Anti-Masonry has a history dating to the early eighteenth century in
London, England. Anti-Masonic thought can be grouped into two broad
categories: accusations of anti-Christian or Satanic objectives and
accusations of political and social manipulation. Both of these
categories rely on fraud, unsubstantiated paranoia, historical
hoaxes, logical fallacy, and often the writings of the anti-mason,
John Robison; the fraud, Leo Taxil; and the often misquoted Masonic
author, Albert Pike. Contemporary anti-masons such as William
Cooper, Jim Shaw (d. 1997), Jack T. Chick, and Pat Robertson also
rely heavily on their own imaginations.
1. Who
are the Illuminati?
An
undocumented, unconfirmed and undefined group with the alleged goal
of world domination. Much fiction has been written on the topic.
Although the subject of speculation, there is no documentation of
any active and effective group currently using the name. See
Bavarian Illuminati.
_______________
Albert G. Mackey. "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry". Macoy Publishing:
1966. Virginia [p.237]
2.
Does the Trilateral Commission control the Freemasons?
No, and
before you ask, the Freemasons don't control the Trilateral
Commission either. There are some 423 influential think tanks around
the world; the Trilateral Commission is one.
3. Who
are the Trilateral Commission?
Launched
in 1973, the European Union, North America (the United States and
Canada), and Japan---the three main democratic industrialized areas
of the world---form the three sides of the Trilateral Commission.
The Commission's members are about 330 distinguished citizens, with
a variety of leadership responsibilities in business, politics
(except for government positions), academia, and the media.
The full
Commission gathers once each year: the 1995 meeting was in
Copenhagen, the 1996 meeting in Vancouver, and the 1997 meeting was
in Tokyo. In addition to special topical sessions and reviews of
current developments in the regions, a portion of each annual
meeting is devoted to consideration of draft reports to the
Commission. These reports are generally the joint product of authors
from each region, who draw on a range of consultants in the course
of their work. Publication follows discussion in the Commission's
annual meeting. The authors are solely responsible for their final
text. The 1994/1995 report, titled Engaging Russia, focused on our
future Trilateral relations with Russia. The 1995/1996 reports were
devoted to Maintaining Energy Security in a Global Context and to
Globalization and Trilateral Labor Markets: Evidence & Implications.
The task forces reported at the spring 1997 meeting in Tokyo,
focusing on developments and future prospects of the Asia Pacific
community as well as on a reassessment of trilateral cooperation,
i.e., on the management of the international system in the next
decade. A separate publication contains the principal presentations
at the annual meeting.
The
Commission has three permanent regional offices in New York, Tokyo,
and Paris.
Japanese
Chairman:
Yotaro Kobayashi
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
North
American Chairman :
Paul A. Volcker
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
James D. Wolfensohn Inc.,
New York;
Further
information and a list of Trilateral Commission publications can be
found at: http://www.jcie.or.jp/thinknet/tc/tc_contents.html
4. Who
are the Bilderburgers?
A creation
of M. W. Cooper who also reprinted the well known hoax the
"Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and stories of an ongoing
invasion of aliens from outer space, as fact. Three quotes from his
book, "The Secret Government" follow: "Throughout our history, the
Aliens have manipulated and controlled the human race through
various secret societies, religions, Satanic cults, witchcraft and
occult movements." "The headquarters of the international conspiracy
is in Geneva, Switzerland. The ruling body is made up of
representatives of the Governments involved as well as the Executive
members of the group known as the 'Bilderburgers'." "The Council on
Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and their foreign
counterparts report to the 'Bilderburgers' society."
Mr.
Cooper's writings are, in the main, fiction.
THE SECRET GOVERNMENT
The Origin, Identity, and Purpose of MJ-12
By Milton William Cooper
May 23, 1989
This
fictional creation is not to be confused with the Bilderberg
Conference. Started by Prince Bernhard in Oosterbeek, Netherlands in
1954, it is an annual three-day conference attended by a changing
delegation of some 100 bankers, economists, politicians and
government officers chosen by an international steering committee
with offices in the Hague. Its main founder was the Polish political
philanthropist Joseph Retiger.
In their
own words: What is unique about Bilderberg as a forum is:
1. The broad cross-section of leading citizens, in and out of
government, that are assembled for nearly three days of purely
informal discussion about topics of current concern especially in
the fields of foreign affairs and the international economy.
2. The strong feeling among participants that in view of the
differing attitudes and experiences of their nations, there is a
continuous, clear need to develop an understanding in which these
concerns can be accommodated.
3. The privacy of the meetings, which have no purpose other than to
allow participants to speak their minds openly and freely.
At the meetings, no resolutions are proposed, no votes taken, and no
policy statements issued. In short, Bilderberg is a flexible and
informal international leadership-forum in which different
viewpoints can be expressed and mutual understanding enhanced.
To ensure full discussion, individuals representing a wide range of
political and economic points of view are invited. Two-thirds of the
participants come from Europe and the remainder from the United
States and Canada. Within this framework, on average about one-third
are from the government sector and the remaining two-thirds from a
variety of fields including finance, industry, labor, education and
the media.
Participants are solely invited for their knowledge, experience and
standing and with reference to the topics on the agenda. All
participants attend Bilderberg in a private and not in an official
capacity.
Participants have agreed not to give interviews to the press during
the meeting. In contacts with the media after the conference it is
an established rule no attribution should be made to individual
participants of what was discussed during the meeting. There will be
no press conference.
5.
What was the P2 Lodge?
Originally
a lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of Italy, their
warrant was revoked and a number of their members expelled for
unmasonic conduct.
The P2
Incident was a by-product of three related factors; the vagaries of
Italian Masonic History, the joint effects of past repressions and
social patronage on the Italian Craft, and certain defects in their
Constitution.
Italian
Masonic history has been influenced by the political and ethnic
history of that country and the P2 Incident needs to be placed in
that context. Irregular Lodges (not recognized by mainstream
Freemasonry), both in France and Italy, had become quite political
during revolutionary periods in their national histories, and
operated as true secret societies. Italy has only been a united
country since 1870 and regional, ethnic and traditional differences
are still felt in contemporary Italian society. Italian society,
then and now, has been said to largely run on patronage and
favoritism. Few Grand Lodges had recognized Italian Masonry as
regular until 1972.
Several
Grand Lodges have been formed in Italy, the first in 1750, but all
were proscribed or suppressed and, with the exception of the short
period during the Napoleonic Occupation, Freemasonry was not revived
until about 1860 when two Grand Masonic bodies emerged. The first,
the "Supreme Council Grand Orient of Italy" opened in Turin; later
moving to Rome.
Although
politics and religion were officially banned from discussion in
Lodges, in practice the Italian temperament views discussion of
state affairs as a duty. In 1908 a schism resulted when the Grand
Orient expelled a number of members for their political stance and
the National Grand Lodge was formed. It continues to this day as an
irregular body.
Masonry
was again prohibited in Italy from 1926 to 1945. At this time
several competing groups sprung up, out of which the Grand Orient of
Italy and the National Grand Lodge resumed their leading positions.
This Grand Orient was considered regular by many American Grand
Lodges and extended recognition. It was recognized as regular by the
English, Irish and Scottish Grand Lodges in 1972 and shortly
thereafter by a number of other Grand Lodges who tend to take their
direction from the United Grand Lodge of England. The following
year, the majority of Lodges under the National Grand Lodge seceded
and joined the Grand Orient, leaving the National Grand Lodge as a
weak and splintered dissident group.
Although
the National Grand Lodge is not relevant to this article, this
history of suppression, irregularity, political infighting, and
class consciousness, is. In 1877, the Grand Orient granted a warrant
to a Lodge in Rome called "Propaganda Massonica". This Lodge was
frequented by politicians and government officials from across Italy
who were unable to attend their own Lodges. Although its potential
for Masonic mischief was recognized, there is no evidence that any
was forthcoming. The Lodge was not on the Grand Orient's registers
but operated as the Grand Master's own private Lodge, allowing for
the initiation of members whose names would not therefore appear on
the Grand Orient's rolls. If any apology is needed, it should be
noted that "an organization which had a long experience of great
opposition to it, of political and religious damnation, and of being
often forced to close up, is likely to view every influential friend
it can get as important."
When the
Grand Orient was revived after the Second World War it was decided
to number the Lodges by drawing lots; Lodge Propaganda drew number
two, thus it became P2. It rarely held meetings and was almost
inactive.
In 1967,
Brother Lucio Gelli, who had been initiated into a Lodge in Rome in
1965, was placed in virtual control of P2 by the Grand Master of the
day. He was considered to be a shrewd and successful businessman
with a great gift for recruiting. In 1970 he was made secretary of
P2 and subsequently a substantial number of well-placed men were
initiated. In most recognized Grand Lodge jurisdictions, these
practices would not be countenanced. An argument could be made that
by Italian standards, nothing was amiss.
Gelli's
growing influence became a concern of the then Grand Master who, in
late 1974, proposed that P2 be erased. At the Grand Orient
Communication in December 1974, of the 406 Lodges represented, 400
voted for its erasure. In March 1975 Gelli accused the Grand Master
of gross financial irregularities, withdrawing the accusations only
after the Grand Master issued a warrent for a new P2 Lodge --
despite the fact that the Grand Orient had erased it only four
months earlier. P2 was considered regular; its membership was no
longer secret and Gelli was its Master. In 1976, Gelli requested
that P2 be suspended but not erased. This nuance of jurisprudence
meant that he could continue to preserve some semblance of
regularity for his private club without being answerable to the
Grand Orient.
By 1978, suspect financial arrangements involving the Grand Master
prompted many other Grand Lodges to threaten to withdraw
recognition, and the Grand Master resigned before his term expired.
Gelli promptly financed the election campaign of the Immediate Past
Grand Master, but the Grand Orient elected another candidate as
their new leader.
In 1980,
Gelli told a press interview that Freemasonry was a puppet show in
which he pulled the strings. Italian Masonry was outraged by this,
struck a Masonic tribunal which in 1981 expelled him and decided
that P2 had been erased as a Lodge in 1974 and therefore any
contrary action by a Grand Master had been illegal.
The same
year the police investigated Gelli for a range of fraudulent
activities and, in searching his house, found a P2 register of 950
names - mostly prominent people. Several government ministers
resigned and the Italian Government fell. Gelli managed to get out
of the country. A Special Parliamentary Commission found Gelli to
have an obscure and opportunistic past and to count among his
friends many such as the fraudulent banker Calvi who was later found
dead under London's Black Friars Bridge, and the banker Sindona who
was later jailed in the USA for fraud and suspected murder. The
nature and aims of Gelli's alleged political intrigues have never
been explained. From his South American hideaway, he has sent out
obscure messages and has offered to give himself up to Italian
police if certain conditions were met. The authorities have issued
no public statement.
The
President of the Parliamentary Commission of Investigation, while
openly hostile to Freemasonry at the outset, eventually declared
that Freemasonry itself had been Gelli's first and principal victim.
While three successive Grand Masters (two now deceased and one
expelled from Freemasonry) had manipulated secret funds, secret
members, secret decisions and secret Lodges, the body of Italian
Freemasonry was neither guilty nor culpable in the P2 Affair.
At the
Grand Orient Meeting of March 1982, no incumbent Grand Officer was
re-elected.
______________
Researchers are referred to a paper written by Kent Henderson, on
which this article is based :
The Transactions of the Lodge of Research No. 218. "Italian
Freemasonry and the 'P2' Incident", Kent Henderson. Victoria,
Australia: 1987 pp. 25-33. [ISBN 0 7316 2645 1].
6.
What was Palladium?
Taxil
purported to reveal the existence of "Palladium," the most secret
Masonic order, which practiced devil-worship. He recounted the story
of its high priestess Diana Vaughan; and ended by publishing the "Memoires
d'une ex-Palladiste" after her conversion to Catholicism. When
doubts began to spread, Taxil realized the time had come to end the
deceit. In a widely reported conference in Paris (April 19, 1897),
he confessed that it had all been a hoax.
After
Taxil's public confession, Abbe de la Rive expressed his disgust and
recanted his writings on Diana Vaughan in the April 1897 issue of
"Freemasonry Disclosed", a magazine devoted to the destruction of
the Craft. As much as he hated Freemasonry, de la Rive had the
integrity to admit Taxil's hoax in the following editorial: "With
frightening cynicism the miserable person we shall not name here (Taxil)
declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for
twelve years he had prepared and carried out to the end the most
extraordinary and most sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been
careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Diana
Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these
articles, which can now be considered as not having existed."
_____________
New Catholic Encyclopedia (R. Limouzin-Lamothe, s.v. Taxil, Leo)
Quoted in Alec Mellor's , "Strange Masonic Stories." (Richmond, Va.:
Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc., 1982), p. 151.
7. Is
the Club of Rome an Illuminati front?
No.
According
to John Lear, William Cooper and others, The Club of Rome is a front
for the Illuminati, or the 'Cult of the Serpent' backed by an
'alien' or non-human vanguard, the so-called 'Greys'. An often
quoted article, titled 'Pine Gap Base: World Context', written in
French by Lucien Cometta and later translated into English by Dr.
Jean Francois Gille, covers the same theme, with an equal lack of
verifiable documentation.
The Club
of Rome was founded in 1968 by Dr. Aurelio Peccei (1908-84), an
Italian scholar and industrialist, and Alexander King, with a group
of scientists, economists, businessmen, international civil
servants, heads of state and former heads of state from the five
continents but with similar concerns for the global future.
It
currently has 27 honorary members, including a number of active and
former heads of states as well as noted scholars. Soka Gakkai
International President Daisaku Ikeda was nominated on February 28,
1997 as an honorary member by Club of Rome president, Dr.
Diez-Hochleitner. Soka Gakkai is a lay Buddhist association in Japan
founded on the premise that human beings inherently possess the
ability to create value in their lives and, therefore, are able to
live life to the fullest while contributing to the welfare of
society. "Soka" means value creation; "Gakkai," society.
The SGI's
relationship with the Club of Rome began with SGI President Ikeda's
friendship with Aurelio Peccei. Their dialogue on world problems was
published as "Before it is Too Late" in 1984. Many books written by
club members are available to the public, including the 1972
bestseller "The Limits of Growth", which first linked economic
growth to negative consequences for the environment.
The
following are abstracts from a paper entitled "The Club of Rome -
The New Threshold" by Alexander King which was read into the
Congressional records of the United States on Tuesday, March 20,
1973: "The Club of Rome is:-a group of world citizens, sharing a
common concern for the future of humanity and acting merely as a
catalyst to stimulate public debate, to sponsor investigations and
analysis of the problematique and to bring these to the attention of
decision makers". "The Club of Rome is not: - a club devoted
exclusively to problems of industrial societies, attempting to find
solutions to the difficulties of affluence, but a group concerned
with the world system as a whole and with the disparities it
includes. - a group of futurologists, but of individuals who realize
the necessity of attacking now longer term and fundamental problems
which are difficult to approach with our present methods of
government and which could give rise to irreversible situations. - a
political organization, neither of the right or of the left, but a
free assembly of individuals, seeking to find a more objective and
comprehensive basis for policy-making. - a body devoted to public
propaganda for change - although, should we succeed in a better
delineation of the elements of the problematique, we are convinced
that our results should be made known universally through
appropriate national and international organizations and the media."
Since the
death of Aurelio Peccei and the retirement of Alexander King, the
Club of Rome has developed an updated Charter under its president,
Ricardo Diez Hochleitner and its secretary general, Dr. Bertrand
Schneider.
8. Did
high-ranking mason, Albert Pike found the Ku Klux Klan?
No.
There is
no documentation that would suggest that Masonic author, Albert
Pike, was ever a member of the Ku Klux Klan., much less a founder or
organizer.
The 19th
century Ku Kux Klan was originally organized as a Confederate
veterans social club in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866. It was
structured into a vehicle for Southern white resistance to Radical
Reconstruction at a convention in Nashville, Tennessee in 1867 under
the leadership of Grand Wizard, Nathan Bedford Forrest. In 1869
Forrest ordered the group disbanded, largely as a result of
excessive violence. Local branches remained active, prompting the
U.S. Congress to pass the Force Act of 1870 and the Ku Klux Klan Act
in 1871. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Klan
unconstitutional in 1882, it had practically disappeared. The
growth, decline and transformation of the 20th century Klan has no
connection with the original Klan, other than the name.
Confederate Lieutenant General and Klan First Grand Wizard, Nathan
Bedford Forrest (1821-1877), was an entered apprentice of Angorona
Lodge No. 168 in Memphis, Tennessee. There is no record of his
having progressed further or having been active in Freemasonry.
Twentieth
century Klan organizers Colonel William J. Simmons and Edward Y.
Clarke were not Freemasons.
As a
counterpoint, note that famous slavery abolitionist, John Brown
(1800-1859), was a member and officer of Hudson Lodge No. 68 in
Hudson, Ohio (raised May 11, 1824). As always, it should be stressed
that Freemasonry is not concerned with politics, leaving its members
to act as their conscience dictates.
1. Why
do Freemasons use the Satanic pentagram/pentacle?
From the
Greek, "pente", meaning five and "gramma", a letter; the pentagram
is a five pointed star, with no specifically Satanic origin or
meaning. It has no connection to Freemasonry per se.
Masonry
has traditionally been associated with Pythagoras, and among
Pythagoreans, the pentagram was a symbol of health and knowledge;
the pentagram is consequently associated with initiation, as it is
in Masonry.
The
pentagram (also called pentacle or pentalpha) traces its origins to
an astrological observance of the pattern of Venus' conjunctions
with the Sun and has had many meanings in many cultures through the
ages. Its use in Freemasonry is vestigial and peripheral, with the
exception of its mnemonic association with the "Five Points of
Fellowship". It has no relationship to the Blazing Star, which has
no specified number of points, nor the Star of David, which has six
points.
"The
Medieval Freemason considered it a symbol of deep wisdom, and it is
found among the architectural ornaments of most of the
ecclesiastical edifices of the Middle Ages." (1) Eliphas Levi
claimed, with no justification or historical precedent , that one
point upward represents the good principle and one downward, the
evil. (2) Incidentally, the pentalpha seems to have been widely used
in Christianity, and may even be found in certain Gnostic sects. It
is commonly known as the "Star of Bethlehem," or the "Star of the
East" and is a symbol of Divine guidance. When inverted, the
slightly extended downward-pointing angle reveals the place where
the Christ child lay, thus accentuating the association of heavenly
or divine guidance.
It was
appropriated in the mediaeval period as a charm to ward off demons,
evil spirits and witches, which seems to be the source of its common
association with modern witchcraft.
_____________
(1) Albert Mackey. "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Richmond, Virginia:
1966. p. 763.
(2) Eliphas Levi. "Dogma and Ritual of High Magic ii". p.55.
2. Are
Freemasons Satanists or Luciferians?
No.
Few
Masonic writers will say Freemasons are luciferians, none will say
they are Satanists. They use "luciferian" to denote a spirit of
enquiry and a search for knowledge, wisdom and truth; not as a form
of worship. The terms "lucifer" and "luciferian" do not appear in
any accepted ritual or lecture of Freemasonry
3. Is
the eye and pyramid a Masonic symbol?
No.
Of the
four men involved in designing the USA seal in 1776, only Benjamin
Franklin was a Mason, and he contributed nothing of a Masonic nature
to the committee's proposed design for a seal. The committee's
members were Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams,
with Pierre Du Simitiere as artist and consultant.(1) Du Simitiere,
the committee's consultant and a non-Mason, contributed several
major design features that made their way into the ultimate design
of the seal: "the shield, E Pluribus Unum, MDCCLXXVI, and the eye of
providence in a triangle."(2) "The single eye was a well-established
artistic convention for an 'omniscient Ubiquitous Deity' in the
medallic art of the Renaissance. In 1614 the fronts piece of "The
History of the World" by Walter Raleigh showed an eye in a cloud
labeled "Providentia" overlooking a globe. Du Simitiere, who
suggested using the symbol, collected art books and was familiar
with the artistic and ornamental devices used in Renaissance
art."(3) The misinterpretation of the seal as a Masonic emblem may
have been first introduced a century later in 1884. Harvard
professor, Eliot Norton, wrote that the reverse was "practically
incapable of effective treatment; it can hardly, (however
artistically treated by the designer), look otherwise than as a dull
emblem of a Masonic fraternity."(4) The first "official" use and
definition of the all seeing eye as a Masonic symbol seems to have
come in 1797 with The Freemasons Monitor of Thomas Smith Webb-14
years after Congress adopted the design for the Seal: "...and
although our thoughts, words and actions, may be hidden from the
eyes of man yet that All-Seeing Eye, whom the Sun Moon and Stars
obey, and under whose watchful care even comets perform their
stupendous revolutions, pervades the inmost recesses of the human
heart, and will reward us according to our merits."(5) A pyramid has
never been a uniquely Masonic symbol, although a few Grand Lodge
jurisdictions incorporate it into their seals. The eye inside of an
equilateral triangle, point up or down, has often appeared in
Masonic art. The combining of the eye of providence overlooking an
unfinished pyramid is a uniquely American, not Masonic, icon.
______________________
1 Robert Hieronimus, America's Secret Destiny (Rochester, Vt.:
Destiny Books. 1989), p. 48.
2 Patterson and Dougall in Hieronimus. p. 48.
3 Hieronimus, p. 81.
4 Hieronimus. p. 57.
5 Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemasons Monitor or Illustrations of
Masonry (Salem, Mass.: Cushing and Appleton, 1821), p. 66.
1. Who
was Elias Ashmole?
(1617-1692) Chemist and antiquarian of the late 1600s with
connections at Oxford. Some sources have reckoned him to be the
first person whose name is recorded as having been made a
Speculative Mason (1646). He was deeply interested in the medicinal
uses of plants and was made a member of the Royal Society in 1661,
although not active.
2. Who
was Francis Bacon?
Sir
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, statesman, and
author.
Francis
Bacon's 'Novum Organum' and later work, 'The New Atlantis' "exerted
a considerable and beneficial influence on the manners of his
age"(1). Simply put, he proposed that truth is not derived from
authority and that knowledge is the fruit of experience. In his
utopian allegory 'The New Atlantis', Bacon wrote of a 'House of
Solomon': a college of scientific observation and research.
His
association with, or influence on, Freemasonry is questionable. If
he was initiated or active in any operative or speculative Masonic
lodge, no record is known. Christoph Nicolai wrote that Lord Bacon
had taken hints from the writings of John Andrea (2), the founder of
Rosicrucianism and his English disciple, Fludd (3) and that his
ideas heavily influenced Elias Ashmole.(4)
Christoph
Nicolai claims that Ashmole and others used Masons' Hall, London to
conceal their secret political efforts to restore the exiled house
of Stuart and to build an allegorical 'Solomon's House'.(5) 'The New
Atlantis' did exert a strong influence on the formation of the
Society of Astrologers with Elias Ashmole in 1646 and they did meet
at Masons' Hall. Many members of this society also became
Freemasons. If they had any influence on the ritual or doctrines of
Freemasonry, it is not apparent, from what few records remain.
To suggest
that Ashmole introduced Solomon's legend into the Masonic ritual is
to ignore the 'Sloane Manuscript' (No. 3329, British Museum) or the
rituals of the Copagnons de la Tour. They clearly show that
operative masons were familiar with the legend. Ashmole's reputation
with his contemporaries was that of an antiquary and historian, not
a ritualist. And unfortunately he never got around to writing a
history of the Craft.
