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Understanding the Religion of Thelema – [Mini Series on Syncretism Part 1]

The following brief article about Aleister Crowley’s Law of Thelema is from the site, Learn Religions: https://www.learnreligions.com/thelema-95700

What is the definition of syncretism?

I first encountered this term during my initial read of the Bible. It was in the NIV footnotes of my study Bible. It was used to in an explanation of the practice of blending Paganism teachings with the true religion of the Bible. God hates it. Israel was punished for it.

Mixing any un-biblical doctrines with the doctrines found in the Bible is forbidden by God. My mission-statement post covers that topic, linked below.

My purpose in posting this article about Satanic worship is to show how similar it is to the prosperity gospel that is so beloved in our day.

That is, they both are works of Satan. Christ has nothing to do with the gospels preached by Hinn, Osteen… or Crowley.

Note: I am not telling Satanists what to believe, or anybody else, for that matter. Furthermore, I am not expressing my opinions about how God should be worshiped. I am contrasting a current popular type of “worship” with God’s word, wherein, He has prescribed how He is to be worshiped.

My point is to show that there are many professed “Christian preachers” out there that preach a very different gospel message than the true gospel message that is only found in the Bible.

The gospel message in the Bible is the only one that will save your soul, according to the Bible itself.

I inserted comments in pink font in the following article about Aleister Crowley’s Law of Thelema, specifically regarding the writer’s words which I emboldened.

The goal of my comments is to highlight the similarities between Crowley’s Law and some professed Christian denominations, churches, and believers.

Most likely, many of these denominations… do not know that they are worshiping Satan.

The Law of Thelema is 180 degrees from biblical teachings; that is, it is opposed to Christ.

Crowley intended to oppose Christianity and undermine its authority in culture, see linked post below that treats the specifics of his plan for culture.

Jesus spoke very harshly against those who “teach as doctrine the commandments of men.”

Matthew 15:7  You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8  “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9  in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

False teaching began with Satan in the Garden; God’s stance against the message of false teachers, the lie, is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible.

It is a very difficult journey to walk a pilgrimage through this world when you know scripture and sit under a biblical preacher. Why? To walk the walk of faith, one must also seek grace via prayer to be upheld and guided, even when you know scripture.

I know from my own failures that I have much to learn on this topic. But since I am familiar with scripture, I do see when I fail; and I believe it is possible to learn to walk by faith in the ‘old path’ prescribed by God.

If you do not know scripture, then square one has not been accomplished. You’re in the wilderness on your own.

Begin article:

Understanding the Religion of Thelema

By

Catherine Beyer

Wicca Expert

Catherine Beyer is a practicing Wiccan who has taught religion in at Lakeland College in Wisconsin as well as humanities and Western culture at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Updated on October 03, 2024

Thelema is a complicated set of magical, mystical, and religious beliefs formed in the 20th century by English occultist Aleister Crowley. Thelemites might be anything from atheists to polytheists, viewing the involved beings as actual entities or primal archetypes.

Today it is embraced by a variety of occult groups including the Ordo Templis Orientis (O.T.O.) and Argenteum Astrum (A.A.), the Order of the Silver Star.

Origins

Thelema is based on the writings of Aleister Crowley, particularly the Book of the Law, which was dictated to Crowley in 1904 by a Holy Guardian Angel called Aiwass. Crowley is considered a prophet, and his works are the only ones considered canonical. Interpretation of those texts is left up to individual believers.

[Crowley is a prophet of Satan; his Book of the Law directly opposes the Bible. Crowley received his teachings via contact with his ‘higher spirit’ or his ‘spirit guide.’ Those who practice eastern meditation seek ‘fresh’ revelation in such a manner. The Bible calls that divination and forbids it. Deuteronomy 29:29, states that we are forbidden to seek spiritual knowledge that has not been revealed to us by God.]

Basic Beliefs: The Great Work

Thelemites strive to ascend to higher states of existence, uniting oneself with higher powers, and understanding and embracing one’s True Will, their ultimate purpose, and place in life.

