A Christian lady wrote to me after the post about the late John Todd went up, pointing me to an Answers.com page that states Raymond Buckland held a doctorate in anthropology (from King’s College, Cambridge), negating my statement that Buckland was not an anthropologist.
But it’s a good question: Did Raymond Buckland have a doctorate in anthropology? Or anything else, for that matter?
That’s not easy to determine. This site and many others state he earned his anthropology doctorate at Brantridge Forest College, Sussex. Brantridge is a diploma mill.
Other sources state Buckland studied at King’s College in London, or King’s College School in Wimbledon. The latter seems more likely. At any rate, either school could easily be confused for the King’s College at Cambridge. Someone who believed that Buckland studied at a King’s College and that he earned a doctorate in anthropology might have smooshed the two notions together.
The bottom line is, though, that no sources other than the Answers.com page mention Buckland having a degree from any school affiliated with Cambridge. If he did possess a doctorate, it’s odd that he chose to work in a menial job at British Airways for most of his career.
This is all quite interesting to me, but it will have to be sorted out at another time or by someone else. Needless to say, Wiccans are just as prone to falsely claiming degrees as anyone else. Gerald Gardiner was fond of saying he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Singapore in 1934, which has never been confirmed.
The woman also wrote: “John Todd is the real thing and as time goes on, things he said will be found to be true.” She urged me to forgive Todd, as God has done.
Let me get this straight: I am not in the position of judging John Todd, or anyone else, as a man. I can’t say boo about the state of his departed soul or his karma or whatever. I can only look at the statements he made as a living entity, compare them to the available facts, and let you do whatever you want to do with that. If you think Todd was a jerk, that’s fine. If you think he was a saintly sinner, fine. This blog is not here to hand you an opinion, it’s here to inform and amuse you in such a way that, hopefully, you’ll be inspired to dig into the facts yourself and form your own opinions.
Swallowing The Camel 
That John Todd was "The real thing" seems so unlikely to this Evangelical pastor that I would caution against believing his story. Perhaps he did dabble in the occult, but the actual story, given the time available for it to have taken place, is highly suspect.
An Evangelical pastor questioning the ‘Illuminati’ belief and looks at the story of ol’ Johnny Todd for answers is not a faith-based pastor but more of a superstitious one. Who gave you the moral authority to caution against this story? Some of the claims from John Todd are in fact, coming true to this day. Some of the plans he spoke about are perhaps outdated but the overall plan is exactly the same. A race baited-Martial law, Christian internment, WWIII centered around Jerusalem. I cannot speak on all of his statements to be true, other than my comparisons to the books of Revelations and Daniel concerning the End Times. Other than that, I know this world is run by evil.. The Bible told you so.
No, not even close. Put your crazy back in its box.
I agree, this doesn't change anything. The argument never rested on Raymond Buckland not knowing anything about anthropology. Like you said, the claim was that he was a Professor at Cambridge, hand picked by the Rothschilds. That part is clearly a lie so really, the man actually having a degree is totally besides the point. Nitpicking a totally inconsequential detail hardly derails your argument!Even there I have to say, Answers.com is hardly the Encyclopedia Britannica…
I still very much doubt that Philippe de Rothschild was dating Ayn Rand. I mean I've seen pictures of them both, and…well…to be unkind for a moment, I know perfectly well that Phil could do a lot better. Also, Atlas Shrugged as a Communist manifesto? Srsly?
Atlas Shrugged as a Communist manifesto? Srsly?
"John Todd is the real thing and as time goes on, things he said will be found to be true."John Todd is the real…what?The real Witch? Not according to Isaac Bonewitz & Gavin Frost, who were two of the most highly regarded practitioners of Wicca/witchcraft in their day. They investigated Todd, while he was supposedly teaching witchcraft, and determined that his teachings and behaviour were not representative of any known Wiccan tradition.The real Christian? I don't think many Christians today believe Todd's professions of Christian faith to be sincere.The real sex offender? Court records demonstrate he was that…The real liar? Again, contradictions between official records of his life history & the stories he told about himself, demonstrate he was that…
The "as time goes on" part confuses me. He didn't really make any long-term predictions. The Commie/Satanic takeover was supposed to happen in the '80s, and that was as far as he went. Everything else he said has either been discredited, or didn't make any sense in the first place.
It's apparently possible to find all higher degree theses submitted in Britain and Ireland since 1716 at http://www.theses.com/
I am now seriously considering getting my hands on a Dennis Wheatley novel or two and comparing them with Audrey Harper and Doreen Irvine's books. I have a feeling it will be interesting to note the similarities, just as it is interesting to note how 'Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk' follows the pattern of a Gothic novel. In fact, having read 'Maria Monk' once (interestingly in an edition where it was bound up with an admitted novel that is very similar), I'd say Harper and Irvine both have definite similarities with the older anti-Romanist scare literature.
I think there is certainly a direct link between the anti-Catholic literature of the last two centuries and the SRA accounts of today. Fear and blame has simply shifted to Satanists, witches, Pagans, and other "heretics" because Catholics are no longer valid targets of conspiracy theorizing in mainstream Protestantism. A fresh scapegoat had to be found. Sadly, though, the Maria Monk hoax still hasn't died. New Age guru Michael Tsarion, for one, still quotes from the book and cites it as a reliable source about what Catholics do!
In my opinion one and all should browse on it.
Come on John Todd is just another ignorant with silly ideas.
I think you meant Gerald Gardner, not Gerald Gardiner.
Answers.com is not reliable anyways so she is the liar.