World views are a crux for the outpouring of ideologies, terminologies, and philosophies. One of the questions many today face, is “Why God?” It would appear as though most of mankind fundamentally has an understanding of their creator, with the exception of individuals struggling with mental illness, and from an early age, we walk different paths in life where we either pursue that inherent acknowledgment of God’s existence, or we flee from it.
I don’t use the word “Inherent,” lightly. Nobody blasphemes Ishtar or Allah when they stumble their toe on the coffee table or trip over a stone. I use these examples, because the feeling of surprise has a tendency to bring out our innermost thoughts. Usually, when expressing sudden disappointment or surprise from stream of subconscious, exclaiming the name of Jesus with contempt or requesting that God condemns the object to damnation, is 99% of the time peoples first reaction.
Are you a non-believer, you who just read that example? Do you feel the swelling inside you? To maybe say, “It’s just a figure of speech!” Well, this is for you. Because today, I want to address the 2 choices people ultimately have as far as a world view is concerned.
(I want to make a brief disclaimer, and mention that Satanism is not the same thing as Luciferianism. Satanism is actually more so putting a name to atheism. They do not adhere to any god or gods, teaching that the highest power is one’s self. Luciferianism is the worship and devotion to Lucifer of the Bible, and that will be a separate subject for another time. If you are a Satanist, or you know someone who is, I encourage you to read through the full article. I’m the guy who believes God loves you, and that Lucifer wants to use you, among others, to hurt the God who created you. I’m the guy who wants you to know that Lucifer’s Kingdom on earth is a counterfeit, and is being used to make you believe the God of the Bible is evil, and that Christians are equally horrible. I want to prove to you that the Lord truly calls us to righteous living, in a manner that is respectful to others, while Satanism plants seeds of deceit and self-absorption, though you’ve been taught that it is a respectful religion to all people.)
One of the more mind-numbing objections I’ve heard to Christianity, is “Religion is just a set of rules used to control people.” If that were the case, then Satanism (Better known as standard atheism) isn’t any different, if anything it’s a lot worse. Buddhism is nothing but rules to live by, and completely lacks reverence toward a deity or a pantheon of deities. Wouldn’t you agree it’s odd that the only vendetta which strikes us personally is towards Christianity? That’s why I say, “Inherently.”
The Bible gives us 10 commandments, and contrary to popular belief, Satanism actually has 11 commandments, known as the “11 Satanic Rules of the Earth.” The 11 Rules were written by the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton Szandor LaVey.
Before anybody thinks I’m making this up, and before anybody tries to say, “you probably just got one satanists interpretation, and now you’re going to manipulate it,” I want to establish that everything you read will be information you can find on churchofsatan(.com), so it’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth.
So what are the 11 Satanic Rules of the Earth?:
- Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
- Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
- When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
- If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
- Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
- Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.
- Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
- Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
- Do not harm little children.
- Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
- When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.
For my fellow Christians, if not already evident, “lair” is LaVey’s terminology for ‘thine place of dwelling..’ or, a person’s home. What’s funny is that the dictionary defines “lair” as (n) “a wild animal’s resting place, especially one that is well hidden.” This is typical terminology for one who believes we are evolved from monkeys, and that humans have no domain over animals (Genesis 1:26), which would circle back to my opening statement, that world views are a crux for the outpouring of ideologies, terminologies, and philosophies.
Let’s take a crack at these one at a time, Satanic Rule #1: “Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.” In other words, “Sit down, shut up, and eat what I’m selling.” One of the things that isn’t included in the New Testament texts, are the questions the churches asked Paul. In fact, there are multiple letters where the churches wrote to the apostles, regarding questions and concerns they had.
I’ll even be the first to say, if your Christian church, doesn’t have an open-door policy, allowing questions and discourse to take place, I would stress the importance of either trying to create that dialogue, or finding a church which welcomes it. When you read LaVey’s 11 Rules, it becomes more and more evident that the man wasn’t a fan of people who challenged him, which transitions this piece marvelously into Satanic Rule #2: “Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.”
It’s got to be nearly clear at this point, the same spirit which intoxicates LaVey, dwelt in the presence of Muhammad, for even Islamic texts say, “But when you are invited, enter, and, when your meal is ended, then disperse; neither lingering for conversation; verily this annoys the Prophet,” (Surah Al- Ahzab — v53). An introverted spirit is generally prevalent in people who just want others to follow them, without having any interaction with them, they’re reclusive and distant even from those they persuade. This is noticeable with discernment. Which, if not demonstrated by now, becomes more evident in Rules 3 & 4:
- When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
- If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
“If you’re going to come over to my home, comfort me, or get out.” This is about as contrary to biblical teaching as it gets. We as Christians are supposed to warmly welcome people into our homes, making them feel comfortable and serving them even though they are in our home. Even Rule #4 is abrasive to Christian teachings. James 2: 1-13 is known as a warning against partiality, it pertains to having guests in your home, and warns believers to treat the poor guest equal to the rich guest.
