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THE METHODS OF ANTI-MASONS
chapter 1
IT IS TRUE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT FREEMASONRY?
ART de HOYOS
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
--Othello, Act III, Scene 3
William
Shakespeare
It's hard to pinpoint which arguments a particular anti-Mason
will try to use, but there are popular ploys that continue to pop up regularly.
Some have been around for a long time, others seem to follow sound logic, but
all are flawed. Nevertheless, these ploys are just too tempting to opponents of
Masonry not to use. Most of these lies have been repeated so often that it's
relatively easy to find them in print somewhere. Their reasoning seems to be,
"Why do serious research when with little effort you can find any answer needed
to support your position?"
Dr. Robert A. Morey, an anti-Masonic researcher, has a low opinion of the
standards of research used by his fellow anti-Masons.
Anti-masonic writers have generally
been as unreliable as Masonic apologists. In their zeal to attack Freemasonry,
they have been willing to use fantasy, fraud, and deceit. They have even
created bogus documents when needed. Their writings must not be taken at face
value. (1)
In this work we exhibit examples of fantasy, fraud, and deceit, all used to
attack Freemasonry in the name of Christianity. We hope readers will pause to
consider what motivates some men to use such methods.
The
Organization of Masonry
Any
discussion of Masonic government must start and end with one essential fact: all
Masonic authority originates in a grand lodge. The Masonic Service Association
of the United States (M.S.A.) has no authority over grand lodges. No Supreme
Council, no respected author, nor any other group or person speaks for or
controls Masonry; that prerogative rests solely with the grand lodges. Anyone
doubting this need only check the cases when grand lodges have closed down the
Scottish Rite, the Shrine, and other appendant Masonic bodies in their states or
suspended or expelled their "high officials." It is a rare but powerful reminder
of who is in charge.
Generally speaking, the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil
have autonomous grand lodges in each state or province while other countries
have an independent national grand lodge. Within its boundaries or
"jurisdiction," each grand lodge reigns supreme over its lodges and all
appendant Masonic organizations. The only control or influence over a grand
lodge comes from the influence by persuasion of its sister grand lodges which
maintain a network of mutual recognition.
If a grand lodge strays too far from accepted Masonic norms, other grand
lodges will withdraw recognition and will even help organize a new grand lodge
in the jurisdiction. The most famous example occurred in 1877 when the "Grand
Orient of France" (which functioned as a grand lodge) dropped the requirements
that its members believe in God and that its lodges display an open Volume of
Sacred Law. This action caused the withdrawal of recognition by virtually every
other regular grand lodge and the creation of the "Grand Lodge of France." Later
concerns that the Grand Lodge of France was not truly independent of the
Scottish Rite Supreme Council of France led to the establishment of the
"National Grand Lodge of France," which today is recognized by American,
British, and other grand lodges as the regular Masonic authority in France.
Just as there is nothing to prevent a group of worshipers from calling itself
"Baptist" or "Presbyterian" or "Jewish," there is nothing to prevent a group of
men (or women) from calling itself "Masonic." It is hardly fair to judge the
world of regular Masonry by the statements of irregular groups that have
appropriated the name "Mason."
Consider the case of the notorious "P2 Lodge" in Italy which was largely
responsible for the collapse of the Italian government in 1981. Propaganda Lodge
No. 2, Propaganda Due, or "P2" as it became known, began as a
legitimately chartered lodge. Within the short space of a few years, however,
its Master, Licio Gelli, abused his authority by using his Masonic influence to
gain favors. Geli used illicit information to blackmail people into joining his
lodge, the purpose of which was to gather more intelligence for his personal
political agenda. Members of P2 then became involved in criminal activities.
As soon as the Grand Orient of Italy (the equivalent of an American grand
lodge) became aware of a problem, its leaders tried to rectify the situation
and, unfortunately, failed. Gelli would be controlled by no one. The Grand
Orient then administered the ultimate Masonic punishment: revocation of the
lodge's charter and expulsion of its members.
The former members of P2, however, ignored the judgment of the Grand Orient
to whom they had pledged fealty and continued meeting under their old name. The
"lodge" was now irregular or illegitimate, operating without authority. In 1975
a regular Mason, Francesco Siniscalchi, complained to the Public Prosecutor in
Rome of P2's nefarious activities. When the scandal eventually broke, the
press--and many non-Masons--did not understand the illegitimacy of P2, nor the
fact that legitimate Masons tried to rectify the problem. This failure to
differentiate between regular Masonry and the irregular P2 tarnished the good
name of Masonry.
