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Despite our most fervent wishes, there exists a group of people who are totally dedicated to ridding us of our beliefs. They are, for the most part, entirely sincere in their conviction that Satanists are knowingly traveling a road of destruction, and will do anything in their power to save us from ourselves. This group is, of course, the Christians. It must be said, in all fairness, that there are many Chris- tian groups who will not attempt to convert a Satanist, or anyone else for that matter. Those groups recognize Satanism as a legit- imate religion in its own right, and respect our decision to follow it. It is not those Christians that we must respond to. Rather, it is those Christian groups who feel they have an abso- lute lock on the truth, and anyone who disagrees with them must be in complete opposition to them and their God. In their fervor to "save" people from Satan, these Christian fundamentalists travel the nation, seeking to expose Satanic criminal cult, parade "Satanic Ritual Abuse Survivors" on talk shows, and pack auditoriums with the gullible Masses, feeding them the most ridiculous lies about our religion, which are, naturally, accepted as gospel by the audience. These are the Christians you see in subway stations and street corners, passing out Bible tracts and those ridiculous little comic booklets. They are the people who go door to door trying to convert people to their particular brand of religion, regardless of whether or not the person wishes to be converted! They are the most heinous of individuals, who feel they have an absolute lock on the truth, and feel it is their mission to spread that truth. How then, as Satanists and as adults capable of making informed decisions about our own lives, should we deal with these pests? There are a number of approaches that may be taken. The most direct (and preferable) approach is to politely say you are not interested and send the fellow along his way clutch- ing his comic tracts in hand. Unfortunately, this does not always work, and the person will try to entice you into a conversation on an intellectual level. But when it comes down to it, the whole Christian argument comes down to the statement that by not fol- lowing their faith, you are going against the will of God, as expressed in their Bible. The obvious counter to that is that you don't believe in their Bible any more than you believe in the Ghita, or the Koran, or any other religious "divinely inspired" book. All such works, you should explain, are merely the works of men which are pre- sented as divinely inspired, to gain legitimacy. They are lies cleverly couched in truth, and as such are nothing to base a life on. At this point, expect a gasp of astonishment, a little flustering, and then prepare to be bombarded by quotes from the Bible, supposedly supporting its legitimacy. Of course, if the Bible itself is suspect, how can it be used to vouch for itself? That is circular logic at its extreme. They will claim that the Bible documents events which have been historically confirmed by archeology. This may very well be true, but it is also irrele- vant. Just because some of what the Bible claims is true and supportable does not make all of it true. At some point you will likely be called upon to defend your own beliefs. This is an inevitable consequence of belonging to a minority religion, especially when there are would-be mission- aries around. If this does happen, you can try to politely ex- plain that Satanism is the choice you have made for your reli- gion, based on an informed and conscious decision. Remember that the First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees you the freedom to make that choice; no one has the right to condemn you, pressure you, or discriminate against you for making that deci- sion, regardless of whether or not they agree with it. It is also possible that you will be approached with "evi- dence" that Satanism leads to suicide, deals in human or animal sacrifices, engages in the regular sexual abuse of children, and other hogwash. These urban legends have unfortunately become entrenched in the collective memory of the Masses, and only rarely will you be able to effectively deal with them on an intellectual level. Despite the complete lack of proof of these claims, and the fact that most so-called survivors are either psychiatrically impaired, attention-seekers, or both, such sto- ries persist. The easiest way to deal with them is to simply expose them for the lies they are, ask to see the proof, and show the person making the accusations the relevant passages of the Satanic Bible, Book of Darkness, and other documents which spe- cifically prohibit such activities. Explain that these documents define what Satanists are, and provides the guidelines for what they do. Anyone who violates those rules is not a Satanist, no matter what they may call themselves. No more so than a person who violates the Ten Commandments is a Christian, regardless of how he may present himself to the public.