Back in the early 1970s, the Church of Satan experimented with different hierarchy standards, from color-coded medallions to multiple ceremonial titles, eventually scrapping what didn’t work and keeping what did. Internal newsletters from the day share some insight into what that was like.
Tag: atheism
Satansplain #035 – Marilyn Manson, Marijuana, and Satanism
Answering listener mail about Marilyn Manson, marijuana, and other topics. Also, Bill gives his thoughts on his recent appearance on Comedy Central’s “Tooning Out The News”.
Satansplain #034 – A Medicine for Melancholy (1992, 2023)
We’re living in some crazy times. What is a Satanist to make of it? A look back at Anton LaVey’s 1992 essay, “A Medicine for Melancholy”, and some surprising insight it offers for today.
00:00 – Intro
01:16 – Relevant Re-reading
03:36 – Religion during hard times
05:40 – Recap: Yes, Satanism is a religion. Really.
07:26 – Don’t be afraid of the “d” word
09:12 – Clown World, subjective jadedness
15:13 – “Demoralization Process”
16:45 – “A Medicine for Melancholy, or How to Avoid the D.P.s”
20:35 – LaVey’s 3 suggestions
27:18 – Comments on the essay, Nostalgia, ‘Member Berries
32:05 – Being a hipster vs. avoiding the D.P.s
33:05 – Bill’s argument for physical media
40:15 – Choices vs. indulgence
41:46 – Dangers of impulsion & compulsion
44:27 – “Instant gratification” and long-term indulgence
Satansplain #033 – Satanism and “journalists”
Gabriella Swerling of the Telegraph contacts the Church of Satan for an article on the “rise of Satanism”, only to completely ignore what we said and print bullshit instead. A look at Satanism vs. the world of incompetent clickbait journalists (including Vice, of course). Also, The Satanic Temple rightfully and expectedly loses another frivolous lawsuit against its ex-members.
00:00 – Intro
01:28 – Review of Satansplain basics
05:34 – Why yes, I am a gatekeeper, thank you.
08:01 – Once again, no: it’s not a No True Scotsman fallacy.
09:22 – Why I’m looking at the Telegraph
12:05 – Why Vice sucks
13:42 – Vice’s “Guest Pass” message and our reply
19:33 – Satanacdote: Lamb of God hat / Bad Religion sticker
24:32 – I may make an appearance on Comedy Central. We’ll see.
25:13 – Gabriella’s message to the COS
27:41 – The COS replies back to Gabriella
35:28 – What the Telegraph wrote
51:48 – Recap on journalists
52:32 – Satanic Temple loses another SLAPP suit against Queersatanic (including Bill’s description of what a SLAPP suit is)
56:12 – SLAPP suit article, continued
Satansplain #030 – Logic & Fallacies, part 1
Presenting a 2-part special on the topic of logic and fallacies. Here in part 1, we’ll be going over what logic is and isn’t, why Satanists should care about this topic, and finally an introduction to logical fallacies.
Suggested sites:
https://infidels.org/library/modern/constructing-a-logical-argument/
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com
00:00 – Intro / Why cover this?
06:05 – Why Logic?
08:51 – Logic intro, what logic isn’t, relevance to Satanists
15:40 – What logic is
16:58 – Inductive Reasoning
18:32 – No, it’s not faith
21:38 – Inductive Reasoning, continued
26:31 – Deductive reasoning: propositions & premises
32:27 – Deductive reasoning: Inference & conclusion
32:46 – Deductive reasoning: summary / example / set theory & circles
40:55 – Deductive reasoning: result types
44:03 – Fallacies: Intro
50:33 – Fallacies: Straw Man
52:58 – Fallacies: Personal Incredulity
53:38 – Fallacies: Black & White / Hoyle’s / Argument from Ignorance
59:06 – Fallacies: Shifting the Burden of Proof
Satansplain #025 – Illuminati Believers in Nigeria
Why do so many people from Africa, especially Nigeria, mistakenly believe Satanists are the Illuminati? And that we’re hiring? Satansplain investigates.
Selected sources:
00:00 – Intro
00:50 – A special message to residents of Africa (especially Nigeria)
03:04 – Joining a Satanic organization will not guarantee you wealth
05:10 – We don’t want you if you don’t already understand Satanism
05:32 – We do not tolerate scams (and neither should you)
06:36 – We don’t have branches/chapters and don’t need them
08:23 – Summary
11:59 – Dealing with messages from Nigeria
15:51 – It happens offline too
17:11 – …and is older than the Internet
18:07 – People conflating Freemasonry / Illuminati / Satanism / wealth
19:53 – Satanism and Freemasonry (and propaganda)
20:16 – Freemasons, the mythical Illuminati, and the defunct Illuminati
23:31 – The ironically Satanic take
24:52 – Why Nigeria? Some not-so-great explanations.
27:00 – “Mud huts” don’t have the Internet, dummy
29:30 – The 419 Scam
37:54 – Nigerian “church” scams
42:33 – Why Nigeria? Some statistics
45:00 – Freedom of religion vs. state religion
46:00 – Religiosity in Nigeria
47:05 – Nigeria and language
47:55 – Nigeria GDP vs. Human Development Index
49:02 – Summary
Repeating Facts and Caller Spats: My Night on Coast to Coast AM
New article from Bill at ChurchofSatan.com. Bill goes through this topic and others in Satansplain episode #023.
Satansplain #023 – Russia and “desatanization”; Bill on Coast to Coast AM
Church of Satan responds to Russia officials call for the “desatanization” of Ukraine. Also, Bill summarizes his recent time as a guest on the nationally syndicated Coast to Coast AM radio show.
Thanks to Kelly Bogues. Check out his music project Zogthorgven on Bandcamp.
Episode #019 – Harvard Radio Interview (2016)
Hear a full, uncut 2016 interview from Harvard University radio on the topic of Satanism and the Church of Satan, covering the basics and beyond.
Episode #016 – Satanism and Atheism
Atheism vs. Satanism is a topic that should be simple enough to understand, but all too often gets mangled by people who don’t understand what one or both of the words mean. Hear responses to the most common questions and misconceptions on this topic.