Helpful Score: 6
LaVey was perhaps the first person to embrace the label "Satanist." He did not, however, take himself as seriously as some who come after him have done. From an Amazon.com review:
"LaVey's book is *not* an occult text: he is openly contemptuous of "occultniks." Rather, it is a bitter yet ultimately life-affirming rant, in the tradition of Great American Misanthropes like Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. If you read it the way you might read *Huckleberry Finn* or "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," you'll Get the Point... and the Joke. (LaVey was also a humorist who frequently wrote with tongue-in-cheek... something which many of the Deadly Serious Death Metal Types all too often forget)....If you want to understand modern Satanism -- or if you want to receive a refreshing blast of bitterness and misanthropy from one of the last great cynics -- this book is a must for your collection." --Kevin T. Filan
This is an entertaining work in small doses, but imo it's a bit much all at once. I find cynicism wearing after a time. Still, this is a valuable work that should not be overlooked in any study of modern religious and spiritual paths.
"LaVey's book is *not* an occult text: he is openly contemptuous of "occultniks." Rather, it is a bitter yet ultimately life-affirming rant, in the tradition of Great American Misanthropes like Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. If you read it the way you might read *Huckleberry Finn* or "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," you'll Get the Point... and the Joke. (LaVey was also a humorist who frequently wrote with tongue-in-cheek... something which many of the Deadly Serious Death Metal Types all too often forget)....If you want to understand modern Satanism -- or if you want to receive a refreshing blast of bitterness and misanthropy from one of the last great cynics -- this book is a must for your collection." --Kevin T. Filan
This is an entertaining work in small doses, but imo it's a bit much all at once. I find cynicism wearing after a time. Still, this is a valuable work that should not be overlooked in any study of modern religious and spiritual paths.
Helpful Score: 4
The author provided a useful perspective on the nature of man and society, as long as the author isn't taken too seriously. Fun and irreverent.
There was a lot of anti-satan worshiper talk when I was growing up, and I dislike talking about things when I don't really know, so I sought out information. They do not sacrifice babies or dogs in the woods. They revere animals and children as ideal spirits, and are respectful of all wild things. Satanism is essentially ritualized atheism for horndogs who love pissing off christians. I agreed that the human animal needs ritual and fellowship in the ritual structure. The big problem for atheists is filling that need without compromising belief. The big problem with the church of satan is that it's progenitor structured it in a way that even now after his death it's a bit of a personality cult.
There was a lot of anti-satan worshiper talk when I was growing up, and I dislike talking about things when I don't really know, so I sought out information. They do not sacrifice babies or dogs in the woods. They revere animals and children as ideal spirits, and are respectful of all wild things. Satanism is essentially ritualized atheism for horndogs who love pissing off christians. I agreed that the human animal needs ritual and fellowship in the ritual structure. The big problem for atheists is filling that need without compromising belief. The big problem with the church of satan is that it's progenitor structured it in a way that even now after his death it's a bit of a personality cult.