Albert
Mackey refers to Nicolai's theory on the Bacon inspired origin of
the Grand Lodge of England as "peculiar."(6)
_________________
1.Albert Mackey. 'Encyclopedia of Freemasonry'. Macoy Publishing:
Virginia 1966 p. 361.
2. John Andrea (b. 17/8/1586 - d. 27/6/1654). 'Fama Fraternitatis'.
[Arnold in his 'Ketzergeschichte' claims Andrea as the founder yet
others claim he was merely an annalist of the Order or that the
whole was a mythical invention created as a vehicle for Andre's
ideas of reform.].
3. (1574-1637)
4. Elias Ashmole (b. 5/23/1617 - d. 5/18/1692) initiated 16/10/1646
at Masons' Hall, London
5. Christoph Nicolai (b.3/18/1733 -d.1/8/1811). 'Versuch uber die
Beschuldigungen welch dem Tempelherrnorden gemacht worden und uber
dessen Geheimniss; nebst einem Anhange uber das Entstehen der
Freimaurergesellschaft' [An Essay on the accusations made against
the Order of Knights Templar and their mystery; with an Appendix on
the origin of the Fraternity of Freemasons], Berlin: 1782.
6. Albert Mackey. 'Encyclopedia of Freemasonry'. Macoy Publishing:
Virginia 1966. p. 707.
3. Who
was Abbé Barruel?
Augustin
Barruel (1741-1820) published "Mé pour servir à'Histoire du
Jacobinisme", in four volumes octavo, in London in 1797. He charged
the Freemasons with revolutionary principles in politics and
infidelity in religion. Equally unsubstantiated were his claims that
Freemasonry was derived, by way of the Templars, from the
Manicheans.
4. Who
was Cagliostro?
Giuseppe
Balsamo (1743-95), Italian adventurer and gifted conman. Initiated
into Esperance Lodge No. 289 (London) in April 1776, he quickly
turned his association with Freemasonry to his profit; convincing
clients in England and the Continent to invest in his own invention,
"Egyptian Freemasonry. He was arrested in Rome for peddling
Freemasonry in 1789, and died in prison.
5. Who
was Albert Pike?
(1809-1891) Lawyer and editor, Sovereign Grand Commander of the
Southern Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (1859).
Although held in high regard by many North American Freemasons, he
is not considered an authority on either the history or symbolism of
Freemasonry.
Author of
"Morals and Dogma", he extracted much from earlier authors, such
that the book's preface reads: "Perhaps it would have been better
and more acceptable, if he had extracted more and written less." The
preface also states that, "Every one is entirely free to reject or
dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or
unsound."
6. Who
was John Robison?
(1739 -
1805) Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of
Edinburgh, and Secretary of the Royal Society in that city; author
of "Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments
of Europe carried on in the Secret Meetings of the Freemasons,
Illuminati, and Reading Societies, collected from Good Authorities"
Due to the anti-Jacobin sentiments of the day it was received with
some excitement but the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" says that this
book, "betrays a degree of credulity extremely remarkable in a
person used to calm reasoning and philosophical demonstration."
Robison had been initiated into Freemasonry at Liege.
7. Who
was Leo Taxil?
Born in
the south of France in 1854 and schooled by the Jesuits, his real
name was Gabriel Jogang Pages. He tried the shortcut of financial
fraud, and when he was discovered he fled from France to
Switzerland. There, Gabriel Pages adopted the name of Leo Taxil.
In the strongly anti-Church climate existing throughout France, Leo
Taxil believed that he would find a ready market for anticlerical
publications. He wrote anti-Catholic satires, poking fun at church
leaders. In hopes of gathering anti-Church material, Taxil joined a
lodge of Freemasons in Paris in 1881. His true character quickly
surfaced, and he was expelled from the lodge before going beyond the
first degree. Over the succeeding years, his anti-Catholic writing
brought him very little income but earned him a great deal of
criticism and condemnation from the clergy. He needed another target
for his literary talents.
Leo Taxil
confessed to the sins he had committed in writing and publishing
anti-Catholic pamphlets. He then began writing a series condemning
the Freemasons. Titles include: The Anti-Christ and the Origin of
Masonry; The Cult of the Great Architect; and The Masonic
Assassins.
Leo Taxil
honed the simple declaration, "Lucifer is God," and attributed it to
Albert Pike., supposedly delivered to Freemasons in Paris on
Bastille Day, July 14, 1889.
He also
coined the non-existent title, "Sovereign Pontiff of Universal
Freemasonry", for Pike. Of the hundreds of Masonic bodies in the
world at that time, Pike was the leader of just one, the Southern
Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite. A blatant fraud, Taxil's forgery
was a huge success.
On April
19,1897, Taxil used his celebrity status to attract a large audience
to a meeting in Paris. Journalists came, along with members of the
Catholic hierarchy. There Taxil announced that every word written
about Masonic devil worship was the product of his own fertile
imagination.
A Paris
newspaper published the thirty-three page text of his speech the
following week. The incorrigible opportunist moved away from Paris
to a stately home in the country, where he enjoyed a comfortable
life until his death at the age of fifty- three, in 1907.
8. Who
was Adam Weishaupt?
Adam
Weishaupt was born February 6, 1748 at Ingoldstadt and educated by
the Jesuits. His appointment as Professor of Natural and Canon Law
at the University of Ingoldstadt in 1775, a position previously held
by an ecclesiastic, gave great offense to the clergy of the day.
"Weishaupt,
whose views were cosmopolitan, and who knew and condemned the
bigotry and superstitions of the Priests, established an opposing
party in the University.... This was the beginning of the Order of
Illuminati or the Enlightened...."(1) Weishaupt was not then a
Freemason; he was initiated into Lodge Theodore of Good Council (Theodor
zum guten Rath), at Munich in 1777.
___________________
(1) Albert G. Mackey, "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry", Richmond,
Virginia: Macoy Publishing. 1966, p.1099.
9. Was
? a Mason?
There are
over 200 recognized Masonic Grand Lodge jurisdictions around the
world, each of which keeps its own records and rolls. Several
<>books have been published listing details of over 10,000 famous
Freemasons but it is not always easy to document membership.
No individual speaks for Freemasonry so Masonic membership is no
real criterion for evaluating views, opinions, conclusions, or
actions.
(1) US
President George Bush?
No. Some
draw an association with his use of the phrase "new world order",
but no regular lodge is on record as having initiated him. He was a
member of the Skull and Bones fraternity at Yale University; which
has certain elements in common with Freemasonry, of which the
principal one might be summarized in their motto, "memento mori".
(2) Miss
Diana Vaughan?
A figment of Leo Taxil's imagination, he claimed Miss. Vaughan
belonged to a fictional lodge called Palladium.
(3) Was
Joseph Stalin a Martinist Freemason?
The Rectified Rite of Martinism, except in North America, did not
restrict its membership to Freemasons but did require a belief in a
Supreme Being. Stalin, an avowed atheist, would not have qualified
for membership in either Freemasonry or the Rectified Rite. There is
no record of his membership.
(4) Karl
Marx?
An avowed athiest, Marx would not have qualified for membership.
There is no record of his having joined a recognized lodge. Marx's
supposed Masonic link stems from his involvement with the League of
the Just.
Friederich Engels (1820-1895) helped transform this socialist secret
society of éé German workers into the Communist League when they
held their first congress in London in June 1847 [The New
Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 4 p. 495. Chicago: 1989.]. In 1848 he
and Karl Marx were authorized to draft their statement of
principles, "The Communist Manifesto."
Any claim that this society was associated in any form with any
Illuminati--or by extension, Freemasonry--is unfounded.
(5) US
President Millard Fillmore?
An active Anti-Mason in his youth, Fillmore, after his presidency,
later attended two Masonic cornerstone laying, but there is no
record that he was a Freemason.
1. Is
a 33rd degree Mason more important than a 3rd degree Mason?
No.
