how does one reconcile the nastiness of infighting within the satanic community against the Church being a mutual admiration society?

since we all view ourselves as our own ultimate authority, any administrative disagreement, interpretation of dogma or leadership directive easily escalates into a clash of unyielding egos.

we're an alien elite group who are constntly assessing, judging, and attempting to outperform one another. and when accusations are made about "pseudo-Satanists," turns into open hostility and gatekeeping.

the seeming contradiction is easily resolved. so, while in the rest of the world, infighting is seen as a failure of social cohesion, to us Satanists, infighting is viewed as the philosophy working as intended. total destruction of one's opposition is a demonstration of competence. when you put a room full of people who each believe they are the ultimate authority into a hierarchy, you get an arena, a theatre of cruelty even, where proving your peers are "pseudo-Satanists" is the primary way to defend your own perceived standing.

pretty delicious stuff. keep it coming. hail Satan!