- W A N T E D !

- GOD DEAD OR ALIVE

IT is a popular misconception that the Satanist does not believe in God. The con
cept of
"God", as interpreted by man, has been so varied throughout the ages, that the S
atanist
simply accepts the definition which suits him best. Man has always created his g
ods,
rather than his gods creating him. God is, to some, benign - to others, terrifyi
ng. To the
Satanist "God" - by whatever name he is called, or by no name at all - is seen a
s the
balancing factor in nature, and not as being concerned with suffering. This powe
rful
force which permeates and balances the universe is far too impersonal to care ab
out 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 t
he untimely
loss of a loved one would 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 convenien
t way for
religionists to condone or excuse the mercilessness of God. But if God is in com
plete 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 di
sprove, 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 lon
ger 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 prayin
g 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 the
y 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 a
pprehension.
If we hope and pray for something to come about, we will not act in a positive w
ay which will
make it happen. The Satanist, realizing that anything he gets is of his own doin
g, takes
command of the situation instead of praying to God for it to happen. Positive th
inking and
positive action add up to results.
Just as the Satanist does not pray to God for assistance, he does not pray for f
orgiveness for
his wrong doings. In other religions, when one commits a wrong he either prays t
o God for
forgiveness, or confesses to an intermediary and asks him to pray to God for for
giveness for
his sins. The Satanist knows that praying does no good, confessing to another hu
man 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 mistak
e - and if he is
truly sorry about what he has done, he will learn from it and take care not to d
o 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 different 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 Go
d 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 godlin
ess 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 splinte
r groups of
the Christian faith, such as the evangelical or revivalist churches, believe tha
t 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 Christians c
riticize
"heathens" for the worship of graven images.) And the Jews have always been give
n the
Devil's name.
Even though the god in all of these religions is basically the same, each regard
s 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 r
eligions carry
different labels, and somehow this animosity must be released. What better way t
han through
"prayer"! What a simperingly polite way of saying: "I hate your guts," is the th
inly disguised
device known as praying for your enemy! Praying for one's own enemy is nothing m
ore 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 w
orship 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 h
ave the
"Pearly Gates" opened for them when they die. Nevertheless, if a man has not liv
ed his life in
accordance with the regulations of his faith, he can at the last minute call a c
lergyman to his
deathbed for a final absolution. The priest or minister will then come running o
n the double,
to "make everything right" with God and see to it that his passport to the Heave
nly 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 i
t is the Devil
whom they must please, as he is the one who rules their lives while here on eart
h. 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 hol
d of them
while they live.)
With all of the contradictions in the Christian scriptures, many people currentl
y 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 interpretatio
ns 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!