I’ve never seen a book that so closely aligned with my way of thinking. It was a truly magical experience to find the ideas that I had been searching for on the next pages of this book. It was shocking to realize the same aesthetics that resonated with me were already articulated in the book. The experience was so absorbing that it convinced me that a Satanist is born, not made.
The philosophy of CoS(Church of Satan) is anything but superficial. They fully understand the psychological dynamics of their adherents, so they don’t hesitate to explain who Satanists are, how they operate, therefore, how they should be. It is a guidebook for a Satanist. People who don’t grasp this might easily misunderstand this book as promoting a controversial or dangerous ideology. However, CoS has never proselytized Satanism or exaggerated it to gather more members because it is a religion and a philosophy for a certain type of person in this world – distinct from those who are more easily accepted by the public.
Their logic is quite clear without contradiction, which is my favorite. Truth, like a mathematical formula, is simple. There’s no need to make extensive exceptions. The fact that rules are getting diverged and complicated as they try to account for life’s myriad life intricacies suggests that the rules failed to embody universal truths and instead succumbed to the inevitable chaos of the world. It’s unnecessary to understand every complexity; therefore, truths cannot be many, and other propositions should be sheer observations of reality under few truths.
I felt the CoS’s philosophy was ethical. Focusing my nature and rebelling against oppressions that will stifle my vitality is virtuous. How can anything be more ethical than this if you’re the person who really knows what makes you happy and grow? CoS seems extremely honest about themselves and their ideas about human nature. It is not hypocritical to say, “CoS is an international movement, and Satanists are born regardless of the region, time, and gender.” They explained human nature and made religion embrace it as “As-Is” without external “To-Be” that merely promotes local morals. And it’s clear that the type of person who more easily embraces their carnal nature, their instinct – in other words, stimulated by their vibrant desires – exists everywhere.
Their logic is brutally simple and beautiful. I believe the CoS will endure with its stable philosophy and management. I’ve been thinking and writing about Satanism for over a year, and the more I do, the more I find my logic gravitating toward the CoS’s philosophy. To truly be called a religion, I think ideas should naturally converge into its core philosophy rather than diverge.