Rubbishy Books

Is it easy to cheat?

Judge for yourself. Visit a bookshop. Look around the one where you came across this volume. Do you not see how much pretentious rubbish there is in the Occult Section? Oh, do not mistake my motive. I do not begrudge any author his hard-earned bread, but I am appalled by the ones who are so ready to mislead the gullible public.

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Is there a demand for such stuff?

Clearly, there is, but that does not justify our supplying it. If it were physical hunger, would we approve of selling "food" that had no nutritious value? When there is a famine in Africa, would we be justified in sending them cardboard chickens or diseased carcases? Yes, people are spiritually starving, but this places a responsibility on the rest of us to offer what is wholesome and good. We should not just see it as an opportunity to cash in by selling them spurious goods.

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You sound pretty strong about this.

Can you imagine how a qualified medical practitioner feels when one of his patients, who is suffering from a dreadful and incurable disease, asks his advice about aromatherapy, or Amazonian dandelions, or powder from some sacred site in the Himalayas? Yes, yes, yes, I accept that miracles can and do happen, but I do not think anything we do is likely to make them happen more frequently or for our personal convenience. In any case, prayer is one thing, desperation is another, and exploitation of the vulnerable is a third.

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Are you against books that deal with wonders?

Unlike the government, or the Royal Family, God does not need spin-doctors, PR managers or press secretaries. Neither does the divine require us to roll out a red carpet, fill in forms, or make special arrangements with the local police. Be very, very cautious as regards any ideas that are proposed because "they could very well be this" or "no one can prove it isn't that". Suggestion is not proof. Evidence alone does not amount to proof. All that is shown in so many "occult" books is fertile, creative imagination of the type quite close to science fiction.

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Are you just an old misery-guts?

No, but even if I were, such name-calling does not address the criticism I make. Please note that I do not denounce Clive Barker, Terry Pratchett, or anyone who writes fantasy fiction. I am only attacking the people who pass their own invention off as spiritual truth. They do a great disservice to their fellow man and they risk the wrath of the gods.

The public never asks the obvious questions: how did this chap become a paperback prophet? How did that one stumble on the jewelled scrolls? Or how did another manage to interpret the language? How does it come about that respectable scholars have never heard of these items? How can the whole world have missed it for so long? What marvels! But whether they got their inspiration from aliens, angels or just a fevered imagination ... you can take your pick as long as you pay your money.

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What about 'The Book of Desolation' ?

You have not read it. You cannot get a copy. The only person who has seen it is a young man who works in a London bookshop, and he voiced a special interest. There has been no publicity, no extracts, no serialisation, and no one is turning it into a film. I have mentioned it in one of my books but apart from that, it might just as well not exist. So, come on! Do not pretend I am a hypocrite.

Aleister hid this book all his life. During fifty years that it has been in my possession, I have not revealed it. True, it burns in my mind like a beacon atop a sacred mountain, but I am not exploiting it. When I do cash in, then you may sling mud and call names, but not before.

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