For some time on the Internet, I have noticed an inclination for Luciferianism to be compared to, if even "equated with "Theistic Satanism. Some individuals have begun to classify Satanism as:
"Atheistic Satanism (i.e., LaVeyan)"
"Theistic Satanism (i.e., Luciferian)"
Let me first make it clear that the term, "Theistic Satanism", is an umbrella term - much the same as is the umbrella term, "Paganism. "Theistic Satanism does not denote one single, unified religion whose practitioners observe the same Holy Days, beliefs in Divinity or Satanic philosophies. It is not an organised religion. Practitioners of Theistic Satanism are almost always solitary and, most assuredly, eclectic in nature.
Similarly, "Luciferianism" is also an umbrella term for a collection of practices and religions which share a common thread - a belief in and exaltation of the figure or symbolism of Lucifer. Unlike Theistic Satanists, Luciferians may or may not be theistic - as in LaVeyan Satanism, some Luciferians believe in the concept and archetype of Lucifer and his symbolism as opposed to others who consider Lucifer to be a Deity.
While some may consider Luciferians to fall under the umbrella of Theistic Satanism, I personally do not. For me, Luciferians venerate the figure of Lucifer whereas Theistic Satanists venerate the figure of Satan. Some may insinuate that Lucifer and Satan are the same entity, but for anyone who has managed even the most humble of attempts at Biblical research it is quite clear that Lucifer was not equated with Satan until the rise of the New Testament and subsequent scholarly postulations by Christian authors.
The purpose of this "disclaimer" is not to discredit the existence of Lucifer - and while I very much consider him to be a fictional character, I do also respect the beliefs of Luciferians and thus choose to refrain from arguing my point more strongly in regards to the mythology of Lucifer within the Bible.
There seems to be two lines of thought emerging from the Luciferian community today. Those aligned with the rather odd and, frankly, silly writings of Michael W. Ford and those aligned with the notion that Luciferians are somehow the equivalent of Satanic "fluffy bunnies".
Luciferian fluffy bunnies have been visible on the Internet for some time. They tend to haunt Neo-Pagan forums and proclaim themselves to be the "good Satanists", as opposed to non-Luciferians who must be "bad Satanists". One such musing went so far as to indicate that Luciferians were a cross between Theistic Satanism and Christianity. Some Luciferians are actually Neo-Wiccans who believe that Lucifer was a demonised Roman Deity and have aligned themselves with him as their Patron. While I have no issue with the beliefs of others, the insinuation that Luciferianism is the "white light" offspring of the Left Hand Path is honestly rather nauseating. Few of these Luciferian fluffy bunnies actually know what the Left Hand Path is, much less embrace it.
Theistic Satanism is also full of its own brand of fluffy bunnies and lunatics. Some so-called Theistic Satanists believe that Satan is actually the Sumerian Deity, Enki. I often wonder how and why they continue to call themselves "Satanists" when they are more accurately "Enkists". Granted, few Theistic Satanists regard Satan as the villainous character He is portrayed to be within the Christian tradition, but I feel that if you understand your Deity to be Enki, then you are not a "Satanist".
The purpose of this article is to clear the air of any misinformation regarding the (false) equating of Luciferianism with Theistic Satanism. In addition to this purpose however, there are also a great number of disturbing trends within the online presence of Theistic Satanism.
Some members of this Theistic Satanism community online have begun to "represent" the supposed broader Theistic Satanism community with "informative" posts entitled "Ask a Theistic Satanist". In these posts, members of the forums in question may ask the alleged Theistic Satanist any question and he/she will promptly answer. The disturbing thing that I have noticed about this trend is that the alleged Theistic Satanist will then answer with statements such as "we [Theistic Satanists] believe", "we [Theistic Satanists] do/do not", etc. The innate problem with these statements is that there can be no "we" as Theistic Satanism is not a congregation, organised religious sect or group which shares a common religious platform. It is likened to someone speaking for the whole of humanity with complete disregard to racial, cultural and societal variations. Furthermore, most of these alleged Theistic Satanists are Enkists - there also seems to be a great desire amongst them to convince the Neo-Pagan community that Satan is actually, of course, Enki or even the Egyptian god, Set. Let me reiterate - Enkists worship Enki. Setians venerate the concept of Set. Satanists venerate the concept of "Satan. "Luciferians venerate the concept of Lucifer.
To conclude, believe as you like - but please respect that:
A. You do not speak for the whole of "Theistic Satanism", no matter who you are or how you identify, as there is no unified and organised religion known as "Theistic Satanism".
B. Luciferians are not representative of Theistic Satanism.
C. If you consider your Luciferian path to be the only "good and White Light" path within the Left Hand Path, then consider yourself to be of the so-called "Gray" or "Middle" Path - if you do not embrace the philosophies of the Left Hand Path, then you do not follow one.
D. If you do not worship the concept or entity known as Satan, then you are not a "Satanist". If you consider Satan to be Enki, then you are an Enkist. If you consider Satan to be Set, then you follow some variety of Setianism. If you choose not to refer to Satan as "Satan" in order to avoid "negative preconceptions" associated with this title, then you most certainly are not a Satanist of any description.
