Freemasonry

Freemasonry

In the recent years, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. In this novel, he speaks of groups like the Priory of Sion, Knights Templar, the Illuminati, and a little about the Freemasons. “Experts” and the Church denounce roughly 98% of the information stated in his book and classify it as fiction. All of these groups, but most importantly in my opinion the Freemasons, have had a major impact on the world as we know it. Most people haven’t a clue about these groups, where they were formed, or what they did. This is mainly because they have been left out of our history books due to the pretense at ecumenicalism of the Catholic Church, papal condemnations, and conflicts of interest with Christianity (Waite, XXXIII). Another reason, reiterating the conflict of interest with the Catholic Church, is the fact that Freemasons tend to favor secrecy and consider their brotherhood coming before their family, which is frowned upon. The world as we know it would be a different place had the Freemasons not been formed and their ideas gone unknown. In fact, most of our nation’s founding fathers were FreemasonsвЂ" and many prominent figures of society world wide.

“Freemasonry (Ars Magna Latomorum) has existed for thousands of years, but only in the last few centuries, beginning around 1440-90, has it become known by its present title” (Knight, 366). “It is based on the rituals of the Blue Lodge, the foundation of all Masonic bodies, is structured around the story of the building of King Solomon’s Temple and the murder by ruffians of Hiram Abif of Tyre, the chief architect and master of all the stonemasons in the construction of the Temple. Some legends carry Freemasonry back to Moses and others to the building of the Tower of Babel” (Waite, XXXIII). Their past has been tied to all great civilizations of the world and it is believed, but not known as a matter-of-a-fact since the masons keep their origin concealedвЂ"maybe even lost foreverвЂ"that the original group they descended from were Druids who were worshipers of the Sun or a later group the Knights Templar. “Lodges of Masonry exist in almost every country and boasts a worldwide membership of almost 5 million with many great men from Mozart, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, to Henry Ford” (Knight, XII). With it being so popular and historical, why did we never learn about them in school? The reason for this is the Pope says its membership is in disharmony with Christianity, but there is a little evidence that Jesus was a FreemasonвЂ"but not hardcore proof. As always religion will rule the world, or most of it, as Christianity does now as once the worship of the Sun did then. In all actuality all religions of our day and age are a parody and/or derived from worship of the Sun. Whereas in Christianity, Jesus has taken the place of the Sun, even though he and his twelve apostles/disciples are portrayed with an image of the sun behind their heads. Well you might ask why is so little known? The answer to this is religious persecution, where most of the records, ideas, beliefs and followers of a certain religion are destroyed and killed. One religion takes power and wipes out another. Those who escaped persecution went on in secrecy to stay alive and preserve what they had left. So the worshipers of the Sun took on new names such as the Knights Templar to the most current, the Freemasons. The secrecy of the Masons is what seems to hold their fraternity so close together and brings mystery to themselves from non-masons.

What is a Freemason? “A Freemason is a man who, in searching for life’s ineffable questions, finds his way into the company of fellow seekers” (Stewart, 1). As defined by the Freemasons themselves it means “A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols” (Knight, 7).The Freemason’s unity idea is in the divine certitude in an afterlife. “The вЂ?belief’ is grounded by certain landmark tenants and virtues which ultimately lead in exploration of those invisible questions, leading ultimately to the betterment of all mankind” (Stewart, 1). Traditionally a male organization, there are now multiple lodges for women to join. Freemasons exist in almost every country around the world and are guided by three principals: Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth (Stewart, 1). But, why exist for the betterment of all mankind? Gregory Stewart says,

“For too long man looked through varying degrees of authority for the answers to those unanswerable questions, вЂ?what is our nature and purpose’ asked since time immemorial. By looking to answer those questions, Freemasons have found the virtue in which the answers reside. To help frame the questions, Freemasons rely on four of the cardinal virtues, which are Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice” (Stewart, 2).

“Temperance is to suppress our personal extremes, and promote modest. Fortitude is to keep good faith and careful watch over ourselves. Prudence is that which keeps the perils of corruption in mind. Finally, Justice which gives each their sense of not stealing from one another” (Stewart). Also, there are the three original degrees of Freemasonry which are: 1) The Entered Apprentice, 2) The Fellow Craft, and 3) The Master Mason, as listed by the writings of Thomas Paine, a Master Mason, in an 1896 publishing. The Entered Apprentice only knows little use of the symbology, origin, and ways to identify another brother without being noticed by non-masons. The Fellow Craft is only slightly more educated in than the Entered Apprentice, but, it is the Master Mason who knows whatever remains of their origin and conceals and preserves it. Though there are now 33 degrees of Masonry.

There are so many undeniable facts that this newest of countries, the Untied States, is based on Masonic ideas and values it is astonishing. “The Boston Tea Party was entirely Masonic, carried out by the members of St. John’s Lodge during an adjourned meeting” (Waite, XXXIV). The layout of our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., contains Masonic figures such as a pyramid, a unique Masonic figure that I’m unaware of the correct name, and a pentagram which is inlayed by the streets named after the thirteen New England Colonies. You might say, “So what about the pentagram is special?” Well it isn’t so much about the pentagram as it is the pentagon shape that forms inside of it. The significance of the