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Subject: TEMPLE OF SET FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
                                   
              - by Michael A. Aquino, Ph.D., VI* Initiate
                                   
  [This FAQ is not connected with any other alt.satanism FAQ, and the
Temple of Set neither participates in nor endorses any other such FAQ.]
     ____________________________________________________________
                                   
   Q1: WHO OR WHAT IS SATAN?
   
   A1: In Jewish, Christian, and Islamic mythology, Satan is an
   angel who, after initially [in the _Old Testament_] being a
   questioner or challenger of God's goals and decisions, led a
   revolt against God and the loyal angels, was defeated, and was
   banished to an underworld called Hell, to which the same
   mythology also dooms inadequate or disobedient Christians and
   Muslims. [The Jewish afterlife in _Sheol_ is not Satan-run, and
   is generally applicable to obedient & disobedient humans alike.]
   
   Over the Christian centuries, gods from competing religions were
   incorporated into Christianity's Satan and Hell, hence the
   Pan-like renditions of Satan, the use of the Roman "Lucifer" as
   an alternate name for him (sometimes used to identify him
   "pre-fall"), etc.
   
   Q2: WHAT IS SATANISM?
   
   A2: Satanism is the belief in the existence of Satan as a
   sentient being or spirit in the universe, and the worship of
   Satan and obedience to his perceived principles, standards, and
   goals. As Satan is defined as a metaphysical being - Devil or
   Archangel, such belief in him constitutes a religion or
   superstition rather than a rational philosophy or an
   indoctrinated ideology.
   
   Q3: CAN ONE BE A SATANIST WITHOUT BELIEVING IN THE EXISTENCE OF
   SATAN?
   
   A3: Not if words are to have their generally-accepted meanings. A
   Satanist is one who believes in Satan, as a Christian is one who
   believes in Jesus Christ, a Buddhist one who believes in the
   Buddha, and a Muslim one who believes in Mohammed. A person
   professing to be a "Satanist" but denying the existence of Satan
   is simply using the term for ulterior purposes such as personal
   glamorization or commercial exploitation. If that person denies
   the existence of all metaphysical beings, he is thereby an
   atheist, not a Satanist. If he professes to believe sometimes and
   not others at his whim, he is a hypocrite.
   
   Q4: IS SATANISM AN ORGANIZED RELIGION? IF SO, WHAT
   ORGANIZATION(S) ARE RESPONSIBLE OR RELIABLE?
   
   A4: Prior to 1966 Satanism existed only in scattered, short-lived
   instances as anti-Christian social gestures, but never as formal
   organizations. Christianity often represented "heretical"
   individuals or organizations as "Satanic", but this was mere
   propaganda. Thus the Knights Templar, Yezidis, Freemasons,
   Illuminati, Thelemites, and a variety of pagan & Rosicrucian
   groups were frequently labeled "Satanic" when in fact they were
   nothing of the sort.
   
   In 1966 San Francisco occultist Anton Szandor LaVey founded the
   Church of Satan, which functioned as an authentic, sincere
   religion until 1975. In that year LaVey denied the existence of
   Satan, and redefined the Church as simply his personal commercial
   venture and fan club. Thereby the "Church of Satan" ceased to be
   an authentic Satanic religion and became simply a business front,
   though LaVey and his representatives continue to sell memberships
   and to advertise the "Church" as both "Satanic" and a "religion".
   
   At the time of LaVey's 1975 announcement, a majority of the
   Satanic Priesthood and membership rejected what they considered
   to be his corruption and prostitution of the Church, and resigned
   _en masse_. These Initiates founded the Temple of Set as a
   replacement for and successor to the Church of Satan. The
   name-change also reflected the founders' realization that "Satan"
   was inescapably a decadent propaganda caricature of a far more
   ancient being. In predynastic Egypt Set was not an "evil" god,
   but rather the stellar counterpart to the solar Horus. [Only in
   later Osirian myth - the basis for much of Judaeo/Christian
   mythology - would Set be corrupted into an "evil" figure.]
   
   Besides the Church of Satan and Temple of Set, other
   organizations and persons have from time to time proclaimed
   themselves to be Satanic and to represent Satanism. If sincere,
   they would have to believe in Judaic, Christian, or Islamic
   mythology and to worship its antithesis-Devil. If insincere, they
   merely use "Satanic" terminology for glamor, shock, or commercial
   reasons.
   
   Q5: IF THE TEMPLE OF SET DOES NOT BELIEVE IN
   JUDAEO/CHRISTIAN/ISLAMIC MYTHOLOGY, WHY DOES IT CALL ITSELF A
   "SATANIC" RELIGION? WHAT IS IT DOING HERE ON ALT.SATANISM?
   
   A5: For the last two thousand years most of the social cultures
   in which the Temple currently exists have been dominated by one
   or more branches of Judaeo/Christianity. This influence is far
   more pervasive than most people consciously realize, extending
   into these societies' most basic assumptions about law, justice,
   ethics, social mores, family units, and metaphysics. It is easy
   to not be a member of a Christian church, or to call oneself a
   non- Christian; it is far more difficult to escape from J/C
   social conditioning.
   
