Cheating

"Everyone has that first date. And the object is to hide your flaws, and then you are in a relationship and its all about hiding your disappointment, then once you are married its about hiding your sins."

Adelle DeWitt / Dollhouse

Going Away.... To The Future

Infected Mushrooms in "The Cities of the Future":

We gonna run run run
To the cities of the future
Take what we can and bring back home
So take me down to the cities of the future
Everybody's happy and i feel at home

I found myself going away
Never wanting to go back again.
Leaving all my thoughts behind
Searching for some new ones inside. (Full lyrics)

I, a long time ago, have promised myself to leave all that I have known for something better..... Someday!

Pelagianism: An Unorthodox Christian View

Pelagianism is Christian denomination that reforms the understanding about salvation; that is, the means by which humanity and God are restored to a right relationship. Pelagianism challenges two views held by most Christian churches, namely: The concept of the "Original Sin" and the salvation provided by the crucification of Jesus. Pelagianism was founded by a British monk called Pelagius.

Pelagius believed that the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin (the Fall) were restricted to themselves only; and thereby denied the belief that original sin was passed on to the children of Adam and thus to the human race. Adam's sin merely "set a bad example" for his descendants and Jesus "set a good example" for mankind (thus counteracting Adam's bad example). Pelagianism teaches that human beings are born in a state of innocence with a nature that is as pure as that which Adam was given at his creation before he sinned. Pelagius taught that salvation could be attained through free will alone, without the redemption of divine grace.

Pelagius taught that man has an unimpaired moral ability to choose that which is spiritually good and possesses the free will, ability, and capacity to do that which is spiritually good. This resulted in a gospel of salvation based on human works. Man could choose to follow the precepts of God and then follow those precepts because he had the power within himself to do so.

Thusly, Pelagius claims that humans are fully responsible through their free will, for both sins and goodness. Because by denying the effect of the original sin on mankind, humans cannot justify their actions as a consequence of the original sin. Likewise, humans are responsible for their own goodness and their own salvation. In a certain sense, and according to the teachings of Pelagius, Jesus' existence was a living proof that humans can be good, and had no redemption value beyond that.

Let's Pray To Satan

Meta-Religion: RHP vs LHP

One of the main concepts that need to be addressed when analyzing religions is the difference between a Left Hand Path (LHP) religion, and a Right Hand Path (RHP) religion. Since the exact definition of the RHP and LHP is not well established, I will approach those concepts from a point of view that is most meaningful for my personal views.

Most mainstream religions follow the RHP; Examples include all Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism). Most Satanic divisions follow the LHP.

So what do those paths entail?!

The main difference between those two paths is their views to individualism, morality, meaning, and the way their followers perceive idealism. First of all, LHP religions emphasize individualism and self-reliance. The RHP emphasizes the need for a deity or a divine being. The RHP believes that humans cannot achieve goodness on their own. The intent of "Right-Hand Path" belief systems is to attain proximity to divinity, or integration with divinity. Thats why we find RHP followers try to connect with a divine being through different methods. The RHP conceives perfection of its deity, and tries to achieve that perfection through methods dictated by that deity, or by imitating that deity.

We find that this issue in particular is a major attack point of RHP followers against LHP followers. Although atheism is not strictly a LHP (some atheists might subscribe to the RHP), but we find that RHP followers are afraid of atheists. Atheists are usually described as being immoral while "God" followers are described as moral. A common argument that RHP followers usually present is that they attain their morals from their holy books and their God, then they ask where do the atheists get their morals from?!

"Codes of morality, of course, have always been grounded in religion. For those of us in Western civilization, its tenets emanate from the Judeo-Christian ethos. By casting this heritage aside, and replacing it with nothing more than the conscience of lone individuals, we lay the groundwork for moral anarchy." — Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League

"How do we define 'good' if we don't believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what's good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each ourselves defining what's good, it's going to be a crazy world." — Tim Wildmon, American Family Association

If we look in depth at that argument we find that those RHP followers cannot perceive morality to be attained without a deity. This approach is very dangerous; A good article on this subject called: "Positive Atheism: Ethical Stability" demonstrates the volatility of the RHP approach to morality.

"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." — Albert Einstein

While the above quote handles a slightly different issue that might not apply to all RHP religions, this is another argument about the moral volatility of some mainstream religions.

In short, the RHP religions are based on the belief that humans need a deity to achieve goodness, morality, idealism, giving their life meaning, deliverance, and many other concepts that they believe that they cannot achieve on their own. In contrast, the LHP is based on the belief that humans need to work on and make an effort to achieve goodness, morality, meaning, ...etc, and that humans can achieve those results on their own. Results may vary, one person might find meaning different than another, another might find morality different than another, and some might define goodness different than others. Some might achieve their set goals, other might not. No deities are needed, no supernaturals, only the work of human hands. As we can see, choice and responsibility are very necessary for the LHP.

