[CroMagna]

Hi gang,

I just got back from a week long camping trip with the local church youth group.

I used the opportunity to see if I wanted to "switch contexts" as Steve would say and become a Christian again. I did a leap of faith and was Christian for a substantial part of the week. Currently I am a (LaVeyan) Satanist. I also like Voodoo/Candomble/Santeria and Buddhism.

There are many things I like and dislike about each of these religions. I'm also considering being in all of these religions together like they do in Latin America.

LaVeyan Satanism

LIKES

• The creed is based on philosophies I admire, like Ayn Rand's Objectivism (love those who deserve it, don't love those who mistreat you), Social Darwinism (pull yourself up by the bootstraps, respect your forefathers, life is inevitably about war so accept it, success is the best revenge), I-theism (you are your own god, you control your destiny, put yourself first), epicureanism (live your life to the fullest in the here and now)
• The main thing I like about it is that it is humanistic towards women (women are equal, witches are sexual goddesses, size and race don't matter)
• Non-conformity (there is no Satanic community, be your own person, don't try to "fit in" with any particular subculture)
• Helps those who have been mistreated or misunderstood (a la Ayn Rand, if all of mankind cries out against you, maintain your convictions), be proud to be a misfit or a pariah
• Pragmatic survival skills and common sense (don't go around announcing all of your business i.e. the fact that you're a Satanist, accept the fact that people don't always comprehend this religion)
• Last but not least, the Satan symbol (not a literal Satan thank goodness, a symbol of admirable qualities such as refusal to bow to authority or to serve a master with a hand or brain)

DISLIKES

• Anti-spiritual, not supposed to have spiritual practices involved, materialistic atheism
• Anti-Christian, they would never attend church or hang out in Christian community
• The difficulty of bringing yourself to tell a boyfriend or close friend that you've decided is a true friend
• Fear of rejection
• Uneasy feeling of being "dishonest" by keeping it private i.e. to the church
• Feeling that there's something about you that no one knows and would never understand
• Being the only one of you in it in virtually every setting especially in a third world community or country
• Many of the ones you come across on the internet are negative, misanthropic, and cynical
• Will never be able to tell close friends who are conservative
• Have to keep it from African family
• Sometimes makes you feel less American (Christian nation)

Part II is below