Freemasonry is a post-collegiate mostly-all male fraternity dedicated to the social development of the member to form a broader sense of the self and their community.
This is came off of a Press Release, and deserves to be shared.
If you’ve been completely disconnected form the weather tragedy in Joplin Missouri recently, the latest reporting has the death toll near to 140 people killed in the Missouri storms. Needless to say, much of the community was utterly destroyed.
Spared in the tragedy was the Joplin Scottish Rite, and even though members suffered their own loss, the Rite opened its doors and began to immediately help those who needed assistance.
Saying well done is an understatement of their work. The only thing that comes to mind to ask is how can we help?
Joplin Scottish Rite Freemasons Opens Doors and Kitchen to First Responders and Victims
Washington, DC – June 1, 2011 – Freemasons in Joplin, MO began serving meals the day after the tornado hit to the First Responders and victims, even though some of them had lost homes as well.
PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 01, 2011 – The Joplin Scottish Rite Cathedral located at 505 S. Byers Ave. in downtown Joplin, MO was spared damage from the recent tornado. Even though some of the Scottish Rite Freemasons suffered damaged or destroyed property by the tornadoes, many of these same men showed up at the building to see how they could help the people of Joplin who were also suffering from the aftermath of the disaster.
According to Richard Lowery the Executive Secretary at the Valley of Joplin, members just showed up and decided to put the large professional kitchen to good use. Reaching out to the First Responders they began the process of cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner.
According to Lowery, the first day was somewhat disorganized, as they figured out how to get things done. The Scottish Rite publicized that hot meals were available at the Cathedral through Facebook, web sites, on radio and television. They contacted emergency personnel and volunteers and distributed a small flyer. In addition to First Responders, the masons began distributing food directly to families in the affected areas. The Masons started out on the first day delivering about 300-400 meals. This number grew quickly to 2,000 meals a day and reached a peak on Memorial Day of about 2,500 meals. Lowery said “Many grateful hearts accepted our gifts”
The organization will also be assembling teams to go to areas for removal of debris, to cut up fallen timber and to clean-up properties.
Lowery finds working the phones for help and donations somewhat frustrating as he wants to dig in and help in the field. Immediately after the storm, along with his sons, he went to volunteer at St. Johns Hospital where he had worked for 25 years. They tried to help a victim trapped in the rubble. “We weren’t successful… It’s so damned hard…”
St. Johns Hospital was inoperable because of the tornadoes damage to the building. Richard is doing great work, making sure those people in the field, as well as the victims, are being fed.Offers of donations and help have been coming in from all over the country.
Richard said, “We believe the tornado recovery is moving into a new phase and clean-up will become much more important, especially on the weekends. We’ll close food preparation today (June 1st), re-open for the weekend and see if there is a need. The City has begun major debris removal today. Our tent with household supplies will remain open, but we plan to begin taking our supplies to places where it may be needed. I wish I could put into words the devastation I have seen after the tornado passed through our city. And I wish I could put into words the gratitude we have seen from just a simple hot meal delivered into the affected areas.”
Lindsay Lohan and the Freemason post on Twitter is old news now, and even older as the barely coherent tweet was removed shortly after it was posted. If you missed the bit of excitement, give the breaking old news from TMZ.
For those who might of missed it, the post went like this:
“This is the freemason stalker that has been threatening to kill me- while he is TRESPASSING!”…“im actually scared now- the blood in the ‘cults’ book was too much.”
Included with it was a photo of the person (which you can see here) she alleged was the Masonic trespasser, beard, shades, work shirt, and all. As you can see in the photo, as posted to the CBS Los Angeles story Lohan: ‘Freemason Stalker’ Trying To Kill Me, there is little that overtly identifies the individual as a Freemason.
So, maybe it was in the book’s that he left at her Venice, Ca, home that bothered her so much, but more on that in a minute.
What I found most interesting was the way that the tabloid news reports on the matter, specifically in how they describe the 300 year old fraternity. Variably the Ancient Order is is mentioned thusly:
“…a mysterious – and apparently powerful – secret society…” – CBS Los Angeles
“…your grandpa’s favorite social club” – The Vancouver Sun
“…thinks he’s a Freemason because he’s a porker” – Holy Moly
It didn’t help much for the story that the very next day Lohan was back at it getting into fights at a night club, It buried the disappearing Freemason tweet into Twitter obscurity.
But like all armchair quarterbacks, I was left to wonder what might the blood in the cults book be? I’ve had a few tongue in cheek quips sent to me on twitter, Green Eggs and Ham being one of them. I searched a bit to see if I could come up with anything interesting through Google. Not long after I started I found a few references to “blood cult books”, but the most interesting thing I found was from the blogger Qbit.cc who tried his best to expose Lohan as an Illuminati pawn posing with New World Order iconography for here 6126 clothing line. Some of the images of Lohan posing were reminiscent of Baphomet and Gaga-esque as LiLo posed over a Masonic chair (though really she’s on a bureau with a decorative mirror). It’s a stretch, I know, but I’m working with a tweet here.
