United Satanic Front
An Interview With Phil Marfuta
Interview conducted by Rev. Matt G. Paradise
(Originally appearing in Not Like Most #7)

It ain't easy being online. But form an online organization promoting Satanism and watch the sparks really fly.

That's precisely what Phil Marfuta did on May 24, 1997. As head of the America Online-based United Satanic Front and a member of The Church of Satan, Marfuta has had his share of ignorant Christians and Satanic bandwagon-chasers alike (and the two groupings are, often enough, literally ALIKE in mentality). He also had his share of organizational troubles in the early days of the USF. Screening wasn't as strict as it should have been and, hence, many of its members were insincere teenagers looking for an identity fix and a darkly-oriented title. When the USF starting losing quality members, who were tired of the immaturity of the USF's initial constituency, is when Marfuta decided that enough was enough.

When the USF emerged from its needed restructuring, 70 percent of the membership was intentionally booted and Marfuta, along with Chris Burton (and a little guidance from Yours Truly), introduced The Left Hand Path forum proposal, a petition to establish an area on America Online for Satanists and other LHPers. Even Church of Satan administrator and High Priestess Blanche Barton contributed a supportive reply to the proposal and submitted it to AOL. Needless to say, I have also given it my darkest blessing.

In addition to running the USF and posting material both mundane and infernal on the Satanic message boards of AOL, Marfuta is currently majoring in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with a mountain of academic achievement awards behind him. All this at the age of 19. Not exactly a member of the slacker generation.

This interview was conducted over a period of days in late-May of 1998.

Not Like Most: Let's talk about the petition, since it's one of the most exciting things happening within the USF. Give me the history of this online document and some of the response it's gotten.

Phil Marfuta: Perhaps one of the things which originally struck me about the America Online server, when I first joined, was the lack of accessibility to anything remotely Satanic. Everywhere you turn, when exploring the bright, new world of cyberspace, are literally cartloads of stimulating information on almost any topic, including Satanism. America Online, on the other hand, struck me as having a whitewashed, "family" appearance, where only limited topics were to be discussed (it still has programs preventing any member, even an adult, from accessing some of the more contraband newsgroup discussion lists). Normally, my impulse would be to walk away, and find a more suitable server. However, changing services only after a month of use didn't seem pragmatic, especially when I started bumping into a few people of like minds, expressing displeasure at these problems. I resolved to form The United Satanic Front, which serves the primary purpose of lobbying America Online for an increase of accessibility to area of Satanic interest. Originally, as a fledgling group, we tried petitions, both E-mail and snail mail. I think in that period, we had over two hundred members move in and out of the group, with a good majority actively E-mailing the appropriate suggestion addresses. We never got a single reply from AOL. We grew indignant. We looked into filing a suit for religious discrimination, since a large quantity of E-mail was being ignored, and AOL took no real action to prevent Christians from constantly harassing Satanists online after floods of complaints. But in retrospect, that was a futile, and even un-Satanic idea; I hate whiners, and filing such a suit would have made us no better. At one point, Chris Burton, a long-time Tier 5 (top level) member, found out from numerous inquiries that the company actually had a form someone could fill out as a suggestion for a new religious area. Low and behold, we had a wonderful and Satanic way to express our suggestions as AOL customers. Let us not forget that AOL is a business, and that it must cater to Christians and other mainstream groups to make a profit (I don't see anything wrong with playing the market, do you?). The best action we could take, as a group, was to persuade AOL that creating this new area of Satanic interest would benefit them , helping them lure new Left Hand Path members to their area, as well as keeping us "nasty folk" from meddling in the affairs of those upstanding Christians! The proposal was written over several weeks time by myself and Chris Burton, with some helpful additions from yourself [Rev. Paradise]; the three of us are all Church of Satan affiliates, but we additionally opened the proposal to members of the Temple of Set, theistic Satanists, the Order of the Nine Angles, the Temple of the Vampire and various Thelemite groups. I decided to do this for several reasons - first, AOL would never create an area labeled something as blunt as "the Satanism Forum;" secondly, to increase the number of parties interested in the proposal; and lastly, because myself and others would much rather brush shoulders online with fellow members of the Left Hand Path than with the Aryan Nation, Branch Davidians, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses (whom we are clumped together with presently in the 'Other Religions' section, though we have little, if anything, in common). We began by posting the document on the USF's AOL message board, and announcing its presence in all of the other Left Hand Path folders. We also put the proposal up on the web (it's located at http://www.geocities.com/ Athens/Parthenon/3727/forum.html), and encouraged other sites to link it. Any and all replies are printed out (usually by myself), and mailed with the original proposal en masse with the comments of the other supporters. Within a few weeks, it had gathered quite a bit of acclaim, and even the support of High Priestess Barton and the official blessings of the Church of Satan. I think it has been our most successful endeavor so far, but its effectiveness will be measured by how America Online chooses to react.