The ultimate tests of regularity (greatly simplified) are 1) does a
grand lodge directly trace its origins through legitimate authority to one of
the British grand lodges, and 2) does it maintain the recognition of most
of the community of regular grand lodges, including the British grand lodges? If
an organization doesn't pass these tests, then it's not Masonic, despite what it
may call itself.
The most common mistake about the organization of Masonry comes from assuming
that Supreme Councils of the Scottish Rite control Masonry. This is not true.
There is no Masonic degree "higher" than the Third Degree or Master Mason Degree
in symbolic Masonry. While the number 33 may be greater than the number 3, a 33°
Mason has no more authority or power in a lodge than a 3° Mason. Both are
equally subordinate to the Master of their lodge, and all in turn are
subordinate to the Grand Master of their grand lodge. An earlier statement bears
repeating:
No Supreme Council, no respected
author, nor any other group or person speaks for or controls Masonry; that
prerogative rests solely with the grand lodges.
You can be sure something is wrong if anyone says that a single person or
organization speaks for or represents Masonry. Only a grand lodge has that power
and then only within its jurisdiction. Any other assertion displays a fatally
flawed understanding of the organization of Freemasonry.
The Issue of
Masonic "Experts"
Thousands of authors
have written about Freemasonry and several have achieved wide recognition for
their general scholarship. Other Masonic authors have pursued theories that at
best are without factual support and at worst are embarrassingly wrong. Because
Freemasonry values free thought so highly, grand lodges as a rule neither
endorse nor condemn ideas; that decision is left to individual Masons. Thus it
is quite possible to find otherwise highly regarded Masonic authors who have
espoused ideas of Masonic origins or symbolism that are without substance--ideas
that have been politely ignored and have been allowed to quietly fade away.
Unless formally endorsed by action of a grand lodge, no writer can speak for
Masonry, only for himself.
Dr. Robert A. Morey, a Christian critic of Freemasonry, noted, "Another error
typically made by anti-Masons is the assumption that Freemasonry is based on the
writings of a single individual. They usually pick Albert Pike as the official
'spokesman' of Freemasonry."(2) If not
Albert Pike, then their choice might be Albert Mackey(3) or Manley
Palmer Hall(4) or some
other author espousing his personal theories about Masonry.
Most anti-Masonic writers are far
too gullible in believing the extravagant claims of overzealous, misinformed,
or devious Masonic writers who have not done Freemasonry a favor by making
outlandish statements which provided much fodder for the guns of the
anti-Masons.
Too many masonic writers have arrogantly claimed that they speak for the
whole Craft when they give their personal interpretation of the origin and
symbols of Freemasonry. (5)
For example, Manly Hall didn't become a Mason
until 1954, so his 1923 book, Lost Keys of Freemasonry, represents the
personal theories of a non-Mason. Further, Mr. Hall (who passed away in August
1990) was a self-avowed mystic and not a "leading authority" of Freemasonry. He
was a promulgator of mystic and theosophical philosophies; his writings have not
received official sanction by any Masonic bodies. The fact that he held the
Thirty-third Degree and was respected by many Thirty-Third Degree Masons and
even by the Supreme Councils 33º is no more significant than the fact that
various Baptist, Anglican, or Methodist authors also hold or held that honor.
Anti-Masons regularly parade the writings of Masonic authorities
before their audiences and dissect their words, looking for a sentence here or a
phrase there to be used in their cause. They seek someone like a church
authority who speaks dogmatically on teachings and doctrine; whose every
word must be accepted by the faithful.
Freemasonry has no such authorities.
The Masonic authorities used by anti-Masons have been historical
authorities who speak with the expertise that comes from long study, but who
do not--indeed, cannot--speak for all Masons. It is like the difference between
the authoritative teachings of the Episcopal Church and an
authoritative history of the Kennedy assasination.
Albert Pike
and Lucifer
No other lie has captured the
imagination of anti-Masons quite like Léo Taxil's hoax concerning Albert Pike
and Lucifer. Dr. Robert A. Morey parts company with most of his fellow
anti-Masons on this issue.
