THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
	a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.

Newsgroups: alt.satanism,alt.magick.tyagi,talk.religion.misc,alt.answers,talk.answers,news.answers
Subject: alt.satanism FAQ 
Followup-To: alt.satanism,alt.magick.tyagi
Keywords: FAQ Satanism official controversy diversity
References: http://www.hollyfeld.org/~tyagi/nagasiva.html 
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Summary: This is the FAQ for the alt.satanism newsgroup (not to be confused with
         any others, of which there is no 'official' version, only those which
         have more or less support because of their age and how they speak to 
         the group-mind, often in simplistic and easily-believable ways). 
Replaces: 49960821 
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nocTifer)
Reply-to: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nocTifer)

Archive-name: religions/satanism/faq
Posting-Frequency: without warning 

Revised: 49960823

LOCATION

         http://www.hollyfeld.org/pub/Esoteric/FAQs/FAQ.tokustn.9608

______________________________________________________________________

                        CONTENTS

        00: Terminology and Introduction

        01: What is Satanism?
                Caveat (emptor? :>)
                Satanism
                Martyrdom and Morality
                The Tool of Language -- a Weapon of the Literati
        02: Isn't martyrdom an insult to Satanists?
        03: Do we have to die to be a martyr?  
                How does one join the GMC?
        04: Are you saying that all Satanists have to 
                sacrifice themselves?
        05: Do Satanists actually worship an evil god?
        06: Then do you *really* serve Satan?
        07: Why do you identify with such a negative force?
        08: Didn't God create Satan?
        09: C'mon, what *is* Satanism?  
                What are its religious rules?
        10: Why do so many Satanists seem to be merely 
                'anti-Christians'?
        11: So is Satanism a part of Christianity or not?
        12: Why are Satanists so egotistical?  
                Aren't they all reactionaries following 
                leaders who want them to be their slaves?
        13: What do Satanists believe, then?  
                Why do they have to be anti-social?
        14: Do certain beliefs keep one from being a member of the GMC?
                What about Science?
        15: What is to be gained from Satanism and nonbelief?
        16: Is the GMC solely a Western cult?
        17: Why can't you tell us more?  
                How can we recognize members of the GMC?

        18: Credits and Copyrights

______________________________________________________________________
                                                            FAQ begins 

00: Terminology and Introduction

        FAQ => Frequently Asked Questions
        GMC => Great Martyrdom Cult

        Definition is the first stage of the corruption of the GMC.  
        As we offer to define it, so does it pass into another form.  
        We know that this may sound quite evasive, but the GMC *IS* 
        evasive.  It is the manifestation of the unconscious mind of 
        our society.  The more we attempt to understand it, the more 
        it becomes impossible for us to understand.  It is the 
        equivalent of the Buddhist sunyata, which we can never 
        quantify, yet it has an everlasting quality of presence.

        The following is a document we concocted from a number of 
        exchanges we had with fellow Satanists in alt.satanism.  
        Please excuse its very rough form.  We've just compiled a 
        dozen or two posts and tried to make a coherent whole out of 
        it.  It is presented as a dialectic, with the preliminary 
        theory following the first question.


01: What is Satanism?

        Caveat (emptor? :>)

        I cannot speak for everyone, just as a Buddhist and Christian 
        can only describe what their religion is TO THEM, so I am 
        here only speaking of mine.  Satanism is in its formative 
        social stages at this time, given shape by many small groups 
        and individuals.  The term varies within many social 
        organizations (compare 'Witch') and so is impossible to 
        categorize in any absolute fashion.

        There are many attempts right now to DEFINE Satanism so that 
        it ceases to be an unknown.  Given this, one might say that 
        the Order-based social organism is attempting to infiltrate 
        and destroy this rebellious little faction by requiring 
        self-identification.  Self-definition is the first step to 
        co-opting a new social trend.  As I define Satanism for 
        everyone I do it a disservice, so take this in the spirit in 
        which it is meant - as a reflection of my experience and 
        dreams.   It in no way describes an orderly ORGANIZATION, but 
        a social trend, recurrently surfacing and disappearing.


