englishmart:
I'm more concerned with the benefits of becoming a member.

fratermathy:


Hmmmm
Let's talk privately if you would oblige.

fratermathy:


Membership is easily done online now. I think the site is http://amorc.org.ng
However you can walk to any affiliated body in the country and get a form freely.

Before you do all that, it is important to be sure that your purpose of joining AMORC is not negative. When I mean negative I mean the purpose is not to make money through ritual means, to seek for unnecessary protection from perceived enemies or even to get theatrical powers to harm anyone. If these are on the postulant's mind, his membership won't be accepted.


You can access the introductory AMORC pamphlet called "The Mastery of Life" if you want. Just paste your email.

Linqsz:



Ekwuluc@live.com

fratermathy:


Membership is easily done online now. I think the site is http://amorc.org.ng
However you can walk to any affiliated body in the country and get a form freely.

Before you do all that, it is important to be sure that your purpose of joining AMORC is not negative. When I mean negative I mean the purpose is not to make money through ritual means, to seek for unnecessary protection from perceived enemies or even to get theatrical powers to harm anyone. If these are on the postulant's mind, his membership won't be accepted.


You can access the introductory AMORC pamphlet called "The Mastery of Life" if you want. Just paste your email.

naira0:
Let me start by pouring in my encomiums at ur choice of diction. I am indeed awed.

I am a Seventh-day Adventist. I know of a convert who later became a clergyman in my denomination. As a way of encouraging and/or instructing members, the "gullible" ones so to speak who may be easily swayed by doctrines, he always spoke about his stint with AMORC. He confessed that he had risen to the order of the seventh Temple prior to his conversion. He always depicted the AMORC as a cult group and remained grateful to God for giving him deliverance.

Your long epistle so far, aimed at demistifying the impression people have about your group runs contrary to the confession of this revered man of God


Dear OP, are you true to ur promis of being sincere and objective with ur answers on this thread, or are u being economical with truth. I think I will go for the latter. I have sufficient reasons to buttress my choice.

literarymathy:
The remaining 15% have ulterior motives excepting those who left for personal or religious reasons and those ones rarely say things that do not exist.

naira0:



Could you shed more lights on this. Why would some people leave for religious reasons?

omonnakoda:
Two: AMORC Unveiled
http://www.american-buddha.com/cult.prisonersanjosefreeman.2.htm
Before I begin the narrative of my own involvement with AMORC, it is necessary that I acquaint the reader with something of the history of the order. This history is somewhat obscured both by the passage of time but also because of the secrecy that surrounds certain aspects of this story.

The story of AMORC's origins should probably focus mainly on the activities of its founder, Harvey Spencer Lewis, who was born on November 25, 1883, in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Lewis was destined to bring his mastery of American commercial and promotional techniques, derived from his background in advertising, to the popular promotion of a secret esoteric order.

In order to understand the history of AMORC, it is probably valuable to look at one of its predecessors, the Order of the Golden Dawn. This society was formed in 1888, following the alleged acquisition and translation of a peculiarly intriguing document, composed in cipher (or code), by a Dr. William Wynn Westcott, a London coroner.

Before he found the manuscript, Westcott was already a Rosicrucian. In fact, he was the head of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, an English Rosicrucian order.

When Westcott decoded the document, he found it to be fragments of the rituals of a society called the Order of the Golden Dawn. He then approached an associate, Samuel Liddell Mathers (later known to the public as the controversial magician MacGregor Mathers), to expand the fragments into full-blown rituals.

According to the story, Westcott had found a name and address with the manuscript, that of a Fraulein Anna Sprengel. The fraulein was allegedly the head of a German occult group, Die Goldene Dammerung (The Golden Dawn). Westcott, according to the story, asked and received permission to form an English branch of the order.

The story of how Westcott allegedly found the cipher, translated the cipher, went to Mathers to extend the rituals, and got permission to form the order was well-known in the early part of the twentieth century. AMORC founder Harvey Lewis was five years old when the Order of the Golden Dawn was formed, and by the time he went on his search in Europe to authenticate AMORC, the Golden Dawn story was part of occult history.

