Some Satanism pages updates

Three updates:

I've added Asbjørn Dyrendal's description of Satanism as "humanism with horns" to http://www.dpjs.co.uk/humanism.html . Also added Jesper Aagaard Petersen (a serious academic of Satanism)'s comment that Satanism is "a functional equivalent to religion", and a quote from Asbjørn Dyrendal who says "There are many definitions of "religion" by which at least rationalist Satanism ought to be excluded".

I've also quoted Asbjørn Dyrendal agreeing with me that "Satanism is world-affirming" to "Satanism is a World-Affirming Religion, not a World-Renouncing One" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

DPJS redesign

I've redone 4 more pages on my DPJS website to the new design:

• "The Nine Satanic Statements" by Vexen Crabtree (2002)

• "Satanic Ritual and Satanic Magic" by Vexen Crabtree (2002), which actually includes all of the next page:

• "Lesser Magic in Satanism" by Vexen Crabtree (2002)

• And the main index page: is finally done, with some javascript fiddlery pokery: "The Description, Philosophies and Justification of Satanism" by Vexen Crabtree

Aliens and Saviours!

I've added text to "Alien Life and Planet Earth" by Vexen Crabtree (1999). Contents:

1. The Chances of Life in the Universe
2. UFOs Are Probably Not Aliens
   1. Is There Intelligent Life on Earth?
   2. The UFO Craze Was Created by Sensationalist Media and Hoaxes
   3. What We Learn From Skyhook Balloons
3. Communication with Aliens
   1. A Very Slow Affair
   2. Our Transmissions into Space Already Span 100 Light Years
4. The Impact on Religion
   1. Can Species-Specific Religions Claim to Embody Ultimate Truth?
   2. Saviour Religions Will be Challenged
   3. Universalist Religions

And the added text centers around a quote from Paul Davies:

“The existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence would have a profound impact on religion, shattering completely the traditional perspective of God's special relationship with man. The difficulties are particularly acute for Christianity, which postulates that Jesus Christ was God incarnate whose mission was to provide salvation for man on Earth. The prospect of a host of 'alien Christs' systematically visiting every inhabited planet in the physical form of the local creatures has a rather absurd aspect. Yet how otherwise are the aliens to be saved?” -- "God And The New Physics" by Paul Davies (1984)

Did the God of the universe, who authored however-many intelligent species on however-many planets, really have a special covenant with a tribe of Humans? Will Heaven - the Heaven of all creatures from all planets - really descend upon Jerusalem on Earth? And do aliens who live billions of light years away, really need to have known Jesus, to have accepted Christian religion, to be saved? These questions have few answers that Christians can accept.

1836: The first cheap newspaper

I've added a little bit of history - the 1830s - to "Modern Mass Media: The Bane of Human Cultural Evolution: 4. Politics and Democracy" by Vexen Crabtree (2009)

It was the year 1836 that saw the first cheap newspaper appear (La Presse) that depended upon a readership that was not an intellectual or class élite of some kind. Mass media had arrived. Politicians worried about the destabilizing effects of the misinformation and sensationalism that news papers frequently contained.

“The growth of such powerful engines of information or misinformation inevitably had large political implications. [...] Conservative fears that an irresponsible trouble-making press, given enough rope, might become a danger to political stability and public order, seemed fully justified. [...] Opposition papers were more often than not factious, irresponsible and sometimes dangerously violent.” -- "The Ascendancy of Europe 1815-1914" by M S Anderson (1985)

Close to two centuries later, and not much has changed: mass produced cheap newspapers remain an anathema to civility.

The Problem of Evil and Free Will

If God is all-powerful and all-good, it would have created a universe in the same way it created heaven: with free will for all, no suffering and no evil. But evil and suffering exist. Therefore God does not exist, is not all-powerful or is not benevolent (good). [...] A theodicy is an attempt to explain why a good god would have created evil and suffering.

The most common theodicy is the free will theodicy. This is that God created evil so that we could then choose between good and evil, and make moral choices. If all choices result in good, there would be no moral choices. If love is acceptable, it must be chosen over hate and therefore evil and suffering result when we make morally poor choices. However this classical theodicy does not hold up, for many reasons. Prominent historical Christian theologians who have rejected the free will theodicy include St Augustine, Martin Luther and John Calvin1. The arguments on this page are thousands of years old, but, many continue to believe in the simplicity of the free will theodicy, so, it does no harm to state the arguments against it again.

These are the menu headings on my page about the free will theodicy:

The contents of "Is Free Will the Reason God Allows Evil and Suffering?" by Vexen Crabtree (2003) is now:

1. Free Will Does Not Require the Existence of Evil
   1. There is Free Will in Heaven, But No Suffering
   2. Natural Evil is Not the Result of Free Will
   3. Why So Much Suffering?
   4. Why Do Bad Choices Of One Person Cause Suffering in Another?
   5. Choosing Different Good Courses of Action
   6. Evil Does Not Have to Cause Suffering
2. Conclusion: There are Multiple Reasons Why the Free Will Theodicy Fails

Time to Move On: Religion Has Cost Too Much

I have rewritten my main anti-religion page from 1999. The contents of "Time to Move On: Religion Has Cost Too Much" by Vexen Crabtree (2010) is now:

1. Monotheism and Violence Intolerance
   1. The Violent Defence of Religion Derives From Secret Doubt
   2. Organized Religion Makes 'Beliefs' Dangerous
   3. An Abrahamic Tradition: Wiping Out Competing Gods
   4. Anti-Semitism
   5. Heresy Versus Orthodoxy
2. Sexuality and Gender Issues
   1. The Peacock vs. The Ostrich
   2. Religion Versus Womankind
   3. Child Abuse
   4. Irrational Hatred and Prejudice Against Homosexuality
3. The Search for Truth
   1. Religion is Bad for Intelligence
   2. The Struggles of the Faithful Against Academia, Science and Freethought
4. Religion's Negative Effects on Society
   1. Societal Stability
   2. Violence, Crime and Mass Suicide
5. Dark Ages: When Faith Rules
6. Animal Welfare and Ritual Sacrifice
7. Satan as a Figurehead for the Oppressed. Who is the Real Enemy?