Serious theological ? re Thelema; no flame warring allowed

[LauraLinnShulsey]

Of course she is Thelema.

Here are some things I have found:

The second precept of Thelema is "Love is the law, love under will" — and Crowley's meaning of "Love" is as complex as that of "Will". It is frequently sexual: Crowley's system, like elements of the Golden Dawn before him, sees the dichotomy and tension between the male and female as fundamental to existence, and sexual "magick" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual. However, Love is also discussed as the Union of Opposites, which Crowley thought was the key to enlightenment.

She also keeps talking about the Equinox and that was the name of Crowley's magazine.

[sororyzbl]

Of course she is Thelema.

Here are some things I have found:

The second precept of Thelema is "Love is the law, love under will" — and Crowley's meaning of "Love" is as complex as that of "Will". It is frequently sexual: Crowley's system, like elements of the Golden Dawn before him, sees the dichotomy and tension between the male and female as fundamental to existence, and sexual "magick" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual. However, Love is also discussed as the Union of Opposites, which Crowley thought was the key to enlightenment.

She also keeps talking about the Equinox and that was the name of Crowley's magazine.

I'm sorry that's incorrect. But we have some wonderful parting gifts for you!

[Kasdeja]

I think some have missed the five thousand posts discussing why it's not Thelema...but probably a fictional religion with aspects of Thelema and many other religions.

[emosux]

For example, as far as I know there's no example of any human society anywhere that embraced the idea of murder as an ok thing.

Then how do we account for wars, which--essentially--are socially-acceptable killing sprees? It's still the taking of human life, and one social group consistently finds it acceptable to eliminate members of another, for various reasons. An example would be Islamic extremists finding it acceptable to kill those of other faiths...so, again, we're facing a question of cultural influence.

I suppose I shall simply suggest that we agree to disagree.

I've been lurking on these forums for a while, but after seeing this post I couldn't resist posting!

I'm a political science major (unfortunately), and I have a story for you.

Way back in the days of WWI, military boot camps were just about the same as they are now in the US; most of the soldiers weren't experienced with guns, so they did a lot of target practice. They shot at larger versions of dart boards; a board with concentric circles on it. When they actually went to war, the US sure was surprised, because wow! Only about 30% of the Americans in WWI fired their guns.

So the government set out to solve this. Their solution? Instead of shooting at bigger dart boards, they were to shoot at silhouettes of human beings.

85% of American soldiers who fought in WWII fired their guns.

It's called "dehumanization," and the US is very, very good at it. Instead of viewing war as a "mass murder spree" and whatnot, it's seen as, essentially, a game. Another example: If you look at WWII propaganda (posters easily found on google ), Japanese people were depicted as monkeys and brainless monsters who were trained to kill from birth. Even your example of the Islam militarist is a result of the gradual, subtle dehumanization of Muslims in the media after 9/11. I'm not saying it's not a good example, but the fact that it came to mind so quickly is pretty indicative.

Another method for justifying war is the glorification of the self; the Japanese in WWII, for their part, participated in this. It's called the "rally-around-the-flag" effect; portray your nation as all-powerful and grand and leader of the world, prove this power, and your people will centralize and become intensely nationalist, if only for a short period of time. There are COUNTLESS examples of this, and of governments using it as a distraction policy. The example of the Islam extremist fits into this category; in his eyes, he was being a martyr for his religion and his country. The point is, you start subconsciously placing yourself in a position higher up than other human beings (whether they are from other countries, of another race or religion, or any difference, really) and they basically start to matter less.

This is really irrelevant, it's just some information I thought you'd be interested in knowing. And no, I'm not a Creator, so don't ask! :p