NLM: What do you feel have been the major improvements from the first installment of the USF?

PM: I feel the organization has improved in every way. Most of it has to do with my personal growth as a leader, and it would be an understatement to say that running a group such as the USF is a learning experience. Our most significant improvement is the institution of more Satanic principles in membership policies. Originally, I felt it was important to have a large backing, especially when your group is trying to produce "signatures" for an online petition, and as a result, I sacrificed the valuable tool of elitism. This was the first lesson: it doesn't matter how many people are supporting you when the majority of them can't even tie their own shoes. In retrospect, for all their gothiness, I wouldn't call some of these ex-members sentient beings, much less Satanists, and an organization is much like a manufactured material - impurities weaken it significantly. When Chris Burton got fed up and quit out of disgust, I realized we were sinking fast. Within a week, we had eliminated over three fourths of our membership, and cut the rotting meat off of the solid bone which was left. I also completely rewrote the membership application and the guidelines for accepting members. As a result, we ended up accepting only 2% of applicants for the longest time. However, I think the figure has risen now that members of the Satanic Community take us more seriously (they had no reason to before), and individuals of great merit who would not have joined otherwise have since lent their support to us. We also stopped deficit spending on members - I'd often promote someone who promised to take a certain responsibility. Now, we make sure they come up with the goods first, and observe them for awhile before promoting them. I've been burned too many times by people who speak volumes about ideals, but show little in the way of productivity. I also see the original USF as more of a one-track organization, interested only with the fight against AOL. Today, the group has numerous side projects such as a newsletter, a member location page (which allows members to find others in their area and form grottos), a subgroup which answers questions and gives answers concerning magic, and so forth. Presently, I see the group moving to a form which compliments the individual - a medium through which individual projects can propagate. Many USF members are involved in Satanic bands, publish Satanic zines, have participated in documentaries, run or participate in local grottos, have webpages, or own businesses, and we encourage them to swap ideas and advertise freely among our group. In essence, I'd like to see the USF allow members to benefit from their loyalty to an even fuller extent.

NLM: How is the USF website evolving?

PM: Funny you should mention that. As of late, almost no changes have been made to our main page, and to be honest, I'm getting tired of its look. Our present webmaster has been MIA quite a bit lately, so Chris Burton volunteered to redo it completely on his own time. Also, a friend of mine who runs another online group called "The 600 Club" has just registered his own domain name, and has offered the USF an address on his server. I am fairly certain we are going to accept the offer: he is also trying to persuade several others with very noteworthy sites to move to www. the600club.com, and is going to begin coding the Internet's first search engine consisting of only Satanic sites. It's a very exciting project, and will probably develop into one of the largest domain names dedicated to the philosophy of the late High Priest LaVey. However, all of this is in the future. For now, our page is located at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/ Parthenon/5947/usf.html.

NLM: A while back, CNN had approached you about contributing to a documentary on "alternative religions." Fill us in.

