Anyone got any opinions about the Freemasons....?

Question

Theres a lot of stuff out there about them being in control of governements world banking. Blair and Bush are high ranking members.

A former member called Albert Pike is the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.. That its real routes are from the time of King Solomon... that Herod was a freemason... and basically the rituals are really designed to brain wash people into thinking they are doing something good when really the leaders are devil worshippers?

I was just wondering if anyone had any opinions on the matter.... are they a dangerously powerful cult running our governments from behind the scenes as they devise a Orwellian "New World Order"?

Or is it just a silly boys club where they do daft rituals and handshakes?

The only thing that really concerns me is that a book by the chief historian of the KKK in 1905 Claimed that Albert Pike was the founder and had a picture of him in the book.

It is clearly the same Albert Pike whose works are celebrated by the Freemasons.

The cynics also said that any retort from a freemason will general be indestinguishable from another (due to ritual brain washing processes). They also claim that they will resort to the circular rhetoric of refering to you as an "anti" which for them gives them closure.. However such use of rhetorics is not an acceptable form of debate.

Many non-mason US presidents have gone on record saying that there are: "powers behind the scence that control the governement"

I am still trying to understand why the masonic symbol of an "all seeing eye" a top a pyramid is on the back of the dollar bill.. especially as the masons claim to have no connection with politics or financial institutions.

http://www.answers.com/topic/albert-pike

Answer 1

Bit of a poser this one as people will see a conspiracy anywhere they look if they are cynical enough. It is a system of morality that is veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. this means that they are instructed by parables using easily remembered symbols to remember the lessons of how to conduct yourself through the different aspects of life and death. Want any more information and i suggest you repair to your local library and do a search on Freemasonry, It is so secret that there are whole libraries full of books on the subject.

Answer 2

It is one, if not the oldest, fraternal group. It was one of the first groups to institute anti discrimination, although that was not always practiced. Essentially it is group dedicated to making good men better though moral science. Mason support many charities along with being strong public school supporters. Their overhead for charity is the lowest except for a single church.

In the lodge ans with the members tolerance is practiced so that they don't allow religion or politics stand between brotherhood. This extends across many religions, political views and other orientations.

The best proof against being behind governments and banking is to watch for cars with the masonic symbols on them - not quite what you would drive if you had a piece of those pies.

The major reason they are considered a cult, often in churches that were built by donations and hard work of Freemasons, is that people are unwilling to actually talk to a mason but prefer listening to someone that can't do realistic research and has a tendency to make up "facts".

As an aside, Pike *may* have been involved with the KKK, but many other masons were signers of the Declaration,14 Presidents, other notable public figures, but mostly just good men in the community.

Masons have not been a secret society since 1726 when they declared their existence. The do take an oath of secrecy, but all the "Secrets" are openly readable on the internet or in various books. The oath is more to teach the members fidelty or to keep their word.

Answer 3

1) Bush & Blair are high ranking members = no. Neither are Freemasons. There are only 3 degrees of Freemasonry. Appendant bodies may confer additional degrees, but it does not denote rank over the 3 degrees obtained in the "blue" lodge.

2) Albert Pike is founder of KKK = No. Not even close. http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/kkk.html

3) Herod was a Freemason = No. There are many historical, biblical, and otherwise ancient influences and models for the symbolism and rituals of Freemasonry. There is no devil worship in Freemasonry - that is a popular legend stemming from an old smear campaign against Albert Pike which was a hoax by Leo Taxil ages ago. http://www.masonicworld.com/education/files/jun03/albert_pike_and_lucifer.htm

4) Freemasonry as a "dangerous and powerful cult" = No. Freemasonry is religious (you MUST believe in a Supreme Being, but you may refer to him as God, Yaweh, Allah or whatever your personal religion dictates.) but most certainly NOT a religion. Conspiracy theories abound.

5) Freemasonry is a fraternity. You may consider it silly and some of the customs and rituals as "daft" but millions of good men and many, many great leaders of men may have a differing opinion. :-)

Answer 4

Its possible that there is a secret plan called the Anglo-Saxon Mission which might take place within the next 2 years. This is a plan to intentionally cause worldwide nuclear and biological warfare leading to at least 50% population reduction, then to creation of the NWO through martial law and global government. There have been reports leaked out of meetings between senior Freemasons that show they are behind this evil plot.

Answer 5

I am a freemason and being one, have an opinion, but also a lot of facts, about the freemasons.

freemasonr is a social fraternity that studies morality through symbol, ritual and allegory and practices faith, hope, charity and brotherhood. It is not a religion or a political group.

In reading over your text and many responses it appears that most of the information here was gleaned from anti-masonic sites as it is all false.

