Posted on

Satansplain #097 – The Absence of Evidence (“Satanism” before 1966)

Is there any actual evidence of a religion calling itself Satanism before the Church of Satan? We’ll look at one Satanist’s undercover journey to find such evidence from the people who insist it exists.

Buy Warlock William Tull’s horror anthology, “Cannibalia: A Feast of Horror and Suspense” on Amazon.com.

00:00 – Intro
02:28 – Essay Intro: The Nature of the Internet
09:16 – The Plan
12:36 – Joining groups and posting a message
17:27 – The Experts
23:10 – The Experts, continued
25:28 – Remaining 3 Books
28:33 – The Sects
34:40 – The Scum
36:46 – Conclusion
41:10 – Bill’s Closing Rant

Posted on

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

Posted on

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

Posted on

Satansplain #043 – Satanism is Americanism

In a 1971 letter, Anton LaVey declared “Satanism is Americanism”. Hear the full meaning of this, as Magister Bill celebrates July 4th and answers some listener mail himself.

00:00 – Intro
01:17 – About Satanism and politics
04:38 – The world in 1971
05:15 – Original letter
07:31 – LaVey’s reply
10:37 – Letter from a Satanist geologist
12:13 – Letter from Io (list of COS material), announcements
17:55 – “Religious, Not Spiritual”‘; writing inspiration; members-only forums
21:00 – Doctor Who
21:58 – Satanecdote
26:33 – John’s questions (bullshit claims about Carol Lansing, some occult dork claimed as a “Satanist before LaVey” 32:08 – Erin’s email (re: “Religious, Not Spiritual”‘)