The Free Masons

ShriekingSheet

wo knows what about them? Im just looking for some info -to be fore warned and fore armed! I hear alot of stories but im left unclear about the whole thing!

DeVore

do a search in Humanities for "Freemason" and there are some interesting threads there about them. I know several at this time and they are decent men by and large. Its more like a union crossed with a male-support group crossed with the lions club. I was dead weird about them too at first and started to investigate them. Theres really nothing malicious about them, yeah they are weird enough but then, arent we all

DeV.

keu

you could search knights of templar, as far as I know it all stems from the same place (something to do with solomens temple) an ancient organisation which was revived a couple of hundred years ago.

(also read "the pillars of the earth" by ken follet", is very descriptive)

ShriekingSheet

DeVore wrote:

do a search in Humanities for "Freemason" and there are some interesting threads there about them. I know several at this time and they are decent men by and large. Its more like a union crossed with a male-support group crossed with the lions club. I was dead weird about them too at first and started to investigate them. Theres really nothing malicious about them, yeah they are weird enough but then, arent we all

DeV.

But where does this malicious stigma stem from?

aidan_walsh

Where does most malicious stigma stem from?

A lack of understanding in the general public, where else...

ShriekingSheet

doodle_sketch wrote:

Where does most malicious stigma stem from?

A lack of understanding in the general public, where else...

indeed, i took that as a given! Im more trying to find out about their general practices/functions. I know there are misconceptions but I don't even fully know what these misconceptions are let alone the truth behind them! Forgive my ignorance but this is my reason for starting the thread!

keu

well, in all fairness if there is a lack of understanding its because in many senses it is a "secret society", there is a ritual involved in becomming a member and once a member, knowledge of particular symbolism is essential.
I knew a grandmaster of a ney york lodge and he claims there are no secrets but when I asked him about initiations, he wasn't inclined to talk about it.
He also kept going on about the millions they raise annually and the free health service that is provided by hospitals in new york which are funded by the "charitble works" of the masonic order.

[edit:sounds like any other religious organisation to me]

bus77

Spent a few days going throgh the madness of the net looking up the historys and symbolism of some of those groups. Just ended up feeling like Stanly Kubric by the end of it

keu

When a freemason is being initiated into the third degree he is struck on the forhead in the dark, falling back either into a coffin or onto a coffin shape design. His fellow masons lift him up and when he opens his eyes he is confronted with the skull and cross bones of 'a mason who broke his vow of secrecy'. Under this threat of death no mason of third degree or higher can be trusted, particularly in public office. He is hoodwinked literally and metaphorically, placing himself under a curse.

http://www.bilderberg.org/masons.htm

this site might be a tad biased, but is interesting.

ShriekingSheet

keu wrote:

http://www.bilderberg.org/masons.htm

this site might be a tad biased, but is interesting.

Cheers keu!

DMT

ShriekingSheet wrote:

wo knows what about them? Im just looking for some info -to be fore warned and fore armed! I hear alot of stories but im left unclear about the whole thing!

If you're thinking of joining, you'd be better off joining either the Knights of Comeonbanus or The NinjaLeague™ instead...

Ste-

The comeonbanus page leads to the forum on boards which clearly we can't view cause we aren't members.
Some clever thinking on someone's part.

keu

imhumbleopinion
anyone who needs to be a member of an organisation in order to reaffirm "who they are" or "how they are supposed to live" are weakminded people with inferiority complexes.

[edit:last comment directed toward the masonic theme of thread]

Esel

google +freemason +"on the level" +"square deal"

I'd tell you more, but.....

keu

google +freemason +"on the level" +"square deal"

I'd tell you more, but.....

secrecy is at the heart of freemasonary, what do you expect from google?
the site i referenced has quite a few lodges websites attached, so you can go and check them out "from the horses mouth" so to speak.

chewy

now isn't that a conincendents on molesworth road methinks, i friend of mine went in there the other day, got a tour round by a guy.... he described it as having lots of grnad rooms with lots of symbols of the the eye nad seriusly goats legs , yerman said they don't sacrifice goats but some freemasons do...he also mentioned their charitable works and that lots of amous people like daniel o connell were free masons....


fcuk me that guy doens't like bilderberg

ShriekingSheet

chewy wrote:

now isn't that a conincendents on molesworth road methinks,

isn't what a coinscidence?

DeVore

Their secrecy comes from trusting one another and from the second world war when Hitler took it into his head that they knew where the Holy Grail was and slaughtered 80,000 men simply because they were freemasons.
Another reason (as a mate of mine who is a FM said to me when I freaked when he first told me) is, as he put it: Would you willingly tell people you were a FM if they reacted like you just did?". Think about it!

To be fair, they arent all *that* secret given that there is a big plaque on their door, they do guided tours of their building, have a free public museum and a web site with pages like this:
http://www.irish-freemasons.org/want_to_join.htm
Its more like a "secret" boys club you might have as a schoolboy, like the Dead Poets Society or something. I've gone drinking with them in the Grand Lodge a good few times now. They're just blokes!

DeV.

bus77

ShriekingSheet wrote:

isn't what a coinscidence?

I think he meens the way its in front of the dail. which fits in nicely with the "masons controling the world" thing

keu

i'm just going to disagree with Dev.
I'm trying to find information about the german monk/priest who was partially responsible for the revival of particular elements of masonic legislation (iluminati) in the mid 19th century.
As for Hitler and the holy grail, the masonic connection here is very obvious, the search for the holy grail was integral to knights of templar, which was founded during the crusades.

The public image does not justify the intentions of the "secret boys club" reality.

[edit: those who consider Hitler to be the ultimate catholic/christian might remember George Bush cliams to be too and yet he was also initiated into the skull and bones "society" during his time at yale. (masonic order)
(that way is easy to blame all war on religious beliefs)
As far as beliefs go, the masonic order is a society based on psychological manipulation, has sfa to do with "freedom of the spirit" and everything to do with "control of the soul."

Flukey

I am taking a chance, but do I need a special handshake to post in this thread?

DMT

Is there smoke without fire?

Flukey

I think you know the answer to that. They are always trying to tell us the positive things they do but still keep everything secret. What are they afraid of, if it is just another boys club? Saying you would not tell anyone you were a member because of the reaction, can only lead to asking why they don't tell more about themselves to dispel all those fears?

bus77

keu wrote:

[edit: those who consider Hitler to be the ultimate catholic/christian might remember George Bush cliams to be too and yet he was also initiated into the skull and bones "society" during his time at yale. (masonic order)
(that way is easy to blame all war on religious beliefs)
As far as beliefs go, the masonic order is a society based on psychological manipulation, has sfa to do with "freedom of the spirit" and everything to do with "control of the soul."

The Scull and Crossbones is a Christian symbol and goes way back before Hitler, or pirates(whom some think were Masons aswell;) link)

The Catholic church used to have it on Crucifixes at the bace of the feet of Christ. link

It's interesting how the sybolism travels around the place but it's like trying to create a picture with dots

keu

Dr. Adam Weishaupt, Professor of Canon Law in the university of Ingolstadt. This person had been educated among the Jesuits; but the abolition of their order made him change his views, and from being their pupil, he became their most bitter enemy.

this was the fella I was trying to think of earlier. He was a member of "The Lodge of the Eclectic Masonry, erected at Munich in Bavaria, in 1775; under the worshipful Master; Professor Baader.

