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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

We are at War
By Rev. Davin Kimble

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you
need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself
but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a
defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb
in every battle.
Sun Tzu “The Art of War”


Conflict and the ideal of conflict is man’s greatest driving force. The desire to engage in competition, and to defeat another on a field of battle, is one that cannot be denied. It is this driving force that has heralded all of the greatest advances in thought, idealism and society. Men will compete and from these competitions will raise new ideas and new beliefs.

It must be understood that conflict and competition does not always hearken back to the battlefield, and at the same time the basis for all competition is war. Men have their games and these games are as a whole played out on a field of battle. Whether it is the battle field of the mind or a grassy playing field, there in lays the essence of war. Competition has been reduced to an ideal of friendly sparing where every one goes home happy that a “good game” and been played and regardless of a win or loss all parties “did their best.” This droll approach to competition has led to a repressed aggression that manifests itself in so called rivalries, the desire to continue to defeat this opponent, to bring him and keep him, to heel.

War is the state of things and competition can be found in almost everything we do. When you leave your driveway you are thrust into direct competition with the other motorist on the road, even though there is no defined goal for victory, other than arriving at your destination alive, driving requires a degree of observation, reflex, and strategy found very few places outside of physical conflict. When one is in search of a mate, even (especially) if only for the evening, you place yourself on a battle field unequalled by anything man could create, there are any number of rivals and very few allies to assist you in your quest. You are in direct competition with every man, and not a few women, who are also there to find a mate or prevent someone from finding a mate. In the course of intellectual debate, there is a battle being waged that is equal to any other competition. One is attempting to hold their intellectual ground while simultaneously attempting to shake the others foundation.

War is a part of what humans are and competition is healthy to the development and advancement of our species. On a spiritual platform war is less, as direct competition, defined but none the less operational. Many would like to take the stance that as long as one does not attempt to overtly attack me there is no need for conflict. On the contrary, when one takes a stand on a particular belief system they are at once thrust into a war and may, at some time, be called upon to defend their position. Whether or not you choose to overtly attack another belief system, by written or spoken word, or choose instead to keep your peace unless attacked you are involved in a war.

It is commonly known that the various Xian faiths believe that there is a spiritual war being waged at this very moment all around us and I do not deny that fact in the least. If it is a war amongst “higher spirits” or the spiritual nature of man himself is a moot point, there is a battle being waged right now and we all must be aware of it.

Everyday in religious tracts, in the mass media, on the Internet, Satanism is being attacked by the religious right. Even in light of the numerous documents that point to a visible truth as to what Satanism is, the slander continues to multiply. People who are not Satanist are held up as examples of Satanism world wide. Symbols of destruction and histories ideals, which are little more than intellectual curiosities to the Satanist, are paraded as basic Satanic tenets and goals. Yet there is little if any attempt to meet these lies head on and crush the Xian bullishness with logical reasoning and intellectual debunking of the popular Christian mythos.


To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the
Opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Sun Tzu “The Art of War”

These Christian attacks against Satanism are fertile ground for a counter offensive. Take for instance the satanic scare and the lies of ritual child abuse. These lies perpetuated by the religious right were intended to be out right attacks against the influx of Satanic thought in the main stream. It is well known that Satan is popular in many areas of our culture today from music and movies to advertisement and education. You will find movie stars and rock bands flashing the sign of the horns for the camera, many novels now take a more realistic stance when it comes to satanic ritual and satanic texts can be found on the shelves of many of the mainstream big business book stores. Satanism is no longer regulated to the back rooms of dusty little book stores or hidden in the depths of publishing obscurity. We owe a great deal of this to Anton LaVey for daring to speak boldly in the first place, the CoS for keeping his legacy alive and Avon books for daring to step out and put the truth of Satanism into the light.