Maybe the link to the blood cults was Lohan’s dabling with the Kabbalah back in 2006? Any good esotericist knows that there’s a link between Masonry and the Kabbalah, even if just in esoteric or occult circles. Another blog, cleverly called the Illuminati Scoreboard, linked Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears to a Hollywood cult in 2007.
But alas, the investigation will continue, for both the stalker and his connection to the Freemasons with the same speed that LiLo’s mention spanned the globe. Hopefully the problem, and the reference, will disappear as quick as the original tweet did.
Update, the stalker has been identified as David Cocordan who, it is being reported, has attempted to contact Lohan through more than 100 phone call and text messages to express “delusional thoughts and irrational feelings about his belief that we are in a relationship.” A restraining order was made against him as of Thursday, May 19th. No mention was made in the order on whether he was, or was not, a freemason.
In August 14th, 1922, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius agreed to compose “original, genuinely Finnish music for the masonic lodge.”
Sibelius was one of the founding members of “Suomi loosi” – the Suomi Lodge which was the first lodge to be founded since in 1809. The first Finnish Masonic lodge was founded in 1756 and lasted for a short 53 years when Russia took control of the country in 1809.
Following Finland’s independence, a number of men emigrated from America to the land of the Finns. In that emigration came the idea to reopen a lodge of Freemasonry. One of those early pioneers of Finnish Masonry was composer Johan Julius Christian Sibelius.
Born into a Swedish-speaking family in Hämeenlinna, in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, Sibelius knew at an early age had a passion for music — studying to become a violinist at the age of 15. He went on to study law, but soon followed his passion leaving law school to study music in the Helsinki music school, and later in Berlin and in Vienna, only to lament in writing that “It was a very painful awakening when I had to admit that I had begun my training for the exacting career of a virtuoso too late”.
In his career, Sibelius was prolific, penning some 40 plus symphonic works, many of which are played today with great affection. One of his most notable works is the Nationalist symphony Finlandia, written when the Grand Duchy of Finland was chafing under the dictatorship of Czarist Russia.
Already a composer of 25 years, Sibelius was 56 when he was initiated, passed and raised from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. into Suomi Lodge No. 1, Finland, on August 18, 1922.
The music was initially was discussed in the founding of the masonic lodge Suomi, where it was recorded in the minutes that he would compose original Finnish music for the lodge, and that he would become their organist.
But, as with most active professionals, Sibelius was a busy man traveling frequently and only able to attend half of the years lodge gatherings, and even less time in the years that followed. When he was in attendance, he did site behind the lodges Mannborg harmonium.
His visits and playing, however, were slow in evolving into the Musique Religieuse, which came only after the motion was made in 1926 to ask Sibelius to write the special ritual music. the request was made with the donation of 10,000 marks to facilitate the work. Early in 1927 the work was completed and played in its entirety on January 12th, 1927. The work was played by Wäinö Sola and Arvi Karvonen. Among those in attendance was the Grand Master of Finland who said of his music that it would cause Sibelius to “shine forth and be immortalized.”
Since the writing of the composition, the music has been used in their degrees, and it has been extracted and re-purposed in made use of in other forum. One such use is his closing hymn Sulkemishymni which has been re-dubbed Salem, a tune you might recognize from the church known as Processional: Onward, Ye Peoples which came from Op. 113: No. 6. The lyrics of that symphony you might find interesting, the lyrics are below the video:
Onward ye peoples[brethren], strive for the Light!
The Light that the Lord hath given us for our guide;
Who through murk and darkness of night
Hath led us in safety unto our reward.
See how the fiery pillar is gleaming, lighting our steps when dark is the way
And the Light of the World,
it cleaves the gloomy blackness of night that else would engulf us.
See the cloudy pillar to shield us safe when the sun would blister us.
Then forward where faith reveals the way,
For God is our guide, and He will never fail.
Fires are gleaming, voices are singing
forth from Mount Neboh’s heaven storming heights.
Then forward where faith reveals the way,
For God is our guide, and HE will never fail.
Fires are gleaming, voices are singing
forth from Mount Neboh’s heaven storming heights.
Salem! Salem!
Still, they call us upward and on to our Father’s home.
Salem! Salem! On the horizon, urging us on to God and our home;
And the heavenly choir doth ring from Mount Neboh,
Piercing the blue like a living light.
Onward, ye peoples.
Onward, Amen!
Onward, ye people. Onward, ye peoples.
Strive for the Light.
Salem!
This piece was the closing of the ritual work.
