The Judeo-Christian tradition teaches that satanism involves a choice between good and evil and is therefore a matter of free will. In this perspective, it is believed that people who engage in acts of satanism or evil do so because they have freely chosen a way of life which denies the morality of God. At the same time, however, there are many experts who claim that satanic crime is evidence of insanity. Insane people are, by definition, incapable of choosing freely between right and wrong. Therefore, this perspective holds that people engaging in acts of satanism or evil do so not because of their freedom of choice but because they are driven to do so by unconscious motivations over which they have no control. This second viewpoint, which represents that of the psychiatric community, does a better job of explaining the causes of evil and crime in the world than the theological viewpoint does.
The traditional Judeo-Christian perspective sees Satan as a personification of evil as it exists in the world. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the character of Satan has not always been associated with attributes such as God and evil. Prior to the rise of the Christian Church, the figure of Satan could be found in a variety of myths in which he was "also associated with some positive concepts" (Sharma "Satan" 84). When Christianity displaced the ancient pagan religions, the idea of Satan was created as a personification of evil. This was done in order to give a name to the evil impulses which all people must deal with in the course of their lives. In the theological view, Satan was seen as the opposite of God. Therefore, whereas God represents perfect goodness, Satan represents all that is incomplete and evil. In this way, Satan can be seen as a necessary component of the universe, since he stands as a balance to the purity and perfection of God. In addition, the theological view of Satan serves as a means to just...