        Satanism

        Satanism is the latest in a line of manifestations of the 
        Great Cult of Martyrdom.  I'm not quite sure of its origins, 
        but examples of it include Christianity and Witchcraft/Wicca.  
        Long ago these latter religions were manifestations of the 
        Great Martyrdom Cult, but over time they have been co-opted 
        by the establishment into social indoctrination schemes.  
        Today Christianity and Wicca (this last is part of a 
        conglomerate known to many as Neopaganism) are mixtures of 
        honest mystical rebellion and conformist religious cliques.

        The GMC is an occult network of those whose minds are 
        triggered by society into a direct confrontation with the 
        orthodox for the purposes of internal coherence.  It surfaces 
        with different names, at different times, and with different 
        'philosophies', but always toward the same eventual endpoint:
        
             the resolution of internally inconsistent energies 
           (internal to both the social group and the individual).

        An example:  Catholicism used to be a 'universal', inclusive 
        movement, yet now it excludes by virtue of its extremity and 
        its hierarchy.  It pins the badge of 'Satanist' upon those 
        whose lives it finds compete with its social, oppressive 
        power, and it encourages persecution through its fanaticism.

        The GMC surfaces here in the guise of 'Satanist'.  It holds 
        up the Shadow of Yahweh to the conscious mind of Catholicism 
        and espouses only the most extreme forms of individualism.  
        Catholicism must face its Shadow to some extent, and those 
        who are most vigilant in confronting the hypocrisy are quite 
        often killed (I think that the 'Inquisition' was largely a 
        reaction to a particular GMC success).

        Note that there is more than one way to 'kill' a member of 
        the GMC.  Here a few possibilities:

             1) Out and out crucifiction (pun intended)

             2) Co-opting the images/language/memory of the martyr

             3) Adopting the names and appearances of having 
                'converted', yet simply continuing the same 
                oppression under a new name.

        Essentially what the GMC comes down to is practicing my 
        spirituality in such a way as to bring up the repressed 
        unconscious energies of the culture in which I live.  This 
        often involves focussing upon certain 'unpopular' deity-
        images, doing 'taboo' things and sometimes bringing the 
        'hidden' practices out into the public eye.

        'Satan' derives from the word 'Shaitan', which means, 
        roughly, 'opponent' or 'adversary'.  When someone engages 
        energies which are in some way contradictory to our path, 
        they become our 'Satan'.  Such a person is seen in 
        different ways by different people.

        Some wish to rid themselves of this entity, vacating the 
        office until another entity comes along.   For some, Satan 
        is also an ally/guardian, in that She safeguards very 
        important energies of consciousness and, if appropriately 
        challenged, will yield this resource.

        In this way some adherents of the GMC become 'martyrs', or 
        those who are killed while practicing what they know to be 
        their religious path.  If these unconscious energies are 
        released too quickly or in too explosive a fashion, they 
        can backlash and kill the mage, as with Jesus the Christ.
        
        In the case of Christ, however, this martyrdom was part of 
        his formula, and his cult therefore carried on beyond his 
        life, irrepressably.

        The germinal form of the Great Martyrdom Cult (GMC) is what 
        I call The Heretics.  Satanists can be converted by a 
        'Church of Satan', but it'll take a while to co-opt 
        'Heretics', since 'heretics' oppose all doctrines and 
        organizations, PERIOD.  I tend to see the GMC as composed
        of 'agnostics' and 'anarchists'.  

        These are the Scientific and Political cultists, respectively.  
        The difference between these and nihilists is that the former 
        are not so much proposing an alternative as opposing the 
        oppression of the establishment for the health of all (and 
        sometimes for our own greater glory!).

