UNCOMMON SENSE MINISTRIES INC.:FREEMASONRY ISN'T ALL THAT FREE!

Babel Fish Translation

"Just some good ol'e boys,
Never meanin' no harm,
So we drink wine from skulls,
And we only take whites,
But that's no cause for alarm..." (....HUH??!?!?)
Freemasonry...on the one hand, the name conjures up ideas of great men like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, W.A. Mozart, and many others. But on the other hand, it also conjures up strange stories of conspircies and plots to take over the world. On the other hand, it conjures up good ol'e boys that go to Baptist Churches. But then on the other hand, (OK, I have to have 3 hands for this) it conjures up ideas of world domination and conspiracies by people who wear aluminum foil hats and think Star Trek is real. First, let me say that the more bizarre stories about Freemasonry are absolutley false. There is a now infamous quote supposedly given by Albert Pike to a council of Freemasons that the god of Masonry was Lucifer. It never happened. While even some masons admit Pike was a "Luciferian", the quote is a fake. People who promote stories about the "Illuminati" and the eye on the dollar bill are equaly in need of lithium.

IS THE ILLUMINATI REAL?

Yes and no. Yes, there was an Illuminati at one time. In 1775 Adam Wieshaupt started it in Bavaria. Weishaupt hoped to gain control of the world through his little group. The group recruited women and hoped to use these femme fatales to control powerful men. There were Masonic type rituals used by the group, but serious historians consider this a smoke screen for what they were really up to. It was an ambitious plan, but had about as much chance as one of the various right-wing nut militias you here gaining control of America. He was outspoken against the Jesuit Order, who eventually was able to expose what he was up to. There was so much public outrage against Wieshaupt he had to flee Bavaria. He vanished into obsurity and was never heard of again. 50 years later, a book was published about the Illuminati taking some liberty to the facts. Today many fanciful tales abound about the Illuminati, including George Washington and some of the founding fathers having been members. The story of the the Illuminati is a favorite of conspiracy nuts because it involves their two favorite groups: Freemasons and Jews.

Is it still around? No. It's been extinct for over 200 years. There was a Spanish sect in Spain in the 19th century called Illuminati...but they had no connection to Wieshauhpt's group. The Rosicrucian group A.M.O.R.C. calls their highest order the Illuminati, but this is wishful thinking on their part.

I know many people have claimed to know of its existence. Author Lady Queensborough wrote about it in her famous conspiracy book. Queensborough was also an anti-semite and spent most of her life in and out of mental asylums. She finally died in one. She also never gave any proof of the things she said. John Tod/Lance Collins even made a lecture circuit claiming he was an Illuminati defector. He also said JFK was still alive in 1973 and he had been his personal worlock. The man was eventually exposed as delusional in the book The Todd Phenomenon. The book is out of print...Todd/Collins crazy lectures are available today even on MP3. Mark twain was right when he said people will believe anything you tell them except the truth. Todd/Collins is currently in a SC prison on a 300 year sentence for rape, and his at last reportedly re-defected back to Wicca. Mike Warneke also claimed to know of the Illuminati, and was also eventually exposed as a fake in Cornerstone magazine.

I know, even Jack Van Impe even says there's an Illuminati, but I have to disagree with him. The Illuminati is like the Loch Ness Monster; everyone believes in it, some people say they've seen it, but no one can find it when they really look for it.

Am I saying there aren't any groups that could be a vehicle for the Anti-Christ someday? No. I would say there are contenders to this title. The most obvious one is the United Nations. Each year, it gradually gets a little more power. Guess who's in control of the national Parks in the U.S.A.? The U.N.! It was deemed they were a world resource, and too precious to trust to Americans. What's next? Our schools? Our oil? Our banks?The story about how the U.N. made a mockery of the Ark of the Covenant (and thus the Judeo Christian Religion) is well known. The U.N. may someday become a world government, and when it does, what would happen if an Muslim became it's President? The U.N. is already very anti-Israel and anti-U.S.A.

If you're looking for groups trying to take control of the world, they're right in front of you.

What About the Paladium Rite?

It too existed, but legend has overtaken reality. The co-ed lodge existed in England in the 18th century, and was little more than a sex club. The Order's moto was , not surprisingly, "I know how to love". Police disbanded the order, and that was the end. Eventually hoax monger Leo Taxil, in a series of books, spread rumors of Albert Pike revivng the Palladium Rite in Charleston South Carolina, along with a telephone to the devil. Taxil's hoax backfired, and many people (Like Bill Shnoebellen) cite his books as genuine. They're not. Taxil admitted publically the whole thing had been a joke.

