No, Satanism is stereotypically one of those. Very few actually worship Satan as an "evil" deity. Generally they feel that he is either not accurately depicted in the Bible, feel that he is in fact Jesus, or don't worship him at all but worship the self.

But in regards to your comments concerning LaVeyan Satanism, they are just entirely untrue. You say that they follow the "dark force" in themselves, but as if it's synonymous with "evil force." It simply means a carnal instinct. They "worship" nature, they indulge in earthly pleasures.

That's entirely untrue and I'm not sure where you're getting it from. They feel that if someone is unfair or cruel to them, that they shouldn't waste their time on them, and that people deserve to get what they give out basically. Almost like... karma. Yet, karma seems fair and just but you take their practices to be bad and evil. They COULD be used to do harm, but if you look at the Bible, there are quotes that can certainly be taken that way as well.

In fact one of the Satanic Statements specifically says that Satan represents kindness to those who show it mutually.

Consider some of their Rules:

What makes you say that they aren't for peace, kindness, generosity etc? They just believe that indulgence in carnal pleasure is the way to live one's life, rather than repenting for being human and living a mundane existence. Not sacrificing your own happiness and wellbeing on a regular basis does not mean you're not generous... it means you understand that you are important too, and can't help others if you don't take care of yourself first. They do place themselves first, but they don't do things deliberately at the expense of someone else. Christians have done just as many selfish things in their long history, at the expense of not just one person, but numerous minorities. The same things could be argued of both Satanism and Christianity, so let's not get into it. Satanism is no more "bad" or "evil" than Christianity in the hands of the wrong person.

Again, I could argue the same of most religions, including Christianity.

Ultimately, it's the person who decides what to do. Christians (and other such religions) are currently denying gay people the right to marry because of their own personal beliefs, once again justified by the Bible... whereas a Satanist would generally not oppose it, as it does not affect them or harm anyone and benefits others. You cannot deny that Christianity has been used to harm, intentionally or unintentionally.

Oh please, how is that cherry picking? In the Bible itself, more people were killed by God/in the name of God than by/in the name of Satan. How often do you hear of people doing something in the name of Satan?

Just to reiterate, this isn't to say that GOD IS BAD. This is to say that history frankly shows that more people have been killed in the name of God than in Satan's.

Yes...?

Does this really matter? The whole point is that it's being used as an excuse, thus the statement "most wars are started in the name of religion" is true. Whether or not that is TRULY the driving cause is irrelevant. The statement is true. I entirely agree that it's often the result of misinterpretation, deliberate or not. But that's not what we're talking about.

Well if you would like to tally up every single war ever fought, then by all means... I will stick with "a good number of wars are fought because of religion" if it will make you happy. Again, I don't care what the true cause was, because the fact is these people justified it through religion, and that is what we're talking about.

Now, if you read what *I* said, you'll notice that I never denied that. But those are issues of greed, not moral justification. Without religion, would it be justified to start a war over money? No, people wouldn't allow, they'd oppose it. It's when fear is created, or when it's allowed "by God," that people will agree to it. People don't WANT to go to war... people need a reason to say "yes." Most people would not say a war over land or money is a justified war.

Indeed, everyone's religious to an extent. You don't have to believe in a god to be religious. I wasn't talking about the following of traditional religion...

I stipulated this as well in my arguments above. Sure, religion has been the cause of wars and deaths, but is it more than 50%? I'm not close to convinced by your arguments.

So in closing: many wars have been caused directly through religious conflicts or misinterpretation of holy scriptures. Many wars, perhaps most, have been justified by religion, whether or not it was the actual cause. If religion is not influential in dictating those wars, then why was it involved at all? If the didn't need that justification to do it, why didn't they just go ahead? It certainly has a LARGE role, and I BELIEVE there would be less war/conflict if traditional religion was done with. Religion often makes war "easier."

I was more referring to current times. I wasn't implying that the kings used to go and ask the peasants their opinion on going to war. Certainly there ARE other forms of justification, although I do not believe people now would find money/land justification for killing (look at Iraq), but you can't deny that religion is often cited.

Thank you for the basic civics lesson, but I never said that. Please see above.

And again, you've put words in my mouth. I never said the religious leaders are the ones who've started these wars.

You don't think the general public's opinion on the war matters in Iraq's case? It's finally being taken into consideration. Of COURSE justification was needed, and Bush gave it to the people, and they gobbled it all up. No one would have supported the war otherwise. Even Hitler set up certain events that would "justify" the war.

Ok, seriously, stop putting words in my mouth. I didn't say that either. I know that it wasn't cited as the reason he went to war, although Bush has certainly said things that suggest he believes it's what God wants... this quote was widely reported: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan. And I did, and then God would tell me, George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq. . . . And I did.' It wasn't widely used as justification to the people in the case, but it apparently was justification for Bush.

And where did I say that ALL people follow religious leaders without question? Let me tell you something about myself: I don't make statements where I lump all people together like that based on the actions of a few, so please stop assuming that of me.

Ahahaha. Funny, funny boy.

I also find it amusing that you talk as if people are referring only to Christianity when they speak of this. :\

*hand shake*