Universal Life Church | Forum

I got all my goodies from the ULC a while ago for the hell of it.  It's really nothing, just some fancy paper and cards, nothing legally viable.  It's just a silly thing to have.  You can marry anyone you want, ULC or not, it just seems more legit for some reason when you appear certified.

That being said, the only legally recognized version of Satanism (to my knowledge) is CoS'.  Satanism in general is too broad to add all those, "we"s you posted.  Not all Satanists accept homosexuality, polygamy, etc.  I think you're very much romanticizing what Satanism actually is.  The reality is Satanism as a collective is nothing.  It's all individual value codification.  We may have some things in common, but no two Satants are alike.

Do whatever you want with the ULC stuff, see how much you can get away with.  That's all it's there for.  It even states on the membership card that it does not certify that you represent any religious system.  Bare that in mind.

Yeah. I was half asleep when I posted this (got a 2 month old puppy who loves to wake up in the middle of the night and play).  I definitely see what you're saying about the collectivism thing and the "we's". I'm aware that each of us are different, and that's one of the great things about this way of life. "No two Satanists are alike." as you said, Jasin. Or, what's the saying, "a collective group of individuals?" -- to an extent, I guess.

Personally I don't know any Satanists IRL so anything I ever do with the ULC stuff would likely be merely secular in nature. But another great thing about Satanism, at least with regards to ceremony and personal beliefs, is that we're free to make it up as we go along; write our own shit, ya know? So, I mean, if we were to perform a "Satanic" ceremony, who would stop it? Given that we are all individuals, my Satanism is not yours and yours is not the COS', technically we would not be acting on any religious system other than our own independent system of belief and that of any couple or person enlisting our services. (Oh god, there I go again with the "we's" and "our's"!) From what I gather, the ULC seems to want their, shall I say, "initiates" or "members" (?) to do their own thing independent of established religious organizations. And given that the majority of modern Satanists (it seems - well, maybe not the majority, but a lot) are unaffiliated w/ any Satanic organization, I see no reason why, if asked, that is, one couldn't write and perform a Satanic wedding or funeral without issue. But I digress. Point is, I see your point and am jus trying to add my two cents on this particular area.

As for the romanticizing. Yeah, probably a little bit. I am a quirky, eccentric guy who really just wants to have fun in life and I do have a tendency to romanticize things from time to time (over-active imagination and what not). I was merely acting on that "to each his own" mentality when I made these, god what should I call them, declarations (?) no, statements (!) about Satanism being more accepting of homosexuals and polygamists. Personally, I am a loyal monogamous type - a hopeless romantic if you will - who would rather have a best friend-like relationship than a purely physical one... though I have a lot of slutty friends, it's just not my thing. I can see, however, what you are saying. There are Satanists who likely find homosexuality revolting, I'm sure. I was in the wrong to assume that all of us are so accepting of people who are different than we are personally.

Anyways, this response is getting long. Thanks for the reply JasinElric! I was curious as to what people thought about the subject and you brought up some good points! Later!

I disagree. While each Satanist may have his/her own problems with what other people do in their bedrooms, Satanism as a philosophy is quite clearly accepting of them. How do you claim a philosophy is Satanic if it doesn't allow consenting adults to do what they wish?

You could lobby those kind of points away as those particular homosexuals being self-loathing, or ashamed, or frightened, but I think that would be rather presumptuous, and further perpetuate the bullshit narrative of born victimization within the homosexual world. 

In a general sense, the moment you start placing moral standards on any given position, pro-gay, anti-gay, it ceases any affiliation with Satanism.  There are no collective agreements, I'm afraid.  This is Satanism, not Monotheism.  There is no grand Satanic codifier.  Unless you're talking about LaVeyan Satanism.  In which case, you are entirely correct.  
Have fun sifting through all the contradictions and double standards in the LaVeyan circle, should that be the path you choose.  

Let's consider this on a more basic level:

Satanist A is pro-gay.

Satanist B is anti-gay.

As a collective, Satanism is neither pro nor anti-gay. It's just Satanism, and does not care either way (theoretically).

However, in order to be gay-agnostic, it has to ALLOW for gay in the first place, since you can't be agnostic towards something you are against. e.g., you can't be theistically agnostic while being opposed to the existence of god. Then you're just an atheist.

Therefore, Satanism is accepting of homosexuality, in the sense that it is agnostic of it.

How does indifference equal acceptence? 

Does being Agnostic mean you accept the existence of God(s)?  No, it means you play with the idea, but don't have much of a practical use for it.  You might also see the potential damage such ideas can cause.  Agnosticism is not apathy or ignorance.

This is a meaningless endeavor.  You will never be able to codify anything universal about Satanism, there are just too many individual philosophies on the topic, as Satanism by it's very nature is self constructed.

We're all unique little snowflakes.

As I stated before, you would be completely correct if you were referring to a specific branch of Satanism, but when making assertions about Satanism as a WHOLE, you're taking stabs at the philosophies each Satanist has built for themselves.  You have no authority to do so, nor do I.