Satanism Today

by P.L. Hickling, Southport | Category: Satan And His Kingdom | Aug 1981

A fair title?

The use of the word 'Satanism' might be thought deprecatory from the beginning, and rather like using the word 'Papist' in an article about Roman Catholics. Many of those who practise the things discussed in this article would deny that there is any connection between them and the worship of Satan. Nevertheless, it is contended that all practices of witchcraft, spiritism and magic (except, of course, the entertainers' tricks called 'magic') involve intercourse with spirits who owe allegiance to Satan, and thus are forms of Satanism, even though their practitioners may not recognize the fact. For the purpose of discussion, however, it is useful to differentiate between those who consider that their practices are good, or at least morally neutral, like scientific research, and those who deliberately cultivate evil.

Magical practices

A practitioner of magic has given the primary meaning of the term as "the art and science of using little known natural forces in order to achieve changes in consciousness and the physical environment". It involves such things as the invocation of gods, the evocation of spirits and ritual divination. Its devotees dedicate themselves to magical studies with an oath which promises "not to debase my knowledge of practical magic to purposes of evil", but one formula of evocation recognizes that the spirits addressed are 'infernal', and some writers almost dismiss the existence of evil. There is considerable difference between writers on these matters in the ways in which they regard magical practices; some believe in the truth of the whole system, while others take the view that "whether the gods really exist is comparatively unimportant; the point is that the universe behaves as if they do". However the beliefs are held, the rituals of invocation call upon a 'god' to take possession of the devotee, so that he is completely identified with it; this is what a Christian would describe as demon possession. Having become unified with the 'god', the magician may then use its name to evoke a lesser spirit. The magical system envisages a hierarchy of spiritual beings, extending down from the Most High God to elemental spirits. Although God is addressed using the Biblical names of Jehovah, Adonai and Elohim, numerous other names are used, and God is not viewed as a person who wills good and abhors evil, but as a personification of Nature, 'beyond good and evil' and 'simply cosmic duality'. The power of the gods may be directed to good ('white') or evil ('black') purposes at the will of the magician.

The place of the will

In the magical system a central place is given to the power of the human will. Magical practitioners believe 'that human will power is a real force, capable of being trained and concentrated, and that the disciplined will is capable of changing its environment and producing supernatural effects'. They are prepared to go to quite extraordinary lengths to train the will, such as taking an oath to avoid using some common word, and self-inflicting a cut with a razor every time the oath is broken. The Scriptures reveal that such things were practised in the first century A.D., referring to "a show of wisdom in will-worship and humility, and severity to the body" (Col. 2:23). Magicians hope that by so disciplining their will they will be able to direct elemental forces at their command.

The material world

Although there is no complete consistency, the magical system tends to see matter as evil, whereas the spiritual world is good. This idea is also shared by some pseudo-Christian cults, and is no new thing. The Gnostic heresy in the first century introduced it into Christian churches, and the apostle Paul wrote against it in the letter to the Colossians: "Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ: for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:8 RVM). This scripture emphasizes the bodily existence of Christ, and no Christian can accept the idea that matter is evil, since the Lord Himself is in bodily form. Modern magical writers point with approval to the Gnostic teachings as an example of the accommodation of a conventional religion to existing practices, but it is quite obvious that the apostles never tolerated this as legitimate. Timothy was urged to turn "away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called", and it is apparent that pure Christian doctrine was threatened by the tendency of some to bring in heathen beliefs in the guise of spiritual knowledge.

Satanism and Christian worship

In the Upper Room, the Lord Jesus instructed His disciples to take the

bread and wine and give thanks for them, as He had done, as a remembrance of

Himself. This simple act has been developed by some churches in

Christendom into a ceremony in which it is taught that the bread and wine

are transformed into the actual body and blood of the Lord, of which the worshippers then partake. Present-day writers on magic claim, possibly with some justification, that the idea of the mass is an adaptation to Christian beliefs of a much older ceremony in which "the magician invokes the god, thereby transmuting the material basis, then consumes the sacrament, and absorbs the energy and virtues of that god". Heathen rites of this sort have been revived, and 'witches sabbaths' are held today in which 'nature gods' are invoked. To make the participants feel at one with nature, rites may be carried out in which the participants are naked, and sometimes sexual unions between those taking part are involved.

Some heathen rites may resemble aspects of worship in Christendom, but they are not deliberate parodies of it. The rites of Satanism proper, on the other hand, are a deliberate attempt to parody the Mass. A writer on magic says "Satanists... are in reality as staunchly Christian as those who celebrate the real mass. Their rites, beliefs and practices are all modelled around the Christian religion ... So in a way one could say that Satanists, worshipping a Christian devil, are in fact as religious as the most orthodox Christian. What the Satanist is saying is that he feels betrayed by Christian churches ... he has seen no relief from his spiritual burdens". Satanists enact blasphemous sacrifices, say prayers backwards, and spit at the cross to show their hatred of Christ and God; yet they must believe that the God they reject is real, and deliberately take the side of Satan as His enemy. Undoubtedly, many relish the tang of evil, and gain a perverted pleasure from such defiance of God.

Frauds, fools or fiends?

It is obvious that all of the practices reviewed are opposed to Scriptural teaching, which condemns, in both Old and New Testaments, any attempt to communicate with spirits or Satan. It is difficult to determine the extent to which there is real communication with spirits by modern magicians. Practices of divination by various means may be mere devices to make money from the gullible, like fairground fortune-tellers and newspaper horoscopes. Their practitioners may deceive themselves as well as others, and honestly believe in the efficacy of what they do. It is tragic that the decline in soundly based Christian faith in Western countries has opened the door to superstition of all sorts. It is ironical that people who think that simple faith in Christ is childish, but who will not take the trouble to study Christian doctrine more deeply, will devour any half-baked ideas about the 'paranormal'. There is some fraud, and more foolishness, in magical practices, but no Christian will deny that the "spiritual hosts of wickedness" (Eph. 6:12) really do exist, and that they are capable of influencing, or even possessing, human beings. For this reason occult practices are not to be trifled with. Contempt for the mystic gibberish in which these things are enshrouded should not obscure the fact that a man who offers himself to a 'god' as a willing subject may find that the offer is taken up, with results that will be spiritually disastrous to him. The service of Satan or any of his inferiors will lead to the judgement designed for the master. Even in this life it may lead to an unsound mind and a depraved manner of life, as some of the sensational newspapers bear witness.

The antidote

The only effective antidote to the poison of Satan is Christ Himself. In reading occult literature, one is struck by the fact that although writers often refer to God and the gods, they have no place for Christ. All the elements of the gospel are needed to oppose occult teachings: the holiness of God, the fact of sin against Him, the need for a Redeemer, the deity and manhood of Christ, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, and the need for faith in Him. The squalor and obscurity of the magical system are revealed in the light of the rational clarity of the revelation of God in Christ. Some men will deliberately choose the darkness, but it is the Christian's duty and privilege, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to bring to men who have been deceived by 'doctrines of demons' the light of the gospel of Christ.

P.L. Hickling, Southport | Aug 1981
Satan And His Kingdom