It was brought to my attention that I should give some more information about how the Gnostic Movement/Gnosticweb led by Mark Pritchard (who believes himself to be Belzebuub) goes about recruiting new students. The term student is used by the way because the word member is reserved for what appears to be the highest level in their organization.
The Gnostic Movement (led by Mark H. Pritchard who has a fantasy about being Belzebuub) spreads its teachings primary through two means, by its website called Gnosticweb and through a number of centre's or study groups around the world.
I am not completely sure how they get students to come to their courses online, I was an unusual case as I falsely believed I had found a real Gnostic group, but it appears that most people come to the teachings online because of an interest in Astral projection, Astral Travel, Out of Body Experiences (OBEs), or Lucid dreaming. This is an interesting situation, this probably occurs because there is no group out there with the structure of the Gnostic movement which works on such matters. However the ideology of the Gnostic Movement, led by Mark Pritchard (Belzebuub) is not really compatible with free spirited nature of most people who are interested in such matters.
For in person teachings they actually have two means of teaching, in centres and on retreats. The retreats are interesting, as they take students away to a nice idealic location without knowing specifically what the program is. Not saying that anything particularly negative goes on at these retreats but I do see a of lack decision making in ones own life. However this lack of a program is most probably more a result of poor planning and a degree of thinking they always know what is best for their students. What I do find interested thou, is the fact that they are starting to plan the development of permenent retreat facilities. Does anyone who knows more about how Cultish groups develop know if this is what later on turns into compounds?
The Gnostic Movement, led by Mark Pritchard (who likes to call himself Belzebuub) currently has 11 centres (actual locations) and 4 study groups around the world. Study groups exist in places where they are trying to have a centre but have do not have the numbers or resources yet so they meet in a libary or other such location. So you can see that they are trying to spread their organization where they can.
In Canada there are centres in Toronto and Montreal as well as a study group in Vancouver. In the United States there is a centre in Berkeley (San Fransico), and Madison, Wisconsin. In England there is a centre in London and a new study group in Nottingham. In Greece they have a centre in Athens as well as a study group in Thessaloniki.
Their main presense however is in Australia, where Mark H. Pritchard was working when Joaquin Amortequi (who liked to call himself Robolu) Kicked him and his wife Edith Pritchard out of The New Order. Specifically he was teaching in Sydney, but has since started centres in other places. IN Australia they have centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. They have recently started up a study group in Geelong which is mostly run out of the Melbourne centre.
Just thought I would give all their locations so people can deferentiate them from other Samaelean groups. There website has all this information with links to specific info put up for each group. [
www.gnosticweb.com].
Now as far as recruitment for these centres and study groups goes they attempt to get advertise their teachings by any means possible, but their primary effort is by spreading posters and flyers around the city or town inviting people to free courses on meditation, dreams and Out of Body Experiences or Self Discovery. There is great expense and effort put into spreading these flyers and posters. All the effort is made by volunteers at the local level and all the expense seems to be obsorbed by teachers of the centres or groups who give most of their money to centre's efforts. If there is financial exploitation it would appear to be at the top. However there is very little accountability of finances in regards to what either students or most teachers are allowed to know. Of course this offer of free courses sounds to good to be true(you know what they say), and it sounds like the way that spirituality should be offered.
When people come for the first few times, they do not disclose very much of their believe system. The teachers spoon feed the "teachings" to students gradually on the reasoning that they "do not want to over whelm the students with the "teachings" and that they should hear them "when they are ready". I think this is just a complex part of there dishonest recruitment process. They justify this behaviour by believing that all others are so obsorbed with their egos that their "egos" would work against them and keep them away from the teachings. I would like to say that the people doing this honestly believe they are doing the right thing, however they do not the justification of dishonesty that goes on this process.
Also when a student first goes to a centre or group it is at least implied that there is an exceptance of and value to all religions and spiritual traditions by the the Gnostic Movement, led by Mark Pritchard (who believes he is Belzebuub). I plan to demonstrate that this is not the case. There is not a direct lie in this case, but dishonestly non the less, they simply say something like all religions have a root or an origin that is good. In fact I think it is safe to say that they believe that all other teachings that are being taught in the world at this time are directly or indirectly evil.
Please feel free to ask me any questions or to critique what I have written. I am very open to discussing these matters. I would like to thank Jordan for giving me the motivation to get writing this critique by the actions he took on Friday.