Of all the attacks against the
Craft, none is so vicious as the charge that Masons are a secret cult of Devil
worshipers or Satanists and that at some point in the higher degrees they must
pass through a Luciferian initiation.(6)
Once anti-Masons have convinced themselves that
Freemasonry is the work of Satan, they are ripe to be tempted by the enticing
fruit of the "Luciferian Conspiracy." It comes as a quotation that usually
starts, "On July 14, 1889, Albert Pike, Sovereign Pontiff of Universal
Freemasonry, addressed to the 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world the
following instructions. . . ." That is all you need to read to know
the author has fallen prey to this infamous hoax.
It's not entirely certain when the Pike quotation was fabricated nor where it
was first published. We can, however, trace its modern appearances to Lady
Queenborough, Edith Starr Miller, who wrote Occult Theocrasy in 1933. Her
work is excerpted and treated as gospel truth, usually without attribution. Such
practices are known as plagiarism in other disciplines, but neither serious
research nor intellectual integrity stand in the way of the headlong rush to
slander Freemasonry.
Lady Queenborough found her quotation in the 1894 book by Abel Clarin de la
Rive, La Femme et L'Enfant dans la Franc-Maçonnerie Universelle (Woman
and Child in Universal Freemasonry). Mr. de la Rive, like Lady Queenborough, was
duped by the hoax; they are guilty only of incompetent research and an eager
willingness to believe the worst about Freemasonry. The ultimate source was the
pornographer, anti-Mason, and anti-Catholic Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, much
better known by his pen name Léo Taxil. Taxil publicly confessed his deception
in 1897; his story is widely available for anyone willing to look for the truth.
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Figure 1. Albert Pike
(1809-1891), Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, 33º, Southern
Jurisdiction, USA., 1859-1891, slandered by Léo Taxil as the author of the
false "Luciferian Doctrine" of Freemasonry. |
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Figure 2. Léo Taxil
(Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès) (1854-1907), anti-Mason, anti-Catholic, and
pornographer, who created an elaborate hoax falsely linking Freemasonry
and devil worship, the purpose of which was to defame the fraternity and
to embarrass the Catholic church. |
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SOME OF THE ACCOUNTS OF TAXIL'S HOAX ABOUT FREEMASONRY AND
LUCIFER
Allgemeines Handbuch der Freimaurerei 3d ed. 2 vols.
(Leipzig: Max Hesse's Verlag, 1901), s.v. "Taxil, Leo."
Henry
W. Coil, et al., Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia (Richmond, Va.:
Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1961, 1996), s.v. "Taxil,
Leo."
Ernst Diestel, "La Diablerie de Léo Taxil," Le Symbolisme, nos. 77
& 78, Sept. & Oct. 1924, pp. 212223, 245249.
Michel Gaudart de Soulages and Hubert Lamant, Dictionnaire
des Francs-Maçons Français (Paris: Editions Albatros, 1980), s.v.
"Taxil."
Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed., s.v. "Taxil, Léo."
James
Hastings, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, s.v.
"Satanism," by E. Sidney Hartland.
Hildebrand Gerber (H. Gruber, S.J.), Leo Taxil's Palladismus-Roman, 3 vols. (Berlin: Verlag der
Germania, 1897),
vol. 2, pp. 4359.
Michel Jarrige, "La Franc-Maçonnerie Démasquée: D'Apres un fonds
inedit de la Bibliothèque National," Politica Hermetica,
no. 4, 1990, pp. 3853.
Jean-Pierre Laurant, "Le Dossier Léo Taxil du fonds Jean Baylot
de la Bibliothèque National," Politica Hermetica, no. 4, 1990,
pp. 55-67.
Eugen
Lennhoff and Oskar Posner, Internationales Freimauerlexikon,
reprint, 1932 ed. (Munich: Amalthea-Verlag, n.d.), s.v. "Taxil, Leo."
R. Limouzin-Lamothe, The New Catholic Encyclopedia,
s.v. "Taxil,
Leo."
Curtis D. MacDougall, Hoaxes (New York: MacMillan Co.,
1949; reprint New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1958),
pp. 98100.
Christopher McIntosh, Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult
Revival (New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1974), pp. 210218.
Alec
Mellor, Dictionnaire de la Franc-Maçonnerie et des Franc-Maçons
(Paris: Editions Pierre Belfond, 1975), s.v. "Taxil Gabriel-Antoine
(Jogand-Pagès dit Léo)," "Anti-Maçonnerie: Le XIXe siècle."
____,
"A Hoaxer of Genius--Leo Taxil (18907)," Our Separated Brethren,
the Freemasons, trans. B. R. Feinson (London: G. G. Harrap &
Co., 1961), pp. 149155.