PM: In my mind, this is a good example of how the Internet helps spread useful information... Around mid-January or so, an online acquaintance of mine announced on AOL's Church of Satan Message Board that CNN planned to air a documentary, entitled "Perspectives," focusing on teens who practice alternative religions (specifically Satanism, Paganism and Vampirism), and that the producers were looking for participants. I suppose I volunteered for one simple reason: if I had not stepped up, someone less qualified (perhaps a "psycho for Satan") would have. Even if the filming group wasn't interested in my participation, I wanted to make sure they had the tools to distinguish Satanism from any imitations or any fringe groups. Fortunately, however, the woman whom I spoke with was already somewhat aware of the difference, and took a liking to me; I was sent a camera that day with which to film. Normally I don't mind doing a bit of free media representation for the Church, but being a spokesperson on a national level is something quite different - I am neither a Reverend or Grotto Master, and am not entitled to represent the Church without its permission. The footage called for a self-interview and a ritual, among other things, so a little bit of advise from Satanists with experience dealing with the press (especially on the sensitive topic of filming a ceremony) was needed. I managed to get in contact with Ms. Blanche Barton, who both gave me special permission to represent the Church of Satan, and supplied some material specifically describing how to deal with the media. As it turns out, High Priestess Barton will appear in this documentary, as she found it of some interest and even participated in an interview. One must always be careful, of course, of the ulterior motives of the press - it is their job to make things more exciting for the viewer, and may often choose to sensationalize rather than to portray accurately. Ms. Barton's participation in the show lead me to believe that this was not the case, and I found the individuals at CNN whom I spoke with to have a firm grasp on the differences between the Satanism of The Satanic Bible and other psuedo-philosophies of the same name. The camera was sent to me by mail, and therefore I had quite a bit of control over what I wished to film, and to take as much time as I needed to make an accurate representation. Interestingly enough, my local friend, Thamuz had also contacted CNN and we were asked to film a ritual together. We decided upon the Satanic Baptism for the adult, with myself as the initiate and Thamuz acting as Priest. The ritual itself was one of the best I have ever participated in and the footage came out wonderfully as well - much of it made the final cut for the show. I contacted the producers in the last few days for an update, and found out the program will air July 5th on CNN. The Paganism and Vampirism aspects didn't pan out, so the show will focus exclusively on the teen practice of modern Satanism. Unfortunately, none of the eight hours of footage I shot will be used, as they liked my interview, but lacked suitable footage of me going through everyday activities such as studying, playing basketball or eating. On the bright side, quite a bit of Thamuz's material will be featured, along with the ritual we performed, an interview with High Priestess Barton, tidbits filmed by the ManInBlack Grotto of New York City, as well as other various small contributions from other Satanists in various states. Though I did not make the final cut (other than my nameless appearance in the ritual), I am still looking forward quite a bit to the show's airing - it seems as if it will be a levelheaded presentation of true Diabolism on national television.

NLM: I remember at one time, you'd mentioned that you wanted to inform the students at M.I.T. about Satanism in a wide-reaching way. You wrote something on the subject for the school paper, right? What other methods of dissemination have you used on campus?

