Satanism is a false belief system that is extremely against God. When one thinks of Satanism, we think of Satan, yet Satanists do not believe in Satan. Satanism is often thought to be the religion that worships Satan, yet Satanists are atheists. This religion is extremely dangerous and toxic to be a part of, even though they don’t believe in Satan.
What Is Satanism?
The Church of Satan is fairly new as it was not developed until 1966 by Magus Anton Szandor LaVey. The Church of Satan declares themselves as “explorers” on their official website as they say, “We are explorers on the untrodden paths of science, human motivation and all mysteries awaiting understanding — that which is most truly ‘occult.’”
As one can see, this false belief system is extremely dangerous and counterintuitive to the Lord. Even though many of us believe the Church of Satan worships Satan, they actually don’t. They only see him as a “symbol.”
The Church of Satan declares that they do not worship Satan, nor do they believe in him. Instead, they view him as a symbol of pride or independence as the Church of Satan says, “Satan to us is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential” (Ibid.).
The Church of Satan believes individuals should be self-centered and focus on their own happiness, indulgence, and anything they want. In other words, Satanists believe that you are your own “god.”
Even though the Church of Satan does not worship Satan, it is very much following the teachings of Satan. In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, he says to her, “‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 3:4-5).
Connections can be shown between the serpent saying, “You will be like God” and the Church of Satan saying, “Our position is to be self-centered, with ourselves being the most important person (the ‘God’) of our subjective universe, so we are sometimes said to worship ourselves.”
In other words, the Church of Satan is adhering to the belief that humans will become their own “gods,” which is exactly the same as Satan tempting Adam and Eve by telling them if they eat from the fruit, they would be like God.
The truth is that there is only one God, the God of the Bible. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God. One God, three distinct Persons. We should only worship God — not ourselves. There is nothing good in and of ourselves to worship. Within our hearts is only evil.
The Bible tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). It is not good to follow our own wants and desires because we all have a sinful nature.
Our sinful nature is constantly pulling us away from God and after our own wants. Our wants are not what is best for us. The Bible tells us the dangers of following after the sinful flesh because it will lead to destruction. Instead of following the sinful flesh, we need to walk in the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul tells us, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:16-17). When we are actively walking in the Spirit, we will not gratify the sinful flesh.
What Is the Church of Satan?
The Church of Satan follows a worldly teaching on ethics and morals. Instead of following Christian ethics and morals, Satanists follow whatever their highest desire or want is.
This is extremely dangerous because following our own wants and desires can lead us to a dark place without God.
The Church of Satan may not worship Satan, but they are worshiping something just as dark —our sinful nature. As believers, we need to pray for Satanists and ask God to help lead them to Him.
While this can be extremely difficult because Satanists are opposed to Christians, we need to try to help them know the Lord.
The Church of Satan is strongly opposed to the existence of Christ as they say regarding a belief in Jesus, “Yes, and we find his philosophy to be servile and counter to human nature. We do not believe in this mythical figure and caution you to keep your beliefs in such legends to yourself.”
Within the Church of Satan, they accept homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism. God condemns all of these practices as sins (Genesis 19:1–13; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10).
While Christians should not accept homosexuality, we still are to be kind, caring, and helpful to these individuals.
The Church of Satan says it’s perfectly fine for individuals to live these lifestyles, engage in same-sex marriage, and follow transgenderism. This is not surprising since Satanists go against everything written in the Bible and treat it as a fable.
Many individuals believe Satanists use the inverted cross to go directly against Christ, but the symbol they use is the Sigil of Baphomet. The Sigil of Baphomet is a pentagram and was first seen in 1968.
This symbol is directly connected to the occult and goes against Christ. The Church of Satan is fine with using the number 666 because it causes “fear” to creep into Christians' hearts because of the association with the antichrist.
As believers, we know that 666 is associated with the antichrist, yet there is nothing to be afraid of because the antichrist has no power over the true Christ.
Another topic that circulates among individuals is that a person sells their soul to become a Satanist. This is not true because Satanists do not believe individuals have souls as they state, “There are no souls — and nobody to buy them.”
The Church of Satan does not believe in an afterlife because they believe once a person dies, everything is over. Since Satanists are atheists, they adhere to the “lights on, lights off” approach. In other words, once a person dies, there is no eternal life either in heaven or hell.
What Does This Mean?
As Christians, addressing issues such as Satanists can be quite frightening, but there is nothing to fear. God is bigger than any enemy, difficulty, or problem. The Church of Satan does not worship Satan, but they do worship themselves, which can be just as dangerous.
If you have a loved one who is involved with the Church of Satan and is a Satanist, pray for them and continue to share the Gospel with them.
Even though Satanists will be hateful and mean toward Christians, we are not to return their hate with hate. Instead, we are to extend Jesus’ love, kindness, and compassion to them.
Satanists have no concept of true sacrificial love, and in time many Satanists will find their faith system has nothing to offer them except empty promises. Only in Christ can we experience forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and redemption (John 3:16-17; Romans 10; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
For further reading:
How Did Lucifer Fall and Become Satan?
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