Judging by nothing but the title of this book, my immediate reaction when asked to review it was, “Wow! There are likely going to be a lot of angry, cat sacrificing, blood drinkers cursing me in the moonlight if I do this, but sure!” There was always a chance that this book was the real deal and as I did a little pre-read research, I started to realize that it is. Magus Gilmore is the High Priest of Anton Szander LaVey’s Church of Satan, which works hard to differentiate itself from the aforementioned miscreants. LaVey’s church proudly proclaims itself the only true bearers of the name “Satanist” and kindly, but forcefully asks those who subscribe to other views to find a different name.

At this point, if you are not already familiar with the works of Anton LaVey, you are likely scratching your head trying to figure out exactly what these people call Satanism. While The Satanic Scriptures does not seek to be the last word on the subject, it does aim to be more of an updated companion to its defining text, The Satanic Bible, penned almost forty years ago now by LaVey himself.

Rather than a direct book flowing from chapter to chapter, The Satanic Scriptures is a collection of essays originally printed in “The Black Flame” (The Church of Satan’s official magazine) over the past twenty years or so that have been cleaned up and organized to form an official book. As such, moving from essay to essay, one occasionally gets the impression that Gilmore is repeating himself or “harping” on a particular issue. Most of the essays concern themselves with denoting in clear terms what is and is not Satanic by The Church’s standards and debunking what it claims has been an unrelenting disinformation campaign against them.

One of Gilmore’s key points is that a true Satanist should exhibit exemplary skills in whatever he endeavors to do, particularly if that person does so in the name of the church. It is clear Gilmore holds himself to the same standard, as his writing style and grammar are impeccable by any standard. His clear writing prowess lends credibility to a book many skeptics will look for any reason to pan.

As for the substance of The Satanic Scriptures, it is certainly up to the individual to decide on its merits, but I will cover some major points. Gilmore asserts Satanism is, in essence what he calls, “skeptical Epicurean atheism.” He differentiates this from Hedonism in several ways, but most simply that while the Hedonist will seek (traditionally physical) pleasure at any cost, the Epicurean seeks all realms of pleasure with an awareness to social constraints. The Satanist endorses the law of Lex Talionis which encourages “eye for an eye” type justice for those who violate the law. As such, this is a significant restraining factor when choosing how one should indulge his or her proclivities, but that said, nothing is deemed “morally wrong” between consenting adults.

I mentioned the “atheism” word that people love to hate when describing the Church of Satan and this would seem to be incongruent with the popular view of what Satanism should be. Especially, when we are talking about a book with the word “Scriptures” in it, there would seem to be an implied form of spiritual hierarchy, right? Well, yes and no. One of the key points in this book that newcomers may struggle with is the notion of Satan. The Church of Satan views this entity more as a psychic projection of oneself and a symbol than a directly deific (or demonic for that matter) being. To LeVay’s Satanist, Satan is not necessarily the cloven hoofed outcast of the heavens referred to in biblical texts. Anton LeVay chose that symbol because of what Satan stands for. He chose Satan, because that is the ultimate symbol of defiance and dissent against Western religious culture, but sees him more as an expansion of the inner beast in us all. To LeVay and his followers, we are all beasts with urges and desires that reaffirm us as part of the natural world. To deny such urges is the true crime and the figure of Satan represents this part of ourselves. As such, the Satanist’s true allegiance becomes to him or herself, as there is no external entity one should bow down to or beg for power or assistance. One is advised to look to inner strength to succeed or fall.

The Church of Satan views itself as a largely decentralized organization, as it finds this model much more compatible with its members. Gilmore acknowledges in his book that while the church exists as a repository for information and guidance, most of its members prefer a more solitary lifestyle and hold strong viewpoints. Especially given the church’s encouragement of free thinking and individuality, putting all of these very strong willed, focused people in a room together would likely incite infighting, which is counterproductive. Additionally, Magus Gilmore is clear to mention that many devout Satanists do not wish to openly identify as such, because doing so could hamper their public image.

Too many other topics are included in this book to touch on them all, but suffice it to say, whether you agree or disagree, most (if not all) the essays are interesting and worth the read and every one of them is well written. While I still have no desire to proclaim myself Satanist, I do find that having read this book, I have a substantially better understanding of those that do.