[The union of the thelemite with ‘higher powers’ is likely accomplished via Hindu Yogic meditation: Crowley and Carl Jung each practiced numerous types of yoga and meditation. 

That process is described in my post on Yoga / Meditation, linked below; God’s view on such meditation is also stated in that post. 

To merge (unite) with God is the goal of eastern meditation. To do that, one must believe that he / she is made of the same stuff as that God; that he / she has a ‘divine spark’ within. Christianity does not hold such beliefs. The Bible teaches that God is Holy, that means that He is completely different in terms of essence, than His creatures. 

The eastern process of merging with God is not at all like the Christian teaching that God the Holy Spirit indwells a true believer. The Holy Spirit does not merge, He indwells and still remains God while the creature remains human. 

That type of meditation is forbidden in the Bible, it is called divination, the goal of which is to contact what the Bible calls ‘familiar spirits.’ 

In the Bible, we are called to submit to God’s Spirit and His will; our own wills are to be reined in. Christ calls His followers to ‘denial of self,’ that includes the will. That is no easy task.

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism (which is founded on scripture), man’s chief end, or purpose, is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Crowley’s chief end seems to be to glorify self and to indulge it forever… just like the chief end of the unconverted man = rebellion against God.]

The Law of Thelema

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” “Thou wilt” here means to live by one’s own True Will.

[When we were in an unconverted state, that was our natural response to life on earth. That is exactly what every selfish person is busy doing (though most, not to the extremes of Crowley). That is captured in the two following well known phrases: “grab all the gusto;” “the now generation.”  Essentially saying, get it all now; gratify all your lusts now… seek pleasure in every way possible….

John MacArthur noted that Prosperity preachers encourage their followers to seek the kinds of things that unbelievers are busy seeking: money, material possessions, pleasure, fame….

Such endeavors take one far from God and the Christian life outlined, for example, in Romans 12 and several other epistles like 2 Peter 1.

Crowley and prosperity preachers have this huge point in common. Both of them oppose Christ via such teaching, via the indulgence of the self.

Matthew 16:24  Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  

In other words, we are called to fight those tendencies, not to gratify them. Again, that is a difficult life-long process. It seems that it can only be accomplished by abiding in God’s appointed means of grace (Bible reading; hearing preaching of the true gospel; prayer….)]

‘Every Man and Every Woman Is a Star.’

Each person possesses unique talents, abilities, and potentials, and none should be impeded in seeking out their True Self.

[We are unique and made in the image of God. He would have us use the time, talents, and treasure He has given us doing kingdom work, after we are born again.

We are called to be conformed to the Image of His Son, read Romans 12 for an example.  And we are to find our true identity in Him. That seems to mean that the Bible tells us how we are to view ourselves because of our union with Christ. 

Remember, the Bible states that we are born in sin, corrupt, and Jesus even said that corrupt things come from within. So, we must turn to Him and His word, not within, to find something worthy of fashioning ourselves after. 

Jesus said:  Mark 7:20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21  For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 
22  coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”   (See link below, The Enemy Within….)

Jesus comment above is very similar to one found twice in the Old Testament: Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually [see 8:21 also].

Prosperity preachers tell their followers they are little gods; that they can speak things into existence; that they can create prosperity by thinking and believing it is so…. God is the only one who spoke anything into existence.

In the above example, prosperity preachers are telling believers to sin with their imaginagions. The imagination is a tool God gave us to help us deal with life, but it can be a chief mechanism of sinning.]

‘Love Is the Law. Law Under Will.’

Each person is united with his True Will through love. Discovering is a process of understanding and unity, not force and coercion.

[Whatever type of love that is being talked about here is certainly not agape, selfless love. It undoubtedly has something to do with serving self: eros, romantic, sexual love, possibly, philia?

If above facts are also considered here, then this love is not recommended by God for Christians because it would be about self, which Christians are commanded to practice denying.

Carl Jung, the famous psychologist and occultist, spoke of “integrating” the personality by apparently embracing and exploring various contradictory aspects of oneself (see post 13 from my series on Paganism, linked below).

I get the impression that “understanding and unity” suggests that one is to explore and revel in the experiences and discoveries…. Not to have a goal that one forces upon himself, as in following or aligning oneself with the dictates of scripture that God prescribed…

If you listen to the brief video in the post about Aleister Crowley being the father of Satanism and modern culture, linked below, then you will learn that he encouraged followers to partake in purposeless activities. That was apparently one small way in which he rebelled against the meaning and purpose that is part of the Christian worldview. Christians see life as having purpose and believe their own conduct will be judged by God….

One last thought about self-exploration and reveling: we know what such things look like; the hippies of the 1960’s seemed to live life like that. As did the free lovers of the 1970’s, and the subsequent homosexual revolutions. It seems to me that many were busy seeking integration, as Carl Jung defined it, by grabbing as much personal pleasure as possible.

I was 53 when I was converted, I spent a lot of time seeking pleasure in various ways….] 

The Aeon of Horus

We live in the Age of Horus, the child of Isis and Osiris, who represented the previous ages. The age of Isis was a time of matriarchy. The age of Osiris was a time of patriarchy with a religious emphasis on sacrifice. The age of Horus is an age of individualism, of the child Horus striking out on his own to learn and grow.

[The Bible forbids things like astrology; mediumship; divination via contacting familiar spirits. It states that such teachings are doctrines of demons.  See my post on Yoga / Meditation, linked below.

The terms above, New Age; matriarchy; patriarchy caused me to think about the women’s movement. Witchcraft and the occult are a factor within that movement, in addition to lesbianism, sexual exploration….

The women’s movement and “side B Christianity,” for example, are not approved by orthodox Christianity, the Bible. But it has been a trend since the late 1800’s to practice man-made doctrines in the church. 

One read through the Bible, or just the New Testament, would at least let one know that he / she is in error, per God, not me.] 

Thelemic Deities

The three most commonly discussed deities in Thelema are Nuit, Hadit, and Ra Hoor Khuit, commonly equated to the Egyptian deities Isis, Osiris, and Horus. These may be considered literal beings, or they may be archetypes.

[Forbidden topic; the Bible would call these demonic deities. Read the first 15 chapters of Exodus to refresh yourself on what the God of the Bible did to those Egyptian deities. There is only one true God. All other gods are condemned by Him, in the Bible, the book that tells Christians how He has prescribed the worship of Himself. The linked post on Carl Jung, below, gets into myth and archetypes.]

Holidays and Celebrations

Thelemites also commonly celebrate significant milestones in one’s life:

[The above are Pagan festivals; Roman Catholicism has festivities on some of those dates; Christmas even falls on a former Pagan festival date, see the Category, Christmas, for more. The Bible forbids syncretism, the blending of Paganism or any other religion with the worship of God.]

End of Article

STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS:

Posts in this blog:

THE ENEMY WITHIN US:

https://sheeplywolves.com/what-is-the-enemy-within-got-questions-ministries/

Mission-statement post:  SHEEPLYWOLVES: DEFINING FALSE PROPHETS

https://sheeplywolves.com/sheeplywolves/

CHRISTIAN YOGA / CHRISTIAN HOLY YOGA / YOGA IN THE CHURCH / EASTERN MEDITATION

https://sheeplywolves.com/eastern-meditation/

ALEISTER CROWLEY: FATHER OF SATANISM; AND OF MODERN CULTURE: PAGANISM, PART 1

https://sheeplywolves.com/aleister-crowley-father-of-satanism-father-of-modern-culture-so-many-believe/

PROSPERITY PREACHING; ALEISTER CROWLEY; CARL JUNG; PAGANISM / SATANISM: WHAT THESE HAVE IN COMMON!

https://sheeplywolves.com/prosperity-preaching-aleister-crowley-carl-jung-paganism-satanism-what-these-have-in-common/

MYTH, CARL JUNG, ARCHETYPES: PAGANISM, PART 13-A

https://sheeplywolves.com/myth-carl-jung-archetypes-paganism-part-13-a/

Featured Image:  treadwells-london.com

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