The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible – a Revelation Or a Fraud?

By Lord Slayer

While doing an interview, I was presented with a question asking my opinion of Anton S. Lavey, High Pnest of the Church of the Church of Satan, and if I thought the philosophy advocated in his book, The Satanic Bible, to be logical. After contemplation, I thought it best, as well as in need and appropriate, to present my answer in the form of an essay. This way the unobvious will be revealed to all who ignorantly and blindly read The Satanic Bible — that is to say those who have read and will read The Satanic Bible without prior Satanic/occult knowledge and understanding.

The theories and ideologies prescribed in the well-known book The Satanic Bible, by Howard Stanton Levey (a.k.a. Anton Szandor Lavey), self-appointed High Priest of the Church of Satan (which is an unorthodox approach to a liberalized religion) though not of the sole creation of the author’s genius, are in fact, quite logical. Especially in the modern society as we see and live in today, but because “logical” is far from “factual”, I am permitted plenty of room to question, and question I shall, via accusations.

Without acknowledgment or credit to the proper philosophers (this will be discussed further into the essay) Lavey borrowed an uncounted number of occult theories from a wide spectrum of occult systems and ideas, and compiled them into one psychologically sound system. This would have been adequate had he validated those theories, at least to a convincing degree, on a foundation of occult support and personal practice. But instead of thorough investigation and practice to find sound cause to adhere and facilitate these theories in their intended entirety, he adopted only those aspects he could manipulate into one system of thought and practice. After all, to build the lucrative, tax-exempt, business that Lavey wanted (which was the motivating force behind him writing The Satanic Bible) he needed to articulate an occult, or what appears “occult” philosophy/ideology, to snugly fit into a fast-progressing society with a liberal-inclined populous without undermining his self-appointed occult authority plateau. And what better time and place to do this than during the mass-liberation movements in San Francisco during the late 1960’s (i.e. civil righis, feminism, gay rights, hippie-love/peace, etc.)?

Lacking in his own creativity, which can be developed through serious study and practice, Mr. Lavey began stealing theories and ideologies he’d read from numerous volumes of psychological and occult study — both archaic and obscure, to modern and made-easy. The obvious intention, as we recognize now, is to create, and successfully so, an illusion of self-philosopher, and in doing so, he deceived the would-be follower into believing that the theories/philosophies articulated in his early speeches, and later in the Satanic Bible, are the sole manifestations of his innate ability to juggle common sense and many years of psychological, and occult studies. Obviously such studies ventured included the delving into those ideologies described in the phenomenal treatise titled Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard; written thirty years after the civil war in America. This book was very rare until its reprint in 1984 by Loompanics Unlimited. Although fairly easily located at present to the endeavorous, a copy Of this racially conscious treatise of natural philosophy was next to impossible to obtain at the time of the Satanic Bible’s writing. I believe this fact comes into play in-as-far as a rationale for Lavey’s blatant plagiarism, of this book’s contents, but not limited to only this particular book. I shall list other possible plagiarism further into this essay.

When comparing Lavey’s articulations and creative sentence structures in the Satanic Bible to those found in Ragnar’s Might is Right, a most compelling discovery was made known to me. I discovered what I believe to be Anton Lavey’s most disturbing plagiarism. I uncovered uncanny similarities in Lavey’s wordings of sentences and their meanings to those in Might Is Right. This of itself is insufficient enough evidence to prove, at least to me, a plagiarism on the dishonored behalf of Anton S. Lavеу, but when digging farther, a new and even more revealing discovery is unearthed. Aside from the many uncanny similarities in verse, and word structure, there is also, as plain as day, word-for-word, sentence-for-sentence, appearing utterly identical. I repeat—identical! A plagiarism? No doubt! Nowhere in the Satanic Bible does Lavey offer credit to Ragnar Redbeard. It is clear Mr. Lavey failed to take in account the possibility this book could return to press. It is rumored, though I’ve not seen it in print, that Anton S. Lavey openly stated that he “quoted” Mr. Redbeard in the Satanic Bible. The interesting aspect to this ramor is that it surfaced many, many years after the reprint of Might is Right, not before. There is no documentation suggesting otherwise that I was able to find during my research. It is quite obvious to this occultist that the extreme rarity of Mr. Redbeard’s book Might is Right prior to reprint was Mr. Lavey’s security blanket. He must have figured the odds of someone reading both Might Is Right and The Satanic Bible in one lifetime was too great to pass plagiarizing Mr. Redbeard’s genius.

Throughout Anton Lavey’s writings there are other plagiarisms noticeable as well, but this, which I have already discussed, is the most compelling of proofs that I’m permitted to unveil publicly without there being any possible legal repercussions. However, I shall divulge those occult philosopher and renowned psychology authors from which the endeavorous student, with a knack for intelligent and comparison research, can unveil the many Other plagiarisms that were revealed to me. Such works as those documentations by, but not limited to, Crowley, Waite, Levi, Grant, Jung, Freud, Reich, Regardie and, of course, Stirner and Nietzsche. Mr. Lavey’s translation of Dee’s Enochian Keys is distorted and assumed, which, in my opinion, is a disrespect to the phenomenal work of seeing by Dee and Kelly. Read carefully the wording Lavey uses when explaining the translation of the Enochian Keys. McGregor must have turned a flip or two in his grave when Lavey “translated” them.

It is clear to me that Anton S. Lavey is a fraud who has built a church (my research indicates the Church of Satan filing a Chapter 7 liquidation on April 29, 1993. A Miss Barton is now the spokesperson for what is remaining of the church) on stolen and uncredited philosophy (from occultists he denounces as frauds) in order to lure in the most lazy of unmotivated people who will (and he’s banked his pocketbook on this) never study the occult outside of his perfidious and fallacious so-called Satanic Bible.

You would think people would doubt Mr. Lavey’s authenticity and sincerity after his most humiliating failure to substantiate for the media press the numerous claims he has made in regards to his extensive education, unique relationships with Hollywood stars, employment, as well as the account of his childhood and upbringing, which is a perfect occult tale that Bran Stroker couldn’t write or imagine better. Not even prominent journalists, with all the investigative tools of modern society, have succeeded in uncovering proof to validate even one of Lavey’s many claims.

Anton Szandor Lavey is quite obviously the Jim Baker of modern organized Satanism. Oh woe to you, oh fraud, doth thou tears also fall in repentance?