        There are different stages that the Cult's forms undergo from 
        the time which they resurface until they are completely 
        co-opted.  One of the first steps is the infiltration of their 
        number with what are today called 'white-light bambis', who no 
        more have an understanding of what magick and social 
        transformation are than does today's average college student 
        understand political activism.

        A Satanist tends to oppose all authority that conflicts with 
        hir will.  The only variable is whether this opposition is 
        active or passive.  Heretics intentionally adopt labels which 
        the orthodoxy DEFINES as heretical (before or after the fact) 
        and they then associate with counter-cultural images.

        Satanism presupposes resisting or opposing that orthodoxy.  
        Satanism also seems to include self-promotion, sometimes at 
        the expense of others.  This is precisely what the Satanist 
        is doing with respect to society.

        The Satanist BECOMES the Demon which the oppressive Orthodoxy 
        begins to summon in its ignorance.  The Satanist simply 
        attempts to manifest the repressed energies.  Sometimes this 
        can result in nasty powder-burns, however.  ;>

        The Satanist BECOMES an image which the orthodoxy abhors.  
        She behaves AND speaks in ways which derive from the 
        unconscious mind of the society in which she lives - i.e. 
        those energies which the society has repressed are given 
        expression in hir).  It ain't about shoving the Orthodoxy's
        face in any 'facts', though it may include counter-
        propaganda.  It is a visceral, archetypal IMAGE which is 
        portrayed in behavior and words.

        Strict opposition and persecution includes many many people.  
        The GMC is not that big.  Very few individuals are probably 
        members.


        Martyrdom and Morality

        There are different ways to 'break from dogma'.  'Martyrdom' 
        has a rather particular meaning which does not always apply 
        to those who are killed BECAUSE of what they say/do (e.g. 
        sociopathic killers).

        Nobody can get 'kicked out of the Cult' because the only 
        way to escape the Cult is to DIE.  Rebels have MANY ways 
        to resist oppression.  Martyrs have a particular path.  
        It is easier to resist the orthodox dogma and avoid becoming 
        a martyr.  It is difficult to resist until death regardless 
        of who is watching.  However, being persecuted unto death 
        is not necessarily martyrdom.  It may give RISE to 
        martyrdom, but it is not the same thing.


        My Bible (American Heritage Dictionary) says:

                Martyr:  1. One who chooses to suffer death rather 
                            than renounce religious principles.  
        
                         2. A person who makes great sacrifices or 
                            suffers much in order to further a 
                            belief, cause or principle.  

                         3. A person who endures great suffering....  
        
                         4. A person who makes a great show of 
                            suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

                From the Greek, 'martus', witness.  <------- NOTE!!

        When people object to my meaning, they are usually thinking 
        of definition #4 - a person who makes a *show* of suffering.  
        I mean that Satanists, Witches, Christians, etc. have 
        endured hardship BECAUSE of their identification with the 
        labels they use/d.  This is not about 'making a show'.  It 
        is about withstanding religious oppression in the pursuit 
        of personal freedom.

        The label 'Satanist' (i.e. adversarialist) comes closest to 
        the direct challenge of this oppressive characteristic of 
        the Orthodoxy.  I'm sure that it will also (as perhaps the 
        Temple of Set has shown) be co-opted and a new version of 
        the GMC will keep the 'faith'.

        We are talking about those people who use a sort of social 
        judo upon the masses, those who hold a mirror (or more 
        accurately, a picture of their deep selves) and march it 
        down the throats of those in power.  This usually results 
        in those in power stripping them of this picture, displaying 
        their fangs and BECOMING the picture to the detriment of the
        martyr.  All the martyr did was to live their life.  This 
        happened not to fit in well with the popular psyche.  We're 
        not talking 'sociopaths' here, we're talking social 
        psychiatrists, or maybe 'social exorcists'.  :>

        What MAKES a Christian/Witch/Satanist is hir individual 
        power.  Resistance to oppressive authority is what all of 
        these at one time or another have shared.  Just because 
        modern Satanism has not been as corrupted as has what is 
        now called 'Christianity' doesn't make it of a different 
        tradition in regards the GMC.  There are yet elements of 
        the Christian complex which retain vestiges of the GMC's 
        influence.

        The Roman Catholic Church is not Christian, not in the 
        sense of the Great Martyrdom Cult.  The ORIGINAL 
        Christians, the ones who were opposed by the Roman Pagans 
        (yes, Pagans weren't nonviolent or nonoppressive) were
        martyrs.  When the Romans co-opted the language and 
        behaviors of these martyrs (in effect, CALLING themselves 
        Christian without adopting the values/theories), then the 
        Cult submerged.  They resurfaced in Europe in response 
        to the Roman Catholic Church and called themselves 
        'Witches' (and perhaps 'Satanists').  When this holocaust 
        subsided, the Cult submerged once more and has been 
        recently resurfacing in the form of 'Witches', and more 
        often, 'Satanists' in response to the repressive Euro-
        American Puritanism still rampant in our culture.

        Let me put it another way.  

        The Great Martyrdom Cult is DYNAMIC.  It doesn't maintain 
        the same image/label/location.  

        It is INSIDIOUS.  It can never be destroyed because it 
        transcends conscious identification.  

        It is REBELLIOUS.  It takes on the face of the Great Enemy 
        and plays out the energies that have been repressed by the 
        Orthodoxy.


        The Tool of Language -- a Weapon of the Literati

        I agree that not all those who engage modern 
        Satanism/Witchcraft are martyrs.  That is not my point.  
        This Cult is very clever.  When its expression begins to 
        be corrupted by the Orthodoxy it assumes different forms.  
        Language is the weapon of the literati and the literati 
        are often the tools of the oppressive establishment.

        I tend to use atypical definitions because I look to the 
        word roots and try to achieve the most comprehensive, 
        effective meaning possible.  There are very good reasons 
        for rejecting common associations of meaning.

        One of them is to attempt to broaden a discussion or 
        create one.  Another good reason is to help new meanings 
        grow.  We are speaking a LIVING language.  Humpty 
        Dumpty has a *lot* to teach us (look up Lewis Carroll).

        The entirety depends on the GOALS of the expression.  
        If our goals are to curb discussion, speculation, and 
        arrive at a consensual truth, then the 'commonly accepted' 
        meanings are very good for this.  If our goals are to
        experiment, explore, challenge and inspire, then 
        variations are necessary.  

        If they are to confound, confuse and obfuscate, then 
        radical and complex variations are in order.  I don't 
        think any goal is better, overall, than another.

        For example, I use the term 'Christian' in many senses.  
        Sometimes I use it in the sense that Christians are a 
        part of the GMC, and I associate Witches and Satanists 
        in order to draw attention to the essential unity of 
        these sects of the GMC through time and space.

        I sometimes use the term 'Christian' to mean 'one who 
        participates in the oppressive machine operated by the 
        Orthodoxy.'  I would do this if I wished to point out 
        how the GMC in its Christian guise has been co-opted 
        (even if there are some within its ranks who continue to 
        be martyrs - the focus has now shifted to resisting the 
        CHRISTIAN tradition as the orthodox).

        I most often use this term in reference to MYSELF to 
        mean 'Anointed One', which roughly translates as 
        'Holy One' or 'Sacred One'.  Those who know ourselves to 
        be the Child of the Divine, the Sacred Regent who are, 
        at some point, sacrificed upon the altar of Nature.  I 
        use this definition when discussing the tradition with 
        those who call people 'sinners' and tell the 'sinners' 
        that we're all 'going to Hell'.

        I sometimes use the term 'Christian' to mean 'one who 
        places hirself upon the Cross (an esoteric concept) as 
        a martyr unto God'.  This is often how I associate 
        Christians, Satanists and Witches within or without the
        GMC.  I am referring to this when I say that Satanists 
        and Witches are Christians.

