This morning while browsing the news on my phone, I ran across an article on the Freemasons….. I thought that might be a good topic for today.
Freemasons — that mysterious secret society that does whatever it does, when those Masons go inside those temples of theirs. Who are these guys and what are they doing in there? Are they really running the world?
Freemason secrets allegedly lurk behind everything from the planning of our nation’s capital to murder. So who are the Freemasons and what do they stand for? As you might imagine, this is one of those subjects that just begs for some of my extensive research….
Freemasons belong to the oldest fraternal organization in the world. The most probable origin of the Freemasons has the organization incorporating in 1475 in Edinburg and consisting of masons (stone workers) and wrights (woodworkers.) Members from other crafts were allowed to join, starting with coopers (barrel makers) in 1489. It’s generally agreed that “modern” Freemasonry began with the creation of the Great Lodge of London in 1717. Over the centuries the organization drifted away from its original trade association and became more of a club for men of various professions and callings even though the Freemasons’ symbols and official gear (including a stonemason’s apron) bring to mind the early days. Supposedly the organization still conveys the early era’s core values, religious tolerance, thirst for knowledge and sociability.
As for symbols, Freemasons have always communicated using visual symbols drawn from the tools of stonemasonry. The “All-Seeing Eye,” or Eye of Providence has been used by the group to represent the omniscience of God. The most well-known Freemason symbol, “The Square and Compasses,” depicts a builder’s square joined by a compass. The “G” at its center remains subject to dispute — some experts believe the “G” in the symbol’s center represents geometry, a critical field to the first Freemasons. Others believe it represents God, the “Grand Architect of the Universe.” (Another lesser known Masonic symbol is drawn from nature — the beehive. Masons were originally working men who were supposed to be busy as bees. The beehive symbolizes the industriousness of the lodge.)
Historically, the question is not who has been one, but who hasn’t. Freemasons can be found throughout history — George Washington, Benjamin franklin, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Winston Churchill, Davy Crockett, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Henry Ford, Buzz Aldrin, Colonel Harland Sanders (the chicken guy,) William Howard Taft, and Michael Richards, a.k.a. “Kramer” on Seinfeld. So the group may or may not rule the world, but a number of Freemasons have had their hand on the wheel.
But the thing that makes people suspicious about Freemasons isn’t membership rolls, but the rituals that have sprung within the group over the years — the “initiation rites” and ceremonies and various “levels” that Masons can achieve by going through them. These are supposedly secret and paganistic, with one big sticking point being the Mason’s concept of a “Great Architect of the Universe” (God to most of us.) Critics of the Freemasons suggest that the “Great Architect” is not a generalized representation of a higher being, as the Freemasons claim, but a manifestation of Baal, god of Canaanites, i.e., not the same God that people go to church on Sundays to worship. It should be noted that Freemasons roll their eyes at this allegation. Freemasonry isn’t a religion, but all members believe in a Supreme Being — a “Grand Architect of the Universe.” However the Catholic Church first condemned Freemasonry in 1738 over the concern about Masonic temples and the secret rituals performed within them. In the 19th century, the Vatican even called the Masons “the Synagogue of Satin.”
So needless to say, the Freemasons have fueled a great deal of resentment over the years, and at one point even spawned a political party. In 1828, the first third party in the United States — the Anti-Masonic Party — was formed in response to fears that the group was growing too secretive and powerful. The incident that motivated this movement was the mysterious disappearance of bricklayer William Morgan, who was allegedly preparing a tell-all book about the Freemasons’ secrets and rituals. He was never found, and the rumor was the Freemasons did him in.
The Anti-Masonic party had some success at the state and local level, and even managed to help former United States President John Quincy Adams get elected to the House of Representatives in 1830. But as a national political party, it was a bust.
Today, the oldest fraternal organization in the world is still going strong — if they’re sincerely dedicated to taking over the world, it’s been a long fight……
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