Another side to this history of the Golden Dawn is that its origins are a matter of dispute among occult historians. In fact, many writers dispute part or all of the story. For instance, some claim that Anna Sprengel conveniently "died" shortly after the English order was formed and therefore could not be reached for verification of the story -- though this was mainly because, according to these scholars, she probably never existed at all.

Others say the Die Goldene Dammerung itself never existed or was actually a pseudonym for another order entirely. The Golden Dawn's origin, although fairly recent in recorded history, remains shrouded in mystery to this day.

It is instructive to compare the founding of the Order of the Golden Dawn and of AMORC. Like Lewis, Westcott and his order were Rosicrucian. In fact, the German order was also said to be Rosicrucian. Westcott's actions to create a new order were allegedly initiated by going to another order and forming a branch, getting permission from an older Rosicrucian order. This mirrors almost exactly the actions of H. Spencer Lewis some two decades later.

It is probable that Lewis did come to know the whole story eventually, although when he started out to develop AMORC, he may only have known certain fragments. In the beginning, he may not have fully understood the problematic characters of the initial contacts he made, people like Aleister Crowley, MacGregor Mathers, or Theodore Reuss.

Still, he knew, like Westcott, that finding or creating an "authentic" history of the order -- a pedigree, if you like -- was essential to establish legitimacy in the public sectors he wanted to reach. After all, the key to the appeal of the Rosicrucians since the Fama Fraternitatis and other seminal seventeenth-century documents, was that this was an organization that had special, secret information that may have been derived from very ancient times.

In its day, before it splintered into many fragments due to internal dissension, the Order of the Golden Dawn had received huge amounts of publicity and the allegiance of many famous celebrities. Despite this massive publicity, the Order of the Golden Dawn was not really an organization that targeted the masses or strove for mass appeal. It was essentially a highly secret occult society.

But, in hindsight, the Golden Dawn story did impact the public. This success may have lent confidence to Lewis as he moved to create strong PR machinery to establish AMORC's authenticity. Lewis knew, great publicist and entrepreneur that he was, that the lineage he needed for his order had to be as bulletproof as possible.

Whatever the real timetable, Lewis probably began as somewhat of a novice. At first, on his path to establishing authenticity for his new order, he encountered and was briefly involved with certain people like Aleister Crowley and Theodore Reuss. He soon found that his new contacts would not be very good shields against negative publicity. In fact, working with them was a liability that could defeat his entrepreneurial interests from the outset.

Harvey Lewis's publicity clearly eclipsed any former attempt to reach the masses, diving into the very heartland of America, as well as the rest of the world.

As a result, "authenticity" became a major key to AMORC's mass appeal, a feather in Lewis's cap of ingenious mass marketing. AMORC's alleged credentials "proved" that it was a virtually perennial spiritual organization whose origins lay in the ancient Egyptian mysteries. AMORC's advertising and its lessons soon suggested that the Rosicrucian order received its authorization to operate by a legitimate confederation of Rosicrucian organizations. This confederation was called FUDOSI, an acronym in French for Federation Universelle des Ordres et Societes Iniciatiques. In English this translates to the Universal Federation of Initiatic Orders and Societies. FUDOSI was represented by the titular heads of various Rosicrucian orders.

Scrutiny of this idea leads to the question: were all of these organizations branches of one monolithic order, or were they separate entities? As you will see, in its presentation, AMORC appears to represent itself as an authentic branch of a monolithic order that hearkens back to the Egyptian mysteries. This perennial order wielded a specific iconic cross demonstrating its authenticity, a golden cross with an enfolded flower blossom. The symbol represented the many incarnations of the adept necessary to reach the level of the rose-croix. The golden cross was the body, while the blossoming flower's petals represented the many incarnations needed to attain spiritual perfection.