Even in the face of this the Christians will still attack Satanism based on their own mythos and ideals of what Satanism is all about. It is time we understood that we have a duty to turn them back at every crossroad. We as Satanist must know the enemy we are dealing with and we need to have a clear understanding of how to defeat this enemy. One of the best ways to engage them is on the ground of intellectual argument as opposed to metaphysical or metaphorical idealism. They have had much success confusing the uneducated masses in the realm of spirituality; this battle field is not the best one to meet them in. They have no concept of spirituality as a personal pathway. For Christians spirituality is a black and white concept and with only two choices, heaven or hell. Facing them in this field of battle is foolish, even if you have a pastors knowledge of the texts they will stubbornly continue to berate you for not “believing what you know to be true.” You must instead turn them away with logic. Christianity by its very nature is not a very logical ideal and they have no real defense against science or pure logic. Demonstrate the incompetence of their leaders, and the solid reality of the satanic lifestyle and you cannot loose. They will continue to fall back on their Bible and the ideas it holds and will attempt to separate them selves from the “world”, the very world they live in and take full advantage of.
We all know that this idea of being separate and above the world in Christian thought is supposed to be a corner stone of their faith, yet every day we find that the Christian movement is involved in much of the politics and decision making in our country. Most of our politicians are staunch defenders of the Christian way. The Christian Coalition is a major lobbyist on Capitol Hill and much of what gets passed into law, or swept from the books is a direct result of the Xian agenda. The constitution of the United States is the only defense left against a totalitarian police state run much like some of the more strict Muslim countries. In the past the Xian’s ran the world by the laws of the pope and they would take this country and run it into another Dark Age if they were allowed to. So not only is this war in defense of Satanism and our right to be Satanist, it is also a war against the regulations of thought and expression the Christians would impose if they could. This is a war for the rights of people to choose their lives, and to live those lives as they see fit, watching, reading, hearing and living what they choose.


4. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able
to do it.

5. Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat
the enemy means taking the offensive.

6. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking,
a superabundance of strength.

7. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret
recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from
the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability
to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.
Sun Tzu “The Art of War”

Many Satanists do not know how to defend their positions. They claim to be great leaders and thought provoking speakers but really have no idea of what the deeper meanings of what they read are. They, unfortunately are not much different than the religions they decry. Following only the written texts of others and having little original thought. These people may have an idea about how to push the religious right back to a defensive position but do not know the way. The way is to take a strong stand and not only to know your stuff but to know theirs as well. In numbers we may be few but all they have is numbers, 80% of those who would call themselves Christians have no real clue as to what their religion proposes or what the final agenda of the Christian church is. These people by and large are easy to push back, but what of the nationally recognized leaders of the Christian movement? Again these individuals are easily defeated on the ground of logic. The Bible as a whole is too easily refuted yet they will fall back on this empty bastion every time if pushed hard enough, once you have them here it is an easy matter to make them look foolish. The nature of mankind is one of instability, thus the reason for religions such as Christianity in the first place. In the course of a debate the audience will sway back and forth form one argument to the next like a willow in the wind. In order to knock the tree down one direction or another would be to put your opponent on the defensive and keep him there.

For too long Satanism has been on the defensive hiding in the shadows, peeking out only when it is necessary to push back a threat. It is time we took the battle field full force and let these people know that we are aware that this is a war and we are not afraid to fight it. If the battles need to be fought in our homes, on radio and television talk shows, on street corners and events the battle needs to be fought. Where ever there is a group protests a movie or concert there should be a group there in opposition of them pressing forth the truth in the face of those lies.

While many will think I talk a good game but show no effort I am here to tell you that this is furthest from the truth. I have had debates in my home with Christians, I have stood out side of movie theatres during the Harry Potter protest making sure people got into the show safely and I have debated street corner preachers for hours on end. I have found that the great majority of our countrymen feel that these individuals and groups go too far in their relentless pressing against our freedom to think for ourselves. There are many who are tired of being accosted on the phones and on the streets, they are sick of hearing the ideals of religionist propounded by our politicians and they are tired of the interference of Christians in our schools. We too should be tired of it and we should stand and fight this war.