PM: That's correct - in the May issue of Counterpoint, M.I.T.'s and Wellesley College's joint editorial publication of "rational discourse," I had an expositional piece published on the topic of Satanism. A few staff members felt uneasy publishing the piece, but were essentially silenced by those on the staff who were more interested in the article's salient points and interesting presentation than blindly upholding society's taboos. I wrote the piece for two reasons: to display Satanic thought for all to see (in an appropriate forum, of course), and also to raise flag for any covert or de facto Satanists. In dealing with addressing the general public, I find it is better to soften things a bit - I mentioned elitism and personal responsibility, but I did not emphasize them quite as much as the hedonistic aspects of the religion. I am aware that some Satanists would rather stay abrasive and even shocking in public, but I think that was counterproductive to my purpose - I would rather exorcise a bit of Lesser Black Magic and convince the average reader how Satanism "made sense." In that respect, I feel it was quite effective: I received perhaps a dozen E-mail queries asking for clarifications and discussions which I gladly answered. I of course brought the attention to myself, so I could certainly not call such behavior vampiric in nature, especially since most of the questions were courteous and polite. And concerning covert Satanists, one has already contacted me (who is another M.I.T. student), though I haven't had a chance to meet and verify the authenticity of the individual yet. But as always, there is always at least one witch hunter in the audience: a woman on campus read my article, picked it apart for "contradictions" and wrote a letter to the members of the Counterpoint staff pointing them out, and accusing me of deliberately trying to deceive people. The letter, which will appear in the June issue of the publication, also openly paints me as a Nazi. Is anyone surprised? I suppose the letter will do some good: it will give others the good laugh I got from it. Other than the article, I've posted a few announcements on various bulletin boards around campus advertising "a LaVeyan study group" featuring a Sigil of Baphomet at the top. No takers on that yet. I have also volunteered several times to sit on a few different panels, representing Satanism, at events designed to answer students' questions about various religions; I've been turned down every time since they were only interested in representing "more common, mainstream religions." Ironically, these panels usually feature Pagans, Humanists and members of the Ba'Hai faith, which aren't very common, either. Lastly, I have met with the man who served as Grotto Master in Boston for a term of one year, and if either he or I present any lectures on the topic of Satanism, we intend to cross-post each other's campuses. I will inevitably host such an event sometime next year.

NLM: How do your fellow students and your fraternity brothers deal with a Satanist in their midst, particularly one who obviously doesn't fit any popular image stereotype of a Satanist? You've never really been into the whole goth trip.

PM: No, I have never been anything close to Goth. I wore button down shirts, nice slacks and the occasional tie my entire High School career (a dress code I really didn't mind too much), and the pattern stuck. I dressed this way for a while before I discovered the wonderful philosophy of Satanism. However, the act of declaring myself a Satanist, though difficult at first, required no change in my dispositions, and I consider suddenly changing my wardrobe to all black, "evil" looking clothes to be the ultimate act of (un-Satanic) conformity, as I am, and always have been, the same person. I will indulge in the dark look for rituals and even occasional pictures, but otherwise I pick my clothing to suit my dispositions. Additionally, the act of dressing up and putting effort into looking nice is a very ritualistic act for me - I mean cleaning myself, combing my hair, applying cologne and the like. It is a private act of excessive pride that I don't think enough Satanists indulge themselves in. Anyone who competently practices Lesser Black Magic knows they must work with what they have, and I am not a physically intimidating person. I do, however, have decent looks which act harmoniously with nice clothing, and ironically, I'm often the last person outsiders think would be a Satanist. You can imagine how this works to my advantage. When I originally came to my fraternity, during Rush, I made it clear to everyone what I was. If I am going to live four years with the same group of people, the group had better be able to handle the fact that I am a Satanist, or else I will be in for a miserable time as an undergraduate. Fortunately, I don't think this is a problem at all in my fraternity. However, I think the majority of people the first day thought I was joking, or trying to seem interesting to get them to want me. But as time wore on, they saw I wasn't kidding, and didn't know what to think. I got the usual human/animal sacrifice questions, the debates about morality, the "explain your whole religion in 5 minutes" requests, and the occasional drunk person asking questions, who only mustered the courage to approach the topic with alcohol in their system. It was both tiring and invigorating, but once everyone was certain that I wasn't going to kill them or their pets, most were fine with me. However, once the Brotherhood decided to bid me, they went out of their way to make me feel welcome; when the time came for them to extend an invitation to join, two brothers approached me in black robes and led me to a room lit with candles for the actual bidding ceremony. Everyone else received bids during broad daylight with no embellishment. I don't think I'll ever forget that. People in my fraternity have grown used to the concept by now, and those who didn't grasp it all before, managed to after the article I wrote for the school paper. It never ceases to amuse me how much people are initially scared off, but become acclimated so quickly afterwards. Ironically, though my brothers were uncertain about me in my first few days here, they never hesitate to include either myself or my religion in material intended for future freshman. Our "angle" as a house is our immense diversity when compared to other fraternities, and I let them exploit me for those purposes, since I would like to see the house prosper and have a successful Rush. After a year here, I am most certainly accepted, though people tend to expect certain things from me. For example, one day earlier this year I wore all white clothing (something I don't associate any symbolism to whatsoever), and one of the brothers said to me, "Wow. That certainly isn't a very Satanic outfit, or something I'd expect for you to wear." I gave him a knowing smile, and said, "I know. Expect the unexpected." You see, part of being a Satanist is putting up with funny looks and blank stares, so you might as well have a little bit of fun with it. I have always felt that if you can't accept the unconscious ostracism, then you have no business being a Satanist: you took the Devil's name knowing the consequences, and therefore have no place to whine about how people don't understand you and how much of an injustice common perceptions are. I don't suggest rebelling to shock people, either. Instead, utilize the predetermined mindset of others to your advantage, and surprise them by not being what they expect. Be in control. In time, those who are close to you will begin to understand - and if they still feel the same way after learning the truth, it is now their problem, not yours.