Sources: The Occult: A History by Collin Wilson. The Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by A.E. Waite.

HOWEVER...having said all that, I want to say now why no Chrisian should be a Freemason. If you're a Freemason and you're reading this, I realize you probably consider yourself a Christian. Please bear with me.
1. It's a "whites only" orginization. That alone is reason enough not to join! Some people get bent out of shape when they read this, namely, Freemasons, who don't want this fact mentioned, and sympathetic non-Freemasons, who are unaware of this fact. Look, they don't allow black people to join! That's racist! Even if you're a Freemason and you don't consider yourself a racist, YOU STILL BELONG TO A RACIST ORGINIZATION! Deal with it, and don't email me about how they're not racist. If you don't believe me, just ask a Freemason. They will probably say, "Well, they have their own lodges". They mean African Americans have a seperate branch of Freemasonry known as "Albert Hall" Masonry. Albert Hall is not connected to Scottish Rite or York Rite Masonry. If a white Freemason visited one of these Prince Albert lodges, and his lodge found out about it, they would risk being expelled from the Scottish or York Rite! I have heard Freemasons say this, thanks for non-Masons reading this for actually asking some Freemasons yourself before you email me accusing me of not knowing what I'm talking about.
In the 1970's, the U.S. government threatened the Freemasons with the loss of their tax exempt stauts if they did not begin to admit blacks. So guess what? THE FREEMASONS GAVE UP THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS! They obviously don't want black people in the lodges. This is called "racism".
Yeah, you may know someone who's a Freemason. I know some too. And maybe they have black friends. Maybe they don't appear outwardly racist.
HOWEVER...if they belong to an orginization that has racist membership policies they are being pasive racists. They're just as bad as Bill Clinton joining a whites only country club. Yes, I know the Freemasons do charitable works, but so does the KKK once in a while! I've heard people tell me of how the KKK would bring food to sick white people back in the 1930's. The KKK donated food to Huricane Katrina victims (well, just the white ones)...but they're still racists. There is a story circulated for years that Boston baked bean Albert Pike asked occultist Eliphas Levi to write the quasi-Masonic rituals of the Ku Klux Klan. I don’t really know if this is true or not, since there are so many crazy things said of Freemasonry, and since the Masons and the KKK are both secret societies. But I would have to say it has a possibility of being true. Even though the KKK took on an anti-masonic when it was reborn in the 1920's, there was no real prohibition from Masons joining before then, and it doesn't seem to have been enforced everywhere. In some cases, the KKK actually met in Masonic Lodges! Pike is said to have been a member of the KKK, which is plausible, since he was an ex-Confederate general and a racist. It was Pike who made the rule that Blacks could not join Masonic Lodges, a racist doctrine still followed by Masons to this day. The reason given? It's because blacks were not "born free". While that might have sounded logical to the biggoted pea brains of Pike's day, it doesn't wash in the 21st century. Every Freemason should hang his head in shame knowing they could never ask larger than life figures like Gen. Colin Powell, Tiger Woods, Senator Allen Keyes, or Bill Cosby to join their orginization because they're black! While Pike maybe remembered by Freemasons as a veritable saint, Pike was a racist who considered black people inferior, and forbid their entrance to Freemasonry, citing they were not born free. Pike is said to have written the rituals of the Ku Klux Klan for Bedford Forrest during this same period. There are many Masonic and occultic elements in the KKK, such as the titles of “Cyclops”, “Wizard”, “Dragon” and “Ghoul” and the burning of crosses, which is something that you would expect of Satanists rather than Christians. The rituals also talk about “seeking the light” and accepting the light, just like in Masonry. The highest level initiation involves cutting the wrist of the initiate, similar to initiation rituals in older Masonic orders that are no longer practiced (?) today. Did Levi really help write these rituals? There is no way to know for sure. Pike is also said to have been the Imperial Wizard for the Arkansas KKK. It’s hard to say if this all this was true, considering the KKK was also a secret society like Freemasonry, but it is certainly possible. Pike seems to have had similar ideas to the Klan, as an newspaper article written by Pike illustrates: "With Negroes for witnesses and jurors, the administration of justice becomes a blasphemous mockery. A Loyal League of Negroes can cause any white man to be arrested, and can prove any charges it chooses to have made against him. ...The disenfranchised people of the South ... can find no protection for property, liberty or life, except in secret association.... We would unite every white man in the South, who is opposed to Negro suffrage, into one great Order of Southern Brotherhood, with an organization complete, active, vigorous, in which a few should execute the concentrated will of all, and whose very existence should be concealed from all but its members." [Memphis, Tennessee Daily Appeal, April 16, 1868]
Despite decries of Mason apologists, it’s hard to imagine Pike’s secret society organized as an “Order of Southern Brotherhood” to suppress Black freedom could have been anything other than the Ku Klux Klan! York Rite and Scottish Rite Freemasons still follow the despicable practice of barring blacks from joining at this writing. In 1975, the U.S. Federal Government told the Freemasons to allow blacks to join or lose their tax exempt status. Instead of letting blacks join, they chose the latter. Even though not all Freemasons are racist, they belong to a racist organization. The racism of Masonry is the legacy of Albert Pike. No Christian should be part of such a legacy! 2. It's occultic whether you realize it or not. While it's unlikely Albert Pike made his famous "Luciferian Doctrine" speech, there's no question Manly palmer Hall made this statement:
"When The Mason learns that the Key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the Mystery of his Craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply this energy." 'The Lost Keys Of Freemasonry'page 48 by Manly Palmer Hall 33rd Degree
Masonry is peppered from bow to stern with occultism. Even though I would say the average Mason is completely unaware of it nowadays, Freemasonry is crammed with elements from the Cabala, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Gnosticism, the Templars, and astrology. Albert Pike says the goal of the Freemason is to become " student of the Cabala" (Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike) The Cabala is a form of Gnosticsm that was adopted by Jewish mystics in 12th century Europe, and is found in practically any occult book. In the otherwords, the goal of the Freemason is to become an occultist!
Feemasonry then, is the most obvious choice to copy from if you are stating an occult order. So many occult groups base their rites, rituals, terminology and style from Freemasonry that Masons refer to groups like the Rosicrucians and the O.:T.:O as "fringe Masonry". Even though Masonry in Gardner’s day was pretty much harmless like it is today, there were still many occultists that knew what Masonry was about, and they eagerly joined. The 33 degrees of Scottish rite are taken from the Cabala. At the 17th degree, the mason becomes a "Knight of The Rose Croix" or in other words, a Rosicrucian (occultist). The very symbol of Freemasonry itself, the square and the compass, is a symbol of sex magic. In the 19th grade, the Mason learns of a "secret name of God", Abbadon. Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. The Bible says this is the name of the demon of the bottomless pit!
Freemasonry would become the template from which many occult organizations would pattern themselves, including Wicca. Tom McKenney an ex-Freemason in the Scottish Rite (Knight Commander in the Court of Honor, Past Worshipful Master Blue Lodge, Past Worshipful Master of all Scottish Rite bodies)who left the lodge after being born again gave this account of his initiation ritual into the highest of all levels, the 33rd and final Degree of the Scottish Rite.
"When it was time for the final obligation we all stood and repeated the oath with the representative candidate, administered by the Sovereign Grand Inspector General. We then swore true allegiance to the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, above all other allegiances, and swore never to recognize any other brother as being the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry unless he also recognizes the supreme authority of ‘this Supreme Council’. One of the ‘Conductors’ then handed the ‘candidate’ a human skull, upside down, with wine in it. With all of us candidates repeating after him, he sealed the oath, ‘May this wine I drink become a deadly poison to me, as the hemlock juice drunk by Socrates, should I ever knowingly or willfully violate the same (the oath)’. He then drank the wine. A skeleton (one of the brothers dressed like one- - he looked very convincing )then stepped out of the shadows and threw his arms around the ‘candidate’. Then he (and we) continued the sealing of the obligation by saying ‘And may these cold arms forever encircle me should I ever knowingly or willfully violate the same.’ The Sovereign Grand Commander closed the meeting of the Supreme Council ‘with the mystic number’ striking with his sword five, three, one, and then two times. After the closing prayer we all said ‘amen, amen, amen’ and it was over. (SOURCE: The Deadly Deception by Jim Shaw and Tom McKenney Page 104) So, if nothing else should convince the reader, then the above ritual should serve to show Freemasonry is occultic to it's very core. There is no way anyone can not call oaths swearing allegiance involving skeleton costumes and drinking wine from actual human skulls Satanic!
Occultists have always been drawn to Freemasonry. Here's a list of some of the more prominent occult figures who were Freemasons.
"Count"Cagliostro - French Occultist who founded the now extinct Egyptian Rite Masonry. Created a tarot deck and authored several occult books.
