Yesterday I heard a part of a radio interview about the Church of Satan. The founders of this ‘church’ in South Africa are Riaan Swiegelaar and Adri Norton (female). Adri Norton says they follow the teachings of Anton Szandor LaVey, who was an American author, musician and occultist. He founded the Church of Satan and the religion of LaVeyan Satanism. He wrote the following books between 1969 and his death: The Satanic Bible, The Satanic Rites, The Satanic Witch, The Devil’s Notebook and Satan Speaks. They practice various rites. Some are inspired by other groups such as the Yezidis, Freemasons, Knights Templar and Order of the Illuminati. Other rites are inspired by fictional works.
This Cape-Town-based “church” says they hope to address the misconceptions around Satanism which the media misrepresents. They also say Satanism is arguably the most misunderstood religion practiced in South Africa … including ‘Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he kept it in business all these years’.
They say they do not worship the devil. Adri Norton says, “Satan as a being does not exist. Rather we revere the satanic archetype in human consciousness. When you take the word ‘satan’ and the literal translation from Hebrew is the ‘opposer, adversary, questioner.'”
Riaan Swiegelaar was clear: “We do not believe in the devil, or Satan, as an external deity or a being. We revere Satan as an archetype, as a symbol for pride, for joy, for the carnal nature of humanity.”
I believe they appeared on TV news, and they boast having TV personalities and business people as members of their ‘church’, though they protect the identity of their members.
How do we as Christians respond to this? We have to and need to, but how do we do it? Allow me to say the following in question form …
What is the Holy Bible, and what is the “Satanic Bible”?
The Holy Bible tells us itself that it is the Word of God, without error and contradiction. It is fully inspired by the Infinite God of Creation and is His authoritative Word to all humanity (2 Timothy 3:16-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17).
In contrast, the Satanic Bible (and all LaVey’s books) is written by a finite human named Anton Szandor LaVey.
Who is the God of the Bible, and who is Satan the archetype as a symbol for pride, for joy, for the carnal nature of humanity?
The God of the Bible is the Only, True, Living God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He created everything out of nothing! He always existed, is uncreated and is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. He reveals Himself as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit–three Persons in one Being. His power and authority spans everywhere … including hell itself (Rev 1:8 & 18).
Satan the archetype portrayed by the Satanic Church is a “clever” attempt to eradicate the reality of Satan as a real, living, evil enemy of God who was cast out of heaven together with the one third of the angels who rebelled with him.
When does the Bible introduce us to Satan?
Satan is introduced to us in Genesis chapter 3, where we read:
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.
Before you think that this is just a snake:
Rev 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.
Rev 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
He is not some “archetype, as a symbol for pride, for joy, for the carnal nature of humanity” as they say. Satan is a real being, evil, sinister and dangerous!
What is the result of Satan’s seduction of man in the garden?
His deception is to generate the first sin, which is ‘pride’. The Satanic Church say Satan is “an archetype, as a symbol for pride, for joy, for the carnal nature of humanity.” They got the pride right, and this sin leads to carnality! This is why the Bible speaks against ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’. Listen to what this enemy says:
Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
See the pride … “you will be like God”.
What does God do about Satan’s attack on man?
Because man fell from grace into sin, God sent His beloved Son into this world to rescue those who will believe and be saved (John 1:1-18; 3:16; Ephesians 2:1-10).
What, then, is the Church of Satan all about?
You need to get it right. Satan is a real, sinister, wicked enemy of God. He is defeated through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. Irrespective how people like LaVey, Swiegelaar or Norton attempt to prove otherwise, Satan is not a concept … he is real and dangerous. Like many occult practices, they seek to portray themselves as harmless, but they are after your soul for Satan and eternal damnation! It does not matter which high profile people join them … they and their master Satan remain exactly what the Bible (God’s Word) say they are!
Dear God, thank You for saving us from the clutches of the evil one and transferring us to Your Kingdom of Glory, Holiness and Paradise through the glorious redeeming work of Jesus at Calvary. Be glorified. Amen.