Abstract:
It is with great delight for me to present this dissertation on Anton LaVey’s Philosophy of Indulgence as a dogma based assault on Scripture. It may come as a surprise to the readers of this work that Christianity seems to be existing in total ignorance of other dogmatic challenges existent in our world today. A lot has been talked about with regard to Satanism and conclusions have been made concerning what Satanism is. Mainly the general concept has been that Satanism has to do with superstition. However this research has taken a deeper root in trying to get to the bottom of the sect and thus assess its dogmatic positions against Scripture. This particular work brings out an exciting concept that should open a new study. A study on dogmatics of assault. But what are dogmatics of assault? Well dogmatics of assault are teachings that seek to impinge Scripture negatively. In this dissertation I take time to only consider one dogmatic of assault called the Philosophy of Indulgence found in the Satanic Bible, an earthy book written by Anton Szandor LaVey (1937-1997). LaVey was the founder of the Church of Satan in United States of America in 1966. He wrote ‘the Satanic Bible in 1969. Indulgence, the word that dominates this dissertation, is not a word that is commonly used in theology except when we make reference to papal indulgence in the Roman Catholic which all together carries a different meaning. This particular Indulgence under assessment in this work is a philosophy of choices done in response to nature. This understanding may have very little relevance to Christian dogmatics but it is a good level of engagement. LaVey’s Philosophy of Indulgence is specifically used as the main subject matter in my argument as I view it because it will be based on a long term journey of God and creation. Questions that people ask, namely, “What is life? Where is life going? What do we have to hope for as we struggle to reach satisfaction? This dissertation will bye and large provide us with a basis for understanding the meaning of our existence and where our satisfaction lies. I pray for all the readers of this dissertation that the good Lord may give you strength to grasp this work
