Right off the bat, I'll tell you that 'Satanism' is a loaded term with various interpretations. This podcast episode specifically focuses on the Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey.
Founded on April 30, 1966 c.e. by Anton Szandor LaVey, we are the first above-ground organization in history openly dedicated to the acceptance of Man’s true nature—that of a carnal beast, living in a cosmos that is indifferent to our existence. To us, Satan is the symbol that best suits the nature of we who are carnal by birth—people who feel no battles raging between our thoughts and feelings, we who do not embrace the concept of a soul imprisoned in a body. He represents pride, liberty, and individualism—qualities often defined as Evil by those who worship external deities, who feel there is a war between their minds and emotions.
In other words, Satan is a concept rather than an actual being and does not represent evil, as they argue that pride, liberty and individualism are not negative things.
However, the book of Proverbs says that pride comes before the fall:
Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall.
The whole thing is trolling
Anton LaVey presented Satanism as a counterculture to the counterculture of the hippie movement. Unlike conventional occultists, he was a showman who viewed Satanism as a social experiment, aiming to normalise immorality and degeneracy.
And he was of Jewish ancestry, ironically (or unironically).
The Church of Satan is a carnival act—Anton LaVey was a showman, not a philosopher, and it’s all just theatrics for misfits.
— Christopher Hitchens, writer
Influenced by fellow showman PT Barnum's philosophy that 'a sucker is born every minute,' he embraced the idea of exploiting gullible people. His Machiavellian approach was that, if you're stupid enough to buy into Satanism, you deserve to be labelled a Satanist.
The best is that Anton opposed drug use and upheld the law, even maintaining friendships with police officers. In other words, he was an establishment hack who didn't believe what he preached, but made money from it.
I'm quite certain that Satanists will disagree and present their own arguments for why they should be taken seriously but, ultimately, the Church of Satan is a bunch of atheists who like to dress up in drag and film their wives having sex with other men.
And they like the idea that people think they're scary.
The Church of Satan claims no devil, yet leans on his name—what’s that if not a con to shock the squares?
— Gore Vidal, writer
