Aleister CrowleyThat is quite a statement!  The quotation refers directly to ex-Plymouth Brother Aleister Crowley.  Much has been written about this man, who was brought up in a strict Plymouth Brethren home full of rules and enforced piety.  It is a psychologist’s dream – the study of what could turn a member of a Plymouth Brethren home into one of the most influential Paganists of the 20th century.






Most professional opinion seems centered upon a simple rebellion against a restrictive childhood. It is a topic that strikes home with any person who was born into the Exclusive (Plymouth) Brethren and who decided one day that they were not sheep, not to be forced into submission and gradually begin to summon the courage and energy to break free …


Aleister Crowley - age 14He was educated at Trinity College at Cambridge where he first became interested in the occult. In 1899, Crowley is reported to have become a member of a coven, but was dismissed after a time due to his contemptuous attitude toward women, his personal ego and his sexual perversion.
Crowley travelled much, especially in the East studying Eastern Occult systems including Buddhism and the ‘I Ching.’ As he delved deeper into the occult, he became infamous as a Black magician and Satanist. He openly identified himself with the number 666, the biblical number for the antichrist.


The sordid details of his life are far too lurid to repeat here, but suffice it to say that the British press dubbed him the “Wickedest Man in the World.”

His philosophy of life was: “Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

Crowley - towards the end of his lifeCrowley died penniless and a drug addict. Unrepentant and unbowed, he left this world with a final snub at the society that he had rejected. He left instructions that he was to be cremated and instead of the usual religious service, his “Hymn to Pan” and other extracts from his writing were to be proclaimed from the pulpit.

Wilbur M. Smith once said, “Men who are going to be disciples of these lords of naturalism must expect never to come into the experience of joy for which their very hearts were created.” Crowley undoubtedly had times of pleasure in his sinful way, but real joy surely eluded him.

Crowley as a young manFor much more on this influential Satanist, type in Aleister Crowley in Google or some other search engine. It is said that Crowley’s ideas had a part in the throwing off of moral restraints in the 1960’s as many musicians and popular personalities, including the Beatles, picked up on his ideas.

How to account for such aberrant behavior? Unfortunately, there are some who rebel against the Christian religion for any number of reasons. Then there just seems to be a group of people who want to be different and spout some esoteric ideas in order to impress people. Then, there are unstable, disordered and unthinking people who are taken in by these weird ideas.


The ability to rebel against a restrictive regime is something many ex-Exclusive Brethren recognize as the energy that enabled their escape from what the prime minister of Australia recently described as “An extremist sect and cult”.  The Exclusive Brethren began it’s man-made journey into becoming a bona fide cult in the late 1840′s when early Plymouth Brother John Nelson Darby led the first major division in the Plymouth Brethren.  The Darbyites, or Closed Brethren effectively closed access to holy communion by excluding anyone who was not completely in accord with their beliefs.

A religion beset by rules was the result of building walls against the rest of society.  The rules were increasingly designed to keep members of the Exclusive Brethren under control. The above article state several reasons why people would rebel against such an environment and also states misleadingly “there are unstable, disordered and unthinking people who are taken in by these weird ideas”. What the writer does not seem to consider is the conditioning and brain-washing that results from being brought up in an exclusive cult, educated in cult-run schools and denied all access to the outside ‘wicked’ world.

Aleister Crowley - a troubled manAleister Crowley is certainly viewed by many as a particularly reprehensible character and accounts of his private and public life do nothing to dispel this reputation. The fact that Crowley seemed to revel in his notoriety adds credibility to the theory that his was a life of rebellion. It might stretch generosity to its limit, but Aleister Crowley may also be viewed as a victim.

There may not be many stories like that of Crowley, but there are sadly many more who have been forced to rebel against restrictive regimes like that of the Exclusive Brethren.  The modern-day EB add threats of permanent family shunning, loss of employment, refusal to give references, loss of pension rights, loss of all known acquaintances and friends to that of an upbringing that condemns all ‘opposers’ to their system as evil and bound for hell.  With an education that is restrictive as their religious beliefs, a rebel often enters the wider community with little or no knowledge of how to interact with members of society. An Exclusive Brethren school is forced to use non-EB teachers due to their ban on further and university education. As a result, the curriculum is carefully monitored by members of the cult and ‘classroom assistants’ monitor each tutor and their classroom efforts.

Small wonder then that some refugees take their own lives, or are socially damaged beyond easy repair. It is not surprising that many reject all association with Christian belief and teachings.

Perhaps it is more surprising that there have not been more ‘Aleister Crowley’s.

Further reading:

(Warning – these links delve deeply into Crowley’s beliefs and teachings.  They may not be to everyone’s taste.)

 

The ability to rebel against a restrictive regime is something many ex-Exclusive Brethren recognize as the energy that enabled their escape from what the prime minister of Australia recently described as “An extremist sect and cult”.  The Exclusive Brethren began it’s man-made journey into becoming a bona fide cult in the late 1840′s when early Plymouth Brother John Nelson Darby led the first major division in the Plymouth Brethren.  The Darbyites, or Closed Brethren effectively closed access to holy communion by excluding anyone who was not completely in accord with their beliefs.

A religion beset by rules was the result of building walls against the rest of society.  The rules were increasingly designed to keep members of the Exclusive Brethren under control. The above article state several reasons why people would rebel against such an environment and also states misleadingly “there are unstable, disordered and unthinking people who are taken in by these weird ideas”. What the writer does not seem to consider is the conditioning and brain-washing that results from being brought up in an exclusive cult, educated in cult-run schools and denied all access to the outside ‘wicked’ world.

Aleister Crowley - a troubled manAleister Crowley is certainly viewed by many as a particularly reprehensible character and accounts of his private and public life do nothing to dispel this reputation. The fact that Crowley seemed to revel in his notoriety adds credibility to the theory that his was a life of rebellion. It might stretch generosity to its limit, but Aleister Crowley may also be viewed as a victim.

There may not be many stories like that of Crowley, but there are sadly many more who have been forced to rebel against restrictive regimes like that of the Exclusive Brethren.  The modern-day EB add threats of permanent family shunning, loss of employment, refusal to give references, loss of pension rights, loss of all known acquaintances and friends to that of an upbringing that condemns all ‘opposers’ to their system as evil and bound for hell.  With an education that is restrictive as their religious beliefs, a rebel often enters the wider community with little or no knowledge of how to interact with members of society. An Exclusive Brethren school is forced to use non-EB teachers due to their ban on further and university education. As a result, the curriculum is carefully monitored by members of the cult and ‘classroom assistants’ monitor each tutor and their classroom efforts.

Small wonder then that some refugees take their own lives, or are socially damaged beyond easy repair. It is not surprising that many reject all association with Christian belief and teachings.

Perhaps it is more surprising that there have not been more ‘Aleister Crowley’s.

Further reading:

(Warning – these links delve deeply into Crowley’s beliefs and teachings.  They may not be to everyone’s taste.)

 

Biography Project - http://www.popsubculture....ct/aleister_crowley.html

Crowley materialshttp://www.aleistercrowley.com/

Photo Archivehttp://altreligion.about..../graphics/bl_crowley.htm