Robert Morey, The Truth about Masons (Eugene, Oreg.:
Harvest House Publishers, 1993), pp. 2325.
S.
Brent Morris, "Albert Pike and Lucifer: The Lie that Will Not Die,"
The Short Talk Bulletin, Vol. 71, No. 6, June 1993.
Maximilian Rudwin, The Devil in Legend and Literature
(Chicago: Open Court Publishing Co., 1931), pp. 167168.
Rudolf Steiner, The Temple Legend, trans. John M. Wood,
London: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1985, pp. 283284, 408409.
"Taxil-Schwindel, Der," FreiMaurer: Solange die Welt
besteht, catalog of a special exhibition of the History Museum of
Vienna, 18 September 199210 January 1993, pp. 268370.
Arthur E. Waite, Devil Worship in France or the Question of
Lucifer (London: George Redway, 1896)
Arthur E. Waite, A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, new
& rev. ed., (1921; reprint ed. New York: Weathervane Books, 1970),
s.v. "Palladian Freemasonry."
Wesley P. Walters, "A Curious Case of Fraud," The Quarterly
Journal, vol. 9, no. 4 (Oct.Dec. 1989), pp. 4,
7. (Also reprinted in Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Lucifer-God
Doctrine [Salt Lake City, Ut.: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1988])
Eugen
Weber, Satan Franc-Maçon: La mystification de Léo Taxil
(Mesnil-sur-l'Estrée, France: Collection Archives Julliard, 1964).
Gordon Wright, "Diana Vaughan: Satanist and Saint," Notable
or Notorious? (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991),
pp. 86147. |
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Figure 3. Cover of
The Mysteries of Freemasonry, another of Taxil's anti-Masonic
Books. The cover is typical of the lurid illustrations used to attract
readers to the scurrilous "revelation" of Masonic Lodge activities. |
Here are just a few of the authors who have reported the bogus Lucifer
quotation ascribed to Albert Pike as evidence of the moral depravity of Masonry.
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SOME ANTI-MASONIC BOOKS USING TAXIL'S HOAX ABOUT FREEMASONRY
AND LUCIFER
Muhammad Safwat al-Saqqa Amini and Sa'di Abu Habib.
Freemasonry (New York: Muslim World League, 1982), p. 41
Anonymous. Freemasonry Antichrist Upon Us. 3rd ed.
(Boring, Or.: CPA Books, n.d.), p. 32.
Burns, Cathy. Hidden Secrets of Masonry. (Mt. Carmel,Penn.: Sharing, 1990), p. 27.
Jack
T. Chick, The Curse of Baphomet (Chino, Calif.: Chick
Publications, 1991), p. [12].
John
Daniel, Scarlet and the Beast. 3 vols. (Tyler, Tex.: Jon Kregel,
Inc., 1994), Vol. 1, pp. 373, 380.
J.
Edward Decker, Jr., The Question of Freemasonry (Issaquah, Wash.:
Free the Masons Ministries, n.d.), pp. 1214.
J.
Edward Decker, Jr. and Dave Hunt, The God Makers (Eugene, Oreg.:
Harvest House, 1984) p. 130.
Des
Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich (Clackamas, Or.: Emissary Pub.,
1976), p. 70.
Jack
Harris, Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult in Our Midst (Towson,
Md.: Jack Harris, 1983), pp. 2425.
James
L. Holly, The Southern Baptist Convention and Freemasonry
(Beaumont, Tex.: Mission and Ministry to Men, 1992), p. 18.
Gary
H. Kah, En Route to Global Occupation (Lafayette, La.: Huntington
House Pub., 1992), pp. 114, 124.
Salem Kirban, Satan's Angels Exposed (U.S.A. Salem
Kirban, 1980), p.
161.
Texe Marrs, Dark Secrets of the New Age (Westchester, Il.: Crossway
Books, 1987), p. 273.
Eustace Mullins, The Curse of Canaan (Staunton, Va.:
Revelation Books, 1986).
Pat
Robertson, The New World Order (Waco, Tex.: Word Publishing,
1991), p. 184.
William Schnoebelen, Masonry: Beyond the Light (Chino,
Calif.: Chick Publications, 1991), pp. 6061.
Martin Short, Inside the Brotherhood (New York: Dorset
Press, 1990), p. 94.