        As far as 'the GMC' is concerned, there is no built-in 
        morality in these terms.  To be sure, the very strong 
        use of the term 'martyr' by Christian theologians in a 
        moral light has sullied its use, but not beyond repair 
        or redress.

        I use it in its secular meaning - one who chooses death 
        rather than abandon hir spirituality.  Neither is the 
        word 'cult' moral in in any way.  Again, the term is 
        stigmatized by accusatory abuse.  However, technically, 
        used by scholars, it has a rather important meaning -
        a system or community of religious worship.

        I am bypassing the moral meanings of these terms.  I 
        don't recognize the Catholic Church (or any other 
        moralistic entity) as an authority on religion and I 
        wish to co-opt their abuse of the language.

        My use of the phrase 'Great Martyrdom Cult' has 
        absolutely NOTHING to do with morality.  It is a 
        functional descriptor:

                Great - large;

                Martyrdom - treading one's religious path unto death;

                Cult - religious community.

        I'll admit that the meanings I apply are not always the 
        popular ones, but they are 'commonly accepted' (especially 
        among those who study such things, even if they've never 
        combined them) and, more importantly, my INTENT is not 
        derogatory.  I often IDENTIFY as one of them!

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02: Isn't martyrdom an insult to Satanists?

        To some, but not to the GMC members.  REACTIONARIES are 
        not likely to be members of the GMC.  GMC people are tied 
        into a deep unconscious energy which strives for release 
        (note how well the mythos of Cthulhu fits into this 
        theoretic).  Satanists have less to do with reacting to
        the conscious energies and more with tapping into what is 
        repressed.  Martyrdom is only an insult to those who are 
        reactionaries against the terminology of popular 
        Christianity.

______________________________________________________________________

03: Do we have to die to be a martyr?  How does one join the GMC?

        The idea that the GMC might have a means of martyrdom 
        which does not necessarily lead to death has always 
        intrigued me (and I'm enough of a Satanist to want to 
        find a way to avoid crucifixion).

        In the US the best means to assure that the GMC gets 
        a strong foothold is to support our Bill of Rights as 
        it stands, push for freedom of religion, and then wig 
        out on this freedom without physically hurting others
        (i.e. practice Satanism and blow the minds of our 
        culture with our life-ways without breaking the laws 
        which protect us).

______________________________________________________________________

04: Are you saying that all Satanists have to sacrifice themselves?

        Sorry, no rules.  If you want to sacrifice yourself, cool.  
        If you want to attempt the downfall of modern civilization 
        as we know it so that you can rape, pillage and plunder 
        WITHOUT being in the military, then you are hereby 
        encouraged to do so.

        Of course, I personally oppose such activities myself, but 
        I support anyone's right to attempt them.  This is similar 
        to the way that Voltaire spoke about holding opinions.  I 
        support people's ability and freedom of choice.  I ALSO
        support society's choice to attempt to restrict certain
        activities in order to protect itself, even while I may 
        oppose individual restrictions as unwise or detrimental to 
        the freedom of the citizen.

        The issue is ego.  In too many religions the focus is upon 
        the group ego.  A Church has 'more authority' than an 
        individual.  A Coven is 'more important' than a Wiccan, etc.  
        Same goes for politics.  I supposedly live in a 'democratic 
        republic' or some such yuck.  While I think it a wonderful
        country (US) I think that we are continuing to support the 
        tyranny of the majority and the disempowerment of the 
        individual.  More and more people are coming to see the 
        truth of this.

        An individual can do as he or she sees fit.   That is the 
        Law of Thelema as I know it.  A Law of Nature, a description 
        of how things ARE, not how they 'ought to be'.   A group 
        can do as IT sees fit too!  So governments are formed and 
        regulations are established to see that we can be protected
        by parental entities called 'police' and, from the 'evil 
        outsiders', the 'military'.

