Online Missions Trip Day 12

Sid the Satanist: Sid's worldview is called Satanism, which is a religion whose followers worship Satan and/or follow the teaching that he represents. While Satanists vary on their beliefs, you can generally put them into two categories. The first type is composed of those who would consider themselves a part of the Church of Satan or LeVeyan Satanists*. They base their beliefs on the Satanic Bible (written by Anton LaVey). Sid is a part of the second (and more popular) category of Satanist, which we'll call "self-taught" Satanists. Since Sid is "self-taught", he determines the way he'll follow Satan. For example, Sid will perform rituals to conjure up satanic empowerment, and oftentimes have a few friends that participate in these rituals with them. Sid listens to heavy/death metal music that focuses on very dark themes like Satan, murder and graphic sex. Ritual sacrifices of animals (and in extreme cases humans) are sometimes part of the rituals that Sid may engage in. Sid oftentimes looks, acts, and dresses for shock value, so you will see him dress in black and portray a very rebellious attitude. Sid also has a strong hatred of Jesus and any type of organized religion.

*LeVeyan Satanists do not believe in an actual Satan, rather they use the word "Satan" to describe the forces of nature. Their religion primarily revolves around self-gratification, pleasure, and revenge. In terms of their beliefs about God and the Bible, they are atheistic (check the previous entry for "Andy the Atheist").

Sid believes that there is a hidden spiritual dimension that contains the power of the occult (occult means 'hidden') that he can summon and use for his own purposes. Sid believes that Satan lives in this dimension, and can give him power when he prays to him and performs rituals. In fact, one of the main reasons Sid decided to become a Satanist was the power and temporary pleasure it seemed to offer.

Things to Remember:

Sid is not waiting around for someone to share the gospel with him, so you will need to approach him with an incredible amount of love and patience. One way you can show this is to see past the "shock value" lifestyle of Sid to the hurting and trapped individual underneath.

Focus on the true Jesus of the Bible, especially his open contempt for the self-righteous religious leaders of his day so Sid can identify with Christ. Also, talk about John 8:32, where Jesus promised: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Eventually, Sid will (most likely) get to the point where he knows he was duped and now is a slave to the dark spiritual world, so help him understand that he can be set free through the power of Christ.

You should always pray when witnessing to anyone, but this scenario really needs to be covered in prayer. You are attempting to rescue someone from the grips of Satan. Keep in mind that he doesn't let go of his converts easily. Put on your spiritual armor (Ephesians 6) and prepare for a battle!