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Satansplain #085 – The Goodguy Badge

Everybody wants to be seen as “the good guy”. In this episode of Satansplain, we’ll look at Anton LaVey’s essay, “The Goodguy Badge”, what this Satanic concept means, and the various sellers of this badge of self-righteousness. Perhaps it’s a lesson more applicable today than ever before.

00:00 – Intro
03:17 – The Goodguy Badge: Opening lines
04:54 – The Goodguy Badge: Continued
12:57 – Other wholesalers of Goodguy Badges besides religion
18:50 – An audience: the Goodguy’s vital ingredient
22:29 – How refreshing it would be to hear a political candidate say…
25:46 – Stephen Flowers quote on Satan/God/Nature
28:25 – Satanecdote on Facebook
33:11 – “Once again, that isn’t Satanism” (teachers passing out Christian tracts)

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Satansplain #084 – Debunking the “Last words of Anton LaVey” deathbed hoax

Despite having no basis in fact, Christians still repeat unfounded lies about Anton LaVey’s supposed “final words”. In this episode of Satansplain, we’ll examine and debunk the Anton LaVey deathbed recant hoax. Also, answering listener mail about Satanists in the military and the notion of an afterlife.

Suggested reading: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/anton-lavey-final-words-church-of-satan/

00:00 – Intro
01:31 – The “Final Words of Anton LaVey” hoax
06:27 – Charles Darwin deathbed recant hoax
11:35 – Why do Christians lie / urban myths.
21:43 – Satanecdote: body piercer talk
24:41 – Satanists and the military
29:00 – Possibility of reincarnation / afterlife
31:34 – Entertaining a possibility vs. having a belief
33:19 – Afterlife belief = wishful thinking

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Satansplain #082 – The Satanic Rituals, part 3 of 3

In this third and final part of an in-depth look at Anton LaVey’s “The Satanic Rituals”, we’ll cover the remainder of the book’s content. Join Satansplain in exploring the Satanic utilization of baptisms, the dark mythology of Russian paganism, Germanic science-fiction cinema, rituals in the age of electronic sound, the Necronomicon and other fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, and more.

00:00 – Intro
01:54 – Die Elektrischen Vorspiele
09:59 – Cinematic Inspiration (Metropolis, Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Island of Lost Souls, Black Cat, Fantasia)
11:41 – Night on Bald Mountain – Homage to Tchort
18:39 – H.P. Lovecraft
27:03 – Weddings, Funerals, and Baptisms
28:32 – Satanic Baptisms
35:15 – Solitary workings of a baptism / dedication
35:13 – The Unknown Known

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Satansplain #081 – The Satanic Rituals, part 2 of 3

In this second part of a 3-episode exploration of The Satanic Rituals, hear a closer examination of the book’s extensive introductions, plus the infamous Black Mass, “Masonic” ceremony mysteries tracing back to the Knight’s Templar, the Islamic-condemning rituals of the Yazidis, and the ritualized Seventh Satanic Statement, “Das Tierdrama”.

00:00 – Intro
01:35 – The Satanic Rituals: Introduction
03:50 – The Satanic Rituals: Concerning the Rituals
07:08 – Concerning the Rituals (continued)
11:03 – The Black Mass
17:40 – So why is it there?
23:50 – Ceremony of the Stifling Air
26:11 – Pilgrims of the Age of Fire
32:07 – German Lore: Das Tierdrama

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Satansplain #080 – The Satanic Rituals, part 1 of 3 (introduction)

In 1972, Anton Szandor LaVey released The Satanic Rituals, the companion book to The Satanic Bible. Yet it seems to be the one book of LaVey’s which Satanists often pay the least attention to. Satansplain presents a 3-episode exploration of The Satanic Rituals. Part 1 starts with a preliminary debunking of common Satanic ritual misconceptions, an overview of the “whys” and “hows” of Satanic ritual, some history on the book itself, an initial peek into the book’s contents, and a look at the general underlying human urge for ritual.

00:00 – Intro
03:49 – Reminder: Satanism is not Inverted Christianity
09:18 – Humans dig ritual / Annoying Questions We Get
13:18 – Explaining metaphors to the idiots who still don’t get it
20:13 – Excerpt from “The Rite Stuff”
22:04 – Infernal Names, John’s Letter
28:09 – The Satanic Rituals: About Publishing
31:17 – Reminder: Don’t Die a Group Ritual Virgin
34:50 – The Satanic Rituals: Release

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Satansplain #079 – Vampires and commies and Satanists, oh my!

Answering listener mail about Satanism and communism, as well as about Temple of the Vampire. This calls for some clarification on the difference between Church of Satan policy and individual Church of Satan member opinion, and why correcting misinformation is not the same as dictating behavior.

