claimed to be a practitioner of Theistic Satanism, and has spoken publicly on numerous occasions to profess staunch anti-Christian sentiment. Norwegian black metal artists, such as those from bands Gorgoroth and Mayhem, have also defended modern Satanic ideology. Numerous burnings of churches that covered parts of Norway in the early 1990s were also attributed to youths involved in the black metal movement, who claimed to have theistic Satanic beliefs and strong "anti-LaVeyan" attitudes. However, the legitimacy of such actions as Satanic endeavors, rather than simply rebellious actions done for publicity, is something that has been doubted by even those who contribute to the genre.