"The Association of which I have been speaking, is the Order of ILLUMINATI, founded in 1775, by Dr. Adam Weishaupt, professor of Canon law in the university of Ingolstadt, and abolished in 1786 by the Elector of Bavaria, but revived immediately after, under another name, and in a different form, all over Germany."
text from http://www.bilderberg.org/lucis.htm

and this bit explains the secrecy

But where are the proper persons, the good, the generous, and the accomplished, to be found? and how, and by what strong motives, are they to be induced to engage in a task so vast, so incessant, so difficult, and so laborious? This Association must be gradual. There are some such persons to be found in every society. Such noble minds will be engaged by the heart-warming object. The first task of the Association must therefore be to form the young members. As these multiply and advance, they become the apostles of beneficence, and the work is now on foot, and advances with a speed encreasing every day. The slightest observation shows that nothing will so much contribute to increase the zeal of the members as secret union. We see with what keenness and zeal the frivolous business of Free Masonry is conducted, by persons knit together by the secrecy of their union. It is needless to enquire into the causes of this zeal which secrecy produces. It is an universal fact, confirmed by the history of every age. Let this circumstance of our constitution therefore be directed to this noble purpose, and then all the objections urged against it by jealous tyranny and affrighted superstition will vanish. The Order will thus work silently, and securely; and though the generous benefactors of the human race are thus deprived of the applause of the world, they have the noble pleasure of seeing their work prosper in their hands." - Weishaupt

maintaining fear in others (by remaining secretive) promotes their own integrity (and righteousness).

Seaneh

[edit: those who consider Hitler to be the ultimate catholic/christian might remember George Bush cliams to be too and yet he was also initiated into the skull and bones "society" during his time at yale. (masonic order)
(that way is easy to blame all war on religious beliefs)
As far as beliefs go, the masonic order is a society based on psychological manipulation, has sfa to do with "freedom of the spirit" and everything to do with "control of the soul."[/QUOTE]


Anyone who considers Hittler in anyway Christian/Catholic really doesn't know a lot about Hittlers belifes.
He hated the fact that german citizens loved God more than they loved the country, he had no belife in God.

keu

re: skull and crossbones.

the cross and bones on the crucifix is a remenant of the crusades (knights of templar) and is symbolic of sacrifice in order to triumph (a bit like the iraq war or killing millions of jews or muslims in the case of the crusades in order to preserve or attain an ayran type race)

"Adolf Hitler was obsessed with the occult, in his case the Thule Society, closely inter-connected with German Theosophists. The jolly roger, skull and cross bones, "der Totenkopf" was an emblem worn by Hitler's SS soldiers and was emblazoned on SS armoured cars and tanks (see images on this page). The SS was a religious cult of sworn Hitler/German ancestor worship."

edit: excerpt from mein kampf re hitler and his beliefs~"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."~ A. Hitler

Seaneh

edit: excerpt from mein kampf re hitler and his beliefs~"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."~ A. Hitler

And I have said "attempted murder doesn't count" but just because I say something doesn't mean I believe it.

bus77

Bah, Im feeling like Kubrik all over again now. Knew I should'nt have got into this thread :rolleyes:

elivsvonchiaing

DeVore wrote:

Would you willingly tell people you were a FM if they reacted like you just did?".

Hmmm. Do we perhaps need a <secret?> Free Mason pride parade?

BuffyBot

There really should be a gathering card for Freemason's threads...

Asok

Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!
Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the martians under wraps?
We do! We do!
Who holds back the electric car?
Who makes Steve Guttenberg a star?
We do! We do!
Who robs the cave fish of their sight?
Who rigs every Oscars night?
We do! We do!


Sorry but someone had to do it.

Sarky

I was tempted, but I managed to control myself.

Gillo

Sorry if I get the names wrong, I learnt this a while ago, but you'll get the meaning anyway. The reason for secret society goes back to middle ages, when the mosonic guild was effectively teh "trade union" of the day of Masons (free because they were master masons, and did not have to work under anyone else, so the were "free masons"). Unlike most trades of the day mason had to travel because of the lack of work in one particular area (not a lot of castles, cathedrals or stone buildings to be built). As a result it was very easy to pass oneself off as a master mason since you could easily say you qualified in someother town.

The Guild of Master Mason's, introduced a secret hand shake and "code word" for travel masons, so that if you arrived in town you coudl easily be identified by a local master mason as been genuine or not.

