This post is part of a series refuting false allegations made as part of a dedicated smear campaign against The Gnostic Movement and its spiritual teacher, Mark H Pritchard. To go to the main page on rebuffing the false allegations click here, or read the background to the smear campaign see here.

Wages Only for US Mission

It’s alleged that Mark Pritchard and Edith are using funds of The Gnostic Movement to pay themselves wages and that the money is taken from funds were not donated for that purpose, but this is a complete lie. They must have wages to do a mission in the United States. They cannot perform the mission without it, however, every dollar they receive in wages is money that would have been given to them as donations, but is given instead to their wages specifically for that purpose. Not a single dollar has been taken from elsewhere and their wages are set at just above the United States poverty level. All of this is supported with documented evidence.

Teachings Given for Free

It is also alleged that Mark personally profits from the sale of his teachings – this is another total lie. All of Mark Pritchard’s teachings are provided free of charge, except for printed books, which were sold by Absolute Publishing Press. Neither Mark nor Edith hold any positions in Absolute Publishing Press – it is independently run by volunteers, who are also unpaid. It operates using a company structure as research showed that this was the best structure for working in the book marketplace, however in practice it runs like a non-profit as no profits are paid to any person. All revenue made from book sales is put solely toward operating costs and printing more books. There is a signed author contract in place that states that Mark Pritchard will not receive any royalties from the sale of his books. In fact, as a small independent publisher struggling to survive in the commercial marketplace, Absolute Publishing Press has barely ever been able to cover even its basic costs. Again, this is all documented.

No Personal Benefit

Mark Pritchard does not and has never inured private benefit from The Gnostic Movement or The Belzebuub Foundation (also documented). Like representatives of other religions he does accept donations given to him directly, but only if they are explicitly donated to him and specified by the donor for him. These donations cover the expense of living so that he can dedicate himself to writing and teaching full-time. And no one is asked or in any way coerced to give donations. If people would like to give, they do so by simply visiting his website and choosing to use the Paypal donate function.

Some accusers have attempted to portray Mark as living in some kind of luxury – again this is another lie. In reality, he has spent his time living in conditions that range from basic to dangerous. As an example of the misleading information on the campaign, it was said he was living in a luxury home, with a fenced yard next to a government park. In reality, it was an ordinary house in a poor state of maintenance, the owners were old and had just died, it had a yard fenced on just 2 sides, the park was a 35 minute walk away, it was next to a busy and noisy road, and was the sole house located amongst unemployed apartments where there were drugs, crime, and regular shootings. That was the most adequate building he has lived in – the rest of his accommodation has been a tiny apartment; a small cabin that had leaks, vermin, and was unfit for human habitation; a damp, moldy terraced house undergoing substantial repairs; a falling down converted garage; and a building site. He drives a 17 year-old car, lives a very basic life and always has done so. He lives to help others in their spiritual development and has given more to that cause than he has used for his own sustenance.

False Claim About Ebay

Absurd claims that Mark has “cheated” on Ebay have been made in a rant on the smear campaign’s hate site by Vernon (Barbara’s now husband).

Mark had actually asked Barbara for advice on how to sell on eBay as he was unfamiliar with it. Looking through email evidence, it was discovered that this claim was actually based on a suggestion Barbara herself had made in emails to Mark, that he should bid on an item he was selling saying, “you may want to come online to outbid if you are not happy with the price,” and “It may be worth putting a bid to get it going.” This was then used to accuse Mark on the hate site of “shill bidding” which by definition is bidding to increase the price/desirability of an item, not to simply outbid the item to take it offline or to start the process of bidding itself. They then used this claim to compare Mark to some of the largest and most notorious shill bidders who have been prosecuted and fined tens of thousands of dollars. This is just another example of how claims against Mark are created out of nothing and then used to make outrageous allegations that are simply not true.

Vernon also claims that Mark had asked Barbara to leave buyer feedback on his seller account, as something illegitimate – but by then Barbara had bought and sold items for and from Mark.

Again, under the guise of anonymity, Barbara and Vernon have attempted to use anything they can to make harmful claims about Mark – even in this case, going to the lengths of Vernon making claims that would condemn his own wife’s documented suggestions, and both taking part in publishing them on the hate site they instigated.