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Tobias Churton

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Tobias Churton (born 1960) is a British scholar of Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Gnosticism,[1] and other esoteric movements. He has a Master's degree in Theology from Brasenose College, Oxford. He is the author of Gnostic Philosophy, The Magus of Freemasonry, and Freemasonry and other works on esotericism.

Churton has made several television programmes, including Gnostics, a four-part drama-documentary series made for Channel 4 (UK) by Border TV (together with an accompanying book) which was broadcast in 1987 and repeated in 1990.[2][3] Churton's studies include critique of heresiologists' perceptions on the role of women in these "unorthodox" Christian movements.[4]

He has also written about Elias Ashmole, and Rosicrucianism.[5][6]

Churton's biography of Aleister Crowley was released in 2011. Subsequently, he has published four more biographical volumes on Crowley - The Beast in Berlin, Aleister Crowley in America, Aleister Crowley in India, and Aleister Crowley in England: The Return of the Great Beast, the last biography being due for release on 7 December 2021.

References

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  1. ^ Ardinger, Barbara (2007). Pagan Every Day: Finding the Extraordinary in Our Ordinary Lives. p. 180. As we know from the work of Elaine Pagels, Tobias Churton, and other scholars, Gnosticism was a major competitor to Christianity[full citation needed]
  2. ^ Gadelica, C. (2008). "Recent and Upcoming Conferences". Aries. Tobias Churton has made several television programs including the award-winning GNOSTICS series accompanied by the book The Gnostics (1987). He has since published further ...
  3. ^ Goodacre, M. (2013). "How Reliable is the Story of the Nag Hammadi Discovery?". Journal for the Study of the New Testament. 35 (4): 303–322. doi:10.1177/0142064X13482243. ... if not for the fact that a television crew followed in Robinson's footsteps a decade later, for a Channel 4 (UK) documentary series that aired in 1987, The Gnostics, in which Muhammad ...
  4. ^ Powell, W. E. (2004). "A Very American Jihad: Our Barely Civil War". The Journal of Families in Society (Editorial). ... The English scholar Tobias Churton (1997, p. 59) noted that in the politics of the Christian Church 1700 years ago, 'Whenever there is a deviation from a [desired] societal norm there appears to be a mechanism within the detractor's minds which immediately conjures up images of sexual perversion— especially when those movements are favorable to women ...'
  5. ^ Stewart, Trevor, ed. (2006). Freemasonry and Religion: Many Faiths, One Brotherhood. Transactions of the Sixth International Conference, 6 & 7 November 2004. United Kingdom: Canonbury Masonic Research Centre. ISBN 978-0954349820.
  6. ^ Chaitow, S. (2009). Gilbert, Robert A. (ed.). "Seeking the Light: Freemasonry and Initiatic Traditions". Journal for Research into Freemasonry. ... Tobias Churton's concise overview of the major figures and events of the Rosicrucian current offers a lively interpretation of their intentions, providing useful insight and pointing out the tragic irony that these same figures 'never wished their conception to devolve into some kind ...
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