Criticism and Attacks on Satanism by Various Authors

There is a shortage of intelligent anti-Satanism work, and most criticisms concentrate on inverted Christianity and Devil Worship, becoming paranoid and completely contentless rants. These essays compiled by Vexen Crabtree are some of the more informed attacks on Satanism that have been brought to my attention.

1. Satanism - A Critique: By Astolath / @stolath, 2002 Mar: Aimed largely against Satanists themselves.

2. Why I'm Not a Satanist: By Rev. R. Deinsen, 2001 Jul: Deinsen sums up several major pitfalls of Satanism.

3. Hypocrisy, Plagiarism and LaVey: By John Smith, 2001

4. "Black Solstice's Holy War" by Vexen Crabtree (2001): My own summary of the weaknesses of contemporary Satanism.

1. The Leaders of the Church of Satan

Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, was an infamous critical thinker. One of his own criticisms of Satanism was that of insincere concocted nonconformity:

“A person devoid of special ability must work harder to become "special," which often results in an abrasive pretence of infallibility. Combine the overachiever's pseudo-specialty with his hauteur of infallibility, and all that's lacking to complete the profile of contemporary "cool" is freeze-dried nonconformity. If nonconformity is Satanism's strength, planned or put-on nonconformity is its greatest weakness. The predictable antics of heavy-handed "Satanists" are quite profitably exploited by non-Satanists.”

"The Devil's Notebook" by Anton LaVey (1992)₁

Another word of warning from the current High Priest of the Church of Satan strikes a similar tone, warning of those who think they're greater than they are and who represent Satanism, embarrasingly and badly:

“One of the dangers of Satanic philosophy is that it "puffs-up" some people, giving them over-inflated illusions of their own value to others. [...] These folks all take the notion that "You are your own God" and then assume that they are everyone else's God as well. And they forget, that all Gods are not of equal stature. [...] Satanism's championing of self-empowerment is used against Satanism itself when over-zealous amateurs decide that they have a mission to represent Satanism.”

"The Satanic Scriptures" by Peter Gilmore (2007)₂

2. Counter Criticism

Most criticism is from those who do not understand Satanism, and mistake it for misguided Christian Devil Worship. Generally there is little point in formally addressing such criticism. These are some counters to some of the more intelligent criticisms.