FUDOSI, itself, no doubt, was an interesting experiment. According to Milko Bogaard, in an article called "FUDOSI," [1] written for something called the Forum and posted on November 2000, the organization was founded in 1934 "to protect the sacred liturgies, rites, and doctrines of the traditional initiatory orders from being appropriated and profaned by clandestine organizations" (FUDOSI Journal, Nov. 1946) and was dissolved in 1951 under what, according to Bogaard, appears to be a rather unfortunate dispute.

FUDOSI, therefore, was allegedly formed by a confederation of genuine esoteric orders. Its function would be to police the entire world of initiatic organizations. In this manner, it would protect the body of humanity from false prophets and deceiving initiates who would seek to fleece those among the gullible public drawn to this type of scam. These types of scams, undoubtedly, preyed on innocent men and women who had an honest thirst for truth and meaning in their lives.

FUDOSI would eventually be used to help resolve Lewis's search for a pedigree for his organization. But even before it began, Lewis was trying to legitimize his organization. His first attempts revolved around negotiations with Theodore Reuss, a man who became the spiritual head of the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). The OTO was pioneered by Aleister Crowley, the notorious English black magician. Dubbed "The Great Beast" by the press, Crowley had become anathema to the English Order of the Golden Dawn.

Reuss was approached by Lewis, who had become aware of credentials Reuss had supplied to McBlain Thomson, the organizer of several American lodges. At one point, Lewis became nervous about Reuss for various reasons, including the participation of Crowley. Somewhat later, Reuss made a special point of letting Lewis know that he had kicked Crowley out of the OTC.

However, despite this, Lewis decided he was through with Reuss and refused to attend the "Universal Brotherhood Gathering." This international event involved Reuss and was organized by the Fratres Rosae Crucis at Ettal in Bavaria. Lewis's refusal caused a great deal of consternation for Reuss, who wished to understand why he had rejected Reuss's offer of friendship and fraternal brotherhood.

Reuss had a friend, Arnoldo Krumm-Heller, who, in 1935,had his own story to tell about the consequences of Lewis's rejection of Reuss. Krumm-Heller is quoted in an article by P. R. Koenig on the relationship between Harvey Spencer Lewis, Theodore Reuss, Aleister Crowley, and Heinrich Tranker. Writing in his own Rosicrucian magazine, Krumm-Heller says:

Nowadays in all Spencer Lewis's publications -- which I cannot deny have certain merits -- one can see, to speak bluntly, that a good deal is owed to my master, Supreme Magus Peregrinus. His faith in AMORC sustained him in his last years, when I knew him in Germany; AMORC had led him to believe that he would receive five dollars a month from their activities in Spain, since he was starving to death. And no, I am not speaking figuratively: sadly Reuss really was dying of hunger, and the disciple who owed him everything never even bothered to send him a single dollar. Reuss himself told me this on one occasion, weeping bitterly. [2]

It is clear in looking at these strange maneuverings by Lewis, his changing alliances, his entanglement in this strange world of lodges and temples, that the total truth of the origins of AMORC is not and may never be transparent. In truth, any source I cite here may be tainted by various competitive fraternal or occult allegiances. So the story I am telling now indicates most clearly the complexity of what happened and the difficulty of reporting anything objectively in the highly secretive world of esoteric lodges and orders, each having its own special claim to the truth.

Different parties, intrigued by the machinations of initiatic orders of the era, ponder whether the central symbol of AMORC, the lamen, was taken from the OTO or from another more ancient order, whether certain teachings of AMORC were plagiarized or somehow co-opted, and whether certain documents bear Lewis's signature or not. All these arguments rely heavily on Lewis's apparent intent to obtain credibility for his American Rosicrucian venture.

Perhaps the truth will never be known, but someone researching this material will clearly wonder if the cart weren't being put before the horse. Doesn't this struggle of Lewis seem more like a struggle for some kind of commercial approbation of his order by a socially acceptable institution than a personal struggle to appropriate, re-assemble, and propagate whatever valuable truths there might be for struggling humanity?