‘(5)Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? (9)But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.’
(James 2:5,9)
Dear Mr. Atheist, I try my best to be a reasonable person, and I like to give credit where credit is due. However, I do have to point out that Satanic Rule’s No. 5 & 6 are counterfeit practices stolen from the Bible.
“Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.” We all agree that rape is a horrible thing, and I’ll be the first to condemn it. We even see such a thing condemned in Judges chapters 19 & 20. To summarize, a Levite was traveling with his concubine. When traveling through the Tribe of Benjamin, a group of “troublemakers,” gang-raped the concubine until she was dead, passing her from man to man until they all had their fill. The Levite responded by cutting her body into 12 pieces and sending each piece to every tribe of Israel to show them what the men had done. (20) When the tribe of Benjamin refused to hand over the “troublemakers,” the other tribes came against them, slaughtering them, and leaving only 400 men remaining. Lastly, it goes without saying that the Christian perspective of sex is that we should refrain from pursuing promiscuity, and abstain from sexual relationships until it’s within the confines of Marriage. Biblically speaking, sex is one of the things that sanctifies and consummates a marriage (Hebrews 13:4, Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31) and the “Do’s and Don’ts” stretch a bit further than consent. We believe that sex is much more than a physical act, if it were, then horrible things such as rape wouldn’t cause PTSD. We believe that sex should be intimate, and emotion should be attached. So again, we find the Satanic Rules stealing from the bible, stating that sex should be consensual, but then moves into an ideology that promotes sexual immorality. This is simply virtue signaling, as it still leaves room for people to get hurt. God’s guidelines are always put in place to minimize suffering in our lives outside of self-crucifixion (Denying the flesh).
Another rule I’ll give credit to, is Rule #6: “Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.” Our 8th commandment tells us not to steal, and the summery of the law, is to love our neighbor as ourselves. This would include taking each other’s troubles upon ourselves.
Rule #7 is a short answer from me, to refresh, it states, “Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.” As Christians, we’re warned against dabbling in the occult and practicing witchcraft, which is a completely separate conversation in itself as to why.
Moving forward, Rules #8 & #9 are biblically derived. Starting with #8: “Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.” This rule is simply stating that one shouldn’t complain or grumble about things that need not concern them. the Bible says in James 5:9, “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.’ the Bible references complaining commonly, even covertly through passages such as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Satanic Rule #9 isn’t exclusive either, the Rule speaks in regards to hurting Children. the Bible is very serious about not only hurting children, but also leading them in the right direction. Matthew 18:6 says, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea,” which is also accounted for in Luke 17:2, and Mark 9:42. the Bible even goes the extra mile to encourage people to not only refrain from hurting children, but to take joy in them and to not even have contempt towards them. Matthew 18:10 says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” And Psalm 127:3-5 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”
Rule #10: “Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.” I want to refer back to the verse I held against the rule’s regarding “lairs.” Genesis 1:26 tells us, “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.’”
God made sure to tell us in the first book, and first chapter of his word, that humans have dominion over the animals, the implication here is that we are to treat them with respect and without cruelty, for is our God cruel? Quite the opposite, he is compassionate, loving and generous, and I’d argue that most people’s examples of God’s cruelty, were merely God’s response to human cruelty. Which, as a separate note, is something I find interesting when held to the objection, “If God exists why does he allow evil to happen.”
The last Satanic Rule of the Earth, is #11: “When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.“
Granted, the Bible puts it a little differently, leaving out the idea of destroying people who trouble you. I think it’s interesting that atheism uses objections concerning a “violent God,” yet the pseudo-ethical standard is to destroy the people who bother you.
The Bible actually has a few examples that contends with both Satanic Rule #8 and #11, 1 Thessalonians 4:11 says, “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” Again, we see the Bible encouraging patience rather than wrath toward those who disagree or cause trouble, in 2 Timothy 2:24 where it says, “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.”
In conclusion, there are stark comparisons between the philosophy of Atheism and Satanism. It isn’t an illogical claim to say they are mutually exclusive to each other. My hope, is that anyone who defines themselves as one or the other, would begin to reconsider their objections against Christianity, and understand that their ideology has just as many rules as the Bible, but that they are rooted in self-interest, malice and malevolence. LeVey’s Satanic Rules of the Earth are the typical product of the enemy. His repeated formula consists of stealing from God, redefining the terms, and centering them around love of self rather than loving your neighbor. His job is to remove God from the equation, it was Lucifer who said, “I will be like the Most High. His Agenda is to reign supreme over creation, drawing people under his arm by convincing them that they can be moral without the one who set the objective moral standard, but his formula at work in people’s lives has produced madness and chaos, pain and destruction. Alice Cooper once said, “Humans make lousy gods,” and he’s right. When left unchecked, to follow our deceitful hearts, we lead ourselves away from the one who can sanctify us, and further into our demise. The evidence of this is found in the personal testimony of every Christian who found themselves crying out to God in submission because of the valley their choices led them into.
“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.”
[1 John 3:1]