        The point is that Satanism is NOT about what one SHOULD do 
        but about who one is and what one's relationship is to the 
        world.  We are free and mighty individuals and in order to 
        shrug off the chains of society we must sometimes undergo 
        great struggles and take great risks in the process.

        Sometimes this involves self-sacrifice.  

        Sometimes it does not.

______________________________________________________________________

05: Do Satanists actually worship an evil god?

        The term 'worship' is often abused.  When this means being 
        required to submit to an external entity, then this is NOT 
        Satanism, whether the classical ruler of the Christian 
        Underworld is the object of adoration or not.  This of 
        course doesn't mean that we are *prevented* from 
        submitting to an external (or internal or other) deity.  I 
        like to throw myself before the Queen of Demons, personally.

        When worshipping begins to mean a steadied focus, a 
        listening and a respect paid to an entity or being, whether 
        internal or external, then this is more like worship with 
        which I'm familiar and is indeed involved in some 
        Satanists' practices.

        Take me, for example.  I am married to the Goddess of 
        Destruction.  I don't feel I have to bend over for Big 
        Honcho Satan, but I have a healthy respect for Hir and 
        think SHe teaches valuable lessons.

        Not all Satanism has this religious overtone, however.  
        It is similar to the way in which some Witches simply 
        love 'Nature' and some focus upon a particular god, 
        goddess or pair for their journey.  Some of us even 
        (GASP!) change gods/idols as we ourselves change!

______________________________________________________________________

06: Then do you *really* serve Satan?

        Yes, I choose to serve Satan/Kali/Nature.  I have a 
        vow of humility.  I am under all things by my own free 
        will.  Thus the Temple of Kaos is *Under Satan*.

______________________________________________________________________

07: Why do you identify with such a negative force?

        I think of myself as a Witch, a Christian AND a 
        Satanist.  Am I being self-negating?  There are very 
        positive meanings (commonly held! :>) which one may 
        attribute to the terms 'martyr' and 'cult'.

        If anything the term 'GMC' is overly POSITIVE, not 
        negative.  I call the cult GREAT.  I mean it in terms 
        of size, history AND value.  Does this mean that I 
        judge it 'morally'?  Well, I don't think morals 
        (i.e. social evaluatives) are worthwhile except for 
        the establishment of legal structure (admitting the 
        sin - the ignorance - of the natives).  

        In terms of my own thoughts and values, I will admit 
        that I think the GMC is VERY valuable.

______________________________________________________________________

08: Didn't God create Satan?

        Well, yes, most intelligent Christians side with the 
        intelligent Jews and Muslims in attributing the 
        CREATION of Satan to God and in this way seeing that 
        SHe is quite perfect.  The term 'Satan' is taken from 
        Judaism, where 'Shaitan' is God's Attorney, a sort of 
        'Bad Cop' to Jehovah's 'Good Cop'.  Satan seems to be 
        the representative of the Id, to put it in 
        psychological terms, who challenges us to explore,
        expand, experience ecstasy, exultation.

        Satan isn't 'the Bad' to all Christians.  Some see 
        Hir as the essential SYMBOL of our world, as sensuality 
        and its beckoning pleasures.  Some see Satan as the 
        Deceiver who lures us, as does Maya, to do that over 
        which we'll suffer.  

        Does Maya have a personality, traditionally?  I think 
        that Sri Ramakrishna and company give Her one.  I know 
        that some Christians see Satan as one of the Faces of 
        God, and no more fear Hir than they would a horror-show.

        Some see Hir (Satan) as a spoiled brat who disobeys the 
        Good and Worthy God-Parent.  However, some see Hir as 
        a Guardian to tremendous Mystery and Wisdom.  Some see 
        Hir AS the world.  Note how often Satan and the work
        of this being are associated with 'evil' by 
        fundamentalists and identified with 'the flesh'.  Satan 
        has many faces for many people, and I think that this 
        exemplifies some of Hir titles ('the adversary'; 
        'Father of Lies', etc.).

