ANTI-MASONRY
IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE
en•chant...1.
To cast under a spell; bewitch.
en•chanter... One that enchants; a sorcerer or magician.
--The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
The Internet may be the most exciting invention of the 20th century.
It has enabled an amazing increase in communication and information
transfer. Researchers now think nothing of browsing the catalog of the
Sorbonne before checking a reference at the British Museum. One of the
first, least structured, and most enjoyable features of the Internet
is the newsgroup or bulletin board. These discussion sessions cover
wildly-ranging topics from theology to chocolate, and from music to
Freemasonry.
Participants in
a discussion post messages (a few lines or scores of pages). These can
be in response to earlier postings or they can start now discussion
"threads." Part of the charm (and bane) of newsgroups is their almost
total lack of structure. Anyone can talk about anything with almost
any language. The groups tend to be self-policing, but a wilder, freer
forum is hard to imagine. One of the more popular newsgroups devoted
to discussions of Freemasonry is alt.freemasonry.
With this freedom,
unfortunately, comes the opportunity for misuse and abuse. Internet
technology allows users to mask their identities, so they can anonymously
post outlandish, vulgar, blasphemous, and misleading messages all without
fear of repercussion. Nearly all Freemasons posting to newsgroups identify
themselves and their lodges; nearly all anti-Masons use pseudonyms and
false addresses. A visitor in 1995 or 1996 to alt.freemasonry
could find the puerile ravings of such bravely anonymous participants
as "Plutonium," "Don," "Tweety," or "Enchanter!" or Mr. Ken Mitchell
writing as "Joken." (20a) It is
hard to motivate people, but we think the intent of these posters is
twofold: spread vicious lies about Freemasonry and disrupt any civil
discourse on the craft. It is useless to try to address every irrational
argument of unidentified cowards; their minds are made up and closed.
However, it may be instructive to look at one series of such messages.
Several postings
("Masonry FAQ [Frequently Asked Questions]: Blasted to Bits," "Secrets
and Secrecy," and others, all by the bravely pseudonymous Enchanter!)
to several newsgroups attempted to portray the Masonic fraternity as
an "evil force which is permeating every corner of our society." The
documents are filled with misunderstandings, misstatements, and deceptive
half-truths.
The
Difficulty of Dialogue
Enchanter!
has established an interesting logical system in which he conducts his
inquisition. It enables him to accept any "evidence" that suits him,
and ignore what doesn't. Non-Masons who question him are dismissed for
not being "real 33rd degree Masons."
May I ask you
Mr. Billman, what degree Mason are you? If you are less than a 33rd
degree Mason, does it not make sense that I should accept the opinions
of a real 33rd Mason [Albert Pike] over yours on this subject?
Then any response
from a Mason is similarly dismissed because the author defines them
to be unreliable.
You obviously
are a Mason, and therefore have taken vows to uphold certain secrets,
even if it means telling lies.
Meaningful, civil
discourse is difficult after these premises are established.
The
Fundamental Misunderstanding
The
first and most fundamental misunderstanding of the document is that
the Scottish Rite Supreme Councils and "real 33rd Degree Masons" somehow
control Freemasonry. The author seems fixated on 33rd Degree Masons
and quotes their writings religiously. As an example of the confusion,
the original posting said, "Masonry is a two-faced preditor [sic], just
as the Masonic icon of the two-headed eagle indicates." The author later
acknowledged that the eagle is a symbol of the Scottish Rite, and not
of Freemasonry, but the basic confusion of control persists throughout.
A 33rd Degree Mason
does not necessarily have more knowledge or speak more authoritatively
than other Masons. One might as well assume that Eagle Scouts know more
about Scouting policy and history than anyone else or that a Phi Beta
Kappa graduate of a University is a more reliable source for university
plans and policy than a dean. Scouting does not work this way; universities
do not work this way; and Freemasonry does not work this way.
The author asks,
"Is the author of the FAQ a 33rd degree Mason?" "If not, then it would
seems to me that Pike stands as a better authority on issues such as
the Occult Sciences and Lucifer." Following this logic, Bishop John
Spong of the Episcopal Church should be a better authority on issues
of Christian doctrine than most other Christians. He was ordained in
direct apostolic succession from Jesus Christ. In his book Rescuing
the Bible from Fundamentalism he has speculated that the "thorn
in the flesh" of St. Paul (II Corinthians 12:7) may have been that he
was a homosexual. Does this mean St. Paul was a homosexual? Does Bishop
Spong speak for all Christians? Does he speak for all Episcopalians?
Does this mean the members of Bishop Spong's dioceses must believe this?
Anyone believing any of this understands neither Protestant Christianity
nor the politics of the Episcopal Church. The author similarly misunderstands
Freemasonry.
