RyanS2

'I haven't done a lot of research on Crowley yet, but you're probably right about him not being the first Satanist. But (and this probably goes to the heart of the issue) I'm still not certain why a Satanist would be inconsistent in adopting a Crowleyan perspective on "theology". More specifically, must all Satanists uniformly reject the doctrine of the "willed dissolution of opposites"?'

It's impossible to say I am purely LHP or RHP, since the terminology comes from the Kabbalah Tree of Life, with all paths intercrossing and connected to each other. It's simply that a Crowley perspective is like a sort of Utopia in which we all submit to a universal will. Satanism is a naturally egoistic religion, and the idea of submitting to one great universal with disregard to individual autonomy is a bit foreign. A Thelemite may argue that once a Utopian state is achieved, "every man and woman is his own star", meaning that we exist in autonomy because we have achieved a Universal goal or will under which we act, an umbrella of safety. I would disagree.

"Yes, Lavey's earlier books seemed to be more about rituals and liturgy than his later ones. But aren't his later writings still consistent with Satanic principles even though they have little to do with the development of a Satanic theology/philosophy?"

They started to degenerate into pure social commentary, though some of the quotes are humorous. One of my favorites is paraphrased as, "It's strange that people ask Christians for the definition of a Satanist. You wouldn't ask Hitler about the joys of a Honnukah." He became too misanthropic for most people's taste, an isolationist.

"True, but Set also predates Christianity, which helps a religion based on Set to undercut the criticism that it has been influenced by Christianity."

Sort of, but it's still interpretated in a Judaic/Christian conceptualization rather than purely Egyptian. No matter what you would call the religion, (even taking the suggestion of "adversarism" seriously), the stigma sticks, so I think it's best just to grab the bull by the horns rather than shy away from the controversy.

'I'm more interested in learning to critically inquire into Christianity (and other religions and philosophies) from various world-view perspectives. So, I would be interested, for example, in what kinds of questions a "redneck" Jesus would ask about "mainstream" Christianity and its adherents.'

Heh, varies from each group. Sort of like when I read a Muslims' thoughts about Christianity, they have a totally different mindset and question basis, so that questions which would seem absolutely ludicrous to you and I are asked in full sincerity. The same thing applies when I read a Buddhists inquiry into Christianity as well. It's a totally different paradigm, completely different balls of wax. They accept things a priori which we don't, (i.e. that the Qur'an is eternal and perfect), so that they use scriptures and ideas which we would question analytically w/o any reservation.

'One of my self-defense instructors told my class that a powerful wrestler, who is an expert in grappling techniques like Judo, can always beat anyone skilled in "boxing" styles/techniques, especially once he or she gets his or her hands on the "boxer".'

Depends. As my friend LeTerian Bradley would say, "Judge the person, not the art!!" If you can't grapple though it's hard to fight off someone who can, I've been side-swept, (how embarrasing), in micro-seconds by skilled grapplers, and I'm mildly proficient at it.

"I'm curious about how Krav Maga compares in competition with the Eastern forms of martial arts."

It's a down and dirty style. It has cognates in the dirty fighting techniques in Kung fu, most forms of Bujutsu, and techniques used by guys like Paul Vunak and Marc MacYoung. I don't think you'd ever do a competition with that kind of stuff, it's meant to kill someone or permanently injure them. That's part of the thing I like about grappling as opposed to striking arts is that I can safely, (legally), control someone, while in a striking art you would have a very hard time doing that.