Children of Lucifer

The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Occult, Occultism, New Age
Cover of the book Children of Lucifer by Ruben van Luijk, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ruben van Luijk ISBN: 9780190275129
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: May 2, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Ruben van Luijk
ISBN: 9780190275129
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: May 2, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

If we are to believe sensationalist media coverage, Satanism is, at its most benign, the purview of people who dress in black, adorn themselves with skull and pentagram paraphernalia, and listen to heavy metal. At its most sinister, its adherents are worshippers of evil incarnate and engage in violent and perverse secret rituals, the details of which mainstream society imagines with a fascination verging on the obscene. Children of Lucifer debunks these facile characterizations by exploring the historical origins of modern Satanism. Ruben van Luijk traces the movement's development from a concept invented by a Christian church eager to demonize its internal and external competitors to a positive (anti-)religious identity embraced by various groups in the modern West. Van Luijk offers a comprehensive intellectual history of this long and unpredictable trajectory. This story involves Romantic poets, radical anarchists, eccentric esotericists, Decadent writers, and schismatic exorcists, among others, and culminates in the establishment of the Church of Satan by carnival entertainer Anton Szandor LaVey. Yet it is more than a collection of colorful characters and unlikely historical episodes. The emergence of new attitudes toward Satan proves to be intimately linked to the ideological struggle for emancipation that transformed the West and is epitomized by the American and French Revolutions. It is also closely connected to secularization, that other exceptional historical process which saw Western culture spontaneously renounce its traditional gods and enter into a self-imposed state of religious indecision. Children of Lucifer makes the case that the emergence of Satanism presents a shadow history of the evolution of modern civilization as we know it. Offering the most comprehensive account of this history yet written, van Luijk proves that, in the case of Satanism, the facts are much more interesting than the fiction.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

If we are to believe sensationalist media coverage, Satanism is, at its most benign, the purview of people who dress in black, adorn themselves with skull and pentagram paraphernalia, and listen to heavy metal. At its most sinister, its adherents are worshippers of evil incarnate and engage in violent and perverse secret rituals, the details of which mainstream society imagines with a fascination verging on the obscene. Children of Lucifer debunks these facile characterizations by exploring the historical origins of modern Satanism. Ruben van Luijk traces the movement's development from a concept invented by a Christian church eager to demonize its internal and external competitors to a positive (anti-)religious identity embraced by various groups in the modern West. Van Luijk offers a comprehensive intellectual history of this long and unpredictable trajectory. This story involves Romantic poets, radical anarchists, eccentric esotericists, Decadent writers, and schismatic exorcists, among others, and culminates in the establishment of the Church of Satan by carnival entertainer Anton Szandor LaVey. Yet it is more than a collection of colorful characters and unlikely historical episodes. The emergence of new attitudes toward Satan proves to be intimately linked to the ideological struggle for emancipation that transformed the West and is epitomized by the American and French Revolutions. It is also closely connected to secularization, that other exceptional historical process which saw Western culture spontaneously renounce its traditional gods and enter into a self-imposed state of religious indecision. Children of Lucifer makes the case that the emergence of Satanism presents a shadow history of the evolution of modern civilization as we know it. Offering the most comprehensive account of this history yet written, van Luijk proves that, in the case of Satanism, the facts are much more interesting than the fiction.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Stain Removal by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Cold Peace by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Social Work and Social Justice by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book One in Christ by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Dealing with Losers by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book The Handbook of Culture and Psychology by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book The Tale of the Scale by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Debating Christian Theism by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Terrains of Exchange by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Advances in the Spoken-Language Development of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Short Cuts by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book Chasing the American Dream by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book The Allure of Order by Ruben van Luijk
Cover of the book The Reactionary Mind : Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin by Ruben van Luijk
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy