After being asked to leave The Gnostic Movement, but just months before making her allegations on the smear campaign, the person on this site referred to as Barbara (who along with her now husband “Vernon” initiated the smear campaign) made a number of posts on the forums of on an anti-cult website (which notoriously harbors outright false and negative opinions and whose ringleader is linked to criminal activity) in defense of The Gnostic Movement and Mark Pritchard, in complete contradiction to the claims she later made. She made these posts AFTER most of the events which she makes allegations about took place. Here are a selection of her statements, some of which are still online today.
CULT
Barbara alleges that The Gnostic Movement is a “cult,” yet she stated in an email before being asked to leave the organization:
“I have never said or thought that The Gnostic Movement is a cult and I definitely do not think this.”
Whilst on the smear campaign, Barbara simultaneously called The Gnostic Movement a “cult” and posted her resume online, including in her listed experience: “5-years experience teaching self-improvement classes to adults,” which refers to her time as a teacher of The Gnostic Movement.
LIFE CHANGES
Barbara alleges that The Gnostic Movement nearly destroyed her life, yet she states:
“Before this I had been walking down a fairly destructive path and Gnosis helped me to make some fairly significant changes in my life.” And “Gnosis enabled me to break out of a life of depression, anxiety, drugs and eating disorders and to experience something much greater in life. So despite the fact that I am no longer part of it, I can only be thankful for what it gave me.”
EXPERIENCE WITH THE GNOSTIC MOVEMENT
Barbara alleges that she had a negative experience with The Gnostic Movement, yet she states:
“I did not have a negative experience with the movement and I still value what they teach,” And “I have no intention to try to convince anyone of my own views. My reason for posting is simply to show anyone hearing about the gnostic movement for the first time, that not everyone has had the experiences you speak of, and I and many others that I personally know or knew, have only ever had a positive experience, regardless of whether they have left in the end or not. And, “During my time in Gnosis and in the process to become a teacher I didn’t in any way experience the things that are mentioned here about abuse, emotional battery and social control. All I was shown was encouragement and support.”
SPIRITUAL TEACHER, MARK PRITCHARD
Barbara makes a number of allegations against Mark Pritchard, yet she states:
“For example, some here believe that Mark is someone evil and abusive, but this is put forward by people who have not even met him. I, and a good friend of mine, who is also no longer in the Movement, have met Mark on a number of occasions. He is nothing like how you describe. From both of our experience, we only found him to be someone sincere, honest and caring and a teacher who from what I have seen, teaches from the heart and with a lot of experience behind him.”
DONATIONS
Barbara alleges that The Gnostic Movement uses donations improperly, yet she states:
“He [Mark] doesn’t live off donations that go into the organisation as it is said here. Several years ago I used to be the treasurer of the organisation and everything was always done by the books and by the law. No-one profits, all courses are free, everyone who works there works as a volunteer.”
PRACTITIONERS
Barbara makes a series of allegations against the practitioners of The Gnostic Movement, yet she states:
“My experience with the Gnostic Movement showed me that there are genuine, sincere people there who all they are trying to do is change and improve themselves, whether someone agree with the teachings or not – which is something different. It is a shame that in this thread hatred and anger is being spread, which is the opposite of spirituality.”
CEASING PARTICIPATION IN THE ORGANIZATION
Barbara alleges that people are somehow controlled to keep attending what the organization provides, yet she states:
“Quite a few of the people that were in my class stopped coming along after a while and others continued on. It is like anything that requires effort – some are willing to put in that effort, others are not, some lose motivation, some don’t agree with the teaching or don’t want to abandon beliefs they hold to be true, and there are others, like me, who see the value of Gnosis and who want to change and improve themselves but who hit a stumbling block somewhere along the way.”
PERCEPTION OF THOSE WHO CEASE ATTENDING
Barbara alleges that people who leave The Gnostic Movement are seen negatively, yet she states:
“It was seen as something quite normal for people to come and go and I didn’t think of those people that left as being negative or evil. Of course it is up to each person how they are going to look at you when you are not part of the organisation anymore and maybe what you say could be the case for a few people, but that it is up to the individual and their understanding.” And, “I have maintained a good relationship and friendships with people from The Gnostic Movement even though I am no longer part of it.”
UP NEXT -> Smear campaigners involvement in scam and pyramid scheme
The list of contradictions is amazing, although no doubt some will attempt to publicly dismiss all this as stuff said while under the influence of “the cult”… Common sense tells me however that such intense contradictions are not the norm, and that something gives – either some dishonesty occurred prior to the smear campaign, or the things stated in the smear campaign are dishonest. Either way, I think this sets the record straight on the values of integrity of those behind the smear campaign.
I don’t think she could claim that she was under any bad influence when she was writing this posting because she doesn’t only write about how she felt but also about what she saw and experienced. Her positive experiences.
This posting reveals even more the absurdity and maliciousness of her campaign.
Truly thankful to those who are presenting the facts for everyone to see.
Barbara’s statements shown here are more true to her character then her Smearing allegations. These statements are the Barbara that I knew and befriended for over 4 years.
It’s a very ironic case and as Christos said it does reveal even more the absurdity and maliciousness of her campaign against verifiably innocent people, including a person she found “to be someone sincere, honest and caring “
There are far too many contradictions for them to be dismissed so easily. Goes to show how Barbara’s statements are weak testiments which could only be held up for so long.. until like a gust of wind, the true reality now blows the entire fantasy away.
Being around both Barbara and Vernon during a good portion of their time when they left the Gnostic Movement, living with them for some months whilst they were still in the Movement and some time after, I remember many conversations which described positive moments in the different centers they were both part of. It was very clear to me that Barbara’s personal journey to set up a group in the UK was very meaningful for her, and many times she related how strengthening and rewarding it had been for her. After seeing her being rejected from the Gnostic Movement and wanting only to return, people around her only sent encouragement and support from what I could see in the UK. She herself explained to me in an email that both her and Vernon were greatful for the support I gave to them during this period. Later on however, as time passed, I could see them both becoming hostile themselves, paranoid, and demanding of information whether it was about the group or if we had any other information, so to me, in contradiction of Barbara and Vernon’s own commentary of who was negative, it seems that they were much of the source of negativity in those last days before their ultimate outburst of mass emails and the launch of their campaign to smear Belzebuub, his teachings and The Gnostic Movement.
Interestingly though, from what I have seen, the community in London was growing and trying the best they could to promote the spiritual teachings of Gnosis, and not a single person was influenced by their strange stories of negativity against The Gnostic Movement to end up having the same views as Barbara or Vernon. In fact in many ways, only good has come out of it, and spirituality spread out even more from the small group that was once formed in London. It’s ironic that those closest to them were not influenced, yet perhaps those who were not so close, but in different countries, perhaps only communicating with Barbara or Vernon via email, skype, or occasional encounters, were only getting one side of the story carefully elaborated to suit the way they wanted the tale to unfold, which was not matching to the one that evolved infrount of those who were around them in London.
I can imagine the ordeal which took place to bring the truth out here. It means a lot to me, to see this website bringing what is right to the foreground. I can see how important it is for light and truth to be fought for and to expose it for the sake of truth in the world. Thank you to all who have felt this and keep bringing the truth to the surface.
This is quite revealing, thanks so much for posting it here.