In defense of these religionist I have to say that their biblical law does charge them with going out and preaching the word of their god. It does tell them that a reward will be given to those who share the good news. And for the weak minded and easily fooled the hope of an afterlife of eternal bliss is enough to drive them to extremes in fulfillment of these charges. However, this charge handed down by their god gives them no right to interfere in the every day lives of Americans and it gives them no right to trash any other faiths in this country based on it. Fear is the way to defeat and you must understand that the majority of these people are full of fear. They worship a deity who thrives on invoking it and they turn to this empty hope because of it. However it is the Satanist, who in his haughty superiority does not speak out, that appears to be the frightened rabbit. We look to be afraid to come out into the light for the truth may be known. I have been told that there are no Satanist speaking too strongly against the Christians because the Christians are correct and if this is proven the satanic world would come under a massive attack. This may be so but take for example the recent case of Russel Smith. This man claimed to be a Satanist and was found to have satanic texts and an altar in his home. However, because Satanist took a stand and spoke out against his actions what could have potentially been a forest fire turned out to be nothing more than a flash in the pan. The media would not touch on the potential connections to Satanism and Texas Satanist because there were too many willing to stand against the lies. A major catastrophe was avoided because we fought. When next we hear of Mr. Smith it will be when he is paroled or dead.

8. To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd
is not the acme of excellence.

9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and
the whole Empire says, "Well done!"

10. To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the
sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder
is no sign of a quick ear.

11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only
wins, but excels in winning with ease.

12. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor
credit for courage.

13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes
is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering
an enemy that is already defeated.

14. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which
makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating
the enemy.
Sun Tzu “The Art of War”

Even so we have to understand that there is no great feat in this small victory. Until the war is won and Satanist can stand in the light of day proud and respected we will continue to face this war. Be sure the battles will continue even after that day and likely until the end of all things for there will always be an adversary against Satanism as a whole. The name itself as we know invokes fear and awe and that is our greatest weapon. But our greatest hindrance is the silence that surrounds our practices. It is true the truth is out there but how many of these sheep do you know that have the presence of mind to seek it out. They are easily led and the faith itself is designed for the simple. A Mormon who came to my house a few years ago admitted as much. He said that the simple will get the points that the educated will not. I told him yes they would for the masses are easy to move, when one finds himself in a position where the only one that needs to move is himself, then the game becomes complicated. We as Satanist pride ourselves on being able to move with ease through any and all situations and we need to realize that this skill play’s well in our favor. The individual Satanist needs not put on an evil face for we know that by virtue of the name itself the masses will see that. Conversely the Christian opponent will need to put on a holy face even if that face is a lie in order to stand his ground. This is a weapon they have handed us and it cannot be ignored. There is no dishonor in using the enemies’ tactics against them and even less in using their sword to kill them.

5. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle,
but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.
Sun Tzu “The Art of War”

While it is true that facing these individuals down in any arena is an important part of success, it need also be known that taking the ideals to the masses in other ways is just as important. There are any numbers of ways to accomplish this and I will not go greatly in to details on them. Instead I will say that subterfuge and assassination has won many a war. The characters of out satanic leaders are often attacked both within and outside the main stream and I would find no fault with any one who dredged up some wickedness on the part of a religious activist. I also find no fault with rants against the religious right provided they are from a firm foundation and have some basis in truth. This is the main factor in our indirect warfare that differs from theirs. They lie because they can find no fact to back up their ideals. We on the other hand have access to everything they say from church published magazines to national debates. We have any number of way’s to find and attack their ideals without making up something that cannot be proven or backed up with fact. This is a decisive advantage because anyone that would shout us down would have to face the reality of black and white. Whether they try to cover their tracks or not is no longer our problem.

In conclusion, appear as a raging storm from the northern waste and in turn you will defeat your self as you defeat your enemy. Come as a green branch and be strong yet flexible to circumstance and victory is yours. Know that we are at war and it is a war we need to be prepared to fight at every turn. You never know when you may be called upon to stand your ground.