Robert Earl Burton and The Fellowship of Friends: June 1977

Introduction

Robert Earl Burton founded The Fellowship of Friends in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1970. Burton modeled his own group after that of Alex Horn, loosely borrowing from the Fourth Way teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. In recent years, the Fellowship has cast its net more broadly, embracing any spiritual tradition that includes (or can be interpreted to include) the notion of "presence."

The Fellowship of Friends exhibits the hallmarks of a "doomsday religious cult," wherein Burton exercises absolute authority, and demands loyalty and obedience. He warns that his is the only path to consciousness and eternal life. Invoking his gift of prophecy, he has over the years prepared his flock for great calamities (e.g. a depression in 1984, the fall of California in 1998, nuclear holocaust in 2006, and most recently the October 2018 "Fall of California Redux.")

According to Burton, Armageddon still looms in our future and when it finally arrives, non-believers shall perish while, through the direct intervention and guidance from 44 angels (recently expanded to 81 angels, including himself and his divine father, Leonardo da Vinci), Burton and his followers shall be spared, founding a new and more perfect civilization. Read more about the blog.

Presented in a reverse chronology, the Fellowship's history may be navigated via the "Blog Archive" located in the sidebar below.

Thursday, June 30, 1977

June 1977 Notes

"Mount Carmel Journal", June 6, 1977

The desire for a relationship can be a strong force in the lives of students in the the Outer Circle. - The Teacher

Policy for those who are behind on payments ("donations") and are given a "payment schedule" to make up for "payments in arrears" (otherwise known as a "debt to The Fellowship of Friends.")

Failing to adhere to the payment schedule could result in the member being asked to leave the school.

They would then be required to make a $2,000 payment to re-enter The Fellowship.

They are also forbidden to attend Fellowship of Friends meetings and functions (even those occurring in their own "teaching houses") until they are within six weeks of being "current" in their payments ("donations") to The Fellowship.