TheLightWithin
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Psychoanalysis of Anton LaVey
Perhaps LaVey believers will be interested in this one, lol: (13 minutes)
www.interfaith.org
I think Luciferianism deserves a mention. I have seen various statements that stress that Lucifer and Satan are not the same, and neither are faiths based on them.
I did some reading years ago and felt that the Lucifer crowd were the more convincing of the two.
I did some reading years ago and felt that the Lucifer crowd were the more convincing of the two.
Ok. So what attracts you?
Attract is far too strong a term. I must stress that my research was minimal. A couple of Satanic websites that I checked out were very colourful and theatrical in a rather tacky way. They were both dependent on loud heavy metal as well. Nothing caught my eye or showed promise. Overall my impression was of people, old enough to know better, trying to be shocking.
The Luciferians on the other hand did try and present a philosophy. It is ok to look out for yourself, to improve your wellbeing, it is ok to defend yourself. You make a decision and you take responsibility. You do these things without considering a deity, you are in the driving seat. To be honest that describes at least half of the people that I know. I never quite got around to seeing it as a spiritual path but it was a very brief passing interest so maybe I am not doing either of them justice.
Heh, yeah. He was more of a performer than a writer.
Scrolling back, I don't think Thelema has been mentioned? Crowley, their founder-prophet, was a major influence on LaVey.
I never took to Crowley but I was always interested in how often somebody would say they were an admirer. They cropped up in all shapes and sizes.
He was and continues to be very influential, within Western occultism. Most modern currents and groups are either directly influenced by his work or in a dialectic with it. Almost impossible to ignore. Even many modern Wicca groups can be traced back to students of his.
He also was a bit of a proto-hippie, from his travels to India, interest in Yoga, commune life, free love, drugs...
That is an interesting point. I love looking at timelines. I saw one once, I think it was of new-age ideas. It finished with new-age, and hippies were the previous stage. It went back to the Victorian period. Crowley was on it and clearly seen as a contibutor of note. William Morris and Madam Blavatsky were two others.
TheLightWithin
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In a way, sounds like some variations of libertarianism.
I think a lot of modern Christian denominations are versions of that.
Perhaps all the Great Traditions have the same experience, I cannot say.
Frankie Boyle, a scurrilous and often very funny UK comedian referred to Anglicanism as 'Catholicism for pussies' which did make me laugh out loud – but the 16th century is hardly modern in this context.
I think in America, many of the Christian denominations took on a political slant – so you have a kind of (OT) Biblical fundamentalism at play, where Jesus is basically John Wayne, and then also a libertarian 'appeal to all', religions without creed or dogma, to appeal to the widest possible catchment, where Jesus is a really cool dude.
Baha'i, in a way, can be seen as a religion of the 'broad catchment' type.
(Ooops - mixed this thread with 'wild speculation' thread, so I'd turned some filters off.)