Studying Comparative Religions

While I'm on my path of conversion to Orthodoxy from Protestantism, I think I'm going to delve into the subjects of comparative religions as well, and learn as much as I can about those from an objective standpoint. I think it will help me to be an even better critical thinker, be a more well rounded individual, and prepare me for something even greater down the road. Maybe my imaginary friend God has plans for me, who knows?

I visited the Voodoo Spiritual temple in New Orleans last year on a fam trip (I'm a former travel agent) and that was a really eye-opening experience. I'll have to write more about that on a later post. I learned more about voodoo in those few days than I ever could have learned just from a couple of books.
I've also been to the Byodo-In Buddhist Temple on Oahu, and taking my shoes off there and getting to ring the gong was an extremely purifying experience. My husband and I both felt pretty humbled by it. It's hard to imagine that this place is actually in the U.S. I've even been blessed by a Maya Shaman in Mexico. In a cave by a cenote.

I have not been to a Hindu Temple yet, but someday I hope to visit one. There's actually one not far from where I live, so it would be easy. I've been to the Alhambra in Spain too, but have never witnessed a Muslim prayer service, or Jewish service, although I have visited a Jewish Temple a couple of times.

There's tons of other ones I could list, like Mormon, Church of Scientology, the Church of Global Warming (LOL) Santeria, but here's the kicker....like Faith "Fear Factor..."


Do I dare ever bring myself to cross the threshold and enter the doors of the Satanic Church to stare into the inverted star with the goat's head? Just to visit and offer an objective opinion? I will admit the thought of that makes me VERY uncomfortable as a Christian, and why wouldn't it? I mean, if I'm Satan, would I want to go hang out at the crucifix and the holy water? Stand next to a statue of La Virgen del Guadalupe? Be present while the priest hands out Holy Communion to his flock?

Of course, one is always welcome to visit most Christian churches without a problem. You can get in. But even if I wanted to go to Anton Lavey's special sanctuary, I couldn't.

From the Church of Satan website:

Many people write to the Church of Satan who have read some of our literature but want to further their knowledge through personal contact before they decide to affiliate, or through simple curiosity. It has always been our policy NOT to place non-members in contact with members, as an individual’s membership is held in strictest confidence by the Church of Satan. This does not reflect upon the sincerity of the person making the inquiry, but as realists, we acknowledge that Satanism remains a controversial religion and thus our policy is an important matter of security for our members.
We thus do not maintain any structures or offices open to visitation by the public. Non-members may not attend rituals (which are by nature private activities held in the homes of members), regardless of their degree of interest or reason for wishing to participate. There are no exceptions to this policy. The Satanic Bible explains in detail the basics of ritual for those curious about our practices. The documentary “Satanis: The Devil’s Mass” includes footage of several rituals performed by our founder, Anton Szandor LaVey, and is readily available on DVD.

Oh well. It does make me wonder though: if Satanism is so cool, why be so secretive about it? One can't even be curious. You have to be content with watching a DVD or reading some books to learn about Satan. How can my tiny Christian mind wrap around something so vast?

Actually, Satan is around us every day so really the Church of Satan should not be that big of a deal. It's just window dressing and a building, I tell myself. A place where these believers gather, and nothing more.

But no matter how many times I try to tell myself that, over and over, imagining myself there, I feel something tugging at me, pulling me away from those doors. It's like the clackety-clack of the wooden roller coaster: once you start to go up, you cannot go down. At least the way that it feels the safest.

I love the written word when it comes to horror, and some of the best films out there are horror films. People knock them, but they play to that most primal of all human emotions: fear. We're programmed with that whether we like it or not. We all fear something.

There is what I call "sensationalist" fear, and this is the one dimensional fear derived from such movies as "Friday the 13th" or something of that nature: hack-and-slash, killer kills, over and over, again and again, in multiple ways....yawn. A quick fix for the box office, a check-your-brain-at-the-door read, nothing really intellectual or stimulating to be derived from that.
There are also the many books and movies that play to the apocalyptic "end times" crowd. Done well, these are thought-provoking and meaningful. But done wrong, they can cause severe trauma to a young person, and actually bring them away from their religion, and send them hurdling into the unknown, searching for something else. Something that can be...far more dangerous...

clickety-clack...no way back...


I see that empty hole there and I just know there's got to be something more to life than just nothingness at the end that I would share with something so vile. What if the roller coaster falls off its tracks and goes hurdling down into the void and can never come back? I don't want to be on that ride when that happens. That's not sensationalist fear for me. It's real fear.
No, I don't think I'll be contacting the local chapter of the 666 brotherhood anytime soon.