By Gamble Leidolf

Satanism Facts: Satanism is not well defined by anyone. It is different depending on what type of Satanism is being practiced. There are four main groups of terms and descriptions that Satanism has been called, but only Religious Satanism is the true religion. Religious Satanism: This is the recognition of Satan as a deity or a force of nature, not the Christian devil. Serious adults usually practice this, but some followers are teenagers. There are three main traditions including (1) The Church of Satan, (2) The Temple of Set, and (3) The Church of Satanic Liberation.

Some other satanic groups exist today or recently, but they are not as followed as the ones above. The number of Satanists is not actually known. A US Department of the Army pamphlet #165-13 estimated that the Church of Satan had ten thousand to twenty thousand members in the late 1970's. No estimate of this could be accurate because the Church of Satan, the largest group of Satanist, does not release its membership numbers. The Satan that Satanist recognize is almost completely different from the Christian devil. Their Satan is pre-Christian, forming from the Pagan image of power, virility, sexuality, and sensuality. Instead of a living deity, Satan is a force of nature. It has nothing to do with demons, Hell, and profound evil.

Gamble's Comments: In much the same way, the Basis of Being does not revolve around a deity. It does not look to the outside for finding reasons for our behavior. It is based on the belief that we as humans are responsible for our actions and when we do good or evil it is not because we were made to by angels or demons. It is our own choices that define our actions.

Satanism Facts: Gothic Satanism: This is a religion that is profoundly evil and mostly imaginary, in the eye of the public. It was invented during the late Middle Ages, but never existed in an organized manor. It is mainly what people think Satanism is, including ritual killing of children, selling of souls to the devil, breaking crucifixes, conducting of black masses, and other absurd ideas. Gothic Satanism was invented by the Christian Church. There are a few anti-Christian believers who get their rituals from anti-Satanic writings, which do worship the Christian devil, Satan. They do not, however, commit criminal acts or abuse other people.

Satanic Dabblers: These are rebellious teenagers or young adults who practice a blend of elements taken from Religious Satanism, Gothic Satanism, ceremonial Magick, and other sources of ritual practices. This is usually only practiced for a short period of time by the teenagers, until they outgrow it. The number of followers is impossible to obtain because they don't practice at an organized level. They occasionally do criminal activities on a small level, such as cemetery vandalization and making graffiti of satanic symbols. Rarely, a few have been known to sacrifice animals.

Other types of Satanism: To justify their horrendous acts, Serial murders will occasionally claim to be Satanists. However, police investigations reveal that they don't know much about the religion. Child molesters sometimes abuse children in a Satanic setting as a means of scaring and controlling the victims. These molesters are not actually Satanists; they just use the idea of Gothic Satanism to further their criminal activities. Heavy metal rock bands pretend to be Satanists to gain notoriety to sell their records.

Satanism is a religion of the flesh. Happiness, to the Satanist, must be found here and now. No heaven exists to go to after death and no Hell of burning punishment awaits the "sinner". We are a practical people. Denying things that cannot be proved by the scientific method or feasted on by our senses, we revel in our time on earth without fearing the punishment of the "Unseen" or the condemnation of the common man.

Gamble's Comments: The Basis of Being focuses on what we need to do here and now to make our lives and our world a better place. It does not rely on dogma but on everyday practical advice to help guide us through our daily lives.

Satanism Facts: Satanists equate faith with blind belief. Blindly accepting a thing without proof is folly. "Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power." ------Eric Hoffer (1902-83), American Philosopher and Longshoreman. Strongly attached to our family and close associations, we make excellent friends. Strongly opposed to those who have endeavored to make our lives miserable or cause harm to our family and friends, we are lasting and vindictive enemies. Satanists do not believe that you can love everyone and treat every person the same. By failing to hate you make yourself unable to love. Feared by their enemies and loved by their friends, Satanists build their stronghold in the community.

Gamble's Comments: The Basis understands that not everyone will agree with our chosen path in life. So rather than subject ourselves to those who are negative influences, we choose to surround ourselves with only positive people. We may not be able to change a person who bent on destructive behavior or just down right negativity but we certainly do not have to let this harmful behavior come within our sphere of influence.

Satanism Facts: "To have friends, you know, one need only be good-natured; but when a man has no enemy left there must be something mean about him." ----Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), playwright. The venting of emotion controlled and with purpose, maintains our strength of purpose and our stamina. Man needs ritual and ceremony as much as he needs to vent his anger and frustration. Satanic ritual serves both purposes. Hate and lust can be all consuming; when the flames of passion grow too tall we don our robes and enter into a world apart. When we leave the ritual chamber, we leave the flames of passion there, in the shadows, in Satan's Realm. Our fervent desires thus relieved, we go on our way in the world. We leave our passion behind, a purpose with a vengeance. Who is to say what creature of the night we thus spawn?

The Basis Of Being supports all beliefs that lead to a prosperous and peaceful lifelong pursuit of happiness for not only ourselves, but those around us.

What is the Basis of Being?

The Basis Of Being is a groundbreaking book broken down into 13 Chapters of 28 Maxims each. Written by Liam Ballinagar & Gamble Leidolf; edited by Corine San Crainte, this wonderful pocket sized guide will change your life forever. With 364 Pearls of Wisdom, you can make but one alteration a day and by the end of 12 months, you might not recognize yourself. But of course your good deeds will have been rewarded and come back to you tenfold. Thank you for considering the Basis Of Being. If you are ready for the Future: CLICK HERE