00:00:00 – Intro & Summary
00:05:27 – The difference between COS policy and individual COS member opinion
00:07:37 – Reminder: Satanism isn’t “anything you want it to be”. But we’re not a hive-mind, either.
00:17:02 – Question about Satanism and communism
00:23:41 – Personal opinion: I hate communism. A lot.
00:27:54 – “ur fascists!” / “ur zionists!”
00:30:04 – My guess on what a Satanist communist’s take would be
00:38:29 – Satanecdote: Count Dorkula
00:44:02 – Question about Temple of the Vampire (TOV)
00:47:22 – Yes, it’s OK to be a member of both the COS and TOV. Obviously.
00:50:29 – Personal opinion: I reject TOV
00:52:46 – About TOV / My introduction to TOV in 1991
00:55:58 – TOV basics: Vampire Test #1
00:59:38 – Vampire Tests #2, #3
01:04:43 – “Test everything, believe nothing”?
01:08:09 – Final thoughts on TOV

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Satansplain #078 – ECI and the Combination Lock Principle

Explore ECI (Erotic Crystallization Inertia) and The Combination Lock Principle — two Satanic concepts from “The Devil’s Notebook” and their importance to Satanists.

00:00 – Intro
02:02 – About “The Devil’s Notebook” and LaVey’s other books
05:00 – Why ECI is Satanic
06:48 – Erotic Crystallization Inertia (ECI)
16:28 – Thoughts on ECI
23:30 – Why we have Satanic ritual
24:38 – The human phenomenon of ritual. Example: Wade Boggs.
26:04 – The Third Side to Ritual
28:55 – The Combination Lock Principle
30:08 – A point worth repeating
30:20 – The Combination Lock Principle (continued)

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Satansplain #072 – Myth of Satanic Denominations (“No, it’s not like Catholics vs. Protestants”, part 2)

Continuing from the previous episode, a look at whether various “Satanic” groups can really be called different denominations of Satanism, with a particular look at groups formed after 1966, especially in the age of the Internet. No, it’s still not analogous to Catholics arguing with Protestants.

00:00:00 – Intro
00:02:15 – Review of episode 71, and why the Catholics vs. Protestants is still a bad analogy
00:07:25 – Why I don’t say “LaVeyan”
00:09:15 – Summary of episode 72, and “de facto Satanists”
00:14:26 – Dictionary argument and “Satanism is just any religion about Satan, right?”
00:18:54 – Summary of After 1966 – Theistic LHP Religions
00:23:04 – The Deism-to-Atheism Conspiracy Theory
00:31:15 – Non-theistic Satanic groups and Cevin Soling’s tax shelter (a.k.a. The Satanic Temple)
00:37:49 – Even more pseudo-Satanic groups I’ve seen
00:41:11 – No, these groups haven’t “evolved” anything
00:45:33 – Eco Satanism example, and collective action
00:48:43 – Rising up / Ecumenicalism
00:51:23 – Other lame reasons, e.g. wanting to do crime
00:55:06 – Other excuses: missing the boat on parts of Satanism, conspiracy theories of “Theistic LaVeyans”
00:57:27 – The Internet and the ease of declaring your own denomination/org
01:00:30 – Closing Remarks

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Satansplain #071 – No, Dummy, It’s Not Like Catholics vs. Protestants (part 1)

Exploring the allegation of Satanism having different “denominations”, why this view is inaccurate, and what’s really going on with these so-called “types of Satanism”. Also, why “gatekeeping Satanism” is a wise and necessary thing.

00:00 – Intro
02:16 – The problem of misinformation
06:32 – Reminder: Non-theistic religions exist, and Satanism is a religion
08:10 – The arguments I hear (re: this episode’s title)
11:26 – The TL;DL Summary (No, these aren’t “denominations of Satanism”)
16:16 – Who is (or gets called) a “Satanist”?
23:12 – What makes a religious denomination? Example: Catholics vs. Protestants
26:31 – Why “It’s like Catholics vs. Protestants!” is a bad analogy
30:31 – The Duck Test (and why it doesn’t work here)
33:15 – Before 1966, continued
36:42 – 1966: The Church of Satan and taking up a pejorative with pride

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Satansplain #070 – Supernatural vs. Supernormal

The twilight zone! The outer limits! The X-factor! No, we’re not talking about television shows. Rather, a phenomenon called the supernormal. A look into the supernormal and how it differs from the so-called supernatural.

00:00 – Intro
01:33 – Supernatural vs. Supernormal
03:44 – Supernatural claims
07:06 – Why I reject the “supernatural”
08:32 – …and equally-annoying Reddit Atheists
12:01 – Summary: the problem with both extremes
13:08 – …and the compulsively non-committal types
14:17 – Quotations from “We Are Satanists”
23:10 – Listener mail (why I disable YouTube comments)
26:45 – Satanecdote (Denny’s, 666)
31:34 – Listener mail (Satansplain & The Devil’s Mischief)
32:40 – Listener mail (Stepford Wives and the Church of Satan film list)