Yeah, Yeah, I guess our country is doomed because of our founding fathers having based their fraternity on the devil.
Seriously, I have listened to these ridiculous claims for my adult life, with no one being able to prove their case with facts.
I guess all those children at Shriner's and Scottish Rite hospitals should denounce our kind.
Many good men came before and many will come after that are just and upright.
You are entitled to your beliefs, but you have no clue of what you speak. You can find bad examples in every organization, but to use a broad brush to paint the entire fraternity as evil is asinine.
Don't forget Jack the Ripper or the Gates family
The Freemasons of the Founding Father's time were not quite the same as Freemasons of today. The change in Freemasonry came shortly after the Revolution.
The proof you want to see will never be shown. Especially to you. That is the way of secret societies. Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox all consider Freemasonry as a cult. And for reasons. I'll spare the verse quoting. But there are some things that should be kept in mind. Just about every branch of Freemasonry I have heard of requires all members to read at least the first three chapters of "Morals and Dogma of the Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry" written by Albert Pike. I am not a Freemason, but I've read up to the 30th degree of that book. Beyond the first three chapters, that book delves a lot into the mystery religions of the near east and draws comparisons and parallels to the Bible. Often times leading to the conclusions that much of the Bible's stories were copied from the cultures surrounding Judea. I'm not going to dive down that rabbit hole any further and just point out that Morals and Dogma goes a long way to discredit the Bible you sworn in on. Just something to think about there.
Next for consideration, secret societies and symbolism. To paraphrase a quote from Albert Pike in Morals and Dogma, "symbols are used to keep the true meaning hidden from the ignorant masses". As with all secret societies, symbols are used for things such as identification, to convey messages, and status. Albert Pike goes on to describe the duality of symbols and openly states that the higher degrees are not for the majority of Freemasons. He then denigrates most Freemasonry as nothing more than mere drinking clubs. Interesting....
A common theme throughout Morals and Dogma is illumination, or enlightenment. As you read further into the book, the word Lucifer (might be familiar to those who have read the Old Testament) is mentioned. A source of light, like a morning star, permeating the universe, to provide a guiding path to illumination. While I haven't completely read the last three degrees, I have skimmed through the pages and ultimately the 33rd degree mason is to recognize that light as the true path to enlightenment and swear allegiance to it. Lets just completely ignore all the other connotations that the word lucifer is known for, right?
The husband of one of my mother's friends used to be a member of a Shriner club. After a while he became dissatisfied with the club and found he didn't see eye to eye with most of the members there. So, he decided to leave the club. And what happened afterward? He was blacklisted from a few businesses, harassed, former clubmates would not associate or even acknowledge him in public. He was basically run out of town. Not saying your group is like that, but does that really sound like something anyone would want to belong to? Let your "yes" be "yes" and "no" be "no", for striking your hand in pledge comes from the devil. Jesus said that for a reason. The word Satan literally means accuser. And what does an accuser do best? He destroys reputations. Being cast out, ostracized, defamed and worse goes hand in hand with all secret societies whether it's a fraternal organization, religious cult, mafia, street gang, corrupt police dept., doesn't matter, they all have the same MO when it comes to members who no longer want to be a part of their group. Is it worth it to belong to something bigger than yourself? Only you can decide.
Conspiracy theories, the illuminati, NWO and all that other shit. As you mentioned, most Freemason clubs are just that. As a whole though, Freemasonry is much bigger than that. The goals of the organization are well hidden from the unwashed masses, especially the drinking clubs that claim the title of Mason. Because if the truth were known as to how, why, and what the reason for a group of masonry workers in medieval Great Britain to suddenly organize and span the globe obtaining the wealth and influence it exerts today, I'm sure most members would walk out. Isn't it odd how Freemasonry has an almost cellblock like structure? Fraternities within fraternities within fraternities. Intertwining branches obscuring and vehemently guarding the trunk and roots of the tree.
The Bavarian Illuminati was started separately from Freemasonry, but eventually the members merged themselves into it. But what sprung from the original Illuminati in the late 18th century was the introduction of mysticism into mainstream western civilization through institutions such as the Theosophical Society, which paved the way for modern occultism and the new age movement. Which coincidentally (or not), lays claim that much of the stories in the Bible are just re-hashings of more ancient myths. Helen Blavatsky called Freemasons "brothers". Now why would she say that?
And what has the reintroduction of dead religions from dead civilizations done for western society? It's broken up the church and pushed out God from society, distracted and demoralized entire cultures, sowing division and discord, led to the breaking up of the family unit replacing it with the state, and basically paving the path for social acceptance of the dysfunctional quasi-socialist states you see today. The headquarters of the Scottish Rite branch of Freemasonry is centered in the City of London. And what else is the City of London is known for? It's the financial capital of the world, it is the trading capital of the western world. The world's most powerful banking dynasty is headquartered there. A dynasty that not only holds top positions in the most influential branch of Freemasonry, but holds top positions in the world bank, world health organization and many other NGO's.
