Books about Satanism

Satanism is a term that refers to a number of related beliefs and social phenomena. Their commonality is that they all feature the veneration or admiration of Satan or similar figures. This notion arose in Jewish scripture from the earliest mention of the title. In the Book of Job, the angel of the Lord called 'the Satan' was the one who challenged the followers of Yahweh, revealing by trial those whose faith was shallow or misguided. A character named "Satan" was described as the cosmic enemy of the Lord and temptor of Jesus within many of the Gospels of early Christians.

Modern Satanist groups (those which appeared after the 1960s) are widely diverse, but two major trends which can be seen are Theistic Satanism and Atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists venerate Satan as a supernatural deity, whom some consider to be entirely benevolent. In contrast, Atheistic Satanists consider themselves atheists and regard Satan as merely symbolic of certain human traits. Each "type" of Satanist will usually refer to themselves only as a "Satanist". More »