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I wanna say that this doesn't sway my system of beliefs until I find some hard evidence. Now I was just browsing through the forum and I saw this post



to which a few people answered in this way:



I totally understand where this is coming from, but take a second to step back and think about it. Does this ring a bell at all?

If not, here was my reply:



Now does it sound familiar?

So are we all hypocritical about faith?

I know these aren't the only reasons non-christians might be against christianity, but these are some of the very big reasons they use.

The thing is that the beliefs are different, however the grounds for which people argue... are the same?

I personally think that Anton LaVey did not abuse his lions (not dogs, he was in the circus), but the real point here is the hypocrisy that we point at each other, along with that ever-blaming finger.

What do you think? Please discuss.

It might just be people trying to make LaVey and Satanism look bad?

I have other reasons of disliking Christianity besides the fact that their leaders didn't even follow the beliefs. Many other reasons. It's natural to compare a philosophy to it's philosopher, so we can see how this philosophy affected the way that they lived, and how it might affect ours. It's not being a hypocrite, it's just a process of thinking and analyzing. I've never known Lavey, I don't know what his life was like, I don't think any of us here do unless we were close friends with him.

i have no idea
but lavey didnt have the most calm life thats for sure

My suggestion to you would be for you to read Satan Speaks! by Dr. LaVey, the chapter titled "To: All Doomsayers, Head-Shakers, Hand-Wringers, Worrywarts, Satanophobes, Indentity Christers, Survivor Counselors, Academia Nuts, & Assorted Tremblers" as far as this publicity nonsense is concerned. I will post for you an excerpt I typed up to use in a debate just last night when someone had made false claims that the reason Dr. LaVey wrote the books that he did is simply because of the profits he saw and the publicity he gained. He rather outrightly stated that the reasons for him writing were all but that. He was more of a pragmatic fellow than sceptics and head-nodders alike gave him credit for.



To read the rest of that wonderful essay, do purchase Satan Speaks!

The stories about him abusing his animals was also complete and utter bullshit. His neighbor filed false reports that were largely ignored after a few incidences turned up no evidence to support his claim. Said neighbor is in the film "Satanis: The Devil's Mass." Forgive the ad hominem, but he is an old grumpy Christian who didn't approve of Dr. LaVey nor his practices. He also complained that the lion kept him up at night, and was eventually the cause for Dr. LaVey having to give his lion to the San Francisco zoo. Zeena and Diane LaVey claim that he used an electric sort of tool on the animal to keep him at bay. Incase we are unaware of these two, they are/were viciously out to destroy Dr. LaVey's reputation. Most of these claims arose after his death, and after the reposession of the Black House. These witnesses' accounts alone are slander and have been denied by other witnesses as well.

LaVey's own words "Unfortunately, Togare had the habit of roaring at night, which kept the neighbors awake. Eventually a city ordinance was passed forbidding lions in private homes, and Togare was taken to the zoo." Zeena Schreck and her mother are simply pointing fingers, since they know that any evidence that they could have claim existed would have been destroyed by now.

Look around. You'll find most of this slander was started by that dynamic duo, and the media ate it up like freaking pigs.

I am a little uninformed about the name change deal, but... What the hell does it matter? Does it make him any less credible?

Satanism is not a faith. It is not a cause. It is simply a tool. It is hard to be a hypocrite when something adheres to you (within the boundaries of common sense and sound judgement), rather than the very opposite.

All I have to say is that the first thing I saw when I clicked on your link:

compiled by his daughter Zeena and Nikolas Schreck - February 2, 1998

after his death, and compiled by his daughter. She openly has tried to decimate his name and everything that he has had to do with Satanism. That's all. I don't believe anything she has said or ever will say.


:::EDIT:::

I just noticed something... that is COS.ORG. That is the "FIRST" COS... that is not the COS that ASL founded. The real website is:

www.churchofsatan.com

Not .org. Therefore, until reliable sources outside of a bitchy daughter and her husband/bf/lover/whatever... I will not believe anything she says.

But let's just say that she is true. Some of that... I wouldn't believe at all, but if some of it wasn't true... like playing in the orchestra or being a criminal photographer. Ok. That's not what was important. What IS important is that we have Satanism and the COS now. What they mean to us is what is important. ASL wanted us to go beyond him... to revolutionize our own worlds in a truely satanic fashion.

No problem, I am trying to do what I can to help any and all Satanists.

John Allee formed his own church just to feel important, I think that is called 'narcissism of small groups'. In any case there is no point trying to put down LaVey. If it wasn't for him we probably wouldn't be where we are today. We should be glad that he and not someone less qualified came up and started LaVeyan Satanism.

Hypocrisy is defined as the feigning of certain beliefs and practices. I do not think that LaVey was a hypocrite, from what I know he feigned no beliefs at all.

I do think that sometimes we all are hypocritical, some do not realise this. Others do and try not to be in future.