Since masons also worked closely with the the church (building monastaries and Cathedrals were a large proportion of their work) they were generally a religious bunch of people.

Over time people became intriged with the mystry which followed them and in time ordingary folk wanted to join them, for some reason they eventually let a none-mason (in the craft sense) join them, this is well documented in numerous books. Over time more and more people joined them; and as it became more of a secret society than a crafts guild with a secret code of identity less craft masons joined, and in teh space of a few hundred years it turned into what we now have today.

It's also worth pointing out that The Grand Lodge Of Freemasons does not consider itself to be a secret society, but a society with secrets, they have secret handshakes (although they are relatively well known), and do not publish the rite's and rituals which they practice (which again are relatively easy to find out about). Most masons will admit to been a mason but do bot publish the fact because of the reaction from most people. The Grand Lodge of Freemasons in England has also admited that, the secrecy involved has to a certain degree given them a bad name and that is why they are now alot more public.

As for saying that they rule "everthing", I think you are going down the bilderberg line there. Alot of freemasons are high up people in society, but alot of them are also joe soaps, liek you or me. People seem to be attracted to join them because of the secrecy and the rituals which go on and to be hosest that is why I would love to join them myself.

ShriekingSheet

gillo wrote:

Sorry if I get the names wrong, I learnt this a while ago, but you'll get the meaning anyway. The reason for secret society goes back to middle ages, when the mosonic guild was effectively teh "trade union" of the day of Masons (free because they were master masons, and did not have to work under anyone else, so the were "free masons"). Unlike most trades of the day mason had to travel because of the lack of work in one particular area (not a lot of castles, cathedrals or stone buildings to be built). As a result it was very easy to pass oneself off as a master mason since you could easily say you qualified in someother town.

The Guild of Master Mason's, introduced a secret hand shake and "code word" for travel masons, so that if you arrived in town you coudl easily be identified by a local master mason as been genuine or not.

Since masons also worked closely with the the church (building monastaries and Cathedrals were a large proportion of their work) they were generally a religious bunch of people.

Over time people became intriged with the mystry which followed them and in time ordingary folk wanted to join them, for some reason they eventually let a none-mason (in the craft sense) join them, this is well documented in numerous books. Over time more and more people joined them; and as it became more of a secret society than a crafts guild with a secret code of identity less craft masons joined, and in teh space of a few hundred years it turned into what we now have today.

It's also worth pointing out that The Grand Lodge Of Freemasons does not consider itself to be a secret society, but a society with secrets, they have secret handshakes (although they are relatively well known), and do not publish the rite's and rituals which they practice (which again are relatively easy to find out about). Most masons will admit to been a mason but do bot publish the fact because of the reaction from most people. The Grand Lodge of Freemasons in England has also admited that, the secrecy involved has to a certain degree given them a bad name and that is why they are now alot more public.

As for saying that they rule "everthing", I think you are going down the bilderberg line there. Alot of freemasons are high up people in society, but alot of them are also joe soaps, liek you or me. People seem to be attracted to join them because of the secrecy and the rituals which go on and to be hosest that is why I would love to join them myself.

Very informative - thanks a mil!

keu

the pillars of the earth is a fictional novel by ken follet. It's based during the middle ages and tells the story of a master mason, building cathederals.(canterbury) The story is set out over three generations and depicts the type of heirarchy involved in both the guilds and society under the monarchy during that time (crusades).
It's fairly descriptive in a masonic sense.

