"Why aren't you a member of the CoS?"

This is a question I get asked a lot, and now I feel it is time to state my opinions on this matter.

What first held me off was the fee you have to pay to become a member. I'd not pay any religious organization anything because it is demanded of me. Rather, I'm one of those who carefully considers whom I want to support and donate to. The Church of Satan seems to me like a big money machine, and, this will probably draw flamers over here, a fraud. Here's the Satanic Bible saying you don't have to join anything to become a Satanist, and these CoS people suddenly decide that if you're not a member of their organization you're not a Satanist at all, but a "bloody poseur" as somebody labeled me online without even getting to know me first. Then, they don't even keep to their own Bunco Sheet which labels other Satanic organizations as nothing better than angry christians or teens or something, and actually claim copyright for something (the baphomet) which is clearly public domain and used long before LaVey was persuaded by someone whose name I can't remember at the moment to turn his occult home studies group into a "Church of Satan". He didn't even found it the date he claimed to have. And, from what his family tells, the guy was a woman- beater, a charlatan and in general a bloody nuisance. Of course, I do not claim to know him, only drawing from my sources here, which are available online under "CoS analysis" (pdf eBook) and "LaVey: Legend and Reality". Go ahead, read for yourself.

What's struck me as ironic the last few weeks, thinking about the CoS, is that although they tell people that herd conformity and stupidity is a big no- no, they actually cultivate their own herd of - not sheep - goats. These people try to be so different from what the rest of society is, but still stick together like a frightened, but overly proud and "alien elite" flock of people who won't think for themselves (or perhaps are frightened to do so because that'd risk them being thrown out of their church?) The articles you find on the site of the Church of Satan are full of hate towards anyone not like themselves, even other Satanists, ignorance towards other belief systems (very much in accord to LaVey's own ignorance of the Eastern religions), arrogance and a general feel that tells me that this is sick, and nothing for me. I do not want to become a member of an organization that demands information about myself like what my sexual preferences are and other intimate questions, and I do not like organizations that lie their members in the face without even blinking, using their time instead to manipulate and confuse the masses. No, thank you.

Yes, I am rather sure there is much about the Church of Satan that I myself am ignorant of. I do not claim to know all about everything. And this is mainly just a personal text that states why I think the CoS is sickening. Most probably, this will be the most flamed blog entry ever written, but I could not care less. I claim no affiliations with the CoS, and do not want them, either!

Sincerely yours,
~Selene