THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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Despite ceasing his satanic activities, S's life-style did not conform to Christian principles
(99,100). Being the object of constant love and Christian spiritual care, however, gave
him insight into the lie he was living. He consequently renounced Satanism and gave
himself to God (102). After becoming a Christian, S feared that Satan would destroy him,
but the anticipated demonic attacks did not materialise as S still retained his supernatural
powers, and pursued an un-Christian life-style (103,104). In other words, the anticipated
persecution by the vengeful destructive subpersonality did not occur because S did not
completely identify with Christianity, but lived in a morally ambiguous space between
these spiritual polarities.
S's complacent enjoyment of his post-satanic existence was shaken when a charismatic
Christian confronted him with a spiritual choice between his hedonistic life-style, and
relinquishing his supernatural powers to rely solely on God's protection (105,106,107).
S's decision to ultimately renounce his occult powers resulted in extreme torment, as
satanic forces attempted to destroy him, rather than lose him to God (108). S
decompensated to the point where he contemplated suicide as the only escape from
demonic persecution (1~9). Psychologically, this may be understood as a psychic attack
by the betrayed destructive subpersonality, from which S had finally dissociated himself.
S's identification with the libidinal parts of his personality prompted persecutory attacks
by the destructive parts ofhis mind, reducing S to a paranoid, despairing, suicidal state.
Although involved in Christian activities, S did not fully trust God's power, and relied on
his own resources to ward off satanic influence. S believes that this failure to depend
completely on God, together with his "sinful" life-style, made him vulnerable to continued
demonic influence (113,114). This, reasons S, lay behind his compulsion by the "demon
of perversion" to engage in sexual exhibitionism and voyeuristic behaviour (115). The
perverse manifestation of compelling deviant sexual behaviour confronted S with egodystonic
sexualised aspects of his earliest contact with an exciting, but unavailable,
maternal object, which he defensively perceived to be caused by alien demonic forces.
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