RHP is based on the belief that humans need to be part of something larger than themselves. They need a deity to give their lives meaning. The RHP religions usually require submission to a collective group and\or a deity. For this reason, we find that RHP followers are usually involved in working for a "greater will", a "divine plan", or "God's will"!! All those concepts diminish the value of the individual because those individuals are only perceived to have value through their connection to the deity. On the other hand, the LHP emphasizes the value of the individual independently of any groups they might participate in. The LHP is solitary, individualistic, personal, based on self-development, self-analysis, and self-empowerment.

This shades some light on the common questions Satanists receive by those with a RHP background. "Why do you worship Satan?", "Who do you worship?", as pressing as it might seem to the RHP followers to know "who to worship", this question is of least significance in the LHP, and is also pretty much meaningless question. The need of an object to worship is a characteristic of the RHP that can be very blinding when applying this methodology to a LHP religion. The RHP followers fail to perceive a religion where there is no-one to worship, where there is no leader to follow, where there is no absolute book of truth.

Another aspect where the LHP and RHP differ is their attitude toward the concept of darkness. LHP usually embraces darkness, while RHP usually fears darkness. Darkness symbolizes lack of sight, or more generally lack of knowledge. Darkness also symbolizes the unknown.

So why does the RHP fear the darkness while the LHP embraces it?!

The reason is that RHP is based on the belief that the humans lack the ability to learn and to explore the unknown. RHP is based on the concept of guidance. RHP depends on a divine being guiding its followers, a divine being to light up their path and show them the way. In contrast, the LHP is based on self-reliance. LHP encourages exploration of the darkness. LHP is based on the the humans' ability to create light in the darkness. So LHP does not avoid the darkness, but encourages its followers to explore that darkness, uncover its deepest secrets, and bring it into the light.

The conception of "God" is an obvious example of the RHP disbelief in the humans' ability to explore the unknown. While the exact details of the origin of the universe is unknown, the RHP simply does not give humans the chance to explore, and discover the reality of the origins of the universe on their own. Instead, the RHP provides unfounded conception of "God", thus releasing its followers from the need to explore.

In addition to what has been said, the LHP differs from the RHP in that the LHP emphasizes on freethought, whereas the RHP is usually dogmatic with strict rules. The LHP expects its followers to individually investigate, analyze, and decide their own set of beliefs, morals, ethics, make their own decisions, and plan their own lives. This is evident in all LHP literature that leaves so much for the individual to decide on their own. On the other hand, the RHP expects its followers to follow a strict set of rules and dogma. Many followers of the RHP become too engaged with following rules, and if no rules exist in their books, they might consult a theologian of their respective religion. Some RHP religions reach ridiculous extents in such rulings, that some RHP religions interfere with the personal life of its followers. For example, Islam and Judaism have strict rules of what its followers may and may not eat... In my personal opinion, those fine-grained rules that handles the most trivial issues, such as what and what not to eat, shows how much those RHP religions are absorbed in the process of dogmatism and the dire need for submission.

To make it in few points:

• RHP is the path of dependence on and\or submission to an ideal being, with perceived perfection, usually a deity.
  
• RHP is the path lightened by the perceived ideal, and guidance is provided through that ideal or its teachings.
  
• RHP is the path of integration with something larger than oneself, usually a deity, or the group of followers.
  
• LHP is the path of independence and self-reliance.
  
• LHP is the path of freethought.
  
• LHP is the path of responsibility through choice.
  
• LHP is the path of creating your own conception of morality, goodness, and idealism.
  
• LHP is the path of unguided explorations, and uncovering the unknown.
  
• LHP is the path of appreciating your own individualism and uniqueness.

Get 'Em Boys

Hamas launches over 70 rockets towards Israeli civilians...
One Israeli civilian killed.

Muntadhar Al-Zaidi is a hero!
He threw a pair of shoes at G. W. Bush, the president of America.

Egypt saves the day.
Egypt sends ambulances to Palestine in response to Israeli attacks that killed and injured hundreds.

Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 3

The Book of Lucifer:
The "book of Lucifer" is my personal favorite part of the Satanic Bible. This is the book of Enlightenment. While the "book of Satan" states many of the Satanic beliefs, it lacks presenting explanations and justifications for those beliefs. The "book of Lucifer" is basically the more explained and justified part of the bible.