There are
three degrees in Freemasonry, Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and
Master Mason. Some jurisdictions recognize a fourth degree as
completing the third degree, while the Swedish Rite confers 10
degrees.
Individual
lodges elect their "Master" for a one or two year term, individual
Grand Lodges elect their "Grand Master" for a similar term of
office, but these are not degrees. What are called appendant or
concordant bodies confer "side" degrees that have no bearing on, or
authority over, regular Freemasonry. [With the exception of a few
jurisdictions such as the Grand East of the Netherlands and the
National Grand Lodge of Sweden.] The most important concept to note
is that Freemasons meet as equals, "on the level".
2.
What does A. F. & A. M. mean?
Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons
Although they represent historical ties, they are no indication of
recognition or ritual. The definitions noted are not absolute in
that several grand jurisdictions arbitrarily chose which terms to
include in their name when they were constituted.
Those
Grand Lodges that don't use the appellation "Ancient", claim
immediate descent from the "Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons
under the constitution of England".
This Grand
Lodge was constituted from four lodges on June 24, 1717 and
designated "Modern". The "Moderns" and "Ancients" united in November
25, 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of
England.
Lodges and
Grand Lodges whose charters' roots derive from the United Grand
Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England, The Grand Lodge of Ireland,
or the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland,
use the expression, A.'.F.'.& A.'.M.'.
Ancient or
Antient Freemasons:
Mostly Irish Freemasons formed this Grand Lodge in London in 1751.
Properly titled "Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England
according to the Old Institutions". Also called Atholl Freemasons,
after the Third and Fourth Dukes of Atholl.
Free and
Accepted :
This term was first used in 1722 in Roberts Print; "The Old
Constitutions belonging to the Ancient and Honorable Society of Free
and Accepted Masons".
Free:
A Free Mason was free with his Guild; he had the freedom of its
privileges and was entrusted with certain rights.
Accepted:
"Acception" was an Inner Fraternity of Speculative Freemasons found
within the Worshipful Company of Masons of the City of London.
Operative members were "admitted" by apprenticeship, patrimony, or
redemption; speculative members were "accepted". First recorded use
of the term dates from 1620.
____________________
Mackey. Albert G.. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Macoy Publishing:
Virginia. 1966.
3. Is
Freemasonry anti-(insert religion)?
No.
Although a
few individual masonic authors have commented unfavourably on
individual religions, many more have written about the value of
religion and religions. Freemasonry as a body is indifferent to
religion.
4. Is
Freemasonry a racist organization?
No.
Freemasonry has no bar to membership based on race, religion or
creed. If there have been Freemasons who have voted to reject an
applicant for one of these reasons, it was an act inconsistent with
Masonic principles.
5. Do
Freemasons worship Satan?
No.
Freemasonry, not being a religion by any definition, does not
"worship" any specific Supreme Being
6. Is
it true that members can never quit?
No.
No
recognized Grand Lodge jurisdiction can coerce or compel membership.
If a member wishes to cease being a Freemason, he is free to do so.
1.
What was the Bavarian Illuminati?
Adam
Weishaupt founded the Illuminati of Bavaria on May 1, 1776 on the
principles of his early training as a Jesuit. Originally called the
Order of the Perfectibilists, "its professed object was, by the
mutual assistance of its members, to attain the highest possible
degree of morality and virtue, and to lay the foundation for the
reformation of the world by the association of good men to oppose
the progress of moral evil."(1) The Edicts (on June 22, 1784, for
its suppression) of the Elector of Bavaria were repeated in March
and August, 1785 and the Order began to decline, so that by the end
of the eighteenth century it had ceased to exist.... it exercised
while in prosperity no favorable influence on the Masonic
Institution, nor any unfavorable effect on it by its
dissolution."(2) Coil describes the Order as a "short lived,
meteoric and controversial society"(3) while Kenning refers to it as
a "mischievous association".(4) In his own defence, Weishaupt did
say: "Whoever does not close his ear to the lamentations of the
miserable, nor his heart to gentle pity; whoever is the friend and
brother of the unfortunate; whoever has a heart capable of love and
friendship; whoever is steadfast in adversity, unwearied in the
carrying out of whatever has been once engaged in, undaunted in the
overcoming of difficulties; whoever does not mock and despise the
weak; whose soul is susceptible of conceiving great designs,
desirous of rising superior to all base motives, and of
distinguishing itself by deeds of benevolence; whoever shuns
idleness; whoever considers no knowledge as unessential which he may
have the opportunity of acquiring, regarding the knowledge of
mankind as his chief study; whoever, when truth and virtue are in
question, despising the approbation of the multitude, is
sufficiently courageous to follow the dictates of his own heart, -
such a one is a proper candidate." (5) As regards any information
derived from celebrated anti-mason, John Robison (6): "In the
(London) "Monthly Magazine" for January 1798 there appeared a letter
from Bottiger, Provost of the College of Weimar, in reply to
Robison's work, charging that writer with making false statements,
and declaring that since 1790 'every concern [sic] of the Illuminati
has ceased.' Bottiger also offered to supply any person in Great
Britain, alarmed at the erroneous statements contained in the book
above mentioned, with correct information." (7) Documented evidence
would suggest that the Bavarian Illuminati was nothing more than a
curious historical footnote.
Other
Illuminati
Hesychasts
Hesychasm is a form of Eastern Christian monastic life requiring
uninterrupted prayer. Dating from the 13th century, it was confirmed
by the Orthodox Church in 1341, 1347 and 1351, and popularized by
the publication of the "Philokalia" in 1782.
Alumbrados
(Spanish for 'enlightened') Members of a mystical
movement similar to the French Guerinets, in 16th century Spain; for
the most part they were reformed Jesuits and Franciscans. They
believed that the human soul could enter into direct communication
with the Holy Spirit and, due to their extravagant claims of visions
and revelations, had three edicts issued against them by the
Inquisition. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits in 1534 and
composer of the 'Constitutions" of the Society of Jesus, has written
nothing that would suggest he was in sympathy with the Alumbrados.(8)
The name translates as 'illuminati' in Italian but the name is the
only similarity with the later Bavarian Illuminati.
Geurinets
17th century France.
Illuminati
of Avignon
Formed by
Pernetti in Avignon, France in 1770; moved to Montpellier as the "Acadamy
of True Masons" in 1778. Inactive.
Illuminates of Stockholm
The Illuminated Chapter of Swedish Rite Freemasonry is currently
composed of approximately 60 Past or current Grand Lodge officers
who have received the honorary 11th degree.
Illuminated Theosophists or Chastanier's Rite
A 1767 modification of Pernetti's "Hermetic Rite" that later merged
with the London Theosophical Society in 1784. Inactive.
Concordists:
A secret
order established in Prussia by M. Lang, on the wreck of the
Tugendverein (German for the Union of the Virtuous), which latter
Body was instituted in 1790 as a self-styled successor of the
Bavarian Illuminati. It was suppressed in 1812 by the Prussian
Government, on account of its supposed political tendencies.
______________
Notes:
(1) Albert G. Mackey, "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry", Richmond,
Virginia: Macoy Publishing. 1966, p.474.
(2) Albert G. Mackey, "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry", Richmond,
Virginia: Macoy Publishing. 1966. p.1099.
(3) Henry Wilson Coil, "Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia", New York:
Macoy Publishing. 1961 p. 545.
(4) "Kenning's Masonic Cyclopaedia and Handbook of Masonic
Archeology, History and Biography", ed. Rev. A.F.A. Woodford.
London: 1878. p. 326.
(5) Adam Weishaupt, "An Improved System of the Illuminati", Gotha:
1787.
(6) John Robison (1739 - 1805), "Proofs of a Conspiracy against all
the Religions and Governments of Europe carried on in the Secret
Meetings of the Freemasons, Illuminati. and Reading Societies,
collected from Good Authorities", printed by George Forman for
Cornelious David, Edinburgh: 1797. (531 pages).
(7) Heckethorn, p.314.