The
Source of Accurate Information
Every
Grand Lodge in the United States publishes annual Transactions
or Proceedings which detail the motions, debates, and business
conducted at their meetings. Grand Lodges print and widely distribute
hundreds of copies of their proceedings. These are not secret and can
be read at the Grand Lodges or in the larger Masonic libraries. Annual
transactions are the source for accurate, official actions of any Grand
Lodge. A further source of information is the annual proceedings of
the Conference of Grand Masters of North America.
There are scores
of Lodges devoted to studying the history of Freemasonry. The oldest
such "Research Lodge" is Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 in London,
founded in 1886. Its annual transactions, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum,
are an abundance of carefully researched historical papers on Freemasonry.
American Masonic research organizations with extensive publications
include the American Lodge of Research (New York), the Missouri Lodge
of Research, Iowa Research Lodge No. 2, the Ohio Chapter of Research
(Royal Arch Masons--part of the "York Rite"), the Philalethes Society,
and the Scottish Rite Research Society.
In short, there
is a wealth of readily available information on the activities of virtually
every American Masonic organization. Much of it is boring (e.g., debates
on how Lodge meeting notices should be mailed), but it is publicly available
to anyone who wants to do genuine research on the actual, not imagined,
activities of Freemasonry. Similarly there are thousands of papers (poorly-
and well-written) on the history, philosophy, and origins of Freemasonry,
all available to anyone willing to take the effort to read them.
Deficient Research
Albert Pike is
the favorite "whipping boy" of modern anti-Masons, and Enchanter! is
no exception. Pike is usually first portrayed as the central, guiding
force behind Freemasonry, and then he is vilified. Pike was a circumloquacious
Victorian writer whose style (to my taste at least) was better suited
for a century ago. (Certainly he never read Strunk & White!)
In one place in
Morals and Dogma, Pike refers to Jesus as "the mysterious founder
of the Christian Church." Enchanter! quotes this passages and then uses
it to launch an ad hominem attack on Pike.
Notice how Pike
avoids even writing the name of Christ, and would rather substitute
a cumbersome phrase in its place.
The statement
is a non sequitur; Pike's writing style has nothing to do with
Masonry. More than this, the accusation is wrong; it betrays tissue-thin
research. Pike had a vast vocabulary, but did not hesitate to use "Jesus,"
"Jesus Christ," or "Christ."
On its face was
inscribed the word [Ichthus], a fish, the initials of which represented
the Greek words, [Iesous CHristos THeou HYios Soter]; Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, the Saviour. [Morals and Dogma, p. 547]
The person of
Jesus having disappeared, there was seen in His place a cross of Light
over which a celestial voice pronounced these words: "The cross of
Light is called The Word, Christ, The Gate, Joy, The Bread, The Sun,
The Resurrection, Jesus, The Father, The Spirit, Life, Truth, and
Grace." [Morals and Dogma, p. 567]
Paul of Samosta
taught that Jesus Christ was the Son of Joseph and Mary. [Morals
and Dogma, p. 564]
According to
the Church, Christ was of the same nature as God. [Morals and Dogma,
p. 565]
None can deny
that Christ taught a lofty morality. "Love one another: forgive those
that despitefully use you and persecute you." [Morals and Dogma,
p. 540.
Jesus of Nazareth,
the "Son of man," is the expounder of the new Law of Love. He called
to Him the humble, the poor the Pariahs of the world. [Morals and
Dogma, p. 309]
A
Source Misunderstood
Enchanter!
readily accepts and repeats negative information about Masonry without
understanding the source. For example, he says:
In 'Scottish Rite
Masonry Illustrated' (Vol. II, p. 259) we find that the candidate, after
a bizarre and somber ceremony involving coffins and skulls, hears these
words voiced by the Grand Master.
A quotation then
follows in which the candidate is told he will have "to obey, without
reserve, all that you will be commanded to do." This sounds ominous,
but it has no bearing on any legitimate Masonic body, because the author
has not checked his sources. The book in question is an exposure of
the rituals of "Cerneauism," a Masonic movement in the nineteenth century
that violently opposed legitimate Scottish Rite Masonry in the United
States. Whatever similarities may exist between Cerneau and Scottish
Rite rituals are objects of curiosity and a source of Masonic research
papers.
Numerous references
to the Cerneau Supreme Council occur throughout the book. Confusing
Cerneauism with regular Scottish Rite Masonry is like confusing the
Church of Christ with the Church of Christ, Scientist. Their names are
alike and their orders of worship are superficially similar, but they
are fundamentally different denominations. It is shallow research to
accept Blanchard's book without question. It is incompetent to confuse
the Cerneau Supreme Council with regular Scottish Rite Masonry. It is
irresponsible to accuse Scottish Rite Masons on the basis of an irrelevant
book (the reader will find more information on Scotch Rite Masonry
Illustrated in the section "Jonathan Blanchard and the Scottish
Rite" in our chapter on John Ankerberg and John Weldon).
|
Figure
6. Title page of Scotch Rite Masonry Illustrated,
with historical sketch and analysis by Jonathan Blanchard.