Lavey provides this magnificent introduction:
The Roman god, Lucifer, was the bearer of light, the spirit of the air, the personification of enlightenment. In Christian mythology he became synonymous with evil, which was only to have been expected from a religion whose very existence is perpetuated by clouded definitions and bogus values! It is time to set the record straight. False moralisms and occult inaccuracies must be corrected. Entertaining as they might be, most stories and plays about Devil worship must be recognized as the obsolete absurdities they are. It has been said "the truth will make men free". The truth alone has never set anyone free. It is only DOUBT which will bring mental emancipation. Without the wonderful element of doubt, the doorway through which truth passes would be tightly shut, impervious to the most strenuous poundings of a thousand Lucifers. How understandable that Holy Scripture should refer to the Infernal monarch as the "father of lies" - a magnificent example of character inversion. If one is to believe this theological accusation that the Devil represents falsehood, then it surely must be concurred that it was HE, NOT GOD, THAT ESTABLISHED ALL SPIRITUAL RELIGIONS AND WHO WROTE ALL OF THE HOLY BIBLES! When one doubt is followed by another, the bubble, grown large from long accumulated fallacies, threatens to burst. For those who already doubt supposed truths, this book is revelation. Then Lucifer will have risen. Now is the time for doubt! The bubble of falsehood is bursting and its sound is the roar of the world!

References:
The Satanic Bible, by Anton Lavey (PDF)

In this series:
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 1
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 2
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 3

Beginning of Unwisdom

"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world."

Richard Dawkins

Enough said.

Sado Maso 2

A second look at the dark side of life:

Mortal Love in "I Want to Die":

We have touched for the last time
You are long gone, in love with someone else
I now fear nothing but life itself
And I have learned that living is just a slow way to die
I do not believe in life or in love anymore.
The joy I feel are the joys of emptiness
I hate myself for loving you
The fear I feel night after night has developed into a disease
No-one can see the emptiness in my eyes.
To escape life itself now seems the only solution
With relief I look forward of letting go of the pain
Finally... there is peace in my soul
To lie dead without a concern, without a tear,
You own my heart
And life without you is so immensely painful
Just to think of you, talk about you, dream of you,
makes tears stream down my face
I cannot imagine happiness without your beautiful smile,
your angelic face,
your wonderful body and your good heart:
You are everything, I am nothing
I want to die
But really... I am already dead (Full lyrics)

Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 2

The Book of Satan:
The "book of satan" is composed of five parts. It contains several verses that contains relevations about the falsehood of several religions and the 'religious institutions'.
Lavey provides this introduction:
The Devil has been attacked by the men of God relentlessly and without reservation. Never has there been an opportunity, short of fiction, for the Dark Prince to speak out in the same manner as the spokesmen of the Lord of the Righteous. The pulpit-pounders of the past have been free to define "good" and "evil" as they see fit, and have gladly smashed into oblivion any who disagree with their lies - both verbally and, at times, physically. Their talk of "charity", when applied to His Infernal Majesty, becomes an empty sham - and most unfairly, too, considering the obvious fact that without their Satanic foe their very religions would collapse.

The Book of Satan I:

1. In this arid wilderness of steel and stone I raise up my voice that you may hear. To the East and to the West I beckon. To the North and to the South I show a sign proclaiming: Death to the weakling, wealth to the strong!
   In this verse, Lavey admits the truth that the "Rule of the Jungle" is the supreme law. This law is justifiably true - and in my personal judgment is also fair.
   
   
2. Open your eyes that you may see, Oh men of mildewed minds, and listen to me ye bewildered millions!
   
3. For I stand forth to challenge the wisdom of the world; to interrogate the "laws" of man and of "God"!
   
4. I request reason for your golden rule and ask the why and wherefore of your ten commandments.
   Lavey publicly and clearly states his challenge to the "laws of Man": The laws of man are those laws that are created by people to control other people. He also claims a challenge to the "laws of God". In this context, Lavey mentions God in its Christian interpretation [hence he uses "God" with quotes].
   
   
5. Before none of your printed idols do I bend in acquiescence, and he who saith "thou shalt" to me is my mortal foe!
   Lavey states his refusal to follow divine idols or commands. The term "thou shalt" means being given orders, but Satanists hate to be given orders, and so Lavey states animosity towards those who give orders.
   
   
6. I dip my forefinger in the watery blood of your impotent mad redeemer, and write over his thorn-torn brow: The TRUE prince of evil - the king of slaves!
   In Christian mythology, as Jesus [The son of God] was on the cross, "a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." (Luke 23:38)^(*). Lavey mentions this incident and states the slogans he would think be more befitting:
   1- The TRUE prince of evil: Lavey states that Jesus is the true evil, because his story is meant to spread lies, teach hypocrisy, and enslave his followers through a questionable sacrifice.
   2- The King of Slaves: Many followers of the Abrahamic religions consider themselves as slaves to God. Hence the name the King of Slaves. Here we notice that Christianity and other religions are trying to take away the poison of the concept of Slavery. Slavery and enslavement is a very great offense, but we find that in those religious circuits people would be calling themselves as slaves without any sense of shame or indignity.
   