NLM: I seem to recall that you're involved with some on-campus clubs; namely, the Objectivist and Extropian clubs. How does Satanism relate or differ to what these clubs promote?

PM: Yes, I belong to both clubs. The former is simply a social group of like minds, while the latter is more of an activist/intelligence promotion group. The Extropian Club is being disbanded this year, however; this past Fall their information packet was vetoed since it criticized M.I.T.'s rampant Affirmative Action policies. The founders of the club then took $1,000 out of their own pockets and sent the packet anyway, to all incoming freshman without M.I.T.'s permission, so the school had to "silence them" in a way. However, I'm less concerned with the groups themselves, and more with their semi-Satanic philosophies. I find Objectivism to be extremely similar to Satanism, perhaps more so than any other form of philosophic thought. I also think Ayn Rand is overlooked by many as a significant influence on LaVey. Essentially, Objectivism advocates selfishness, pride, love of life, rejection of mysticism, elitism, personal freedom, and many other things which have come to be associated with the Great Archetype, Satan. The Libertarian political party, which many Satanists identify with, actually arose from Objectivism as well. Ayn Rand also gives, in my opinion, better logical arguments for a Satanic Lifestyle than I've seen any Satanist give. I have never failed to strike some chord with Objectivists, either, though I would only consider a few de facto Satanists. There are several differences between Satanism and Objectivism in both theory and practice, the addition/lack of Satanic Rituals being the most obvious one (Objectivism is militantly anti-spiritual, even in regards to the diluted half-deception we employ). Theoretically, Objectivism is more Utopian than Satanic - Rand believed that a true Objectivist society could work, while I personally feel the majority of people are either unwilling or incapable of taking personal responsibility and handling total personal freedom. I think the realist in me rejects this concept - I think a Libertarian/Objectivist society would collapse from the abundance of the Satanic Sin of Stupidity. Additionally, exploitation is a no-no in Objectivism, while a Satanist usually feels no qualms about taking advantage of the foolishness or gullibility of someone else, even if it is only to teach them a lesson. Lastly, Objectivism regards relationships from person to person as an equal, fair-share trade agreement; though Satanism clearly advocates this between two Satanists, it also embraces the life of the strong at the expense of the weak, when dealing with inferiors. In practice, Satanists are far more sensual and inclined to the arts, while Objectivism stresses logic over dabbling in the subjective. Personally, I feel one can most certainly have both! Most of the Objectivists I meet are some of the most brilliant and fascinating people around, but who lack social skills and come off as "geeky" - this isn't a problem if it works to your advantage, but I see very few Objectivists who practice the art of Lesser Black Magic (even if it would go by another name). Extropianism is less of a philosophy, and more of an interest group. Extropians are almost exclusively Objectivists philosophically, but what sets them apart is their passion for hard science. Extropians are also fanatically interested (for good reason) in Transhumanism, or "the defeat of death." Rather than basking in spiritual fantasies of immortality, they seek to bring it about through science. Ideas postulated and tested are cryogenic freezing, creating a human-computer interface so that a human mind can be "uploaded" to a computer and stored indefinitely, Artificial Intelligence studies, new drugs which markedly increase longevity, and DNA studies (scientists have isolated the compound at the end of DNA strings which crumble after long periods of time, causing the DNA to unwind - this is the physical cause of aging, and if science halts it, then man will no longer grow old). What this equates to is the pursuit of immortality, and any life-loving Satanist can see how this relates to himself. As an interesting side note, www.Lucifer.com is actually an Extropian site, with the title page displaying an essay entitled, "In Praise of the Devil" I recommend you check it out to see how on-track this Extropian is.

