Freemason
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*[[J. Edgar Hoover]] (Director of the [[FBI]]) | *[[J. Edgar Hoover]] (Director of the [[FBI]]) | ||
*Andrew Jackson (President) | *Andrew Jackson (President) | ||
| − | *Jesse Jackson (politician, activist, [[Protestant#Ministers|minister]]) | + | *[[Jesse Jackson]] (politician, activist, [[Protestant#Ministers|minister]]) |
*Charles Lindbergh (aviator) | *Charles Lindbergh (aviator) | ||
*William McKinley (President) | *William McKinley (President) | ||
Revision as of 04:44, 1 August 2011
| Some dare call it |
| Secrets revealed! |
| The revealers |
The Freemasons (or just "Masons") are a secret society "society of secrets" ostensibly originating among craftsmen during the building of King Solomon's temple, but actually founded in its modern form during the eighteenth century with the Grand Lodge of England. The Masons currently boasts a worldwide membership of approximately 5 million.
Contents |
Origins
Freemasonry and its practices was inspired by the stonemason's guilds that existed in the Middle Ages. These guilds were formed to protect and pass down trade secrets that were crucial to stonemasons, such as geometry, which enabled them to create huge, intricate cathedrals from small drawings. The secret handshakes and passwords now associated with Freemasonry were used by the stonemasons to identify each other, which was important for keeping secrets in the guild. The meeting place of modern Freemasons, the Lodge, was originally where stonemasons would put their tools and draw up their building plans.
During the Renaissance, when guilds were obsolete, it was decided that "operative masonry" (the actual construction of buildings from stone) would provide an excellent platform for a new breed of Enlightenment-style thinking, called "speculative masonry." Both speculative and operative masonry were called "the Craft."
Speculative masonry adopted the tools of operative masonry and used them as symbols to teach moral lessons. For instance, the Mason's level symbolized how, in the Lodge, every Freemason was "on the same level," no matter how grand or insignificant they were to the outside world.
Social utility
Societies such as the Freemasons, the Oddfellows and so forth were largely mutual support societies in the times before public welfare. Hence the construction of hospitals, the support for members' widows and children and so on.
In the present day, there is less need for such mutual support organisations, so the Freemasons and similar societies are in decline. Despite this, the Masons and similar organisations still raise and donate millions of dollars (or local equivelent) to various charities each year.
Masonic virtues and beliefs
There are three (main) degrees of Freemasonry, inspired by the degrees of the operative mason's guilds:
- Entered Apprentice (1st degree)
- Fellowcraft (2nd degree)
- Master (3rd degree)
Each of the degrees teach the member about the history of the craft and the values that are learned by each of the degrees. By the third degree, the member has learned all the basic precepts of the craft: obey the law, take an intelligent interest in government, and conduct yourself as a good citizen; and if you do well enough, one day you can drive around in a little car and wear a fez.[1]
Initiation
To join the Freemasons, one must be a man (although some similar organisations, claiming to be loosely affiliated with the Masons, do accept women), must be at least 21 years' old, must be a theist, and must ask to join of their own accord. Before new members are accepted, they have to be approved by a vote of the local Lodge members, who express their approval or disapproval of the candidate by placing black balls or white cubes into a box (incidently, that's where the term "to get blackballed" comes from).
The initiation ceremony itself is notoriously peculiar, and involves the initiate being blindfolded, with his left trouser leg rolled up to the knee and his shirt partially unbuttoned to expose his left nipple, and a noose placed around his neck. All of this supposedly has some arcane symbolism. The new member must swear to uphold Masonic traditions and not divulge any of the society's secrets, on pain of various bloodthirsty punishments (not actually practiced anymore).
Subsets
Freemasonry is also in control of several appendix bodies, such as the Shriners, the Knights Templar (not to be confused with the historical Knights Templar although the Masons are sometimes accused of having controlled them as well), and the Order of the Eastern Star. Also included are youth groups like Job's Daughters.
Nepotism
Freemasons are famous for their nepotism, often granting favours for fellow Masons, either for reasons of fellowship and reciprocity, or sometimes at the insistence of a superior. Masons traditionally recognise each other by various "secret" signs, including wearing a ring with a Masonic emblem, or the famous Freemasons' handshake - when shaking hands, the thumb briefly strokes the other man's hand in a certain way (this handshake is only used by Masons in San Francisco and those that frequent Dupont Circle in DC). Of course these "secrets" all got leaked a long time ago, so modern Masons may well use different means of identifying each other (such as raising and donating millions of dollars per year to a network of 22 non-profit, free-of-charge children's hospitals[2]).
In the UK, civil service organisations dealing with criminal justice such as the National Probation Service and the Crown Prosecution Service - however bizarrely not the police force - require new employees to sign a declaration stating that they are not a member of any fellowship organisation such as the Freemasons to avoid nepotism issues.
Criticism
Many religions, particularly Roman Catholicism, condemn Freemasonry, believing its ideals to be irreligious (i.e., "unChristian" or the equivalent), or even that it actually constitutes an occult religion and keeps this secret from the public. Up until the early 19th century Catholics were prevalent in the Freemasons, and it even acted as a unifying force between Catholics and Protestants.[3] Eventually the Catholics created their own "secret society" called the Knights of Columbus. Masonic symbolism is another cause for suspicion, as it includes some traditionally "occult" symbols such as pentagrams and hexagrams, as well as the many emblems which associate Freemasonry with its origins in stonemasons' guilds, such as trowels, aprons, set-squares and measuring compasses.