Of the honors bestowed upon Sibelius, he has been given an honorary doctorate conferred by Yale University 1914 and a national holiday throughout Finland in 1935 in honor of his 10th birthday, followed by a commemorative stamp on his 80th birthday. American Masonic honors an honorific 6 times by the American Lodge of Research of which his music formed an integral part of the program. In 1938 he was given the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Grand Lodge of New York in 1938. In 1950 and 1955 a special exhibit was arranged in the Grand Lodge Library and Museum on occasion of his his 85th and 90th anniversaries.
You can play a sample of Op. 113: No. 6. Salem, Onwards Ye Peoples! to get a feel for its Masonic composition as titled Onward, Ye Brethren!
While writing this, I’ve had playing a downloaded copy of the CD, which you can find here too for $9.99, and its interesting music. I’m not well versed on classical music or choral music for that matter, but it has a haunting feeling to it, every bit reminiscent of what a early Masonic Lodge feels like, at least to my ears. It has the feeling of warm church organ music and could likely be played in any church without any mention of its Masonic origin and be just as easily enjoyed. My favorite is Sulkemishymni – Onwards, Ye Peoples! It speaks volumes to the 2nd degree – in a column of fire and a column of cloud, both of which are motifs in my own tracing board rendering.
Ownership and copyright of the music resides in Finnish hands with Lodge Suomi though some confusion over a republication of it in 1937 by the Grand Lodge of New york, but since it has remained in the hands of the Grand Lodge of Finland.
Truly, Musique Religieuse Op. 113 – Masonic Ritual Music is worthy of the Masonic Lodge, and well worth adding to your collection of Masonic treasures. I would be so bold as it would enliven any ritual work, if played in lodge as it’s composition is by a brother for the lodge.
You can find Jean Sibelius: Musique Religieuse Op. 113 – Masonic Ritual Music on Amazon or on Itunes
Besides wanting to echo the congratulatory comments, its nice to see the good in the press and the positive impact being made by a local lodge.
The celebration is in honor of rebuilding of their lodge hall in 1910, following the greatest Carleton Place fire of living memory which destroyed 25 buildings between Bridge Street and Judson Street, including the Masonic Hall.
In the year following a new cornerstone was laid and the building erected to stand in the community to this day. You can see from a photo of its edifice, the workmanship put into the building.
A 58-year-old Maine man accused of embezzling more than $1 million from within the secretive headquarters of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Masons is scheduled to be arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court.
Vincent Paul Reed Jr. of Shapleigh, Maine, spent $1.25 million in Mason funds on personal travel expenses, household pets, utilities and credit card debt, prosecutors said.
The theft is alleged to have taken place from 2001 to 2008 — while Reed served as elected treasurer of the Boston Council of Royal Select Master Masons and the St. Paul’s chapter of the Royal Arch Masons, said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley.
The investigation was said to of begun in 2008 when a lodge member discovered irregularities in the accounting.
Vincent Paul Reed Jr has pleaded not guilty to the charges that he transferred more than $1 million from the secretive organization into his personal accounts to pay for shopping sprees, exotic trips and lavish dinners.
As quoted int he Boston Herald on May 11th, Reed was able to get away with it without any real oversight.
“All of these expenses are despite the fact that the two Mason organizations had no cars, no pets, no known credit cards and no need to shop,”
“Reed was a popular personality and held elaborate parties for the Masons. He was a gregarious and well-liked member and operated without oversight.”
Natural Remedies, How to Stop Pain Now, and Miracle Weight Loss Cures – snake oil comes in many shapes and sizes, and Kevin Trudeau is one of its heaven sent salesmen.
The Ridiculous Infomercial Review calls him “a leading light in the conspiracy theory community” who has joined forces with the infamous Alex Jones (you can watch Jones talk to Trudeau on the Alex Jones program).
In the 2010 infomercial appearance for his newly released book “Your Wish is Your Command”, Trudeau spoke with Skip Lindeman where he claimed his affiliation with the fraternity (or as he called it the brotherhood) and his use of the magical and mysterious Law of Attraction – aka “the Secret”.
His appearance was obviously to hawk his “Your Wish is Your Command” book which also comes with a private invitation to join a very elite society that proclaims to give you access to those members of the “brotherhood” as well as a cohort of the Bilderberg Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Freemasons, Yale University’s Skull and Bones, the Illuminati, the Trilateral Commission, Bohemian Club and many more.
No lie, the Global Information Network is a real “society” where you can join up and pay dues and squeeze brain cells with other MLM’ers and “develop your global wealth”. Oh, and according to the website you can learn and “Use the secrets from over 20 “secret societies” – just in case you didn’t already know ’em.
John Stossel spent some time on ABC’s 20/20 debunking the guy in a slew of Q&A’s from various sources, to which Stossel suggests in conclusion that Trudeau is a liar and a charlatan – that he “prey’s on those who are sick and dying.” And the evidence seemed to be pretty conclusive in the 8 minutes it was playing.
