Robert Heinlein as Thelemite.

Whence Came the Stranger: [...]Adam Walks Between Worlds:

"How does a highly respected, conservative, commercial author of primarily juvenile science fiction come to write a heretical parable concerning, among other things, sexual freedom and responsibility, anti-Christianity, anti-patriotism, and applied cultural relativism? And, how does such a parable emerge from 'sleeper' status in science fiction circles to become a major classic best-seller of 20th century literature? How do entire religions coalesce from 'a mere work of fiction' -- the Holy Bible notwithstanding? What was the inspiration for so bold a stroke? What were you thinking, Mr. Heinlein?

The premise of this article is that Heinlein wrote Stranger as an allegorical recapitulation of Thelema. (The word Thelema is Greek for 'Great Will' and refers to the body of philosophy and magickal practices codified by the late Aleister Crowley and continued by many.) This article details Heinlein's magickal interests, his relationships with the most famous of Crowley's American disciples, and his many coded references to Thelema in Stranger and other written works. Moreover, we will establish that Heinlein wrote Stranger with the intent of initiating a Thelemic 'whole systems transition' in human thought and expression. This means that Stranger cannot be regarded merely as the work of a master storyteller, the product of a literary genius. Rather, Stranger is much better understood as a consciously wrought, carefully considered and brilliantly successful casting -- a talismanic spell in itself, still dynamic, with its direct purpose being to spark human evolution along Thelemic lines. This is our hypothesis."