This virulently anti-Masonic book is an exposure of Cerneauism,
an illegitimate pseudo-Masonic organization.
|
* * *
Unsubstantiated Allegations
Enchanter! Makes several wild charges about a global conspiracy which involved
Freemasonry in some vague, unspecified way. Among many other things
he talks about:
the sheer numbers
of Masons involved in global reorganization....
the ranks of
the many Christians and God-loving people who got out of Masonry because
they did not like the secrets revealed at the higher levels.
A small percentage
of the US population are involved in freemasonry, yet in the US government
(especially the secretive intelligence agencies like the FBI, CIA,
NSA, etc.) there is a very high number of freemasons.
this evil force
which is permeating every corner of our society.
If true, these
allegations can be supported objective research. There is no need to
sit by idly when the public record can be checked to substantiate these
claims. Any reader easily should be able to confirm Enchanter!'s statements,
if only he will share his information. All we need to know is the name
of the Mason, a reference to his membership, and his position.
If Freemasonry
is "permeating every corner of our society," then it should be simple
to give a dozen verifiable examples.
If so many Masons
are "involved in global reorganization," then it should be simple to
name a score of them.
If so many "many
Christians and God-loving people" have left "Masonry because they did
not like the secrets revealed at the higher levels," then we should
be able to read the witness of their experiences.
If the US government
and its intelligence agencies have a very high number of freemasons,
then there is no problem in giving a few dozen names.
A Secret Book
The author quotes extracts from the preface of
Morals and Dogma, and then says, "Clearly this book is or was
some sort of a secret." Again, the facts show otherwise. Below is the
quote from Enchanter! with the words left out indicated by being struck
out.
The following
work has been prepared by authority of the Supreme Council of the
Thirty-Third Degree, for the southern jurisdiction of the
United States, by the Grand Commander.
As the
cost of the work consists entirely in the printing and binding, it
will be furnished at a price as moderate as possible. No individual
will receive pecuniary profit from it, except the agents for its sale.
It has been copyrighted, to prevent its republication elsewhere. Whatever
profits may accrue from it will be devoted to purposes of charity.
It not being
intended for the world at large, the author [Pike]
has felt at liberty to make, from all accessible sources,
a Compendium of the Morals and Dogma of the Rite, to re-mould sentences,
change and add to words and phrases, combine them with his own, and
use them as if they were his own. He claims, therefore, little of
the merit of authorship, and has not cared to distinguish his own
from that which he has taken from other sources, being quite willing
that every portion of the book, in turn, may be regarded as borrowed
from some old and better writer.
In reading the
full words of the preface, several points are clear.
Morals and Dogma
was never intended to serve all of Freemasonry--just the Supreme Council,
33°, S.J. (It was, in fact, rejected and ignored by the Northern Masonic
Jurisdiction.)
The book was
copyrighted because of Pike's concern that it be sold at the lowest
possible cost and that all profits go to charity.
Because he was
not writing for a general public, Pike didn't worry about citing all
of his sources as he normally did.
Far from proving
that Morals and Dogma is a "secret book," the full preface shows:
1) it was produced at cost for Scottish Rite Masons; 2) no individual
was to profit from its sale or resale; 3) Pike used an informal reference
style because the book was intended for his Brethren only. No restrictions
have ever been placed on storing, reading, or loaning the book. Consider
these statistics from the 1992 Transactions of the Supreme Council.
In 1907 (the first year membership figures are summarized in the Transactions)
there were 33,000 Scottish Rite Masons in the Southern Jurisdiction;
in 1950 there were 374,000. In those 43 years, ignoring deaths and resignations,
341,000 Masons joined and received a copy of Morals and Dogma,
with no restriction on who could read it. This seems like a singularly
odd way to manage a "secret book."
Selective Quotations
Enchanter! makes
several quotes from Morals and Dogma, after first falsely claiming
it is among "the writings held sacred within the Lodges." Morals
and Dogma was published and distributed by the Southern Jurisdiction
of the Scottish Rite in the U.S. (A little over 20% of American Masons
have chosen to join the Scottish Rite in the S.J., and slightly less
are in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction--60% of American Masons are
not in the Scottish Rite.) Morals and Dogma has no role in Blue
Lodges, it is not used in the N.M.J., it has not been distributed in
the S.J. since ca. 1971, and it has never, ever been held "sacred" by
any Masonic group.
The first quote
from Morals and Dogma is preceded by Enchanter!'s inflammatory
introductory comment, "If you read this through, I'm sure you will agree
with me: it's a perversion of the Christian teachings, riddled with
magic(k) and occultism."