It's almost like a person more concerned with getting the benefits of a college degree than mastering a certain type of knowledge. But then again, from my point of view, maybe Lewis was more concerned for the appearance of continuity to satisfy a certain commercial objective than with providing an authentic lineage with the Visible and Invisible Masters of the Universe and their sacred mysteries.

Gary Stewart was the imperator chosen by Ralph Lewis as his successor. Owing to a serious internal dispute, which led to litigation, AMORC reorganized, and Gary Stewart formed a separate organization called the Confraternity of the Rose Cross.

Here's what the original third imperator of AMORC has to say about the group's claims to exclusive authenticity, much of which is based on the organization called FUDOSI, which will be discussed in the third chapter:

I think it is a very noble and honorable idea for a group of organizations to come together for the express purpose of quality control in the fields of esotericism, occultism, and mysticism. However, and I'm probably in the minority with this opinion, but I don't think this has ever really been done before. Anytime a group comes together with a stated purpose to protect and promote "authentic" traditions, two things become glaringly apparent to me. First, that there is an assumption that the interested parties are authentic traditions. Whereas their goal would be to examine prospective traditions, not already in their group, and to make an assessment of their findings upon that groups "legitimacy," there was no control in place to measure the founding order's legitimacy. That authenticity was assumed by virtue of founding the overseeing organization. Secondly, it becomes apparent that such an organization must necessarily become exclusive in its nature, which, in my opinion, is fundamentally contrary to the traditional work that we do. By exclusive I do not mean protective of our traditions, which is very important, but rather, closed, and judgmental of another based upon a preconceived and self-serving notion. Unfortunately, it is my opinion, based upon many years of research including discussion with several involved parties that I have come to the opinion that the FUDOSI fell under the latter category. Needless to say, AMORC, and H. Spencer Lewis, was part of the founding structure of the FUDOSI and it is arguably the case that AMORC was the motivator behind its formation for the purposes of:

1. Establishing a dominance in North America and elsewhere for the Rosicrucian work and,

2. An attempt to resolve the Clymer dispute and the many other lawsuits that AMORC was involved in from 1918 until 1939.

The effects of the FUDOSI are many, and there certainly remains a lot of interest in that organization, especially when it comes to the "authentification" issue. What many people don't realize is that there were constant internal disputes between FUDOSI members that culminated in its dissolution in 1951.

fratermathy:


Membership is easily done online now. I think the site is http://amorc.org.ng
However you can walk to any affiliated body in the country and get a form freely.

Before you do all that, it is important to be sure that your purpose of joining AMORC is not negative. When I mean negative I mean the purpose is not to make money through ritual means, to seek for unnecessary protection from perceived enemies or even to get theatrical powers to harm anyone. If these are on the postulant's mind, his membership won't be accepted.


You can access the introductory AMORC pamphlet called "The Mastery of Life" if you want. Just paste your email.

literarymathy:



All these epistles of yours are not new to me. Pierre Freeman is a troubled man desperately in need of fame and attention. Leaving an organisation is one thing. Castigating it and publishing its teachings is another thing. Freeman joined amorc so he can make money & live a better life. On finding out that amorc doesn't give magical wealth, he resorted to using amorc as a point of reference in his money making business. Now let me ask this question, the so-called books he writes against amorc, are they free? He's not worth my words.

omonnakoda:
I do not know anything about him but those who are interested in AMORC would no doubt benefit from reading what he has to say and then form their own judgment. It is interesting that you choose to attack him without addressing the points he raised.I think that is what would be of interest to potential joiners
Is it the case as he claimed that he was a member for 20 years? If he is "troubled" as you say he is one wonders whether that is a consequence of joining AMORC or why AMORC did not help relieve his "troubles" over 20 years. Calling him names changes nothing!!. What people are interested in is SINCERE responses to his allegations. Dismissing them or maligning him quite frankly is an own goal for AMORC .You are telling us to believe it took him over 20 years to find out AMORC does not give magical wealth. ONe wonders WHY DID HE HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT AMORC GIVES MAGICAL WEALTH in the first place

literarymathy:

Why did he have that impression? Same way other have it that amorc is occultic and what not. It's an urban myth. I choose to neglect Freeman because I've seen amorc members of 50years and counting that have made better things with their lives than running invectives. Whatever Freeman must have perceived or seen are his PERSONAL OPINIONS. AMORC doesn't impose anything on members as a long standing member who enjoys FREEDOM, I've never seen or perceived anything that proves Freeman's theory right other than the fact that he is interested in making some measure of fame and money from his bantering. He is not the first person to leave amorc. Have you ever asked why he is so fascinated with an organisation he purportedly left? He didn't even leave for religious reasons like most people. Have you ever wondered why AMORC has IGNORED him all these years? You think we can't drag him to court for defamation of a registered public organisation. However we choose to simply call his acts childish and deny him the satisfaction of our attention. So that's exactly what I'm doing. Whatever you aim to achieve by posting extracts of his book here(which I've read myself and of course, it wasn't free), I refuse to bow to it. I remain resolute that amorc is not by force neither is it a do or die affair. True Rosicrucians find their path. I only created this thread to correct certain misconceptions and to unveil the enigma that's associated with noble organisation. If your purpose is to learn or be corrected as to the true nature of amorc then proceed and ask but if not, I shall not stoop. Believe what you must, it doesn't change the truth!

omonnakoda:
You shall not stoop? You are a dirty monkey. Correct who? GO and correct your father.mannerless cretin

literarymathy:


It is well with you!

omonnakoda:
You shall not stoop? You are a dirty monkey. Correct who? GO and correct your father.mannerless cretin

oshie:


If I post on NL and get dis kain reply, I do one thing. LAFF

Whoever that angers u conquers u.

I have seen people leave AMORC cos they came looking for 2 things; wealth, power to hit back at they feel are their enemies that hinder their progress.

I have equally seen fraters who are receive the Orders teachings and practice what they perceived will be a short cut to get instant result.

Members are at liberty to take the Orders teachings.

The op has done enough justice to this topic. But no matter the amount of light shed on the topic doubts will always be the case of the issue. Some will even feel AMORC has paid the guy for the job. What negative things have not been said about this Order?

AMORC, better experienced than imagined.

I am a Rosicrucian. Currently inactive cos there was a time I couldn't pay for subscription. Once I pay my dues which I look forward to , my monographs will start arriving. It's just like a phone that could no longer browse cos of exhausted sub.

If as close as Thomas was to Jesus he doubted his resurrection.........

omonnakoda:
Regardless of what you say

omonnakoda:
"Whoever angers you conquers you" maybe maybe not. Let's dispense with the "TINNED" knowledge and do some actual thinking. I am a dispassionate ,disinterested inquirer. I came across the San Jose Write up after these AMORC threads were opened. I found the writer to be quite articulate and coherent.Naturally I accept that there are two sides to every story. I expected to hear a reasoned alternative perspective. The first response was of ad hominem. Give him a bad name" he is troubled,he is this he is that. That does not help AMORC's position. Let us deal with the issues he raised
e.g a lack of true fraternity among members
the use of mind control techniques such as are seen in similar organizations (in my opinion) pentecostal churches such as encouraging and overburdening by providing excessively oppressive volumes of reading material thus discouraging any individuality. These among others are his ALLEGATIONS Let us call them that .That is what should be addressed . Whether he is gay, insane or Muslim is irrelevant to me
.
The same thing he accuses AMORC of we see in Nigerian pentecostal churches ,they are very destructive. AMORC needs to respond in a mature way and not with all these empty words. This is not about me so conquering me whatever that means is meaningless

literarymathy:


You seem to be fascinated with mind indoctrination. Maybe you should write a PhD thesis on it or publish a book on it like Pierre Freeman. Besides you keep saying amorc needs to respond as if amorc owes any explanation to anyone concerning anything. Please all that I say here are my personal opinion as a member and do not represent the official stand point of amorc. That noted, I still solidly refuse to argue on whether or not Freeman's mind control hypothesis is altruistic or not. I'm not a psychologist, neither are you or Pierre Freeman. As far as I'm concerned I'm not mind controlled in any way because like I told you, I don't worship amorc. It's just like a school to me. Sometimes I go for weeks without reading Monographs. Sometimes I go for months without making reference to AMORC in anyway. If I was mind controlled, I would not do that now would I? That said, this issue of mind control should be left for the professionals because I can also argue that you are being mind controlled by Freeman. It goes both ways.
You've made your point, I refute them categorically. If you are out for something else more personal then please write a mail to amorc at info@amorc.org. Thank you.

oshie:
I am certain that not even the statOrderents of the OP or contributions of anyone on this thread is an official statement from AMORC.

contributions coming in here from those who identified themselves as FRC's are their personal opinions based on their respective experiences with the order

Conversely doubts raised by contributors here are based on their perception of AMORC. Mainly from all they have heard and made to believe.

Truth remains absolute and not relative

If am putting on a red shirt and you are swearing with ur life that am putting on a white shirt can never make my red shirt to be white .

If a child is born in Aghfanistan or Iraq, how do u think he will perceive Christianity as religion? or most people here and their perception of Hinduism practiced in India.

Do we know that the white missionaries accommodated Rosicrucians to be meeting within the church premises when the order was young in Nigeria? Rosicrucians were meeting at a church near Ogbete Enugu before securing a site at PH express, Enugu.

On lack of fraternity among members. that is why the order is not a religion. What members does is his or her own cup of tea. A christian, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist receives the same teachings from the university of life called AMORC. How they understand and apply the gained knowledge is up to them. Man is always at his liberty. ...

On what penticostals say about the Order, does it make the Order not to be the Order. Note that what I say of u and what you are are 2 different things except if am white and u say am white

omonnakoda:
You seem to be fascinated with me. Leave me out of it and deal with the ISSUES.I see a pattern here rather than dealing with issues you focus on individuals. I am just an anonymous ID on an internet chat room .You do not need to respond to me direct them to the room and leave me out of it .Just address the issues Mr Freeman raises. I do not have a bias but they certainly demand a response.once again deal with the issues that were raised . I am not interested in you or your biography either.You do not have to direct any response at me. Your remark about being mind controlled is not funny .It is quite idiotic. I found some information in the public domain and put it here. Did I endorse it ? All I am asking for is a response. I adjure you to do that and leave me out of it

literarymathy:


Spoken like a true philosopher that you are. Well said frater. I always appreciate your point of view. It shows the world that we are individuals with different minds and connected mainly by our degree or elevated thought.






Far from being fascinated with you, I am trying to prove a point to you as a person and as a researcher. If Harvard University has a curriculum that someone doesn't like, the person doesn't mate out such indignant skepticism on the student of Harvard but rather on the administration itself. As a student, you pay to me active in AMORC. All I've been saying here are all borne out of my experiences and that of others in the order whom I've come into contact with. I don't represent amorc in anyway. Heck, no one in AMORC administrative cadre even knows me. So you see, you so-called 'Pierrian' "ISSUES" should be addressed appropriately. Personally, I still feel these so called 'issues' are merely a product of an aggrieved man. Aggrieved by the lack of a reality to make his eldorado. I cannot pretend to be Amorc personified and treat issues that other amorc can handle satisfactorily. I am and will only ever be a student of a path being midwifed by AMORC. What I opened this thread to do is to correct MISCONCEPTIONS and ANSWER GENERAL SKEPTICAL QUESTIONS as expected from the average Nigerian. So far, I think I've achieved a lot because this thread will be here for posterity's sake.
Reading between the lines now, if you think I've attacked your person verbally in any way, I appeal to retract such attack. None was meant or premeditated. I also forgive you for some statement you've made about me. We can only ever be humans aspiring to do all good. That said, I hope you take up these fascinating Pierrian issues of yours, which of course I categorically refute, to the right channels. Above all, I wish you peace Profound and thank you for joining me in enlightening others so far and the many more we shall.

omonnakoda:
You talk too much mostly empty words. Deal with the issues and if you cannot let us leave it