(8) "The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius", trans. by L. J. Puhl
(1951); "The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus; Translated with
an Introduction and a Commentary", by G. E. Ganss:1970.
2.
Weren't George Washington, every USA president, the first USA
Congress and the entire Continental Army all Freemasons?
(a)
Masonic Presidents of The United States:
George
Washington
initiated
11/4/1752 Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, Virginia
James
Monroe
initiated
11/9/1775 Williamsburgh Lodge No. 6, Virginia
Andrew
Jackson
initiated
Harmony Lodge No. 1 Tennessee
James Knox
Polk
raised
9/4/1820 Columbia Lodge No. 31, Tennessee
James
Buchanan
raised
1/24/1817 Lodge No. 43, Pennsylvania
Andrew
Johnson
initiated
1851, Greenville Lodge No. 119, Tennessee
James A.
Garfield
raised
11/22/1864, Columbus Lodge No. 20, Ohio
William
McKinley
raised
4/3/1865, Hiram Lodge No. 21, Virginia
Theodore
Roosevelt
raised
4/24/1901, Matinecock Lodge No. 806, Oyster Bay
William
Howard Taft
made a
mason at sight 2/18/1909.
affiliated
Kilwinning Lodge 356, Ohio
Warren G.
Harding
raised
8/13/1920, Marion Lodge No. 70, Ohio
Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
raised
Nov. 28. 1911,
Harry S.
Truman
initiated
02/09/1909, Belton Lodge No. 450
raised
03/18/1909, Belton Lodge No. 450
Lyndon
Baines Johnson (EA)
Gerald
Ford
raised May
18, 1951, Columbia Lodge No.3
Grand
Lodge of Washington, D.C. courtesy to Malta Lodge No 465 Grand Lodge
Michigan, Grand Rapids
(b)
Signators to the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776):
8 Freemasons out of 56 total.
Benjamin
Franklin
Deputy
Grand Master, Pennsylvania
John
Hancock
St.
Andrew's Lodge, Boston
Joseph
Hewes
visited
Unanimity Lodge No. 7, Edenton, North Carolina: Dec. 27 1776
William
Hooper
Hanover
Lodge, Masonborough, North Carolina
Robert
Treat Payne
attended
Grand Lodge, Roxbury, Mass.: June 26, 1759
Richard
Stockton
charter
Master, St. John's Lodge, Princeton, New Jersey: 1765
George
Walton
Solomon's
Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia
William
Whipple
St. John's
Lodge, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
(c)
Signators to the U.S. Constitution (1789):
Out of the 55 delegates, 9 signers were confirmed Freemasons; 5
non-signing delegates were Freemasons; 6 later became Freemasons; 13
delegates have been claimed as Freemasons on apparently insufficient
evidence; 22 were known not to be Freemasons.
9 Freemasons out of 40 total.
George
Washington
raised:
Fredericksburg Lodge, Virginia: 1753
Benjamin
Franklin
Lodge at
Tun Tavern, Philadelphia: 1731
Rufus King
St John's
Lodge, Newburyport, Massachusetts
John Blair
First
Grand Master, Virginia
Gunning
Bedford Jr.
First
Grand Master, Delaware
John
Dickinson
Lodge No.
18, Dover, Delaware: 1780
Jacob
Broom
Lodge No.
14, Wilmington, Delaware, 1780
David
Brearley
First
Grand Master, New Jersey:1787
Daniel
Caroll
St. John's
Lodge No. 20, Maryland:1781
Later
became Freemasons:
Jonathan
Dayton
Temple No.
1, Elizabeth Town, New Jersey
James
McHenry
Spiritual
LodgeNo. 23, Baltimore, Maryland: 1806
William
Patterson
Trinity
Lodge No. 5, New Jersey: 1788
Insufficient evidence:
Nicholas
Gilman
St John's
Lodge No. 1, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
(d)
Signators of the U.S. Articles of Confederation (1781):
10 Freemasons out of (?) total.
(e)
Generals in George Washington's Continental Army:
34 Freemasons out of (?) total.
(f)
Presidents of the Continental Congresses (1774-89):
4 Freemasons out of (?) total.
Peyton
Randolph of Virginia (1st)
John
Hancock of Massachusetts (3rd )
Henry
Laurens of South Carolina
Arthur St.
Clair of Pennsylvania.
(g)
Governors of the thirteen colonies during the Continental Congress:
10 Freemasons out of 30 total.
(h) Chief
Justices of the United States:
Oliver
Ellsworth
John
Marshall (also Grand Master of Virginia)
William
Howard Taft
Frederick
M. Vinson
Earl
Warren (also Grand Master of California.)
Note:
Neither Thomas Jefferson nor Patrick Henry were Freemasons, although
Paul Revere, John Paul Jones, LaFayette and Benedict Arnold were.
For further study see "Masonic Membership of the Founding Fathers",
by The Masonic Service Association, or refer to Coil's Masonic
Encyclopedia
1.
What were the Protocols of the Elders of Zion?
The
"Protocols of the Elders of Zion", the most notorious and most
successful work of modern anti-Semitism, draws on popular
anti-Semitic notions which have their roots in medieval Europe from
the time of the Crusades. The libels that the Jews used blood of
Christian children for the Feast of Passover, poisoned the wells and
spread the plague were pretexts for the wholesale destruction of
Jewish communities throughout Europe. Tales were circulated among
the masses of secret rabbinical conferences whose aim was to
subjugate and exterminate the Christians, and motifs like these are
found in early anti-Semitic literature.
The
conceptual inspiration for the Protocols can be traced back to the
time of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. At
that time, a French Jesuit named AbbŽ Barruel, representing
reactionary elements opposed to the revolution, published in 1797 a
treatise blaming the Revolution on a secret conspiracy operating
through the Order of Freemasons. Barruel's idea was nonsense, since
the French nobility at the time was heavily Masonic, but he was
influenced by a Scottish mathematician named Robison who was opposed
to the Masons. In his treatise, Barruel did not himself blame the
Jews, who were emancipated as a result of the Revolution. However,
in 1806, Barruel circulated a forged letter, probably sent to him by
members of the state police opposed to Napoleon Bonaparte's liberal
policy toward the Jews, calling attention to the alleged part of the
Jews in the conspiracy he had earlier attributed to the Masons. This
myth of an international Jewish conspiracy reappeared later on in
19th century Europe in places such as Germany and Poland.
The direct
predecessor of the Protocols can be found in the pamphlet "Dialogues
in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu", published by the
non-Jewish French satirist Maurice Joly in 1864. In his "Dialogues",
which make no mention of the Jews, Joly attacked the political
ambitions of the emperor Napoleon III using the imagery of a
diabolical plot in Hell. The "Dialogues" were caught by the French
authorities soon after their publication and Joly was tried and
sentenced to prison for his pamphlet.
Joly's
"Dialogues", while intended as a political satire, soon fell into
the hands of a German anti-Semite named Hermann Goedsche writing
under the name of Sir John Retcliffe. Goedsche was a postal clerk
and a spy for the Prussian secret police. He had been forced to
leave the postal work due to his part in forging evidence in the
prosecution against the Democratic leader Benedict Waldeck in 1849.
Goedsche adapted Joly's "Dialogues" into a mythical tale of a Jewish
conspiracy as part of a series of novels entitled "Biarritz", which
appeared in 1868. In a chapter called "The Jewish Cemetery in Prague
and the Council of Representatives of the Twelve Tribes of Israel",
he spins the fantasy of a secret centennial rabbinical conference
which meets at midnight and whose purpose is to review the past
hundred years and to make plans for the next century.
Goedsche's
plagiary of Joly's "Dialogues" found its way to Russia. It was
translated into Russian in 1872, and a consolidation of the "council
of representatives" under the name "Rabbi's Speech" appeared in
Russian in 1891. These works furnished the Russian secret police (Okhrana)
with a means with which to strengthen the position of the weak Czar
Nicholas II and discredit the reforms of the liberals who
sympathized with the Jews. During the Dreyfus case of 1893-1895,
agents of the Okhrana in Paris redacted the earlier works of Joly
and Goedsche into a new edition which they called the "Protocols of
the Elders of Zion". The manuscript of the Protocols was brought to
Russia in 1895 and was printed privately in 1897.