   Within this climate many of the aspects of Set are symbolized in
   religious imagery by the *positive* attributes of the J/C Satan.
   While Judaism, Christianity, and Islam created their "Satan"
   distortion of the Set _neter_ of ancient Egypt in order to
   fashion an "evil scarecrow" to intimidate and control their
   societies, they could not help endowing "Satan" with such Setian
   attributes as independence, creativity, honesty, artistry, and
   intellectual genius - as these *same* attributes, except in
   severely controlled and approved forms, are "sins against God" in
   J/C/I culture.
   
   Therefore many persons of Setian disposition and potential first
   become aware of their true nature through an unusual interest in
   and attraction to "Satan" and Satanic imagery. [This was the case
   of the Temple of Set as a whole, which from 1966 to 1975 - as the
   Church of Satan - was exploring the Left-Hand Path from within
   J/C terminology.] Hence it is sometimes necessary to use the
   "Satanic" metaphor to initially communicate with J/C-socialized
   individuals concerning Setian interests and capabilities they
   otherwise find difficult to express. Once such persons understand
   what they are actually awakening in themselves, they are more
   easily able to recognize and jettison the entire cage of J/C
   reference-points, then enter a much larger universe as Setians.
   
   Q6: WHAT IS BLACK MAGIC? HOW DOES THE TEMPLE OF SET TEACH IT? 
   
   A6: Black Magic is consciously-directed alteration of one's
   environment through obscure natural (Lesser Black Magic) or
   non-natural (Medial Black Magic) means, or apprehension of the
   Forms/Principles of the natural/non-natural universe (Greater
   Black Magic). The Temple of Set teaches both theory and practice
   of LBM/MBM/GBM, along with individual and social ethical
   considerations to which the Initiate must be sensitive in order
   to use such magical knowledge creatively, constructively, and
   responsibly. [Descriptions of "Black Magic" as involving human or
   animal sacrifice, rape, or other illegal or reprehensible
   practices are merely Judaeo/Christian propaganda, and have no
   basis in truth whatever.]
   
   Q7: IS SATANISM CRIMINAL? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE ALLEGATIONS THAT
   SATANISTS PRACTICE HUMAN/ANIMAL SACRIFICE, CATTLE MUTILATION,
   CHILD MOLESTATION, CANNIBALISM, GRAVE-ROBBING, ETC.?
   
   A7: Authentic Satanism (i.e. the 1966-75 Church of Satan and the
   1975-present Temple of Set) is emphatically non-criminal and, if
   anything, far more decent and socially mature than any
   conventional religion. As it is based on principles of
   creativity, beauty, freedom, courtesy, tolerance, and pleasure,
   this is inherent in its design.
   
   Since its inception, Christianity has made use of the most
   horrific propaganda to attack its competitors. For many centuries
   it was the Jews who were accused of human sacrifice, cannibalism,
   [Christian] child sexual abuse, etc. - and persecuted
   accordingly. As the Church of Satan and Temple of Set were
   founded in a period of extreme religious tolerance and
   experimentation in the United States, such propaganda was
   initially not a serious problem to them. In the 1980s, however, a
   revival of Fundamentalism sponsored a wave of unprecedented
   "Satanic crime" hysteria, first in the United States and then in
   culturally- close nations such as Britain and Australia. By the
   mid-1990s, many studies by responsible law-enforcement and
   academic institutions have thoroughly exposed and discredited the
   "Satanic crime" myth, although some Fundamentalists still try to
   promote it. The Temple of Set maintains a database of the most
   current and prominent of these law-enforcement and academic
   reports.
   
   It is unfortunately the case that the Fundamentalist propaganda
   campaign has convinced some sick or maladjusted Christians that
   the way to practice "Satanism" is indeed to perform the
   destructive and perverse outrages prescribed by the
   Fundamentalist propaganda. When such Christians go on emotional
   rampages, they may follow that model and call themselves
   "Satanists". Obviously the Temple of Set denies them this title,
   just as the 1966-75 Church of Satan denied it to them. However
   this phenomenon illustrates the dilemma that the Church of Satan
   regularly confronted [and which foreshadowed the Temple of Set's
   rejection of J/C mythology altogether]: that the god *it*
   represented as good and constructive was the *same* one defined
   by the world's three largest conventional religions as evil and
   destructive.
   
   Q8: HOW CAN ONE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TEMPLE OF SET? 
   
   A8: The current General Information Letter is available upon
   request. Write to: Executive Director, Temple of Set, Post Office
   Box 470307, San Francisco, CA 94147, USA. Or provide a *postal* -
   not E-mail - mailing address to Internet: 2784041@mcimail.com
   
   Q9: WHAT ABOUT ANSWERING QUESTIONS ON ALT.SATANISM? 
   
   A9: Earlier postings on this newsgroup by Temple of Set
   representatives were responded to politely by most other
   participants, but also resulted in some rudeness by a few
   individuals who find the truth about Satanism inconvenient.
   
   Our solution is to simply post this FAQ periodically on the
   newsgroup henceforth. All disrespectful responses will be
   ignored/killfiled, whether posted here or sent separately to the
   Temple. Courteous, sincere inquiries may be answered *privately*
   if a postal or Internet address is provided.
   
   An Internet mailing list - Xepera-l - (small letter L, not number
   1) is available for the serious and courteous discussion of
   Setian/Black Magic topics. Temple of Set affiliation not
   required. To subscribe, send E-Mail to listserv@netcom.com with
   the line "Subscribe Xepera-l" (no quotes) in the body of the
   message. The subject line of the E-Mail is ignored. This is a
   robot subscription E-Mail, so do not append messages for the mail
   list administrator.
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EOF