Straight from the Devil: Holy Books in Contemporary Satanism

Abstract

At first glance, Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible, hardly seems to fit in with the visionaries and prophets already discussed. Unlike Joseph Smith or Matthew Philip Gill, he does not claim that his religious pronouncements have been authorized by visionary experiences. Nor does he claim to reveal for the first time episodes from history that will forever alter our understanding of both the past and the present. Unlike David Koresh, he does not claim to have come to the realization that he was one of the figures described in the Bible, and unlike the “Chosen Vessel” he does not claim to be continuing and extending the prophetic mission of a predecessor. Neither does LaVey spend much time at all on developing proper translations or novel interpretations of the Bible. Nonetheless, LaVey did formally found a new church and issue a text with at least some pretensions to authoritative, scriptural status. Many who identify themselves as Satanists claim to have commenced their progress toward self-understanding with an encounter with The Satanic Bible. ¹ Current representatives of the Church of Satan clearly treat LaVey’s Bible as an authoritative text.² But, unlike many prophetic figures, LaVey insistently rejects any grounding of his authority in commerce with the supernatural. He consistently attributes what he has to say to insight rather than revelation.