The
Protocols did not become public until 1905, when Russia's defeat in
the Russo-Japanese War was followed by the Revolution in the same
year, leading to the promulgation of a constitution and institution
of the Duma. In the wake of these events, the reactionary "Union of
the Russian Nation" or Black Hundreds organization sought to incite
popular feeling against the Jews, who they blamed for the Revolution
and the Constitution. To this end they used the Protocols, which was
first published in a public edition by the mystic priest Sergius
Nilus in 1905. The Protocols were part of a propaganda campaign
which accompanied the pogroms of 1905 inspired by the Okhrana. A
variant text of the Protocols was published by George Butmi in 1906
and again in 1907. The edition of 1906 was found among the Czar's
collection, even though he had already recognized the work as a
forgery. In his later editions, Nilus claimed that the Protocols had
been read secretly at the First Zionist Congress at Basle in 1897,
while Butmi in his edition wrote that they had no connection with
the new Zionist movement, but rather were part of the Masonic
conspiracy.
In the
civil war following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the
reactionary White Armies made extensive use of the Protocols to
incite widespread slaughters of Jews. At the same time, Russian
emigrants brought the Protocols to western Europe, where the Nilus
edition served as the basis for many translations, starting in 1920.
Just after its appearance in London in 1920, Lucien Wolf exposed the
Protocols as a plagiary of the earlier work of Joly and Goedsche, in
a pamphlet of the Jewish Board of Deputies. The following year, in
1921, the story of the forgery was published in a series of articles
in the London Times by Philip Grave, the paper's correspondent in
Constantinople. A whole book documenting the forgery was also
published in the same year in America by Herman Bernstein.
Nevertheless, the Protocols continued to circulate widely. They were
even sponsored by Henry Ford in the United States until 1927, and
formed an important part of the Nazis' justification of genocide of
the Jews in World War II.
2. Did
Albert Pike give a speech claiming "Lucifer is God"?
No.
What
follows is a forgery by Leo Taxil, falsely identified as part of a
speech and written order which Albert Pike was supposed to have
delivered to Freemasons in Paris on Bastille Day, July 14, 1889:
"That which we must say to the world is that we worship a god, but
it is the god that one adores without superstition. To you,
Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat
it to the brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees: The Masonic
Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the higher degrees,
maintained in the Purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If Lucifer were
not God, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him? "Yes, Lucifer
is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is
that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no
white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods;
darkness being necessary for light to serve as its foil as the
pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the
locomotive. "Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy, and the
true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the
equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is
struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and
Evil."
Pike had
been dead for three years, so Taxil back-dated the order. It was
signed by Taxil as the work of "Albert Pike, Sovereign Pontiff of
Universal Freemasonry, Instructions to the twenty-three Supreme
Councils of the World, July 14,1889."
No one in
Freemasonry ever held the title of "Sovereign Pontiff." Also, the
phrase "Universal Freemasonry" has never been used, since there is
no such thing. Of the hundreds of Masonic bodies in the world at
that time, Pike was the leader of just one, the Southern
Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite. In spite of its blatant
fraudulence, Taxil's forgery was a huge success.
3.
Does A. L. mean "In the year of Lucifer"?
No, Anno
Lucis translates as "in the year of light" and is arrived at by
adding 4000 to the common era. No other explanation for this has
been made other than the archbishop of Armaugh, James Ussher's
(1581-1656) published support of a long-accepted chronology of
Scripture which fixed the earth's creation at 4004 BCE
4.
Isn't the Masonic Bible supposed to be Albert Pike's "Morals and
Dogma"?
There is
no "Masonic Bible". The proper Masonic term is "Volume of the Sacred
Law". Freemasonry having evolved in Christian, and at one time
Catholic, nations, members were predominantly Christian and
therefore a version of the Christian "Holy Bible" is utilized in
most Masonic Lodges. The King James version is the most common. If
its membership is composed of men of different faiths, a lodge may
choose to use a number of different books such as the Koran, Torah
or Bahgvagita.
5. Did
George Washington renounce Freemasonry?
No.
He
remained a member of the Craft from his initiation into the Lodge at
Fredericksburg, Virginia No. 4 on Nov 4, 1752 until the day he died
on December 14, 1799, when he received a Masonic funeral.
6.
Doesn't the "Big Book of Conspiracies" explain all this?
No.
The
compiler, Doeg Moench, DC Comics and Time Warner Entertainment
Company have avoided actionable libel by including a carefully
worded "Publisher's note", defining conspiracy theories as opinions,
which may or may not be true, inferring relationships between facts,
which may in fact have no relationship, and drawing conclusions
without any other proof.
Most of
the fanciful claims made in this "comic book" are addressed in this
FAQ. Errors in facts and specific claims regarding Freemasons are
detailed and refuted in the "Big Book page".
1. Did
the Freemasons cause the French Revolution of 1789?
French
Freemasons of the 18th century were, in the main, aristocrats or
propertied. They were not in sympathy with social change. A growing
belief that a ruler governed by right of the people and not by right
of God provided a backdrop for much of the French Revolution. As
many Freemasons embraced one belief as another. Whatever the actions
of individual Freemasons, Freemasonry as a whole is indifferent to
politics.
"Not only
did Freemasonry have no part in instigating the movement but it was
one of the principal sufferers... and the majority of Paris Masters
lost their lives." Before the Revolution the Grand Orient of France
had 67 lodges in Paris and 463 in the Provinces, Colonies and
Foreign Countries; the Grand Lodge had 88 in Paris and 43 outside.
During the Revolution only two or three of the Paris lodges kept
open.(1) Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was initiated into Army
Philadelphe Lodge in 1798. His brothers, Joseph, Lucian, Louis and
Jerome, were also Freemasons. Five of the six members of Napoleon's
Grand Council of the Empire were Freemasons, as were six of the nine
Imperial Officers and 22 of the 30 Marshals of France.
French
General of the Revolutionary Army, Jean Victor Moreau (1763-1813)
was one time Master of Loge Parfaite Union in Rennes, France. He
headed the Republican and Royalist conspiracy against Napoleon. (1)
(1) Henry Wilson Coil, "Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia". Macoy
Publishing. Richmond, Virginia: 1995. p.2 74. (2) William R. Denslow,
"10,000 Famous Freemasons". Missouri Lodge of Research.
Independence, Missouri: 1957.
2. Did
the Freemasons kill Captain William Morgan?
No.
In brief, William Morgan was an itinerant worker who settled in
Batavia in 1824. He managed to convince the Masons of Batavia that
he was a Mason and participated in Lodge activities, made speeches
and visited other Lodges. He signed a petition for the formation of
a Royal Arch Chapter in Batavia, but some other Masons questioned
his Masonic legitimacy. Another Royal Arch petition was then
submitted, which he was not permitted to sign. Morgan was furious
about this, and vowed revenge. He agreed to work with David Miller,
the publisher or the "Batavia Advocate," the local newspaper, and
several partners, in the publication of a book exposing Freemasonry.
The project was made public and there was Pandemonium among the
Masons of Batavia and the surrounding towns in western New York,
leading ultimately to his disappearance on September 19th, 1826. It
is generally agreed that William Morgan was taken to Canada by
Masons and there given $500 and a horse, with the agreement that he
never return. However, despite a lack of evidence, rumors persisted
that he had been murdered.