        If you want 'historicity', then see some other 
        alt.satanism FAQ.  Try Lupo's or Mr. Aquino's or a new one.

______________________________________________________________________

09: C'mon, what *is* Satanism?  What are its religious rules?

        No rules, sorry.  We're talking about anarchy, the lack 
        of rulers.  If you don't understand this, then you better 
        start reading some Western philosophy and quick.

______________________________________________________________________

10: Why do so many Satanists seem to be merely 'anti-Christians'?

        There are many reasons that some Satanists (I don't) run 
        counter to Christianity.

                1) Historical oppression (in their lives, in 
                   Europe, elsewhere) associated with this 
                   religion

                2) Definition of themselves and their path (some 
                   find it important to accept the polar Satan/God 
                   model and act from it)

                3) Herd-mentality (some are just along for the 
                   ride, and the current trend in 'Satanic' 
                   groups is to be at least slightly anti-Christian 
                   -- especially anti-organized-Christian)

                4) Adversarialism (this is where I get into the 
                   picture slightly).  Some of us find it important 
                   to invoke the god of adversarialism in defense of
                   wisdom.  Ignorance just seems to dissapate when I 
                   start to ask questions, challenge assumptions, 
                   argue vehemently.

______________________________________________________________________

11: So is Satanism a part of Christianity or not?

        It seems that Christianity has had a major role in the 
        development of Satanism.  From its use of Shaitan in 
        _The Bible_ to its persecution of rival religions, 
        Christianity has been a major dynamo for opposition and 
        thus inspires Satanism naturally.  

        Many other religions (often Western or Middle-Eastern, 
        interestingly enough) inspire this reactive kind of movement.

______________________________________________________________________

12: Why are Satanists so egotistical?  Aren't they all reactionaries
        following leaders who want them to be their slaves?

        All action stems from self-interest.   I tend to think that 
        I am free, but when I feel trapped, Satanism sometimes moves 
        me to feeling free again.  I don't 'follow' anything.  
        Sometimes I am satanic.  Sometimes I'm erotic, sometimes 
        I'm both.

______________________________________________________________________

13: What do Satanists believe, then?  Why do they have to be anti-social?

        Beliefs and such aren't part of this.   As I see it this 
        is DEscriptive, not PREscriptive or PROscriptive.  'Do what 
        thou wilt' is a very useful statement to offer others 
        (through words and deeds) as it is accepting that which 
        others offer me.  I can and do just as easily dispense 
        with this acceptance, retain the DWTW, but oppose the 
        energies of their behavior.

        To me, Satanism is a part of a healthy society.  I don't 
        equate it with sociopathology.  Satanism is one mode of 
        operation, and the Law of Thelema is merely the principle 
        under which I understand things to operate.  It seems to 
        describe people quite well.

______________________________________________________________________

14: Does believing certain things keep one from being a member of the GMC?
        What about Science?

        These are just ideations.  GMC has to do with reflecting 
        the shadow side of society.  Ideations are threatening to 
        society if it is stuck in one world-view, but they aren't 
        like a nightmare.  We are talking imagery here.  Some 
        nice ideas in imagery, but not much with regard to Science.

        The worst that modern Science has to offer is conscious 
        extinction at the end of personal life.  Most 'sciences' 
        won't examine this subject, however, because it goes 
        beyond 'physically observed data'.  Phew!

        This is the reason that modern Science is stuck on 
        materialism.  It began as a faction of the GMC, but it was 
        co-opted by those Christian 'scientists' who didn't take 
        it to the interior world of the psyche.  Magick involves
        taking Science to the subjective world.  That is why it 
        is spurned by modern Science.  That is why it is spurned 
        by modern Christianity.

        It is much easier to leave the repressed energies in 
        the social psyche rather than dredge them up by focussing 
        on Sociology and Psychology.  Today these fields are 
        treated with disdain by most 'hard-scientists'.