Harmon R. Taylor, "Mixing Oil with Water," The
Evangelist, June 1986, pp. 4749. |
Some of these authors, like the Reverend Pat Robertson,
simply quote Lady Queenborough's translation without attribution. Others, like
Dr. James Holly and Martin Short have used the quotation accompanied by
equivocations they must think absolve them from responsibility for repeating
lies. For example, this is how Dr. Holly tried to cover himself when he quoted
Mr. de la Rive.
In the late nineteenth century many
antimasonic books were written, purporting to be written by Masons. Some have
argued that this is one such book. There is no conclusive evidence either
way.(7)
Employing less ambiguous terms than Dr. Holly,
Martin Short admitted there were "problems" with the bogus quote, but he too
felt no compunction against using it.
There are problems with this
quotation: its meaning is not immediately clear and its authenticity is in
doubt. It was first attributed to Pike in 1894 by a French authoress who
detested Freemasonry, yet no original text seems to exist. Genuine or not,
England's Grand Lodge dismisses it by pointing out Pike must have been eighty
at the time and "may have been dotty."
Yet the quote sounds authentic. Its pyrotechnic language and bombastic
poesy recalls Pike's earlier writings, and the message is not so different
from that of Morals and Dogma. If genuine, it indicates there is
a Satanic--or Luciferian--strain in American Masonry....(8)
The public confession of Taxil and the
subsequent recantation by Mr. de la Rive do not seem conclusive enough for Dr.
Holly, Mr. Short and their ilk.
Mr. Jack Chick showed some clever originality in his use of the bogus Albert
Pike "quote" in the 1991 edition of his comic book, The Curse of
Baphomet. Rather than plagiarizing Lady Queenborough, as have so many of his
allies, he used a fictitious reference to a legitimate publication: "'The
Freemason' (the organ of English Freemasonry), 19th January, 1935"!(9) Although he
has removed the fictitious reference from current editions, the bogus quote
remains.
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Figure 4. A fictitious
reference to a legitimate Masonic publication demonstrates the zeal of
anti-Masons in using the discredited Taxil fabrication. Following an
exposure of this deception, the reference was changed but the bogus quote
remains. From Jack T. Chick, The Curse of Baphomet (Chino, Calif.:
Chick Publications, 1991, 1996), pp. [11,12]. |
Mr. C. Fred Kleinknecht, Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Southern
Jurisdiction, U.S.A., wrote to Rev. Pat Robertson on May 12, 1992. The Albert
Pike "quotation" in Robertson's The New World Order was exposed as a
fraud. Rev. Robertson was invited to read any of Albert Pike's writings at the
House of the Temple. Mr. Kleinknecht suggested that Rev. Robertson would better
serve his readers if he removed the false quotation from any future editions of
his book. In his closing paragraph, Mr. Kleinknecht said to Rev. Robertson, "If
we must disagree let us base our disagreement upon truth."(10)
As of
November 1, 1993, Rev. Robertson has not answered Mr. Kleinknecht.
Before commenting on the hoax, the complete quotation from Mr. de la Rive, a
modern translation, and its partial translation by Lady Queenborough are
presented in parallel columns for easy comparison.
Léo Taxil's False
Luciferian Quotation of Albert Pike:
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Abel Clarin de
la Rive.
La Femme et L'Enfant dans la Franc-Maçonnerie Universelle. Paris & Lyon: Delhomme &
Briguet, Editeurs, 1894.
pp. 587-589
Le quatorzième jour du cinquième mois de l'an 000889 de la
Vraie Lumière (Par conséquent le 14 juillet 1889, ère vulgaire) Albert
Pike, Souverain-Grand-Inspecteur Général, 33º et dernier degré; Très
Puissant Souverain Commandeur Grand-Maître du Suprême Conseil de
Charleston, premier Suprême Conseil du Globe; Grand Maître Conservateur du
Palladium sacré; Souverain Pontife de la Franc-Maçonnerie Universelle, en
la trente-unième [sic] année de son Pontificat, adressait aux 23 Suprêmes
Conseils Confédérés du monde entier ces diaboliques instructions dont nous
n'extrayons que les passages relatifs à la Femme:
«A la science de Faust, le vrai Maçon
joindra l'impassibilité de Job. Il piétinera la supersitition dans son
coeur. Il sera sans indécision et sans caprices. Il n'acceptera le plaisir
que losqu'il le voudra et ne le voudra que losqu'il le devra.