Mark Dice, author of Illuminati: Facts & Fiction says he likes the guy, but questions the “Secret Work” in his new book. Dice asks us to consider Trudeau as another fraud for his Illuminati membership.
He has about 8 Federal legal proceedings against him for claims against his products and contempt’s of court (not to mention credit card fraud). And almost as many books from Weight Loss Cures to Debt Cures with a slew of infomercials in between – if you can trust the Wikipedia page on Trudeau.
Quack Watch has about 26 entries in 13 documents about Trudeau detailing some of his claims and run ins with the law.
Have you ever run across Trudeau or any of his products? What stories do you have?
Its been debated in a sea of endless questions, was William Shakespeare a Freemason?
Well, this week (April 23rd -30th) is a celebration of all things William Shakespeare as Stratford’s Greatest son’s celebrates his 447th birthday.
For the non mason, its hard to really pick up on the clever word play that is so intricately woven into Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays, and one is often left wondering “was it Shakespeare who applied Masonic ideas into his works, or the Freemasons who appropriated the ideas from the bard of Avon?” Most scholars suggest the latter, but Masons familiar with the wordplay might see otherwise.
Its been in debate for a long while, at least in Masonic circles, appearing in the Builder Magazine in 1919 with a score of quotes and lines to illustrate the point.
Some of my favorites include:
“What is he that builds stronger than either Mason?” Henry V., I, 47.
“Here, Robin, an I die, I give thee my apron.” 2 Henry VI., II, 3:75.
“The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons.” 2 Henry VI., II, 2:14.
“Hold up, you sluts, your aprons mountant.” Timothy of Athens, IV, 3:135.
“To hold opinion with Pythagoras That souls of animals infuse themselves Into the trunks of men.” Merchant of Venice, IV, 1.
“What is the opinion of Pythagoras concerning wild fowl? That the soul of our grandam might haply inhabit a bird.” Twelfth Night – IV, 2
Pythagoras is a bit of a Masonic patriarch, and aprons are in abundant supply throughout the fraternity.
Moments of jest in Shakespeare…often carry the deeper and more veiled allusions to the Mysteries, but this is not always so. The Tempest, for instance, gives many Masonic allusions quite openly, and indeed might be said to be a most complete Masonic play. For a start the play is based upon Virgil’s Æneid, Books III and VI. Book VI in particular deals with the ancient Mysteries, whose degrees of initiation are echoed, howbeit with different allegories, by those of Freemasonry.
How much of this is want to see the work of Masonry in Shakespeare’s plays or the real deeper mysteries artfully woven into them – this is the question!
Some suggest that Shakespeare’s work is a clever use of Gematria, the letter numerical interplay seen in the esoteric applications associated with the Kabbalah, which Shakespeare skillfully worked into illustrating his Mason Mark, the right-angle triangle. Its in this same discovery that some suggest that Kit Marlowe wrote the Sonnets because of the discovery of the Masons Mark.
Shakespeare seems to have been fully conversant with the Masonic symbolism of the Square – and thus the symbolism of Euclid’s 47th Proposition. We have seen in Anthony and Cleopatra (II, iii) reference to the lines:
Read not my blemishes in the world’s report; I have not kept my square, but that to come Shall all be done by the rule.
The Bard also makes a number of pointed references to a ‘mark’ in his Sonnets. An analysis of these, in my book reveals that their placement is not a casual matter but clearly predicated by Masonic considerations of a very exact and specific nature. They all refer to his own Masonic mark.
Marke how one string sweet husband to an other, (s8) For slanders marke was euer yet the faire, (s70) Marke how with my neglect I doe dispence. (s112) O no, it is an euer fixed marke (s116)
Shakespeare’s mark turns out to be no different from that of Alexander Hamilton – the right-angle triangle. He uses it consistently throughout the Sonnets to encode his name.
The context of the first Marke actually has a clear association with a right-angled triangle. In this sonnet the discussion concerns the three-way play between ‘sweet husband’, ‘happy mother’ and the ‘child’ they bring forth; there is also, in the following sonnet, the strongest indication that the mother is a widow. This scenario brings to mind the legend of Osiris, Isis – the widow and child Horus. The most common representation of this relationship in Masonic symbolism (following Plato) is the 3-4-5 right-angled triangle: the upright represents Osiris, the horizontal Isis and the hypotenuse Horus . Therefore it’s interesting to note that the word Marke is the 828th word in the Sonnets – and 828 is the gematria value of the Hebrew words BN ALMNH – The Widow’s Son.
I’ve always been keen to the idea that William Shakespeare was really the statesman Francis Bacon, the writer of the almost eerily Masonic tale – The New Atlantis. You can spend a lot of time following the threads about their connection on Sir Francis Bacon’s New Advancement of Learning.