NLM: Since you applied for Active Membership in The Church of Satan (as opposed and in addition to Registered Membership; i.e.: a holder of the infamous CoS "crimson card"), does this mean you plan on starting a Grotto in Boston?

PM: Well, in late-May, I received notification from Central Headquarters of my Active Membership. I also recieved the Grotto Master application, though I expect to spend as much as three months filling it out. I intend to be thorough. I have already taken quite a few steps towards forming a grotto (which would be centered in Boston), and a surprising number of Satanists have popped up, showing interest. I disseminate info here and there on campus, but I have used other means, especially the Internet, to advertise the hopefully future concecration and anointment of the group by the Church of Satan; this has been keeping me busy meeting people lately. Whereas many Grotto Masters I have spoken with usually have to put up with large numbers of pseudo-Satanists and wackos, almost all of the individuals interested in the grotto are both sincere and genuine Satanists whom I would be proud to be associated with. Hopefully that will be the case for the future! We've also held a few successful get-togethers in the area, including attending an Electric Hellfire Club concert and a local "Coop" art show and autograph session. Both inevitably ended up in brushing shoulders with a few more of the successful Satanists of the world - quite enjoyable, in both cases. The grotto will focus on Satanism and Higher Learning, as all but one of the present members are enrolled in college. Though being a college student is not a prerequisite, any member of the Church of Satan who is both of at least 18 years of age and within three hours driving time from Boston is welcome to contact me with further inquiries at SonOfUngod@aol.com. (We at Not Like Most are also forwarding postal correspondence to the USF for a limited time. Send it to USF in care of our address.)

NLM: Anything else?

PM: I consider myself part of an interesting breed: the Generation X Satanist. I am far enough removed that I was not alive during the activism of the 1960s and the 1975 ousting of Michael Aquino, and was but an infant during the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s. The Church of Satan has seen its share of tribulations in its brief thirty-three year history, the most recent being the loss of our High Priest and mentor, Anton Szandor LaVey. However, the organization lives on, and the essential principles of Satanism still hold strong, as they are applicable even at the end of the millennium. As the Church grows, and the Word of Satan is spread far and wide by the Church's most venerated members, striking a chord with yet another generation of Diabolists. Now that is staying power! To my fellow youthful Satanists, masters of tomorrow, I say seize what you earn; for not the sky, nor even the stars, are the limit. Identify yourself as a Satanist, a vital being, but most importantly, as yourself. Hail Satan! Special thanks to Reverend Paradise for his continued support and guidance. [end]

[Rev. Paradise would like to return the thanks to Phil, Thamuz, Chris and others for a devilishly good time at the Electric Hellfire Club show in Worcester, MA. Hail!]

Note: text copied from http://users.aol.com/boysatan/ptp/marfuta.htm.

Prometheism | Euvolution | Transhumanism