«NOUS RECOMMANDONS TRÈS-INSTAMMENT DE
MULTIPLIER LES LOGES D'ADOPTION. ELLES SONT INDISPENSABLES POUR FORMER DES
MAÇONS BIEN MAITRES [sic] D'EUX-MÊMES. Le
prêtre essaye de dompter sa chair en s'astreignant au célibat.... Le vrai
Maçon, au contraire, arrive à la perfection, c'est-à-dire à se dominer,
en employant son zéle dans les Loges d'Adoption à se soumettre aux
épreuves naturelles. LE COMMERCE AVEC LA FEMME
COMMUNE A [sic] TOUS SES FRÈRES LUI FAIT UNE CUIRASSE CONTRE LES
PASSIONS QUI ÉGARENT LE CŒUR. Celui-là seul peut
vraiment posséder la volupté de l'amour, qui a vaincu, par l'usage
fréquent, l'amour de la volupté. Pouvoir, à volonté, user et
s'abstenir,
c'est pouvoir deux fois. La femme t'enchaîne par tes désirs, disons-nous à
l'adepte; eh [sic] bien, uses des femmes souvent et sans passion;
tu deviendras ainsi maître de tes désirs, et tu enchaîneras la femme. D'où
il résulte que le vrai Maçon parviendra facilement à résoudre le problème
de la chair...»
«Evidemment il n'est pas de nécessité absolue que
l'homme que vous allez diriger vers les hauts grades soit immédiatement
parfait et ait compris notre secret dès son entrée dans la Maçonnerie. Ce
que Nous vous demandons, c'est de l'observer, avec le plus grand soin
pendant son Apprentissage, d'abord, et de faire ensuite, de la Loge
d'Adoption, où il pénétrera quand il sera Compagnon, VOTRE CRITERIUM, VOTRE INSTRUMENT DE CONTROLE INFAILLIBLE. »
L'Atelier de Frères, qui ne s'annexe
pas une loge de Surs, est un Atelier incomplet, destiné fatalement
à ne jamais produire que des Maçons, dont la politique sera le principal
souci, qui se préoccuperont surtout des intrigues et des compétitions, qui
s'agiteront dans le vide, qui avanceront tantôt de trois pas pour reculer
après d'autant, en un mot, qui feront du mauvais travail et dont la
politique sera incohérente.»
... ...
Ce que nous
devons dire à la foule, c'est: --Nous adorons un Dieu, mais c'est le Dieu
qu l'on adore sans superstition.
A vous, Souverains Grands Inspecteurs
Généraux, Nous disons, pour que vous le répétiez aux Frères des 32º, 31º
et 30º degrés: --La religion maçonnique doit dire, par nous tous, initiés
des hauts grades, maintenue dans la pureté de la doctraine LUCIFÉRIENNE.»
... ...
«Si Lucifer n'était point Dieu, Adonaï,
(le Dieu des Chrétiens) dont tous les actes attestent la cruauté, la
perfidie, la haine de l'homme, la barbarie, la répulsion pour la science,
si Lucifer n'était point Dieu, Adonaï et ses prêtres le
calomnieraient-ils?
«Oui, Lucifer est Dieu, et
malheureusement Adonaï l'est aussi. Car la loi éternelle est qu'il n'y a
pas de splendeur sans ombre, pas de beauté sans laideur, pas de blanc sans
noir, car l'absolu ne peut exister que comme deux; car les ténèbres sont
nécessaires à la lumière pour lui servir de repoussoir, comme le piédestal
est nécessaire à la statue, come le frein à la locomotive.
«En dynamique analogique et universelle,
on ne s'appuie que sur ce qui résiste. Aussi l'univers est-il balancé par
deux forces qui le maintiennent en équilibre: la force qui attire et celle
qui repousse. Ces deux forces existent en physique, en philosophie et en
religion. Et la réalité scientifique du dualisme divin est démontrée par
les phénomènes de la polarité et par la loi universelle des sympathies et
des antipathies. C'est pourquoi les disciples intelligents de Zoroastre,
ainsi qu'après eux les Gnostiques, les Manichéens, les Templiers ont
admis, comme seule conception métaphysique logique, le système des deux
principles divins se combattant de toute éternité, et l'on ne peut croire
l'un inférieur à l'autre en puissance.