Hence, to read these plays as mere stories in dramatic form, filled in with many wise reflections, is to miss their real character. The Tempest may be read simply as such a story, and even as having a moral purpose. Sir Edward Strachey says quite aptly that it is “a mimic, magic tempest which we are to see, a tempest raised by art, to work moral ends with actual men and women,” But he fails to show how it is to bring about such a state in the actual affairs of men, say of our day or of any time. The play contains hints suggesting that it is meant to be of universal application. It will yet be clear that this play can be fairly interpreted as an allegorical drama, summing up the whole method of Francis Bacon’s philosophy, and especially his moral philosophy, as it is to affect in actual life the individual, and all the relations which men and women sustain toward each other, from the primary relations of the family to the highest, which is that of government. And when so interpreted it will be found that it is also the philosophy of Freemasonry.
I do find it to be very interesting to think about and consider Shakespeare’s involvement with the early invention of Freemasonry (I’ve had conversations that he was at the same time Grand Master of both the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons) – well before it coalesced in its 1717 founding. And, it seems that the brothers of the United Grand Lodge of England felt of like mind in 1929 when pro Grand Master Lord Ampthill, accompanied by 600 masons in full regalia, laid the foundation stone of Stratford’s Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. The UK fraternal magazine Freemasonry Today [now archived] suggests that the connection can be found in the meaning from a quote found in Love’s Labour’s Lost as it being the essence of a Freemason’s purpose: to be a builder of love.
“For charity itself fulfills the law, and who can sever love from charity?” Love’s Labour’s Lost, IV.iii
Perhaps the mystery is the greatest clue to the bard’s mystic tie to the fraternity. Alfred Dodd, writing his examination of the plays and poems, says it unequivocally:
The story is told in the Great Shakespeare Folio of 1623 . . . the greatest Masonic Book in the world. The System was buried in secret and left to grow and root itself, like a bulb, in the dark for a hundred years. The emergence of the Masons in 1723 was a PLANNED emergence . . . …….the Centenary of the 1623 Folio. William Shakespeare was not only a Freemason, he was the FATHER and FOUNDER of the FRATERNITY, the Writer of the Rituals.
Was he or was he not to be…a Freemason? That is the question! Asking the questions is likely more fun than knowing for sure, but so long as conspiracy theories abound, this is one of the fun ones. Are the greatest works of the English language and drama really manifestos of esoteric ritual word play? We may never know.
But asking gives us more reason to celebrate the worlds greatest writer and dramatist – Happy Birthday Shakespeare.
This post was in contribution to HappyBirthdayShakespeare.com, a tribute to Shakespeare by bloggers from all over the world to post on how Shakespeare has impacted their lives. This celebration is sponsored by The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust which owns and cares for the five Shakespeare Houses.
Br. John Nagy has been a friend of FmI for a while. You may remember his from his past appearances on the Masonic Central pod cast.
He is the author of the Building… series of books, and his blog Building Builders.
This video below comes from the World Wide Exemplification of Freemasonry, in which he speaks about the Masonic Paradigm which he says is different that what most might be familiar with that will enlighten the viewers Masonic endeavor – called Building Builder.
its a great intro into Masonic leadership from both sides of the learning curve: those being lead and those leading them. Its a great listen for quite literally Building Builders.
A short time back, we published a 4 page document from the Canadian CSIS on the threat posed to Freemasonry by Islamic extremists.
Shortly after posting the paper, I recieved an email from a source who has had close dealings with the CSIS and is involved in International and Terrorist Intelligence Programs.
In his email, he said:
This report, and the CSIS document upon which it was apparently based, simply confirms what most counterterrorists have long known: Islamic-extremist are hostile to Freemasons. In this regard, please refer to the Hamas Charter, Articles 17, 22 and 28, below. As you may know, Hamas, generally considered to be the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine arm, is a designated terrorist organization under the laws of various countries.
They lump the fraternity of Freemasonry in with with several groups including Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, B’nai B’rith, saying they are part of the various Zionist Organizations making consistent efforts by way of publicity and movies, and curricula of education and culture.
This is of some interest as I can see where certain traffic frequently comes from to the site and notice every so often that large volumes of traffic comes from the middle east, specifically from countries that have generally been considered enemies of the West, or at best tacit allies in the war on terror. Often the spikes in traffic are followed by requests of “how to join in my country”, “Where are lodges in my country”, and pleas of people who “want to “become members”. With all this in mind, I often wonder what it was that sent them or what was behind the requests.
As a Masonic community, what do you think about this? With an enemy so far away, do you find there is any immediate threat, or is it just one of the many religious detractors towards Freemasonry?
