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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]1) The actual Church of Satan is a secular humanist organization whose primary goal is to undermine attempts by right-wing christian fundamentalist groups to turn the US into a theocracy (look up the Satanist response to the Texas anti-abortion laws for a perfect example).

2) Yes, there are some people who suffer from severe, untreated mental illness who commit horrible acts and claim to do so in the name of Satan.

3) There are also people who commit horrible acts and claim to do so in the name of Jesus.  These people, despite what many religious people will tell you, are not categorically different from those who commit the same acts in the name of Satan.

For example, a close friend is an assistant district attorney who has handled several child sexual abuse cases.  [b]One abuser was a devout Christian who molested a number of boys and his M.O. was to tell the boys how important sexual purity is and then demonstrate that touching their genitals is evil and a sin against Jesus…by touching their genitals.  He would proceed to molest them and then punish them if they appeared to enjoy it.

Is this man a true follower of Christianity?  He says he is.  He goes to church 3 times a week.  Pays his offerings, had a church wedding to a devout Christian woman and committed all his acts of abuse in his good Christian home or in the church building itself, referencing bible verses and Christian teachings literally as he molested prepubescent children. [/b]

A lot of Christians would say that he is not a “real” Christian, but when someone who claims to worship Satan then does something equally vile in pursuit of that belief, they say, “See, we told you Satan is a powerful leader of a real religion competing with Christianity for the souls of men!”

My take is that people who are driven to commit evil and abusive acts will grab on to any convenient ideology to justify themselves.  Blaming everything evil on Satan is a way to absolve yourself of responsibility for trying to combat evil.  People don’t commit child abuse and murder because the devil made them do it.  They do so because they have the right combination of mental health issues, trauma and opportunity to act out.

When we fight to normalize and increase access to mental health care, or to provide financial logistical and educational resources to parents that reduce neglect and trauma for at-risk children, the result is a decrease in violence and abuse in society.  But if we don’t want to do those things, saying that only Jesus can stop evil is a good excuse for not trying.

—Christian woman[/quote]

Different poster here, please humor me. In regards to the bolder: To my mind, the child abuser you describe is actually an adherent of the devil, not Christianity. He may not acknowledge it consciously, but he is following satanic impulses. Definitely not a Christian. He has wrapped himself in the cloak of Christianity, and that is why he is so dangerous.[/quote]

I believe the topic of this thread is Satanism. You're talking about the belief of some Christians that people who do atrocious things are being influenced by the devil. These are two different subjects.

A third confounding thing here is the idea that satanic cults exist in which people sacrifice babies etc to worship Satan.

And yet a fourth confounding factor is mentally ill people who hear voices and have delusions that the devil is controlling them or telling them to do things.

If op is talking about Satanism, the Church of Satan: this is the Anton LaVey stuff. They don't believe Satan exists, they don't worship Satan. Satan is the symbol for their core beliefs of self indulgence, carnality, non conformity, etc.

Then there are a few actual Satan worshippers who are. Like the people in Rosemary's baby I guess, but really not a lot of confirmed murders in the name of Satan. [/quote]

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