quote:The British Armed Forces has officially recognised its first registered Satanist, according to a newspaper report. Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, has been allowed to register by the captain of HMS Cumberland.
The move will mean that he will now be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board the vessel.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cranmer realised he was a Satanist nine years ago.
Religious values
At the time he stumbled across a copy of the Satanic Bible, written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey.
He said: "I then read more and more and came to realise I'd always been a Satanist, just simply never knew."
Mr Cranmer, who is from Edinburgh, is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make Satanism a registered religion in the armed forces.
A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "We are an equal opportunities employer and we don't stop anybody from having their own religious values."
The Church of Satan was established in San Francisco in 1966.
LaVey was its high priest until his death in 1997.
Followers live by the Nine Satanic Statements, which include "Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence", "Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek" and "Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification".
Obviously, every military unit needs a Satanist. God is good, yes? He will treat you OK. It is the other guy you need to suck up to.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I've never really understood Satanism, I mean if you actually believe in the traditional Satan there's also all those verses about burning in Hell for eternity and being gaunteed of losing... do they not believe in this outlook on Satan or what?
Well, to the article, if he wants to have his own religion, my thinking it to be stupid wont stop him, and I certainly don't mind it being rocognizied, not that my opinion matters, since I'm not British...
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You know, though, I'm reasonably familiar with LaVey's brand of Satanism, and I can't see how some of its ideals are compatible with service on a naval vessel.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I thought I covered this before: "Satanism" as it is called has nothing at all to do with the Christian devil. It is basically a Randian humanism with ritual involved entirely for the theatrics of it. If you want to nitpick, it's probably intentionally giving the collective middle finger to all of Christianity by even calling itself Satanism in the first place.
Posts: 1170 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Well, I didn't want to seem exasperated with you, though I can see how it could be looked at like that. I was more exasperated with how the article portrayed it. If they would have substituted "Satanist" with "Randian" or "Humanist," the article would have come across rather weird. If it had replaced it with "atheist," the implications would have been even worse. "Satan" is an archetype to them, not a god.
Posts: 1170 | Registered: Jan 2003
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