Raphael

This is an interesting thread, first I ever heard of the masons was in "Angels and Demons" a prequel to the DaVinci code, but that mainly discussed the infiltration the illuminati had inside them

One interesting thing relating to the masons, IMHO, is the great seal on the dollar bill

"Novus Ordo Seclorum"

ShriekingSheet

Raphael wrote:

This is an interesting thread, first I ever heard of the masons was in "Angels and Demons" a prequel to the DaVinci code, but that mainly discussed the infiltration the illuminati had inside them

One interesting thing relating to the masons, IMHO, is the great seal on the dollar bill

"Novus Ordo Seclorum"

?????
care to elaborate?!

keu

this one?
(symbol of the order of the illuminati)

Raphael

Novus Ordo Seclorum translates to "New Secular Order"

It was put on the dollar bill, right next to "In god we trust" by roosevelt, who believed it meant "New Deal"

Why did he believe this? He was told by a fellow Mason, his VP, Henry Wallace , who was also an Illuminatus

Gillo

Shreikign Sheet, if you want to find out more, a good book to read is "The Brotherhood" by Stephen Knight, it's published by Harper Collins, effectively it's got a slightly anti-masonic side to it, but it provides a wealth of information and is easy enough to follow, once you read it with an open mind.

krattapopov

Raphael wrote:

This is an interesting thread, first I ever heard of the masons was in "Angels and Demons" a prequel to the DaVinci code, but that mainly discussed the infiltration the illuminati had inside them

One interesting thing relating to the masons, IMHO, is the great seal on the dollar bill

"Novus Ordo Seclorum"

i have just finished reading that book, couldnt put it down

DeVore

The Novus Ordo Seclorum thing is interesting... The masons werent the only ones to use the All Seeing Eye symbol. Raphael makes an interesting point but if you read the masons own website they require a belief in a supreme being of some kind. Which kinda knocks the stuffing out of that argument
To be clear, I'll probably apply to join in a while... I've had a good look around and a chat to many of them and find them very sound blokes by and large. Their charitable endeavours suit my point of view.
That would be funny wouldnt it, if Boards suddenly was in the control of the Freemasons. Oh my, the conspiracy theorists will have a *field day*. Hahaha...

DeV.

BEAT

it's a shame really that it is for men only, I am so interested in these types of things and would love to get inside to find out the history and what goes on.

It is a shame women do not have something like this, although The Priory of Sion did have women members...I understand there is still an organiztion of the Priory (though changed) but I would never get to question anyone since the secrecy keeps the members well hidden.

keu

they do have "sisterhoods", the order of the eastern star (afaik)
but tbh I've had my fill of masons, like DeV said, they are good blokes and women, I'm just not interested in organised religions/institutions.

RossFixxxed

I've actually been trying to join myself. I had a meeting with the head here in Dublin and got a free tour of their building. He was very helpful on all my questions and kept me chatting for the best part of on hour.

Not 100% clear on what they do tbh, but all I've heard makes me want to join. If there's any members out there can you PM me please and help me out in some way? It would be a big help to have someone refer me on to them, since I'm submitting myself at the moment which doesn't help.

Ross

elivsvonchiaing

RossFixxxed wrote:

I've actually been trying to join myself. I had a meeting with the head here in Dublin and got a free tour of their building. He was very helpful on all my questions and kept me chatting for the best part of on hour.

Not 100% clear on what they do tbh, but all I've heard makes me want to join. If there's any members out there can you PM me please and help me out in some way? It would be a big help to have someone refer me on to them, since I'm submitting myself at the moment which doesn't help.

Ross

I've read most of your posts and have decided to black-ball you!

- nah just kidding - saw it on only fools & horses :-)

MiCr0

i'd suggest that any one who's interested should go and get a tour, they are very open and friendly....

jill_valentine

Would they provide said tour to a girl...? Just curious, the whole thing does fascinate me. Maybe we should organise a Boards.ie School Tour?

The DaVinci Code was a great book as a conspiracy theory, but sucked as a novel.

RossFixxxed

The tour is open to the public afaik.

Don't black ball me, I'm a lovely human being. *whine* :P

*sniff sniff* My emails won't go thorough, think that's a sign of something?

Ross

Gillo

Looks like we are headign for some confusion, the freemasons do provide a guided tour of the Grand Lodge in Dublin as a toursit attraction. If you inquire about joining such as Rossfixxed chances are they will give you a seperate less tourist oriented to tour to help you make up your mind.