   
7. No hoary falsehood shall be a truth to me; no stifling dogma shall encramp my pen!
   Lavey makes a solid statement about his and other Satanists' commitment to the truth. He states that he will not believe in falsehood, or support false religions or ideologies.
   
   
8. I break away from all conventions that do not lead to my earthly success and happiness.
   Ethical Egoism: Every person has a duty to be happy and successful. Lavey and other Satanists need to accomplish that duty even if that meant having to break customs and conventions.
   
   
9. I raise up in stern invasion the standard of the strong!
   
10. I gaze into the glassy eye of your fearsome Jehovah, and pluck him by the beard; I uplift a broad-axe, and split open his worm-eaten skull!
    
11. I blast out the ghastly contents of philosophically whited sepulchers and laugh with sardonic wrath!
    Again, Lavey is challenging other religions to prove their worth. Lavey issues a personal challenge to Abrahamic God and his teachings, and describes them as being powerless and philosophically corrupt.

References:
The Satanic Bible, by Anton Lavey (PDF)
The Christian Bible / The New Testament^(*) (PDF)

In this series:
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 1
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 2
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 3

Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 1

Introduction:
It is important to note that, although the book is titled "The Satanic Bible", it does not represent satanism fully. Satanism has no authoritative books that can be taken as absolutes in Satanism. Further more, this bible was written in the late 1960s by Anton Lavey. Anton Lavey has created what is called The First (above-ground) Church of Satan, representing satanism as a religion at par with other religions. And in his view, creating a church and a bible was necessary. Many Satanists have criticized Anton Lavey and what he has done, especially that for many Satanists, Satanism was never meant to be an organized religion.
Personally, I don't agree with everything Anton Lavey says in his book. Nonetheless, I do recognize the importance of his work. Anton Lavey's work has created a sect called "Laveyan Satanism" to differentiate them from other Satanic beliefs.

The Nine Satanic Statements:

1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
   
   Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary defines indulgence thusly: "To give oneself up to; not to restrain or oppose; to give free course to; to gratify by compliance; to yeild to." The dictionary definition of compulsion is: "The act of compelling or driving by a force, physical or moral; constraint of the will; (compulsory, obligatory)." In other words, indulgence implies choice, whereas compulsion indicates the lack of choice.
   
   
2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
   
   This is for the most part a criticism of prayer in other religions. Many religions advocate wasting one's life on prayer and other 'spiritual pipe dreams'. On the other hand, Laveyian Satanism advocates living the moment, in an effective manner, by taking action. After all, actions speak louder than words.
   
   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.
   
   
3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
   
   The Satanic Bible starts with this excerpt to show the amount of hypocrisy and self-deceit advocated by some religions, including Christianity:
   "On Saturday night I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tentshow evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they'd be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence."
   "I knew then that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will out!"
   
   
4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates!
   
   This is a direct contradiction to the Christian teachings of "Love your enemy"! This obviously is another act of hypocritical self-deceit that is mentioned in #3.
   
   You cannot love everyone; it is ridiculous to think you can. If you love everyone and everything you lose your natural powers of selection and wind up being a pretty poor judge of character and quality. If anything is used too freely it loses its true meaning. Therefore, the Satanist believes you should love strongly and completely those who deserve your love, but never turn the other cheek to your enemy!
   Love is one of the most intense emotions felt by man; another is hate. Forcing yourself to feel indiscriminate love is very unnatural. If you try to love everyone you only lessen your feelings for those who deserve your love.
   
   
5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
   
   This -again- is a direct contradiction to the Christian teachings of "And unto him that smiteth thee on the [one] cheek offer also the other;" (Luke 6:29)^(*). This Christian teaching is flawed in every possible way. When someone hurts you or attacks you, you should not standstill welcoming for a second attack. Maybe the black slaves should have not fought for their freedom, and offered their children for slavery?! Right?! Wrong!! But thats the kind of behavior that Christianity is teaching.
   
   He who turns the other cheek is a cowardly dog!
   
   "Love one another" it has been said is the supreme law, but what power made it so? Upon what rational authority does the gospel of love rest? Why should I not hate mine enemies - if I "love" them does that not place me at their mercy?
   
   
6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!
   
   I already discussed the need to recognize and immobilize psychic vampires. (X-Ref).
   
   
7. Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all!
   
   
8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
   
   This should be interpreted in the light of the first statement: "indulgence instead of abstinence". The moral taboo advocated by religions create compulsion through abstinence. Satanism represents the abolishment of religious taboos (aka sins).
   
   
9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!
   
   A very satirical -yet very true- statement of the relation between Satan and the Christian church.

References:
The Satanic Bible, by Anton Lavey (PDF)
The Christian Bible / The New Testament^(*) (PDF)

PS: The italicized parts are explanations quoted from The Satanic Bible

In this series:
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 1
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 2
Readings From The Satanic Bible - Part 3