How to be a friend to a satanist

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need some advice. a lifelong friend of mine has embraced satanism. growing up with him,he always seemed to have trouble with the catholic church,i always tried to do the best i can but sometimes came across judgemental,etc,as the years went by he is now is a professed satanist, truly is a nice heartfelt man. i am just confused on my relationship with him,dosent feel right that i should say that i can no longer want to be around you. we share a long relationship based on other interest. any help on how to be a christian friend to him?
 
depends on a few different things. is this person a theistic satanist or just doing it for fun? how does this person’s morality affect your own personal morality? what does god want one to do with this relationship? how does this affect your walk with christ? note it is 2020 and satanism is a legally protected religion as long as they arent doing anything illegal. you might just have to agree to disagree. Catholic Goth here. it isn’t your job to win dude over. that is The Holy Spirit’ job.
 
Pray the Rosary for him. If there’s one person Satan hates almost as much as God, it’s Mary. Also try to convince him to wear a Miraculous Medal. It has many miraculous conversion stories, especially of satanists.
 
You will have friends meant to last a lifetime, and some who are not. This friendship is problematic. From a spiritual aspect, we are called as Catholics to turn away from and avoid Satan, and seek God. This friendship and your efforts to be accommodating and kind about your friend liking Satan, is counter to your faith.

As a friend, he disrespects and rejects what you believe, so why are you obligated to accommodate satanism? Liking someone does not make them a good friend.

I would simply tell him unapologetically, "I am Catholic. I reject Satan and all his works decidedly and without exception. I hope you will have a change of heart but as long as you pursue this course, we cannot be friends. I truly wish you well’.

Don’t argue. Say it, leave it, do not engage. You need not prove or justify yourself, your choice, the church, God…let him think what he wants. His choice determined your choice.

This is tough, but we sometimes have to walk away from people.
 
Looking at this entirely from the outside, as one who believes neither in a god nor in Satan (and yes, I know I will get lots of comments saying they both believe in me) I can’t see why a Catholic could not be friends with anyone.

Almost certainly the Satan in which the OP’s friend ‘believes’ is not in any significant way similar to the Satan understood in Catholic tradition. If they were similar it is highly unlikely anyone would want to worship them. In any case even were it the case that the two are the same why would a Catholic not stay friends? I have Catholic friends and would happily befriend a Satanist in the unlikely event one shared a secular interest with me. As far as I can gather modern Satanists have most unpleasant tastes in music so this may be unlikely. 🙂
 
“Satanist” is a very broad term.

Sometimes people simply embrace it because they want the freedom of debauchery, others take it as a political stand taking on the Religion clauses in the US Constitution.

Christ told us to be salt and light, to love people, to do good works that will make them want to know your Father in heaven.

You may want to study some of the essays on www.strangenotions.com
 
I agree with the posters above who have noted there are different types of “satanist” and you need to understand what kind your friend is, in order to know how to proceed.

If he is actually engaging in occult practices or doing Satanic rituals, etc. then it’s time to say good bye to him and just pray for him. Leave your door open in case he ever wants to get out of that and return to God, because often they do.

If, on the other hand, he’s the type of Satanist who’s mostly engaging in it as a First Amendment political exercise or as a form of satire, and doesn’t believe in a literal Satan or practice occult rituals, then you can still have interaction with him over other interests, as long as he doesn’t mock your religion or try to “convert” you. People like this are often just looking to shock. If someone else doesn’t respond with shock, then the Satanist will move on to other discussion topics. Keep in mind that even dabbling in Satanism in this type of political or intellectual way can sometimes open the door to bad effects on people, so watch for any changes in your friend, but there might not be any. Also, he might eventually get tired of it and move on to some other group.
 
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patro said:
need some advice. a lifelong friend of mine has embraced satanism. growing up with him,he always seemed to have trouble with the catholic church,i always tried to do the best i can but sometimes came across judgemental,etc,as the years went by he is now is a professed satanist, truly is a nice heartfelt man. i am just confused on my relationship with him,dosent feel right that i should say that i can no longer want to be around you. we share a long relationship based on other interest. any help on how to be a christian friend to him?
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Tough situation.
Personally, I would cut ties and not risk any demonic risks.

I would probably ask how can he be a nice heartfelt man and embrace satanism?
I’m not sure that is possible. SAtanism is an absolute evil. It is acknowledging the Almighty God but directly rejecting Him and going against him. I do not know why any person would do this except for pure evil
 
It is apparent you are not Catholic. We vow regularly to reject Satan and all his works. We take it seriously. We do not believe Satan is someone or something to toy with.

There is no positive aspect of Satan worship. The practice shows the person is inviting evil into his life deliberately. If we are friends, he is trying to bring that garbage into my life, so, no.

My late father taught me, “Choose your friends wisely and cultivate them. Choose those with attributes you admire and to which you aspire, and who encourage you in a right and moral direction”. Very good advice.
 
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situations can change people,athesist and satanist could be nice people i guess??,i ikinda agree with the post that stated about finding out his true motives. i don’t think our lord would abandon anyone,but of course we need to be careful of our own salvation. where I live, there have been many priests found guilty of molesting children. there are stories of some possibly being satanist? either way, i believe we all fall short and only with God can we be saved. , in an abstract way, when we say no to God and sin,are we not somewhat workers with satan? ,and yes it seems like a contradiction that someone can be a decent person yet do to whatever weakness wants to be his own god. I think bishop sheen once said. don’t listen to what someone is saying,just look for why thay are saying it. I need to pray upon this, and for him and of course be careful of my own actions. It is better for a millstone to be hung around your neck than to lead one of my little ones astray. but ultimately ,i do agree that we all need our lord or otherwise we are lost. denial of his salvation will lead to Hell. i need to continue to pray for him and of course myself .thank you all for the help. I truly appreciate it.
 
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Mainly, be polite, answer his questions, and never stop praying for him…that is, when he contacts you.

I don’t see much you can gain in contacting him. Follow the example Jesus gave, here on earth…he never turned anyone away, but neither did he join, or seem to join, others in their sins and doubts.

Of course, we can’t claim equality with our Lord…
So, if this person ever starts explaining deeper things about Satanism to you, or tries to draw you in, best to cut the visit short. Just never stop praying for him!
 
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