Nepotism and elitism naturally attracts criticism in that it leads to unfair advantages to individuals regardless of personal merit. Added to this, the nature of a secret society means that outsiders cannot be certain to what extent this nepotism is happening. Some nations, especially those under communist governments, or staunchly Catholic ones, have gone as far as making Freemasonry illegal.
Conspiracy theories
Given their secretive nature and tendency to nepotism, and the fact that Freemasons are widely believed to be prominent at high levels in many industries, financial sectors and some government departments, they have long been the target of conspiracy theories. Freemasons are often associated with the Illuminati and the "New World Order", and believed by some to be pulling the strings behind the United States government and others. Some of these conspiracy theories are explicitly or implicitly anti-Semitic, associating Freemasonry with an "international Jewish conspiracy".
One conspiracy that refuses to die is that Freemasons were behind the series of attacks attributed to Jack the Ripper. The Rippers' mutilation of his victims was supposed to represent the symbolic penalties imposed on a Brother who revealed the secrets of the Lodge. According to people like Stephen Knight and Walter Sickert, it was a plot devised by Sir William Gull to cover up the fact that Edward, Duke of Clarence and heir to the throne had secretly married a prostitute and fathered a child. (In fact, Sir William Gull was not even a Freemason, but this does not discourage the story.) Even the mysterious message left behind by the Ripper, "The Juwes Are The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing" was supposed to be masonic, with "the Juwes" referring to the 3 masons of masonic ritual who murdered Hiram Abif: Jubela, Jubelo and Jubelum. It should be noted that these men have never been called "the Juwes" before this (because Knight simply made that part up, along with most of the rest of his "research").
The Eastern Star subset mentioned above is often claimed to be satanic because of its logo, an inverted pentagram. While Satanists do use inverted pentagrams, the symbolism in the Eastern Star logo is different. It actually was meant to symbolize the star in the east that led the wise men to Jesus on Christmas day (which is exactly why it points down - to point the way there).
A whole bunch of new Masonic myths were created by Dan Brown in The Lost Symbol.
The Taxil Hoax
One day in 1885, a man named Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, a very strong anti-Catholic, decided that the funnest way to earn his living would be to publish an enormous hoax about the Freemasons. This way, he would not only be able to give a bad name to the Freemasons (whom he tried to join, but was kicked out while still in his first degree), but also to any Catholic who believed his stories.
After feigning a conversion to Catholicism, Jogand-Pagès wrote two books (the first of which was a four-volume series) under the alias Leo Taxil. They told all about the satanic orgies and child sacrifices that the Freemasons practiced. He also wrote that they worshiped a demon called Baphomet. It was all utter hogwash, but since the idea fit perfectly into the Catholic church's world view, they ate the tale up.
One specific quote from Taxil's writing supposedly came from Albert Pike, a prominent member of the Scottish Rite subset. It has gained much notoriety on conspricay websites:
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.[4]
Later on, Taxil called a press conference where he promised to introduce one of his informants, named Diana Vaughan. Instead, he confessed his hoax, laughed endlessly at the Clergymen in attendance, then thanked them for spreading the tale and went on to retire in luxury. Despite his confession, anti-Freemasons still cite the "Lucifarian quote" as evidence to whatever conspiracy they push.
List of notable Freemasons
- George Washington (President)
- Thomas Jefferson (President)
- Benjamin Franklin (politician, scientist)
- Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (astronaut)
- Benedict Arnold (Revolutionary War general who switched sides to the Limeys)
- John Jacob Astor (millionaire)
- Gene Autry (actor, singer)
- Johann Christian Bach (composer)
- Irving Berlin (composer)
- General Omar Bradley (WWII US Army general)
- James Buchanan (President)
- Nat King Cole (singer, pianist)
- Samuel Colt (firearms manufacturer)
- Davy Crockett (politician, frontiersman)
- Walt Disney (animator, entrepreneur)
- Bob Dole (Senator)
- James Doolittle (WWII US Army general)
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (physician, creator of Sherlock Holmes)
- Gerald Ford (President)
- Henry Ford (entrepreneur)
- James Garfield (President)
- John Hancock (yes, that John Hancock)
- Warren G. Harding (President)
- J. Edgar Hoover (Director of the FBI)
- Andrew Jackson (President)
- Jesse Jackson (politician, activist, minister)
- Charles Lindbergh (aviator)
- William McKinley (President)
- James Monroe (President)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer)
- Daniel O'Connell (Irish Parliamentarian, brought about Catholic Emancipation and struggled to repeal the Union between the Kingdom of Ireland and Britain.)
- James K. Polk (President)
- Roy Rogers (actor)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (President)
- Theodore Roosevelt (President)
- William Taft (President)
- Harry S. Truman (President)
- Mark Twain (author)
- John Wayne (actor)
- Robert Jordan (author)
- Adam Weisphaut (yes, he founded the Illuminati, now get over it)
External links
- Masonic Info
- Freemasonrywatch (conspiracy theorist site)
Footnotes
- ↑ If you're in the Shriners - a subset of Freemasonry found in the U.S. and Canada.
- ↑ http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Main/
- ↑ The Irish Catholic Daniel O'Connell was famously a chapter leader in Dublin, before leaving the organisation when the Church outlawed it among Catholics.
- ↑ http://goddrinksbeer.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/albert-pike-and-the-luciferian-quote/