The Muslim women have a no lesser role than that of men in the war of liberation; they manufacture men and play a great role in guiding and educating the [new] generation. The enemies have understood that role, therefore they realize that if they can guide and educate [the Muslim women] in a way that would distance them from Islam, they would have won that war. Therefore, you can see them making consistent efforts [in that direction] by way of publicity and movies, curricula of education and culture, using as their intermediaries their craftsmen who are part of the various Zionist Organizations which take on all sorts of names and shapes such as: the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, gangs of spies and the like. All of them are nests of saboteurs and sabotage. Those Zionist organizations control vast material resources, which enable them to fulfill their mission amidst societies, with a view of implementing Zionist goals and sowing the concepts that can be of use to the enemy. Those organizations operate [in a situation] where Islam is absent from the arena and alienated from its people. Thus, the Muslims must fulfill their duty in confronting the schemes of those saboteurs. When Islam will retake possession of [the means to] guide the life [of the Muslims], it will wipe out those organizations which are the enemy of humanity and Islam.
Article Twenty-Two: The Powers which Support the Enemy
The enemies have been scheming for a long time, and they have consolidated their schemes, in order to achieve what they have achieved. They took advantage of key elements in unfolding events, and accumulated a huge and influential material wealth which they put to the service of implementing their dream. This wealth [permitted them to] take over control of the world media such as news agencies, the press, publication houses, broadcasting and the like. [They also used this] wealth to stir revolutions in various parts of the globe in order to fulfill their interests and pick the fruits. They stood behind the French and the Communist Revolutions and behind most of the revolutions we hear about here and there. They also used the money to establish clandestine organizations which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, B’nai B’rith and the like. All of them are destructive spying organizations. They also used the money to take over control of the Imperialist states and made them colonize many countries in order to exploit the wealth of those countries and spread their corruption therein. As regards local and world wars, it has come to pass and no one objects, that they stood behind World War I, so as to wipe out the Islamic Caliphate. They collected material gains and took control of many sources of wealth. They obtained the Balfour Declaration and established the League of Nations in order to rule the world by means of that organization. They also stood behind World War II, where they collected immense benefits from trading with war materials and prepared for the establishment of their state. They inspired the establishment of the United Nations and the Security Council to replace the League of Nations, in order to rule the world by their intermediary. There was no war that broke out anywhere without their fingerprints on it: “…As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguishes it. Their efforts are for corruption in the land and Allah loves not corrupters.” Sura V (Al-Ma’ida—the Tablespread), verse 64 The forces of Imperialism in both the Capitalist West and the Communist East support the enemy with all their might, in material and human terms, taking turns between themselves. When Islam appears, all the forces of Unbelief unite to confront it, because the Community of Unbelief is one. “Oh ye who believe! Take not for intimates others than your own folk, who would spare no pain to ruin you. Hatred is revealed by [the utterance of] their mouth, but that which their breasts hide is greater. We have made plain for you the revelations if you will understand.” Sura III, (Al-Imran), verse 118 It is not in vain that the verse ends with God’s saying: “If you will understand.”
Article Twenty-Eight
The Zionist invasion is a mischievous one. It does not hesitate to take any road, or to pursue all despicable and repulsive means to fulfill its desires. It relies to a great extent, for its meddling and spying activities, on the clandestine organizations which it has established, such as the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions, and other spying associations. All those secret organizations, some which are overt, act for the interests of Zionism and under its directions, strive to demolish societies, to destroy values, to wreck answerableness, to totter virtues and to wipe out Islam. It stands behind the diffusion of drugs and toxics of all kinds in order to facilitate its control and expansion. The Arab states surrounding Israel are required to open their borders to the Jihad fighters, the sons of the Arab and Islamic peoples, to enable them to play their role and to join their efforts to those of their brothers among the Muslim Brothers in Palestine. The other Arab and Islamic states are required, at the very least, to facilitate the movement of the Jihad fighters from and to them. We cannot fail to remind every Muslim that when the Jews occupied Holy Jerusalem in 1967 and stood at the doorstep of the Blessed Aqsa Mosque, they shouted with joy: “Muhammad is dead, he left daughters behind.” Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims. “Let the eyes of the cowards not fall asleep.”
The following comes from a very bright young woman who is very involved with the Masonic Youth Orders that I had the pleasure to meet on Twitter. You can read her full bio below the article. I wanted to say that she offers a fresh and interesting perspective on the fraternity from a unique perspective of both being within and without the regular goings on of the Blue Lodge. After reading her paper, I thought it offered a great deal of value to the community on several levels and she graciously allowed FmI to republish her work.
I think you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did. – MT
A Deadly Deception? by Anne M. Stegen
The History Channel gets a lot of things wrong.
That is, they get facts wrong concerning certain details of say, Freemasonry or Masonic symbols. Considering that Freemasonry is the History Channel’s biggest obsession, just behind World War II, this is a rather serious offense. They take an obviously negative attitude towards Masons, connecting them to conspiracies left and right. One special about the alleged 2012 shift even mentioned that Freemasonry is inherently a conspirator in the matter. The program alluded to the “secrets” that Masons have, but gave no evidence to definitely connect the two. That form of ignorance is frustrating. The paranoia that has arisen in the general public is unfounded. There is no plot to create a “new world order.” Masons are not that coordinated. Instead, they focus on making their members better people, and helping their communities. Freemasonry is a benevolent society and is unjustly connected to conspiracy theories and plots for a new world order.
