I read The Satanic Bible, um, geez--it's been 15 years, and I found it interesting. I didn't beleive in any particular religion, and thought that Anton LeVay's approach to it via his version of Satanism intriguing. If I recall (it's been a while since I read his book), he asserted that Satanism was only for the more intelligent or richer people, not everyone. I vaguely recall that after I wrote his organization for more information, he sent me a membership application which called for a donation of $100. I got the impression that they'd be expecting more later.
After reading his later books, I got the impression that he had drifted to some sort of beleif in the efficacy of magic ritual, and that he had abandoned atheism. I tried a few of the rituals he published, but (as I expected, and contrary to his predictions) they had no effect on anything.
So, I dunno about Anton LaVey. He was a colorful character who created rituals and ideas that were meaningful to him and some other folks, and I say, "Good for them." Personally, his ideas seemed a bit harsh to me, although not entirely without merite. I toyed with them for a while, and went on to other things, like determinism (which while I don't "beleive" in it, it does make an awful lot of sense to me).
Here, chew on this for a little while . . .
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04756c.htm
Determinism is a name employed by writers, especially since J. Stuart Mill, to denote the philosophical theory which holds -- in opposition to the doctrine of free will -- that all man's volitions are invariably determined by pre-existing circumstances.