Two publications Every Mason should pick up!

Posted on March 4, 2009December 27, 2021 by Masonic Traveler

Two publications that I happened upon today (one that landed in my mailbox and the other that landed in my cart).

The first happens to be a Masonic publication from The Masonic Society, aptly called The Journal of the Masonic Society, issue No. 2.

You may recognize the cover, I know it’s familiar to me. This second issue is late in coming for the Autumn edition, but worth the wait. It contains some very key contributions from across North America on topics including membership, esoterica, and a lil something in there from me. Its not often that an artist gets to write his own introduction to his work. This publication is living up to its early press and delivering a quality piece of work with a wide array of content and insight. And the artwork and layout is just stunning.

The other publication has been out for a while, but after seeing a copy in a lodge brothers hand, I knew I had to pick myself up one.

This one comes from the US News and World Report and is a compendium of their series on Secret Societies aptly called Mysteries of History – Secret Societies. Its a pretty dense issue pushing almost 90 pages and no ads. I found my copy on the newsstand, but it was the last copy on the shelf. It goes into some detail (from the cover) on the Masons, Religious Cults, Scientology, Opus Dei, the Mafia, Skull and Bones, and more! Not exactly the cast of characters that Freemasonry likes to be associated with, but certainly a conspiracy theorists dream journal.

I’m looking forward to the chance to dig into them, but have to admit I’ve read through the Journal most of the way through today. Both will be good reads for anyone looking for a news or book lite experience. And, they look pretty spiffy too.

You can get The Journal of the Masonic Society Here
and You can pick up the Mysteries of History – Secret Societies Here.

The new Bible called “the book”

Posted on January 10, 2009November 19, 2013 by Greg Stewart

There was an article on NPR’s Marketplace a short while ago that talked about a new high gloss slick designed Holy Bible called Bible Illuminated: The Book coming from illuminatedworld.com, whose publisher Dag Soderberg released it in Sweden to a seemingly starving audience of believers to ashamed to carry and display the good book. Sales of the book were “unprecedented” because people no longer found a connection to reading these historical texts as the traditional text and design “turned people off”.

That idea led to this new version simply called “The Book“. What makes this new edition of this centuries old best seller is that it taps into our modern day material culture of images and celebrities to illustrate the moral parables from the past.

With a slick magazine look like Vogue images of post Katrina New Orleans and men on fire are indicative of Revelations and Andy Warhol in Drag illuminates the book of John. This new approach is geared for slick urban hipster who is more familiar with twitter and more likely to read facebook than carry a bible. The goal of the publisher is to put the “the book” into the hands of the younger set, in a way that they want it.

I’m interested in seeing what the new text looks like and what its impact will be on the religious marketplace. Not that there haven’t been publications like this before, but it seems like a new way of trying to market a very old product to keep it in the hearts and minds of the adherents.

Maybe it would be a snappy way to update the lodge room to place it as the VSL.

I picked up a version at the book store and spent some time with it. It really does have the look and feel of a high end magazine, which may have saved in the high end emboss of a more traditional publication, but I can see their marketing plan and their product vision. It definitely has the interest of a new generation in mind.

The publisher Illuminated World

On Amazon Bible Illuminated: The Book

Jessica L. Harland-Jacobs author of Builders of Empire

Posted on October 16, 2008November 20, 2015 by Masonic Traveler | 1 Comment

How influential was Freemasonry to the growing British Empire of the 18th Century?

In this podcast we delve into the subject matter with Professor Jessica Harlan-Jacobs who is the author of Builders of Empire: Freemasons and British Imperialism, 1717-1927.

This book, while not an exotic expose of the mysterious secrets of the ancient fraternity, it is a well paced analysis of its most formative period of growth across the globe.

Listen to the Pod-Cast Now!

During the pod cast we discuss the world of British Colonialism in which Freemasonry grew to maturity and what that meant for both the British Empire and to Freemasonry. Also we will explore the growing study of Freemasonry in academia.

Originally recorded in 2008

Masonic Central at the Movies

Posted on September 11, 2008October 2, 2021 by Greg Stewart | 1 Comment

Its MOVIE TIME!

Join Greg and Dean in this episode recorded on September 14, 2008, as the show wanders into the film cinema sphere to talk about three of the most iconic masonic films: The Man Who Would be King, Rosewood and National Treasure. This episode has a few “surprise” guests that jump on the air and build on the conversation. Plus we go deep on Sean Connery and his possible connection to Freemasonry (and his hairy chest).

Its something that all Freemasons like to talk about in lodges, during meetings, and on the web, so lets take a minute and look at three films that have Freemasonry at their core, but in three very unique ways.

The movies on the table for the talk are:

The Man Who Would be King

An adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling story of the same name. This is one of those films that Freemasons love–not just for the masonic connection but for the depth of the story around it. The Man Who Would Be King is almost a perfect film, with or without the masonic connection.

National Treasure

Set in a fictional universe, the film’s over the top plot and heroic depiction of the fraternity as the keepers of the Templar Treasure. This film was more valuable than any marketing or advertising the fraternity could have purchased generating years of interest and resulting in a decade of interest in the “secrets” that Freemasonry holds, for better or worse.

Rosewood

The film is not Masonic, per-se, but Freemasonry is an underlying central theme to the story. Prince Hall and Grand Lodge Masonry as they twist together resulting in the destruction of the Black community of the films namesake. This film, while dramatic, is the telling of a real story about the destruction of the Florida community in 1923.

The Man Who Would Be King Freemasonry connection.

National Treasure and its connection to Freemasonry.

the film Rosewood and its connection to Freemasonry.

If you’ve been a mason for any length of time, you’re probably had the chance to watch one or two of these films already. I guarantee it will make for a fun conversation delving into one or all of them.

More Masonic Films.