Those
involved issued the following statement; "The plan from inception to
completion, contemplated nothing more than a deportation of Morgan,
by friendly agreement between the parties, either to Canada or some
other country. Ample means were provided for the expenses and the
after-support of Morgan and his family. This plan had been perfected
from the fact that the minds of Masonic brethren had been agitated
by rumors that William Morgan was preparing an exposition and was
preparing to give it to the public. It was then mutually agreed that
Morgan would destroy the document, refuse all interviews with his
partner and hold himself in readiness to go to Canada, settle down
there and upon arrival he should receive 500.00 dollars with his
written pledge to stay there and never return to the States. We also
agreed that Morgan's family should be cared for and sent to Canada
as soon as a suitable home had been provided for them. What a
tremendous blunder we all made! It was scarcely a week until we saw
what trouble was before us. Morgan had sold us out as he had sold
his friends in Batavia. Within forty eight hours after his arrival
in Canada he had gone. He was traced to a point down the river not
far from Port Hope where he had sold his horse and disappeared. He
had doubtless got on a vessel there and left the country."
Morgan's
deportation cannot be justified by any legal, moral or Masonic
principle. It should be noted that Morgan's "expose" was nothing
more than a cobbled plagiarism of earlier English exposures, of
little interest or value.
Public
interest in the affair began about three weeks after Morgan's
disappearance in the form of inflammatory hand-bills printed
throughout New York and Canada accusing the Freemasons of Batavia of
abducting and murdering William Morgan. Conventions and public
meetings were held demanding an investigation and offering rewards
for the discovery and conviction of those involved.
DeWitt
Clinton, a distinguished and eminent Mason, was Governor of the
State of New York at the time. He issued proclamations condemning
the actions of those accused of abducting Morgan and secured
indictments against the four men involved in the conspiracy.
The Grand
Lodges throughout the United States passed resolutions, disclaiming
all connection or sympathy with the outrage.
1. Is
Freemasonry a religion?
No.
Freemasonry seeks no converts. Freemasonry has no dogma, cosmology
or theology. Freemasonry offers no sacraments nor does it claim to
lead to salvation. Freemasonry is not a religion.
2. Are
Freemasons really Gnostics?
No.
Gnosticism
is a religion. Freemasonry is not a religion. There have been those
Masonic writers who have filtered their personal understanding of
Freemasonry through their personal Gnostic beliefs. The same can be
said of Masonic writers of any religious belief.
3.
What is Gnosticism?
Gnosis "is
not taught but when God wills it is brought to remembrance." (from
"Corpus Hermeticum") "Gnostic" is often erroneously used as a
pejorative for any belief or faith that excludes Jesus and has
become almost synonymous with "pagan". It is also often equated with
secret writings and concealed knowledge. Gnosticism, under its own
name and at least eight others, was declared heretical within the
first three centuries of the Roman Catholic Church. Gnosticism,
though, is not only an old Catholic heresy, it is also a living
religion.
Gnosticism
may be considered a Perso-Babylonian syncretion with three definable
schools, Essenic, Samaritan (Simon Magus), and Alexandrian (Philo),
with the Judaic "Qabala" as an arguable fourth.
Gnostic
thought contains four main threads, first; that God is unknowable,
or ineffable, mankind being rude matter cannot comprehend God.
Second; that knowledge, not through intellect, but through special
revelation, is an aspect or emanation from God and therefore
superior to faith. Third; that mankind's goal is redemption of the
soul from the material world. And fourth; that knowledge could only
be revealed as the petitioner was trained to understand it.
With rare
exception Gnostic writing had no place for a personal Redeemer or
Savior God. With the knowledge of personal revelation and the proper
passwords, a Gnostic believed that his soul would find its way back
to its creator. The cosmology encompassed a wide range of complex
and hotly-debated explanations for the spiritual mechanics of a
dualistic universe composed of a world of sense-appearance and a
realm of real being: matter and God, with matter being essentially
evil.
Gnostic
practices ranged from the rigorous ascetism of Saturninus to the
unbridled libertinism of the Ophites. The Gnostic tradition
flourished in such communities as the Essenes and the Ebionites and
Carinthus. The ritual was defined by two extreme schools, one
rejecting all sacraments and the other, mainly Marcosians,
developing an extreme symbolism and mystic pomp in worship, with
many sacraments and varied rites.
The only
surviving Gnostic community is the Mandeans, found near the lower
reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates.
Gnostic
authors:
"Pistis
Sophia"
Coptic-Gnostic texts of the "Codex Brucianus"
two "books
of Jeu"
Acts of
Thomas
Hermes
Trismegistus "Poimandres" (300 CE)
Anti-Gnostic authors:
Irenaeus
Hippolytus
"Philosophoumena"
Clement of
Alexandria "Stroneteis", "Excerpta ex Theodoto"
Tertullian
"adv. Marcionem" "adv. Hermogenem", "adv. Valentinianus"
Epiphanius
"Panorion"
___________
"A History of Christian Thought." Arthur C. McGiffert, Charles
Scribner's Sons, New York London: 1933.
"A History
of Western Philosophy." Bertrand Russell. Simon and Schuster, New
York: 1945. (pp. 324-326, 291-293).
"Dictionary of the Apostolic Church." ed. James Hastings. Vol I.
Charles Scribner's Sons: New York: 1916. (pp. 453-456).
"Gnostic
Gospels, The." E Pagels. New York and London: 1979.
"Harper
Dictionary of Modern Thought, The." Alan Bullock, et al, Harper &
Row, Publishers, New York: 1988 (p. 362).
"Jew and
Greek: Tutors unto Christ." G.H.C. MacGregor. Ivor Nicholson ans
Watson Limited, London: 1936 (pp. 309 -329).
4.
Isn't Lucifer another name for Satan?
No.
The name
Lucifer was applied to Satan by St. Jerome and then to the demon of
sinful pride by Milton in "Paradise Lost". This was a fanciful
development of an original reference confused in translation.
"Lucifer" is the term originally used by the Romans to refer to the
planet Venus when that planet was west of the sun and hence rose
before the sun in the morning, thereby being the morning star.
The word
appears to have entered the religious lexicon when the original
Hebrew word "heyleyl" (meaning morning star, or literally, "shining
one") was translated to "Phosphorus" (the Greek word for Venus as
the morning star) in the Septuagint, and then translated into
"Lucifer" in the Vulgate (from the Greek Septuagint). One passage in
which this occurs is Isaiah 14, which taken as a whole, is a
parable, or prophecy of denunciation against the Kings of Babylon,
specifically Tiglath-pilneser (circa 716 BCE) In verse 12, the
prophet characterizes the arrogance of Tiglath-pilneser as if the
king had thought himself fit to appear in the sky as the morning
star, but has fallen to earth, being brought low by the vengeance of
the Lord against those who would exalt themselves and persecute the
Lord's people (i.e., the Israelites).
The word
"Satan" is from a Hebrew word, "Saithan", meaning adversary or
enemy; in original Jewish usage (see the book of Job), Satan is the
adversary, not of God, but of mankind; i.e., the angel charged by
God with the task of proving that mankind is an unworthy creation.
Thus Satan is not in opposition to God but in fact doing His will.
Later, the concept of an evil power ruling an underground domain of
punishment for the wicked became fixed in Christian doctrine. In
such a doctrine, elements of the Graeco-Roman god
Pluto/Vulcan/Hephaestus, the Underworld, and various aspects of
Nordic/Teutonic mythology may be traced.
From a
supposed reference to this passage in our Lord's words. 'I beheld
Satan fallen as lightning from heaven' (Lk 10:18), in connection
with Rev 9:1-11 (the language of 9:1 being in part probably derived
from this passage), Lucifer came in the Middle Ages to be a common
appellation of Satan. The star of Rev 9:1-11 is a fallen angel who
has given to him the key of the abyss, from which he sets loose upon
the earth horribly formed locusts with scorpions' tails, who have,
however, power to hurt only such men as have not the seal of God on
their foreheads. But this angel is not actually identified with
Satan by the writer of the Apocalypse. The imagery in Is was no
doubt suggested by a meteor, and possibly it was so in Rev also. (2)
________________
1) Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology &
Legend.
2) F. H. Woods, "A Dictionary of the Bible Vol III". ed. James
Hastings. New York. Charles Scribner's Sons: 1908. p. 159.
Anti-Masonry FAQ
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