The Church of Satan: A History of the World's Most Notorious Religion [Paperback]

Blanche Barton (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Hells Kitchen Productions (November 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962328626
• ISBN-13: 978-0962328626
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent primer, and more. A little bit of everything., August 21, 2001

By 

Bill M. "bill_m1" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Church of Satan: A History of the World's Most Notorious Religion (Paperback)

Most Satanists, when asked for information about their religion, immediately suggest The Satanic Bible as a place to start reading. While this does contain the core beliefs and ritualistic practices, I think that Blanche Barton's "Church of Satan" makes a much better introductory book on the subject.

The great thing about this book is that it has a little bit of everything. This includes some biographical information on Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, historical information of the Church, comments regarding the many later rival organizations that have come and gone, common questions (and popular misinformation) answered by LaVey, conducting rituals, gottoes, the 9 Satanic Sins, the 11 Satanic Rules of the Earth, and more. The appendix shows a hilarious sample of letters they've received over the years, plus lists of CoS-suggested books and movies (I've even created a website for that last category).

Despite being a CoS member, I didn't buy this book until last year. I had already read some of the material, such as the 9 Sins and biographical information, on the web. I assumed that the book wouldn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. However, I still found some parts of the book very insightful. I certainly gained some ideas after reading the chapters on the Grotto system and greater magic (ritualistic release). So in addition to being a great book explaining Satanism, I'd still suggest it to those who already are practicing Satanists. Barton packed a lot into this little volume. I give it 5 stars (and no, I honestly don't give that rating to each and every official CoS book).

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fantastic exploration of the Church's beginning., August 16, 1999

By 

Ken Gage ([e-mail]) (Maple Park, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Church of Satan: A History of the World's Most Notorious Religion (Paperback)

I remember that when this volume came out there were few written materials about the origin of the Church of Satan, aside from Anton LaVey's books or sensationalist Christian accounts. This book filled the gaps and missing details. The old photographs are great too. Some of this material went into Blanche Barton's second book, Secret Life of a Satanist. Today, Blanche Barton is High Priestess of the Church of Satan and has been since Anton LaVey's untimely death in 1997. Her writings routinely appear in journals such as The Cloven Hoof and The Black Flame. However, this first book of hers is still a great research tool and introduction for readers wishing to delve into the mysteries of the world's most notorious religion. Even students of the occult who despise LaVey and his religion like to keep a copy of this title on their magickal bookshelves. My rating: 5 stars -- inverted of course!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pretty good, October 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Church of Satan: A History of the World's Most Notorious Religion (Paperback)

Good book, a lot of information for prospective satanists (this book along with the Satanic Bible provide a perfect, almost all inclusive, introduction to Satanism). Rituals are explained in much more detail than in the Satanic Bible. My only problem with this book was that I had seen much of the information before, spread out all over the Internet, but this is probably where everyone got their information from. Another thing, it seems to be written more by LaVey than High Priestess Barton, it looks as if she just paraphrased that which she didn't take as a direct quote. Still, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it, especially if you are just getting into Satanism. Hail Satan!