______________________________________________________________________

15: What is to be gained from Satanism and nonbelief?

        The practice of Satanism can bring me a renewed 
        self-determination, self-worth, and generally enable me 
        to reclaim my self-respect.  It is antagonistic, 
        admittedly, yet it is also self-empowering.

        The practice of nonbelief can bring me a clarity of 
        mind and a less attached, mature approach to others and 
        the world.  Belief is for the mind what faith is for 
        the heart.  Both work well for those without experience,
        but as soon as we come to know the divine (Satan), 
        these are hardly worth bothering about.

        In essense, NOTHING is to be gained by practicing these 
        things, yet it feels good, so why not do it?  I like it 
        and it works for me.  Is there any better reason, 
        ultimately?

______________________________________________________________________

16: Is the GMC solely a Western cult?

        The Jewish/Christian/Wiccan(Neopagan)/Satanist line of 
        strict heresy in the face of oppressive establishments 
        is fairly isolated as far as I can see.  Hinduism and 
        Buddhism, for example, with which I'm familiar, are the 
        stay-at-home, chanting/starvation-types.  There is no 
        martyrdom fixation in their tradition.

        I doubt we'll find anything similar with any but a few 
        strays in Eastern cultures.  It is a largely WESTERN 
        phenomenon.  Then again, I'd like to hear everything you 
        can dig up, since I'm no historian. ;>

______________________________________________________________________

17: Why can't you tell us more?  How can we recognize members of the GMC?

        Until I'm asked more specific questions I don't know much, 
        and some questions I will not be able to answer in any 
        case (given the premise from which they are asked).  As 
        with occult 'mysteries', it is less a matter of the oaths 
        to which I've been sworn than the difficulty of expressing 
        in words what I've experienced over time.

        Most GMC members don't even know WE are part of it, let 
        alone who ELSE might be.  I can ONLY tell a member of the 
        martyrdom cult by how the words/ideas which they espouse, 
        how the appearance which they present to society at large, 
        interacts with that same society.  If someone perpetually
        foster power-over relationships, then I usually figure that 
        they aren't in the GMC or that they have a very particular 
        role within it that is subtle and deceptive.

        I tend to assume that power-over corrupts, no exceptions.  
        If you can make a case against this I'd like to hear it, 
        but I've found that GMC arises from those without much of 
        this power.  Sure their personal power allows them to 
        think and act beyond simple subsistence (and they are 
        sometimes called 'Middle Class'), but they don't really 
        have much coercive power beyond this, else they would not 
        wish to dig down into the social subconscious.  They'd be 
        too busy 'enjoying the limelight'.

______________________________________________________________________

18: CREDITS AND COPYRIGHTS


People who helped flesh out this theory:

Semhaza
Scott Locklin (Lupo the Butcher)
Neijm
Bill Ellis
Chris 'ICE' English
Nachiketa

Thanks one and all.   Also particular thank you to Pamela Greene, 
whose honesty inspired the trend of multiple "FAQs" for newsgroups.

===================================================

"So we'll go to the top of the toppest blue space,
The Official Katroo Birthday Sounding-Off Place!
Come on!  Open your mouth and sound off at the sky!
Shout loud at the top of your voice, 'I AM I!
ME!
I am I!
And I may not know why
But I know that I like it.
_Three cheers_!  I AM I!'"


Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) _The Big Birthday Book_
===================================================
This file also sold under other nefarious labels as:

SATANISM AND THE GREAT MARTYRDOM CULT 
                        (or 'GMC') (A Dialectic)
        BY:

        The Order of K@os Under Satan
                 or was that
        Temple Of Ka@s Under Satan?  hmm.

===================================================

(c) 1996 nocTifer
tyagi@HouseofkAoS.Abyss.com

House of Kaos
871 Ironwood Drive
San Jose, CA 95125-2815

EOF