Arthur Edward Waite - He wrote many occult books including The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. He designed the now famous tarot deck that bears his name and was a member of the Golden Dawn. Dr. Wynn Westcott - Member of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and founding member of the occult Order of the Golden Dawn, like Waite. S. L. MacGregor Mathers - Was a co-founder of the Golden Dawn and wrote and translated several occult books, including the Kabbala Unvieled and The Greater Key of Solomon, which details animal sacrifice and use of corpses in rituals. Aleister Crowley - This man was a self proclaimed anti-christ, sex pervert, and drug addict. Founded the occult sex and drug religion of Thelema. Wrote volumes of occult books, probably more than any occult writer. Became head of the occultic Gnostic Catholic Church. He was initiated into the 33rd Degree by a lodge in Mexico City.
Dr. Gerard Encaussé - wrote under the penname "Papus". He founded the "Martinist Order" occult society. Wrote several occult books including one on the Tarot that became an occult best seller. Dr. Theodore Reuss - A Freemason who Founded the O.:T.:O.:, the "Order of the Orental Templars." a German sex magic society who's membership included Aleister Crowley. The O.:T.:O.: is structured very similar to Masonry, including a degree system and secret handshakes and passwords. Up until the 1950's, a 32nd degree Freemason could join the O.:T.:O.: and automatically bebome a Grade V member! Annie Besant - Occult author, head of the Theosophical society and head of the "Co-Mason" Masonic tradition that admited women members. Alice Bailey - Head of the Theosophical Society, like Besant. Founder of the New Age organization, "Lucifer Trust". Published several occult books. C. W. Leadbetter - Theosophist, mentor to the failed New Age "Christ", Krishnamurti, and head of the occultic "Liberal Catholic Church".
Manly P. Hall - Rosicrucian ,occult book author, and founder of the occultic "Philosophical Research Society". Gerald B. Gardner - occult author, member of the O.:T.:O.:, and notoriuos founder of Wicca. He belonged to "Co-Masonry" as well. Alex Sanders - called himself "King of the Witches" and started his own Wicca franchise. He was a Freemason too. 3. The lineage of Masonry can be traced to heretics. Yes, there is much Biblical symbolism in Freemasonry. There’s all kinds of talk about King Solomon, and the building of the Temple, but this is handed down to you from The Knights Templar In fact, Freemasonry is nothing more than a continuation of the Templars. In the 17th Grade, Freemasons become "Rosicrucians". The Rosicrucians are occultists that practice an Egyptian form of occult called Hermeticism and Alchemy. Masons are always "searching for the light" which is taken from Gnosticism. This is the Manichean legacy of the Templars. Manicheans rejected the grace of Christ for salvation, and instead sought "enlightenment".
Freemasonry has some very gruesome rituals which might be described as witchcraft-like. In the book The Deadly Deception, a former Freemason describes his initiation into the 33rd and highest level of Scottish Rite Masonry. The 10th degree of York Rite masonry has a similar degree. The candidate drinks a series of libations. Finally he is presented with a human skull and told to drink from it! The intensity of this ritual is lost on people nowadays. It would certainly be at least, scary or disgusting today, but it must have had an almost traumatizing effect in ancient times. These types of rituals would have insured total loyalty to the order from anyone who under went them. Freemasonry was a fraternal organization that had it's roots in sect of heretic Roman Catholic monks called "The Templars". The Templars recaptured the site of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. At first, they were an extremely pious sect. The order was so poor at first, they rode two men to a horse. But over the years the sect grew extremely wealthy, with so much money they made loans to not only kings, but the very countries they ruled. The sect apparently defected to Gnosticism while in the Middle East. For years, Masons have claimed a connection to the Templars, which has been scoffed at by some. But in the 1980's, an archeological dig of the Templar cemetery in Jerusalem revealed the traditional Masonic symbols of the square, compass, and plumb line on all graves except the two oldest ones. This seems to indicate a strong link indeed to Freemasonry. The Shriner's "Fez": Symbol of Shame Back in the 7th century, there was a Christian city in Morocco named Fez. The Muhammedans attacked it, and after a lengthy siege, captured the city. The invaders gathered the 20,000 Christian defenders into the city square, made them dig a ditch, and put them to the sword there. When the blood of those Christian martyrs filled the ditch, the Muslims dipped their conical white hats in the blood. The Muslims then named their red hats (which incidentally carried the Islamic star and crescent emblem), the Red Fez, and that same Red Fez is worn by Shriners today. 4. It's a big giant waste of time and money.
If you're joining because the Freemasons do charitable work, stop and think about how much money you have to spend just to be one! You're spending thousands of dollars. Why not just give thousands of dollars to charity? Instead of wasting time with all those ridiculous meetings, why ot volunteer somewhere. Tell your local minister you want to volunteer at church. After he revives from fainting, he'll be glad to put you to work! FREE DOWNLOAD!!! JUST CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE EBOOK "CAN CHRISTIANS BE FREEMASONS?' (PDF FILE) BY DAVID J. RIGGS