Donc, la doctrine du Satinisme est une hérésie; et la vraie et pure religion
philosophique, c'est la croyance
en Lucifer, égal d'Adonaï, mais Lucifer Dieu de Lumière et Dieu du
Bien, luttant pour l'humanité contre Adonaï Dieu des Ténèbres et Dieu du
Mal....»
Dans une autre partie de ses Instructions, Albert Pike disait
encore:
«C'est avec le plus grand soin qu'il est
nécessaire de choisir les adeptes. Dans beucoup d'orients, on les prend
trop au hasard; aussi tardons-nous à atteindre le but.
«Ne conférez la Maîtrise qu'au Compagnon
qui se connait lui-mème. Sur le fronton des anciens temples érigés au Dieu
de la Lumière, on lisait cette inscription en deux mots: «Connaistoi.»
Nous donnons le même conseil à tout homme qui veut s'approcher de la
science.
«N'initiez jamais au troisième degré
l'homme qui, malgré les enseignements reçus aux deux grades précédents,
est demeuré esclave des préjugés du monde profane. Il ne parviendra
jamais tant qu'il ne se réformera pas. Au grade le Compagnon, vous lui
ouvre: les portes des Loges d'Adoption; là, vous le jugerez bien. Vou
verrez si ses préjugés tombent. S'il reste esclave de ses passions,
s'il s'attache exclusivement a une femme, ne vous préoccupez plus de lui,
vous perdriez votre temps. Il ne saurait être un adepte; car le mot
«adepte» signifie celui qui est parvenu par sa volonté et par ses
uvres, qui méprise les préjugés et qui triomphe de ses passions.»*
*Ce fut la Sur Diana Vaughan
qu'Albert Pike, --afin de lui donner la plus grande marque de
confiance, --chargea d'apporter son encyclique luciférienne, à Paris,
pendant l'Exposition Universelle.
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Abel Clarin de
la Rive.
Woman and Child in Universal Freemasonry. Paris &
Lyon: Delhomme & Briguet, Editeurs, 1894.
[translated
by Eric Serejski]
The
fourteenth day of the fifth month of the 889th year of True Light
(consequently July 14, 1889, of the vulgar era) Albert Pike, Sovereign
Grand Inspector General, 33rd and last degree; Most Puissant Sovereign
Commander Grand Master of the Supreme Council of Charleston, Premier
Supreme Council of the Globe; Grand Master Preserver of the sacred
Palladium; As Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry, in the
thirty-first year of his Pontificate, he addressed to the 23 Confederated
Supreme Councils of the entire world these diabolic instructions from
which we extract only the passages related to Woman:
"To the science of Faust, the True Mason
will join the impassiveness of Job. He will trample down superstition in
his heart. He will be without indecision and without whims, he will accept
pleasure only when he wants it and will want it only when he must."
"WE MOST EARNESTLY RECOMMEND INCREASING THE
LODGES OF ADOPTION. THEY ARE INDISPENSABLE FOR MAKING MASONS MASTERS OF
THEMSELVES. The priest tries to subdue his flesh by
forcing himself to be celibate.... The true Mason, on the contrary,
reaches perfection, which is to say control over himself, by using his
zeal in Lodges of Adoption, submitting himself to natural tests.
COMMERCE WITH A WOMAN BELONGING TO ALL HIS BROTHERS
FORMS AN ARMOR AGAINST PASSIONS THAT LEAD THE HEART ASTRAY. He alone can really possess the voluptuousness of love, who
vanquishes, by frequent usage, the love of voluptuousness. To be able, at
will, to use and to abstain, is a two-fold power. Woman enslaves you by
her desires, we say to the adept; so use women often and without passion;
you will thus become master of your desires, and you will enslave women.
From this it results that the true Mason will easily resolve the problem
of the flesh."
"Evidently it is not absolutely necessary that the
man whom you will lead to the highest grades has to be immediately perfect
and has to understand our secret from his entry into Masonry. What we ask
of you is first to observe him with the utmost care during his
Apprenticeship, and afterwards, in the Lodge of Adoption, where he will
enter when he will become a Fellow Craft, to make him, YOUR CRITERION, YOUR INSTRUMENT OF INFALLIBLE CONTROL."
"The Lodge of the Brethren which
does not annex a Lodge of Sisters is an incomplete Lodge
inevitability destined to never produce anything but Masons for whom
politics will be the main concern, who will mostly be engaged with
intrigue and competition, who will move about in emptiness, who will walk
three steps forward then three steps backward, in one word, whose work
will be unsatisfactory and whose politics will be incoherent."
