Known as The Beast, nearly 900 years ago he was called Lucifer, the Angel of light; we now all know him as The Devil… Would you want your loved one to become a Satanist? You perhaps will say “yes, that’s not the worst that can happen.” You may not even care if they would choose that life or not. But after reading this you might just change your mind. From blood sacraments in distinction to their own body, to sacrificing animals. This is a bite of the devil; a study of Satanism.
It might start out not as bad, or you may even think it’s not bad. If you dress in black, wearing leather and/or listen to death metal people might say you’re “satanic,” and that might not bother you; but what they’re saying is “burn him,” or something along those lines, which is never good. Satanism is a lot more than just hailing Satan and not having feelings for those around you, it’s not just dressing in all black; it’s so much more than what you’ve heard or maybe even seen. Animal and human mix is something that is scary. Satan himself is one,
…show more content…
“In 1988 it was reported that 67% of therapist treated patients who were involved in Satanism.” Says Gary Steck. He also states, “Homicide, mayhem, assault, suicide, child abuse, and animal mutilations have all been attributed to satanic occult groups.” -1988- They’re many adolescents who’re not fully inveterated into Satanism but preferably are just mild to intensely into it. “Paranormal beliefs have been found to be related to personality variables such as locus of control, self-concept, dogmatism, irrational beliefs, and death fears (Tobacyk & Milford, 1983). Members of a West Indian Pentecostal community identified as "spiritually possessed" have been found to score higher on the neuroticism and hysteria scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Inventory than those "not possessed" (Beaubrun & Ward,
A Delusion of Satan was written in 1995 by Frances Hill, and published by Da Capo Press. Frances Hill, an accomplished writer and journalist from London, has been writing for a decent period of time. Aside from publishing two novels, Hill has written fiction reviews for The Time (London) and has worked as a reporter in in both New York and London. With such an accomplished journalist, reporter, and writer, we are due to receive a good read in A Delusion of Satan.
In his book, Anderson (2006) proposes that there are mental illnesses out there that individuals are dealing with, that really has, the characteristics of demonic possession. The problem with secular psychiatry is that they dismiss the idea of demonic possession and categorize the behavior as mentally disturbed. The whole dilemma is that they refusal to acknowledge that an individual can be possessed by demonic spirits. Anderson (2006) takes issue with their thinking and supplies some theological framework in the development of his theory that individuals can and do wrestle with demonic spirits. God has strictly prohibited mankind from using spiritual sorcerer as written in Leviticus (19:31; 20:6, 27), “Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them…”(Anderson, 2006, pp. 127-128). This has been a rogue of Satan to distract individuals from their life purpose so that he may temp them. The greatest gift any individual has is to know that Christ has won their freedom and loves them with his unconditional love. Christ has won our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of sin.
Marc Galanter, M.D., Richard Rabkin, M.D., Judith Rabkin, PH.D., and Alexander Deutsch, M. D. (1979). The “Moonies”: A psychological Study of Conversion and Membership in a Contemporary Religious Sect. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136(2).
No matter which philosophy on exorcism is most believable, it remains to have difficult concepts that are hard to trust. Belief is dependent upon one’s beliefs, customs, and expectations of society. Fear of the unknown may be the reason that drives this real belief. But, it also could be a reality or just a way to rationalize an uncontrollable behavior. “Civilized people lose their religion easily, but rarely their superstition about evil,” said Karl Goldmark (Wolpe). Religion gives society a way to accept and to believe “out of this world” behaviors through demons and encourages people to be afraid of devil-like creatures.
Prior to open practice of Satanism, the Roman Catholic church used Satanism as a label for individuals and groups who held views or ideologies that conflicted with those of the church. This was an attempt to delegitimize their opponents and to strengthen the Church’s following. While these accusations were initially harmless and limited to heretics, they became increasingly frequent and extreme. These wild accusations spread to rumors of violent rituals claimed to be performed by Satanists which built up to widespread fear and panic. Ultimately, this would result in events like the Salem Witch Trials where innocent people were put to death due to false suspicion of individuals performing witchcraft and becoming possessed by the Devil. Ironically, while the church merely intended to bolster both its image and following with these accusations, the widespread panic that resulted put Satanism on the map, and “several scholars identify fundamentalist Christianity as one of the major influences shaping and driving the” onset of the Satanist movement (Underwager and Wakefield, 281). This sheds light on the true relationship between the conflicting belief systems of Christianity and Satanism. Although the two are at odds on even the most basic levels, their relationship is largely codependent. Christianity uses the fear surrounding Satanism and the
Russell, J.B. 1986. Lucifer, the Devil in the Middle Ages. New York: Cornell University Press.
Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost is a complex character meant to be the evil figure in the epic poem. Whenever possible Satan attempts to undermine God and the Son of God who is the true hero of the story. Throughout the story Milton tells the readers that Satan is an evil character, he is meant not to have any redeeming qualities, and to be shown completely as an unsympathetic figure. Satan’s greatest sins are pride and vanity in thinking he can overthrow God, and in the early part of the poem he is portrayed as selfish while in Heaven where all of God’s angels are loved and happy. Satan’s journey starts out as a fallen angel with great stature, has the ability to reason and argue, but by Book X the anguish and pain he goes through is more reason for him to follow an evil path instead. Even so, Milton uses literal and figurative imagery in the description of Satan’s character to manipulate the reader’s response to the possibility that Satan may actually be a heroic figure. As the plot of the story unfolds there are moments where the reader can identify with Satan’s desires and relate to his disappointments.
Williams, Emyr, Leslie Francis, and Mandy Robbins. "Personality and Paranormal Belief: A Study among Adolescents." Pastoral Psychology 56.1 (2007): 9-14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Through the years, hysteria has been prevalent in all parts of the world. Periodically, however, there is a new, more dangerous form of hysteria that sweeps across a large area and causes great panic among the people involved. This wave of panic is now called mass hysteria. It is defined as a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement of anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness. We have seen this in Europe during the Black Plague. The people felt that they were being punished by god and killed “witches” to rid their town of evil. 300 years after this bout of mass hysteria, America saw its first rise of hysteria. The Salem Witch Trials resulted in many deaths
In Milton's classic epic poem Paradise Lost the reader gains a judicious and even controversial vision of Satan as the protagonist of the epic. This is in direct contrast with our current idea and opinion of Satan as the leading nominal of evil and darkness.
Ask anyone to draw Satan and you 'll get a red snake-like figure with horns and a pitchfork. Satan, as introduced in the Hebrew bible is an unworthy adversary of God. His longing to be like God is quickly recognized and dealt with. God banishes him from Heaven and sends him to Hell. That 's the last we see of him until he talks with God about his faithful servant Job. In each interaction we see Satan in, we get only a glimpse of who he really is. Satan 's motive is not developed and we assume he does evil simply because he is evil
Satanism Sociology/Psychology I am hoping I can somehow make this seem like a psychological report without making it lose any of it's important details. My goal in writing this paper is to hopefully make people understand and agree that Satanism is not a "Devil Worshipping," animal mutilating, child scarifying cult organization. The psychological thing comes in when people say Satanism is wrong or evil, they hear the word Satan and automatically assume that it must be bad. They make these assumptions without even taking the time to find the facts and understand them. I'll start off by saying that Satanists do not worship the devil!
John Milton 's Epic, Paradise Lost contains a plethora of character development; which is one of the reasons it is such a renowned poem. The complexity of Milton 's characters, in combination with an intricate plot, propels the reader into a multifaceted journey in which they observe a motley crowd of characters grow and develop. Satan 's transformation is one of the most drastic in Paradise Lost. Throughout the poem, Satan regresses from God’s right hand man, to the devil on Adam and Eve’s shoulder; convincing the sinless humans to contravene God’s one law, and eat the forbidden fruit.
The identity of the true protagonist in Paradise Lost is a mystery. One would gather that Milton, a Puritan, would have no problem casting God as the hero, and Satan as the antagonist. However, looking back in history, Milton saw that most epic heroes had conflicts that prevented them from accomplishing their goals. God and his Son have no conflict, and Adam’s story does not really begin until the Fall of Man. Therefore, Milton was forced to select Satan as the hero of Paradise Lost because he adheres to the guidelines of epic poetry set by Homer, Virgil and others. There are many examples of how Milton uses and edits the tradition of these previous epics in the formation of the Devil as a hero. One of the most basic examples of heroism in epic poetry is the exhortation of the leader to his followers. In The Odyssey, Homer lets Odysseus give a speech that would convince anyone they could survive the journey to the Strait of Messina, "Then we die with our eyes open, if we are going to die, or know what death we baffle if we can. (Ln.1243-1245)" After passing the Sirens, the ship approaches the Strait, and the crew sees the twin terrors of Scylla and Charybdis, they are mortified. Odysseus again lifts their spirits with this speech, "Friends, have we ever been in danger before this? More fearsome, is it now, than when the Cyclops penned us in his cave? What power he had! Did I not keep my nerve, and use my wits to find a way out for us?
Satan's speech defines him as a fearless and eloquent speaker and he is therefore made to seem human. We as an audience are led to sympathizing with him because of his human qualities; moreover we also sympathize with him because we know his battle is inevitably going to fail. We have to remember that Satan is evil; therefore Milton may have deliberately presented him in this way to allow the reader to see how seductive Satan really is and potentially teach us to be more resistant towards