[SIZE=+1][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]we are the first above-ground organization in history openly dedicated to the acceptance of Man's true nature—that of a carnal beast, living in a cosmos that is indifferent to our existence. [SIZE=+1]To us, Satan is the symbol that best suits the nature of we who are carnal by birth[SIZE=+1]—people who feel no battles raging between our thoughts and feelings, we who do not embrace the concept of a soul imprisoned in a body. He represents pride, liberty, and individualism[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]—[/FONT]qualities often defined as Evil by those who worship external deities, who feel there is a war between their minds and emotions. [/SIZE]As Anton LaVey explained in his classic work
The Sa[/SIZE]
tanic Bible, Man—using his brain—invented all the Gods, doing so because many of our species cannot accept or control their personal egos, feeling compelled to conjure up one or a multiplicity of characters who can act without hindrance or guilt upon whims and desires. All Gods are thus externalized forms, magnified projections of the true nature of their creators, personifying aspects of the universe or personal temperaments which many of their followers find to be troubling. Worshipping any God is thus worshipping by proxy those who invented that God. Since the Satanist understands that all Gods are fiction, instead of bending a knee in worship to[SIZE=+1]—[/SIZE]or seeking friendship or unity with[/FONT][SIZE=+1][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+1]—[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]such mythical entities, he places himself at the center of his own subjective universe as his own highest value. We Satanists are thus our own "Gods,"[SIZE=+1] and as beneficent "deities" we can offer love to those who deserve it and deliver our wrath (within reasonable limits) upon those who seek to cause us[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]—[/FONT]or that which we cherish[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]—[/FONT]harm. [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Magus Gilmore's essay [SIZE=+1][SIZE=+1]
"What, The Devil?[SIZE=+1][SIZE=+1]"[/SIZE][/SIZE] from
The Satanic Scriptures discusses this in greater detail.[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE]