Satanism (Paperback)

~ Bob Passantino (Author), Gretchen Passantino (Author), Alan W. Gomes (Author) "1. Contemporary satanists defy easy classification..." (more)
Key Phrases: satanists reject, most satanists, contemporary satanism, Grand Rapids, The Satanic Bible, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This look into the dark world of satanic ritual and devil worship shows how the movement thrives in an "enlightened" Western society.

From the Back Cover

Belief in Satan worship is often viewed as an embarrassing throwback to the superstitions of another time. And "selling your soul to the Devil"? Nothing more than an overworked theme in literature and opera. To the contrary, Bob and Gretchen Passantino show how, in the midst of prevailing attitudes of skepticism and disbelief, Satanism has made unprecedented inroads into our society.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (May 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310704510
• ISBN-13: 978-0310704515
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,392,605 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A very subjective book from the view points of Christianity, February 7, 2002

By	Thomas Tsoi (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

Hoping to understand more about Satanism in an objective point of view, I purchased this book and eventually had so much a disappointment that I have to write a review here to express my opinions, which I have not done for a long long time.

This book is a short book, of only 96 pages, titled "Satanism", but it does not tell much about Satanism as one might expect. Instead, it spends much effort on defining Christian theological terms of "Satan", "demon", "angel" and the like, from their meanings to their history. Also mentioned in details were Christian philosophies of "demonology" and the witch hunts, etc.. The author had done a neat and concise work on this, but sorry this is a book on Satanism. In chapter two on "History", a length of 32 pages, only 6 pages are actually Satanism related.

In chapter four on "Theology", there are great lengthy parts of ridiculous "refutation of Satanist arguments". Never have I seen an introductory book on any particular religion has such a section! The "refutations" are all Christian viewpoints, some of them are themselves questionable (but still presented as if they are solid facts).

And the next chapter, "Witnessing Tips", was a chapter teaching Christians how to approach Satanists and have them persuaded to turn their minds back to the Lord. Holy.

Hardly can I say this book is objective. If you are looking for an introduction to Satanism, you have better choices elsewhere.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beware!!!!, April 21, 2005

By	Melek Taus (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This book CLAIMS that it can enlighten you as to what a TRUE satanist believes. If you are thinking about purchasing this book, don't. If you are seriously curious about Satanism, stay away from this book. If you want to know what Christians THINK satanism is about, or what Wiccans/Neopagans THINK Satanism is about, this is the book for you.
Here's the TRUTH about Satanism:
Satanists only use the name 'Satan' because it scares you.
Satanists have only one rule: Question Everything.
There is only one person who has written about Satanism with complete honesty, that person was Anton Lavey. Read the Satanic Bible if you want to know the truth.

9 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best In This Series So Far, July 25, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Palmerston North, New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I found this to be a refreshingly calm and objective look at an alternative religious movement. To my surprise, I found that the authors disparaged more hysterical fundamentalist accounts of conspiracy theories, and even admitted that some fundamentalists lie about satanic ritual abuse and satanic conspiracy theories. They also regard many "satanists" as nothing more than very naughty adolescent misfits. As a neopagan, I was also pleased to see that the authors distinguish our traditions from satanist practices. Neopagans do not believe in an incarnated antideity of evil or Nietzschean superhumanity, whereas christians and satanists do. Stripped of the evangelical apologetics, this would be an excellent offering in a comparative religion course. I hope the authors and publisher decide to market it as such, as I am sure it would meet a warm reception if they did.