- The highest degree in masonry is the 3rd, or Sublime Degree of Master Mason; anything you hear beyond that is from an appendant body (York or Scottish Rite) but is not higher that the 3rd Degree (it should be noted that the 4th Degree (Mark) is also obtained as part of the Blue Lodge in the UK...
- Neither Blair nor Bush are associated with freemasonry in any way
- We are not in control of any governments or world banking
- Pike was neither the founder nor a member of the KKK; and the satan worship stuff comes from his text Morals and Dogma where is says "lucifer, bringer of light, if you are not God, who is?" --- lucifer is latin for "bringer of light" and throughout history referred to Venus (which leads the sun into the morning sky) but in this literary context says "if God is not the bringer of light than who is?". You cannot be a freemason if you worship satan, there is no brain washing/mind control in freemasonry
- Not involved with any sort of 'new world order'
- Not just a silly old boys club, if nothing else they provide over $2 billion per year in charity in terms of free hospitals, schools, youth and retirement homes, scholarships, anti-drug programs, etc; more than any other group on the planet

to some other responses:

* nothing "gay" about freemasonry, in any context you choose to use that word
* not secretive at all, everything is available online for free and in books you can buy at most bookstores
* from the ABC report: the tie to operative masonry is speculative (no pun intended)
* freemasonry is not a cult
* there is no worship in freemasonry, that is the province of religion; each mason has his own religious beliefs which are tended to by the Church he attends outside of masonry
* the stuff at "answers.com" is just jibberish and should be called "liesbyanantimason.com"

Answer 6

Their secrecy opens the organization to many rumors. The fact is that they respect God and tradition. They must perform various community services and charitable acts to attain higher levels of membership. Many honorable men who have also helped to shape our country were and are freemasons.


According to an ABC news report:

The Freemasons say they are simply a fraternity that aims to make good men better and to support each other. Because they are essentially secret, however, groups such as the Freemasons can stir all kinds of theories.

The all-seeing eye atop the pyramid on the $1 bill is a Masonic symbol. Some say that some of the great American buildings have Masonic symbols incorporated into their architecture.

Many of our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock, were Freemasons. There are currently 1.7 million members, though membership has been declining since 1960.

Some conspiracy theorists say that the Freemasons, or Masons, have designs on government control.

"The thing people think about when they think of Masonry is secrecy. They think of this hidden order that they know almost nothing about," said Steven C. Bullock, author of "Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order."

The Freemasons have a 500-year history. Originally, they were stonemasons who built the great cathedrals of Europe.

"They traveled widely, because a town would have a church built maybe once every hundred years," said Margaret Jacob, author of "The Origins of Freemasonry: Facts and Fictions."

"As they traveled, they had secret passwords and signs so when they came into a town and said, 'I'm a stonemason, I want to work,' they had to be able to prove they were a member of the guild."

S. Brent Morris, who is, among other things, a 33-Degree Mason, master of the royal secret and managing editor of the Scottish Rite Journal, said that although Freemasonry was not a religion, it had overarching religious principles that were part of Masons' rich traditions.


"The Freemasons did something very radical 300 years ago. We said that men can agree that God exists and he compels them to do good in their life and we can stop all religious discussion at that point and go out and do good and help mankind. So Freemasons invite any believer in God to join them."

Morris said Freemasons displayed a Bible, a Koran and a Torah on their altar. Another powerful symbol of the tradition is the sword carried by the grand sword bearer of the Supreme Council, the highest order within the Freemasons that meets every few years.

Yet the society was so closed centuries ago, is so closed still, that the penalty for revealing Freemason secrets is supposed to be gory death.

Richard E. Fletcher, the executive secretary of the Masonic Service Association of North America, said that the Freemasons was not an enigmatic organization. Things like secret handshakes date back centuries.

"The handshakes are a throwback to our early days when Freemasonry was related to actual builders and stone," he said. "That is how they prove they are a guild member, because most were illiterate."

Although there were once anti-Masonic political parties and early 19th-century President John Quincy Adams called the Freemasons a power-hungry "boa constrictor" of an organization, Fletcher said Freemasonry had always been about improving oneself. The nature of the self-reflective process is private, he said, and many people mistake that for secrecy.

Answer 7

They are no different than The Knights of Columbus,or any of the other ritual clubs that men go to,most of the others go to drink,the Masons don't do that. My hubby is a Mason,and his father was one,and I have been to many meetings. The meeting itself is not allowed for women but they have dinners every month and women are invited,and they have ceremonies when someone gets elected or pins for so many yrs of service are given and they are lovely. It is ridiculous to think they are a cult,or devil worshippers,all the different Catholic clubs out there have secret handshakes and funny apparel why pick on the Masons who donate thousands to charity yearly.I believe Ben Franklin was a Mason,But I could be wrong.

Answer 8

Well you open up a can of worms with this question but I think that was your intention.

The same old anti comments that I don't have the time to answer.

cl_freemason: the 4th degree or Mark is not available in Craft (Blue) lodge in England but it is in Scotland.

Answer 9

The masons date back to the 17th century, they are a religious sect & have NOTHING to do with the kkk...They are English & the follow the prodistant bible...they believe by doing favours for one another 'their neighbough or brother' they are making the world a better place

Answer 10

Have a look here.http://www.answers.com/freemasons?gwp=11&ver=2.1.1.521&method=3 I really never gave them a second thought.