**Preface: I know there's a rule against things that are offensive... I hope this isn't. I wont hold any grudges if this thread or my account is deleted. I'm new here, first post, but I hope I can eventually prove to be a productive asset to this community.**
Hello! I'm Yer. I've been a Satanist since I was roughly 11 years old, and I'm currently nearing my 21st birthday. I've kept my religion a secret to all but my closest friends, because most of my friends are Christian, and... I'm afraid of abuse. I always get this idea, from movies and the like, that Satanism is this evil thing which people are supposed to hate, and exorcise, which involves freaky rituals and wicked magic. That's not what it is to me, and I'd say I'm a decent guy. I volunteer at a local animal shelter, I help out fund raisers for a National Park, and I'm the most polite person I know... I'm just so afraid that if I start admitting that this is what I believe, openly, I'll be... looked at a different way. My parents don't even know; I'm so afraid. ...And mostly alone.
My question to you is, if you had a friend, not so much a close one, but an acquaintance, and he came out as a Satanist, how would you, personally, react, as a Christian? What if it was your *child*? I don't like hiding this about myself, but I don't really want to go back to Christianity. I just need some reassurance that I wouldn't be... hated. Or would I? Should I keep this to myself? I'm so conflicted, and it surprises me that a Christian forum is a place I feel like I can ask for advise.