Rating: 
Summary: I own this book, praise to Anton
Review: I own The Satanic Bible. I bought it in 1994, and have followed the philosophy/religiuos teachings of Anton Szander LaVey ever since. I love this book, and all that it says. All I had to do is read the first few sentences in the introduction, and I became so intrigued by it, that I couldn't put the book down, I brought it to school with me and read during classes. What I read described all that I believed in the first place. And it introduced ritual magic to me. It's not written in some retarded language that you can't understand, it's written in modern day English. Aall that it's taught me, nothing else could. I used to be Catholic, and it made no sense and I found that Catholics are generally greedy, so I decided to not be Catholic. Then I stumbled upon this book in a local book store and found myself and my religion & philosophy. I highly recomend this book to all that want a clearer understanding of modern Satanism, want to become satanic, or are just looking for a good read. I can't say enough good things about Anton or the Satanic Bible, my love goes out to Anton and his family. This book has really changed my life ~ for the better. : ) Again praise to Anton, the CoS members, and to all that deserve it. Love and Life to you -- Nicole
Rating:
Summary: The Satanic Bible, la base du satannisme moderne
Review: The Satanic Bible est la référence pour tout ceux qui veulent s'initier au satanisme moderne. Anton Szandor LaVey nous fait découvrir la vérité au sujet du satanisme.
Rating: 
Summary: Philosophy and "true Satanism" comments.
Review: Just thought I'd comment a couple of CoS issues. Of course that depends on the definition of religion, but CoS's form of Satanism is by the superior beings/reincarnation/soul-coming-to-another-world etc definition mere a philosophy, not a religion. As for Azathoth's opinion of what "true Satanism" is - he'd really be better off calling it "devil-worshipping".
Rating:
Summary: Great Religion, Mediocre Book
Review: The basic tenets of Satanism as outlined in this book are excellent. The book itself is a little rough and at times short-sighted. It remains however THE book of Satanism. Those who read it however should not simply agree with everything LaVey writes, but should think on their own, and write their own Satanic Bible in their heads upon which they can live their lives. Overall a good philosophy/religion and a mediocre book.
Rating:
Summary: This book introduced me to a side of Satanism I never knew
Review: Even though I am not a Satanist, (I am atheist) I found this book interesting, and introduced new facts to me that I didn't know. A lot of the things in it made sense to me. I strongly agree that christianity is a bunch of crap!
Rating:
Summary: Foundations of Modern Satanism
Review: An interesting, if simplistic, guide to the philosophy of one variety of moden Satanism. LaVey's insistence that his variety is "true" Satanism and all the others are "fake" Satanism is blatantly false, however...just like everyone else who says the same thing. Sections have been plagarized, of course, like almost any religious text. Primarily a discourse on social darwinism and the survival of the fittest, it is likely to prove a disappointment to those looking for instructions on the sacrifice of virgins (like you could really find one!) or plans for world domination. It's primary value is that the book can make you think and re-evaluate your prejudices on a variety of subjects. I would encourage anyone to read it, but I would caution them against accepting everything that LaVey writes at face value. Specifically, I would remind them that just because someone writes a book called "The Satanic Bible" doesn't mean that whoever disagrees with the book isn't a "real Satanist."
Rating:
Summary: A unique look at the world from a courageous individual.
Review: While the title and author may may seem to invoke thoughts of demons and devils, this book is definetely not about sacrificing babies and planning to overthrow the world. It is in fact a deep and at times even disturbingly humorous look at the world through the author's eyes. While the title leads you to believe that you hold in your hands the spoken truths of the anti-christ...it is in fact merely a political essay on what Lavey sees wrong with everything in general. However in his defense I will be bold enough to say that almost every thing that he has written about religion, politics, and life in general are all things that many of us have thought and few have actually had the courage to say aloud. His view of Satanism is infact just modified Christianity. I am not a Satanist...but recommend this book for anyone with the courage to face and consider someonelse's view point for the fact that if one man had the courage to speak what he believes despite persecution, then mabye we should take a similar risk and listen to what he has to say.