Ialdabaoth, to
become independent of his mother [Spirit], and to pass for the Supreme
Being, made the world, and man, in his own image.... They [Christos
and Wisdom] restored Jesus to life and gave Him an ethereal body,
in which He remained eighteen months on earth, and receiving from
Wisdom the perfect knowledge, communicated it to a small number of
His apostles. [Morals and Dogma pp. 563564]
The passage is
indeed found in Morals and Dogma, but it is a description of
the beliefs of the Ophites, a Gnostic sect condemned by Irenaeus (ca.115-ca.202),
Bishop of Lyons, in his book Against Heresies. The paragraph
from which this quote is taken begins, "The Ophites commenced their
system with a Supreme Being, long unknown to the Human race." The Ophites
believed that Ialdabaoth was the son of Sophia the Mother, and that
he sealed off the heavens above him to prevent those below from discovering
anything above him.(21) The chapter
from which Enchanter! quotes is an overview of early religious beliefs,
none of which are "recommended" to Freemasons. On page 564 alone Pike
provides six brief summaries of bygone beliefs.
Tatian adopted the
theory of Emanation, of Eons.
The Elxaites
adopted the Seven Spirits of the Gnostics.
The opinion of
the Doketes as to the human nature of Jesus.
Noetus termed
the Son the first Utterance of the Father.
Paul of Samosta
taught that Jesus Christ was the Son.
Arius called
the Saviour the first of creatures.
All of this is
descriptive, with nothing more prescriptive for Scottish Rite Masons
than a college course on comparative religion or mythology would be
(with noteworthy inconsistency Enchanter! fails to see that his own
pseudonym could also lead to charges of "magic(k) and occultism"). Enchanter!
earlier quoted two sentences from Pike's introduction to Morals and
Dogma. Had he posted a little more of the introduction, Pike's intent
would have been clear. First and foremost, neither Pike nor the Scottish
Rite have ever, or could ever, require its members to believe anything
in the book. This is clear to all Masons and to anyone who reads the
introduction.
Every one is entirely
free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to
be untrue or unsound. It is only required of him that he shall weigh
what is taught, and give it fair hearing and unprejudiced judgment.
[Morals and Dogma, preface, p. iv.]
Further, Pike's
motives in describing early religious ideas are clear from his introduction.
Anyone bothering to read the introduction knows this.
Of course, the ancient
theosophic and philosophic speculations are not embodied as part of
the doctrines of the Rite; but because it is of interest and
profit to know what the Ancient Intellect thought upon these subjects,
and because nothing so conclusively proves the radical difference between
our human and the animal nature, as the capacity of the human mind to
entertain such speculations in regard to itself the Deity. [Morals
and Dogma, preface, p. iv.]
This sort of selective
quotation out of context is scattered throughout Enchanter!'s postings.
To prevent the light
of escaping at once, the Demons forbade Adam to eat the fruit.
Satan created
and governs the visible world [Morals and Dogma pp. 566567]
"One of the most twisted variations of Genesis I have ever heard."
The first quote
is from a paragraph that begins, "Manes, founder of the Sect of the
Manicheans." The second quote follows, "With the Priscillianists there
were two principles." It's not surprising that they seem "twisted variations,"
as they were declared heresies centuries ago. Pike is describing "ancient
theosophic and philosophic speculations," just as he explained in his
introduction. Just after the last quote above, Pike says, "Such were
some of the ancient notions concerning the Deity; and taken in connection
with what has been detailed in the preceding Degrees, this Lecture affords
you a true picture of the ancient speculations." [Morals and Dogma,
p. 568]
Conclusion
Enchanter! appears
to have a vendetta against Freemasonry and is willing to go to great
lengths to defame the organization and its members. He removed Pike's
explanatory material to Morals and Dogma, ignored his introduction,
took his words out of context, and tried to pass them off as something
from "writings held sacred within the Lodges." Enchanter! is not fair
to Pike, he is not honest about Masonry, he ignores the organization
and structure of the fraternity, and he insults the intelligence of
his readers.
It is not clear
to us whether he has done his own research or whether he has relied
on some other anti-Masonic text. Thus we cannot decide if he is naively
incompetent researcher or a maliciously deliberate liar. We leave that
decision to the objective reader.
ENDNOTES
20a.
In previous editions of this work we were unclear regarding Mr. Mitchell's
identity. We have since learned that he now publicly identifies himself.
We acknowledge his correction and thank him for calling this oversight
to our attention.
21.
Jack Finegan, Myth & Mystery: An Introduction to the Pagan Religions
of the Biblical World (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Book House, 1989),
pp. 233-35.
Chapter
Three: John Ankerberg and John Weldon, "The Secret Teachings
of the Masonic Lodge"
* * *
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