"Anton Szandor LaVey - The Satanic Bible" - читать интересную книгу автора (LaVey Anton Szandor)

As I listened to LaVey talk that first time, I realized at once there was
nothing to connect him with the occult business. He could not even be described
as metaphysical. The brutally frank talk he delivered was pragmatic,
relativistic, and above all rational. It was unorthodox, to be sure: a blast at
established religious worship, repression of humanity's carnal nature, phony
pretense at piety in the course of an existence based on dog-eat-dog material
pursuits. It was also full of sardonic satire on human folly. But most important
of all, the talk was logical. It was not quack magic that LaVey offered his
audience. It was common sense philosophy based on the realities of life.

After I became convinced of LaVey's sincerity, I had to convince him that I
intended to do some serious research instead of adding to the accumulation of
hack articles dealing with the Church of Satan as a new type of freak show. I
boned up on Satanism, discussed its history and rationale with LaVey, and
attended some midnight rituals in the famous Victorian manse once used as Church
of Satan headquarters. Out of all that I produced a serious article, only to
find that was not what the publishers of "respectable" magazines wanted. They
were interested in only the freak show kind of article. Finally, it was a
so-called "girlie" or "man's" magazine, Knight of September 1968, that published
the first definitive article on LaVey, the Church of Satan, and LaVey's
synthesis of the old Devil legends and black magic lore into the modern
philosophy and practice of Satanism that all followers and imitators now use as
their model, their guide, and even their Bible.

My magazine article was the beginning, not the end (as it has been with my other
writing subjects), of a long and intimate association. Out of it came my
biography of LaVey, The Devil's Avenger, published by Pryamid in 1974. After the
book was published, I became a card-carrying member and, subsequently, a priest
of the Church of Satan, a title I now proudly share with many celebrated
persons. The postmidnight philosophical discussions I began with LaVey in 1967
continue today, a decade later, supplemented sometimes these days by a nifty
witch or some of our own music, him on organ and me on drums, in a bizarre
cabaret populated by superrealistic humanoids of LaVey's creation.

All of LaVey's background seemed to prepare him for his role. He is the
descendant of Georgian, Roumanian, and Alsatian grandparents, including a gypsy
grandmother who passed on to him the legends of vampires and witches in her
native Transylvania. As early as the age of five, LaVey was reading Weird-Tales
magazines and books such as Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's
Dracula. Though he was different from other children, they appointed him as
leader in marches and maneuvers in mock military orders.

In 1942, when LaVey was twelve, his fascination with toy soldiers led to concern
over World War II. He delved into military manuals and discovered arsenals for
the equipment of armies and navies could be bought like groceries in a
supermarket and used to conquer nations. The idea took shape in his head that
contrary to what the Christian Bible said, the earth would not be inhereted by
the meek, but by the mighty.