Rating:
Summary: Great theology, bad religion
Review: Let me start by saying that Anton LaVey is first and foremost a showman. He is a carnie, a performer, and a trained hypnotist. Many of his
arguments are founded on camp psychology and use
techniques similar to those used by any other hypnotist. Before you start thinking this is evil, though, Scott Adams of Dilbert fame is also a trained hypnotist.
Bluntly, Satanism as a religion is completely dumb as he portrays it. What LaVey's real point
has been all along is just that organised religion
is completely incorrect, and has failed miserably in its aims of making the world a better place. He condemns Christianity and every other religion at every turn. He preaches the superiority of Satanism. But what he doesn't tell you is that the religion he's founded is actually not Satanism at all.
His most common tactic is inertia. He draws one conclusion after another with crystal clarity and total conviction, and once he gets you roped in with his correct conclusions he slips in something about Satanism. Not only does he preach the superiority of Satanism here, he also redefines the term. Satanism, to LaVey, is more akin to secular humanism. (Big difference, in my opinion; not a big difference at all, according to some.)
There are some excellent critiques and criticisms of modern religious theory and thought here. It's an enjoyable read, and filled with fantastic insights. But the Satanism angle is just to sell books. This book really has nothing to do with evil or Satan; it has its own definition for Satanism, which of course is not guilty of any accusation leveled at the more traditional definitions. It's like starting with the position that Nazis really didn't kill the Jews, because *real* Nazis don't join the military. This is a ludicrous statement, but almost exactly analogous to LaVey's new Satanism; Satanists, it seems, don't actually worship the devil, and don't really hold black masses, and actually when you come down to it they're just a loose coalition of selfish misanthropes who slap a big label of SATANIST on themselves in a desperate cry of "LOOK AT ME".
In all fairness, the book is very well written; LaVey is a true philosopher, and quite obviously brilliant. While the conclusions he draws and the arguments he makes are certainly valuable and a worthwhile read for any serious religious thinker, the big label of SATANIST tends to scare people away. In contrast, most people who are attracted to the SATANIST label will pick up the book and find it completely uninteresting except for the title's shock value.
On a lighter note, it has served quite well to scare several Jehovah's Witlesses off my porch.
Rating: 
Summary: A blatantly plagiarised misrepresentation of Satanism
Review: While Anton LaVey would lead us to believe Satanism began with his founding of the Church of Satan in 1966 it is in fact a far older tradition, far devorced of the Capitalist "buy a life-time membership for $100" concept the Church of Satan embodies.
The Satanic Bible itself is (in the bulk of it) the works of far greater minds. "The Book of Satan" is in fact taken from the infamous "Might is Right" by Ragnar Redbeard (aka Arthur Desmond, a New Zealander). Almost half the book is LaVey's slightly bastardised version of the Enochian Keys, which differ only slightly from Aleister Crowley's translations by the addition/changing of the occasional word to give the appearance of the "keys" being "Satanic"
LaVey's depiction of Satanists as the nice guys next door who *don't* practice human sacrifice and play dressup for ritual psychodramas is far devorced from the harsh realities of true Satanism. Genuine Satanism cannot be learned from a little book bought from the local book store or via the internet. True Satanism requires years of genuine and practical learning and experience.
In fact the only thing this book has going for it is that it is cheap, so when you read it and find that it is in fact a shallow and lifeless portrayal of a genuine dark pagan tradition you won't worry that you forked out a mere couple of dollars. Just don't be gullible enough to think that you are a Satanist by sending away $100 for membership to the "church of satan".
I'm sure the Prince of Darkness chuckles to himself at the irony of this whole little event in history...
Rating:
Summary: The Satanic Bible
Review: The Satanic Bible is everything about religion and its truepurpose that the Christians didn't teach. It is an enlightening, anawakening for those willing to drop the stigma surrounding it and accept its true, somewhat underlying message. When one reads this, he either agrees wholeheartedly at once, closes his mind and puts it down, or is shocked at first when he realizes what he is reading makes so much more sense! This book is truly the essence of true humanism, with the fantasy we need to stay creative and full of wonder of the world.
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