- W A N T E D ! -
GOD
DEAD OR ALIVE
IT is a popular misconception that the Satanist does not believe in God. The concept of
"God", as interpreted by man, has been so varied throughout the ages, that the Satanist
simply accepts the definition which suits him best. Man has always created his gods,
rather than his gods creating him. God is, to some, benign - to others, terrifying. To the
Satanist "God" - by whatever name he is called, or by no name at all - is seen as the
balancing factor in nature, and not as being concerned with suffering. This powerful
force which permeates and balances the universe is far too impersonal to care about the
happiness or misery of flesh-and-blood creatures on this ball of dirt upon which we
live.
Anyone who thinks of Satan as evil should consider all the men, women, children, and
animals who have died because it was "God's will". Certainly a person grieving the untimely
loss of a loved one whould much rather have their loved one with them than in God's hands!
Instead, they are unctuously consoled by their clergyman who says, "It was God's will, my
dear"; or "He is in God's hands now, my son." Such phrases have been a convenient way for
religionists to condone or excuse the mercilessness of God. But if God is in complete control
and as benign as he is supposed to be, why does He allow these things to happen? Too long
have religionists been falling back on their bibles and rulebooks to prove or disprove, justify,
condemn, or interpret.
The Satanist realizes that man, and the action and reaction of the universe, is responsible for
everything, and doesn't mislead himself into thinking that someone cares. No longer will we
sit back and accept "fate" without doing anything about it, just because it says so in Chapter
such and such, Psalm so and so - and that's that! The Satanist knows that praying does
absolutely no good - in fact, it actually lessens the chance of success, for the devoutly
religious too often sit back complacently and pray for a situation which, if they were to do
something about it on their own, could be accomplished much quicker!
The Satanist shuns terms such as "hope" and "prayer" as they are indicative of apprehension.
If we hope and pray for something to come about, we will not act in a positive way which will
make it happen. The Satanist, realizing that anything he gets is of his own doing, takes
command of the situation instead of praying to God for it to happen. Positive thinking and
positive action add up to results.
Just as the Satanist does not pray to God for assistance, he does not pray for forgiveness for
his wrong doings. In other religions, when one commits a wrong he either prays to God for
forgiveness, or confesses to an intermediary and asks him to pray to God for forgiveness for
his sins. The Satanist knows that praying does no good, confessing to another human being,
like himself, accomplishes even less - and is, furthermore, degrading.
When a Satanist commits a wrong, he realizes that it is natural to make a mistake - and if he is
truly sorry about what he has done, he will learn from it and take care not to do the same thing
again. If he is not honestly sorry about what he has done, and knows he will do the same thing
over and over, he has no business confessing and asking forgiveness in the first place. But this
is exactly what happens. People confess their sins so that they can clear their consciences -
and be free to go out and sin again, usually the same sin.
and be free to go out and sin again, usually the same sin.
There are many diferent interpretations of God, in the usual sense of the word, as there are
types of people. The images run from a belief in a god who is some vague sort of "universal
cosmic mind" to an anthropomorphic deity with a long white beard and sandals who keeps
track of every action of each individual.
Even within the confines of a given religion, the personal interpretations of God differ greatly.
Some religions actually go so far as to label anyone who belongs to a religious sect other than
their own a heretic, even though the overall doctrines and impressions of godliness are nearly
the same. For example: The Catholics believe that the Protestants are doomed to Hell simply
because they do not belong to the Catholic Church. In the same way, many splinter groups of
the Christian faith, such as the evangelical or revivalist churches, believe that the Catholics
are heathens who worship graven images. (Christ is depicted in the image that is most
psychologically akin to the individual worshipping him, and yet the Chrisitans criticize
"heathens" for the worship of graven images.) And the Jews have always been given the
Devil's name.
Even though the god in all of these religions is basically the same, each regards the way
chosen by the others as reprehensible, and to top it all, religionists actually PRAY for one
another! They have scorn for the brothers of the right-hand path because their religions carry
different labels, and somehow this animosity must be released. What better way than through
"prayer"! What a simperingly polite way of saying: "I hate your guts," is the thinly disguised
device known as praying for your enemy! Praying for one's own enemy is nothing more than
bargain-basement anger, and of a decidedly shoddy and inferior quality!
If there has been so much violent discrepancy as to the proper way in which to worship God,
how many different interpretations of God can there be - and who is right?
All devout "white-lighters" are concerned with pleasing God so that they might have the
"Pearly Gates" opened for them when they die. Nevertheless, if a man has not lived his life in
accordance with the regulations of his faith, he can at the last minute call a clergyman to his
deathbed for a final absolution. The priest or minister will then come running on the double,
to "make everything right" with God and see to it that his passport to the Heavenly Realm is
in order. (The Yezidis, a sect of Devil worshippers, take a different viewpoint. They believe
that God is all-powerful, but also all-forgiving, and so accordingly feel that it is the Devil
whom they must please, as he is the one who rules their lives while here on earth. They
believe so strongly that God will forgive all of their sins once they have been given the last
rites, that they feel no need to concern themselves with the opinion God may hold of them
while they live.)
With all of the contradictions in the Christian scriptures, many people currently cannot
rationally accept Christianity the way it has been practiced in the past. Great numbers of
people are beginning to doubt the existence of God, in the established Christian sense of the
word. So, they have taken to calling themselves "Christian Atheists". True, the Christian Bible
is a mass of contradictions; but what could be more contradictory than the term "Christian
Atheist"?
If prominent leaders of the Christian faith are rejecting the past interpretations of God, how
then can their followers be expected to adhere to previous religious tradition?
With all the debates about whether or not God is dead, if he isn't he had better have MEDICARE!