I am not a Mason. I am a woman, but I have extensive observations of the “Craft” of Freemasonry from my father and grandfather’s extensive involvement in the fraternity. My father started in the Blue Lodge, the basic Freemasonry. He was a member of Camelback Daylight Lodge No.75 in Mesa, Arizona. Yearly installations of officers are held and are often open to the public. Camelback Daylight Lodge’s membership consisted of elderly gentlemen, so the Regular Installation of Officers were usually an event with ill-fitting and wrinkled tuxedos, walkers, bolo ties, oxygen tanks, and hearing aides buzzing away, but also warm handshakes, and big hugs for me. It was always astounding to think that these men were accused of plotting world domination.
The fear comes from the unknown. Freemasonry still has some traditions that have been lost to the ages in common society. While ignoring the symbolism, people get hung up on the details—“Why are they wearing aprons?”—and jump to the conclusion that these gentlemen are obviously conspirators. Freemasonry began as an operative masonry guild—thus the aprons—that transformed into a gentlemen’s club that fostered the ideas of tolerance and truth during the Enlightenment. “Speculative” Freemasonry (as opposed to operative masonry) and the Illuminati were formed during the same era, so they are often connected. The Illuminati was formed on the same basis, tolerance and truth, and was not able to continue due to persecution by the Bavarian government. The Illuminati is no longer in existence, despite what Dan Brown says, and it is definitely not connected to Freemasonry. The fear in America that comes from the term “Freemasonry” is based on Americans’ general paranoia of anything they don’t yet understand. My challenge to you, then, is to join the fraternity and judge for yourself.
It is unlikely that such a plot for world domination or a new world order could be conceived in Freemasonry, even in the higher levels of the organization. The Blue Lodge is not governed by an international, or even national leader. In the United States, every state is autonomous. The Grand Lodge of the state regulates and directs the local lodges in their jurisdiction. The many different Grand Lodges are kept in check by a process of recognizing each other. If the Grand Lodge of one area decrees something that is against Masonic teachings, the Grand Lodges of other areas will declare it a “clandestine” Lodge, and members are forbidden from attending lodge meetings there. This system makes it nearly impossible to create a viable conspiracy of the magnitude of a new world order. There are other branches of Freemasonry, such as the York Rite and the Scottish Rite, but to join these appendent groups, one must first be a member of the Blue Lodge. There is no conspiracy within these branches because the Grand Master, the leader of the Grand Lodge, ultimately controls those branches as well. The fabled 33rd Degree Masons are often charged with making malicious plots in the dark smoky room. First of all, smoking is not allowed in lodge rooms. Secondly, these men are just Scottish Rite Masons, still subordinate to the Grand Master. Thirdly, many of these men are also Shriners, the same elderly gentlemen who wear the funny red hats, dress as clowns and do tricks in miniature cars in parades. The finger pointing must stop.
Many people and groups today attack Freemasonry without looking into the truth. Thousands of web sites claim things like “Freemasonry is a Non-Christian Occult Religion,” “Christians Beware – of Freemasonry,” (Keohane) and “Freemasonry proven to worship Satan, as its symbols venerate the sex act.” Bad grammar, poorly constructed HTML layouts, and “telling” photographs of “Masonic” symbols and regalia accompany these sites. The experts referenced have Masonic titles, like 33rd Degree, slapped at the end of their name. Anti- Masonic literature has the same fallacies. The Indiana Freemason web site analyzes one such book, The Deadly Deception: Freemasonry Exposed by One of Its Top Leaders by James Shaw, and finds four outright lies on the front cover alone. The various arguments against Freemasonry are baseless and uninformed.
Yes, Masons keep secrets. When you were little, did you ever have a club? Did that club have passwords that you kept secret from “outsiders”? Did it make you feel special to be a part of that club, especially because it had secret passwords? Apply that same concept to a club for older men, and you get the idea. While a Mason may not tell you what the passwords are, they are not really secrets anymore. If someone is really curious, the Masonic “Ritual,” a book containing Masonic ceremonies is already published in various forms. Charles William Heckethorn (1965), secret society expert, says, “The outside world, who cannot believe that Masonic meetings, which are so jealously guarded against the intrusion of non-Masons, have no other purpose than the rehearsal of a now totally useless and pointless ritual, followed by conviviality [a break for refreshments], naturally assume that there must be something more behind; and what seems to fear the light is usually supposed to be evil.” The ceremony to initiate new members has always been an object of attack because of the seemingly strange things parts of the ceremony. Essentially it involves the reenactment of a story. Various objects and words are used to represent a lesson that the initiate should always bear in mind. The phrase “on the level” comes from one such lesson.
What is the creed of Freemasonry? What do they believe? Much confusion has arisen over the issue, and anti-Masonic groups do all they can to keep it that way. Freemason Roger Firestone articulately answers, “Freemasonry strongly encourages its members to belong to an established religion, although that is not a requirement for membership (only that a candidate profess a belief in a Supreme Being). Masonry is a fraternal organization that encourages morality and charity and studies philosophy. It has no clergy, no sacraments, and does not promise salvation to its members.” Every Masonic activity starts with a prayer (and the presentation of the national flag, when appropriate). John the Baptist and John the Evangelist are the patron saints of Freemasonry, keeping high ideals and high pursuits at the forefront. Freemasonry is not a religion itself, but it strengthens the beliefs and morals of its members.
Members of the fraternity enjoy the privileges of having brothers all over the world. Masons and their families can always call upon other members in times of need. Travelers, the infirmed, those in distress can take comfort when they meet up with another Mason, whether they have known him previously or not. The Masonic family, including the women’s and youth groups, is a tight-knit community. Often a Masonic ring on a man’s right hand signifies that he will meet you on the level.
Freemasonry is dedicated to the betterment of its members, but also its community. Shrine hospitals, the Arizona Masonic Foundation for Children, the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, the Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment, the Amaranth Diabetes Foundation and Scottish Rite hospitals are all beneficiaries of Masonic sponsorship. The South Carolina Freemasonry web site says, “The Freemasons of North America contribute over two million dollar a day to charitable causes.” Local Lodges also have programs to help the nearby schools, hospitals and youth organizations. If Freemasonry had malicious intentions, would not these resources be better employed elsewhere?
Suggesting that Freemasonry is anything but benevolent is ludicrous. Implying that it is involved in conspiracies is ignorant. Americans worried about a new world order should turn their attention to other groups with that goal. And the History Channel needs to get these facts correct. Factual errors and dramatization are unacceptable. In the war for public opinion, Freemasonry should be the benign and prestigious organization that teaches belief in a Supreme Being, high ideals for living, and brotherly love.
FREEMASONRY PROVEN TO WORSHIP SATAN, AS ITS SYMBOLS VENERATE THE SEX ACT — STUDY OF SYMBOLS PART 5 . (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2009, from http://www.cuttingedge.org/free16.htm
Gilmour, P. (Director). (2006). Mysteries of the Freemasons DVD [Documentary]. United States: A&E Home Video.
Heckethorn, C. W. (1965). The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries (v. 2). New York: General Books Llc.
Upon beginning research for the paper, I contacted Michael T. Bishop, the Grand Mater of the State of Arizona (at the time), for further information and insight. My school deadline did not allow me to wait for a response, but I have since heard back from him. The Grand Master is a busy person, and I would like to sincerely thank him for his time.
My questions to him were:
How does Freemasonry help American communities?
How has Freemasonry helped America?
How does Freemasonry make good men better?
Here is his reply, in it’s entirety:
“The first two questions are much the same. Freemasonry has philanthropies and charitable projects, but its contribution is far deeper and more significant. Jacob Needleman in The American Soulspeaks of a strong communal mysticism in early colonial America, especially in Quaker Pennsylvania. He emphasizes the importance of mystical communities in America and the founding fathers’ affiliations with Freemasonry. Many ideals that Americans consider definitive of our nation were introduced by these mystical communities. Today, Freemasonry is perhaps the strongest thread that binds us to our past, to that communal mysticism that seemed so strong 250 years ago. It is a search for truth, which can be translated “a closeness to our Creator.” Freemasonry embraced the philosophy of John Locke (1632-1704) who declared that human beings have natural rights and that reason and rational self-interest motivate people to freely establish governments by their own consent and for their own benefit, a philosophy embraced by the founding fathers. Jefferson would say that these rights are God given.
Freemasonry claims to make good men better, but a friend has suggested that the phrase should be that it makes better men good. To be a truly good man is what we should strive to attain. The teachings of Freemasonry in its ritual are valuable in themselves for their instruction for living a good and moral life, but its lofty goal to seek knowledge, truth, and closeness to God are perhaps more important. It was Freemason George Washington who said that the great aim of Freemasonry is to promote the happiness of the human race.”
Anne M. Stegen
Anne Stegen is a sophmore at Arizona State University. She is studying journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Anne wants to work with non-profit organizations, social media and digital media tools. Anne is highly involved with Job’s Daughters International in Arizona. She works with residential life at Arizona State. She is a Community Assistant at Taylor Place at the downtown Phoenix campus. She is also Vice President of the ASU chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
This is came off of a Press Release, and deserves to be shared.
by James Shaw, and finds four outright lies on the front cover alone. The various arguments against Freemasonry are baseless and uninformed.