... ...
"What we must
say to the crowd is:--We worship a God, but it is the God that one
worships without superstition."
"To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors
General, we say, so that you can repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd,
31st and 30th degrees: --The Masonic religion must be, by all of us
initiates of the high grades, maintained in the purity of the
LUCIFERIAN doctrine."
... ...
"If Lucifer were not God, Adonai (the
God of the Christians) whose deeds prove his cruelty, perfidy and hatred
of man, his barbarism and repulsion of science, if Lucifer were not God,
would Adonai and his priests slander him?"
"Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately
so is Adonai. For the eternal law is that there is no splendor without
shadow, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, because the
absolute can only exist as two, because darkness is necessary to light to
serve as its compliment, as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, as
the brake to the locomotive.
"In analogical and universal dynamics,
one can only lean on that which resists. Thus the universe is balanced by
two forces which maintain its equilibrium: the force that attracts and the
one that repels. These two forces exist in physics, in philosophy and in
religion. And the scientific reality of the divine dualism is proved by
the phenomena of polarity and by the universal law of affinities and
antipathies. This is why the intelligent disciples of Zoroaster, as well
as, after them, the Gnostics, the Manicheans, and the Templars have
admitted as the sole logical and metaphysical conception the system of the
two divine principles fighting one another in all eternity, and one cannot
believe one inferior to the other in power.
Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a
heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in
Lucifer, equal to Adonai, but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good,
is fighting for humanity against Adonai God of Darkness and God of
Evil...."
In another part of his Instructions, Albert Pike also said:
It is with the greatest care that it is
necessary to choose adepts. In many orients, they are taken too much at
random, which explains the delay in reaching the goal."
"Only make a Master of the Fellow
Craft who knows himself. On the exterior of the ancient temples built to
the God of Light, one read this two-word inscription: 'Know thyself.' We
give the same advise to each man who wants to approach the science."
"Never initiate to the third degree the
man who, in spite of the learning received at the two preceding degrees,
remains enslaved to the prejudices of the profane world. He will
never approach before he reforms. At the Fellow Craft degree open to
him the doors of the Lodges of Adoption; there you will well judge
him. You will see if his prejudices fall. If he remains enslaved of his
passions, IF HE EXCLUSIVELY BINDS HIMSELF TO A
WOMAN, do not worry about him anymore, you are losing
your time. He cannot be an adept; because the word "adeptprejudices and
who triumphs over his passions."*
*It was the Sister Diana
Vaughan that Albert Pike, --in order to give her the greatest mark
of confidence, --charged to carry his luciferian encyclical, to Paris,
during the Universal Exposition.
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Lady
Queensborough,
Edith Starr Miller.
Occult Theocrasy. 2
vols. 1933. Reprint. Hawthorne, Calif: The Christian Book Club of America.
1980.
p. 233
As
regards the position of women in Masonry, we think that this cannot be
better explained than in the words of Albert Pike himself. In La Femme
et l'Enfant dans la Franc- Maçonnerie Universelle page 578
[sic], A. C. De La Rive states that on July 14, 1889, Albert Pike,
Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry, addressed to the 23 Supreme
Confederated Councils of the world the following instructions, which we
quote herewith in part.
"To the science of
Faust, the real Mason will join the impassibility of Job. He will
eradicate superstition from his heart and cultivate decisions of
character. He will accept pleasure only when he wishes it and will wish it
only when he should do so.
"We earnestly recommend the creation
of Lodges of Adoption. They are indispensable to the formation of Masons
who are indeed Masters of themselves. The priest tries to subdue his flesh
by enforced celibacy.... The real Mason, on the contrary, reaches
perfection, that is to say achieves self mastery, by using his zeal in the
Lodges of Adoption in submitting to all natural ordeals. Commerce with
women, belonging to all brethren, forms for him an armor against those
passions which lead hearts astray. He alone can really possess
voluptuousness. To be able, at will, to use or to abstain, is a twofold
power. Woman fetters thee by thy desires, we say to the adept, well, use
women often and without passion; thou wilt thus become master of thy
desires, and thou wilt enchain woman. From which it must perforce result
that the real Mason will succeed in easily solving the problem of the
flesh.
"It is evidently not absolutely
necessary that the man whom you are leading towards the high grades be
immediately perfect and have understood our secret on his entrance into
Masonry. That which we ask you is first to observe him with the greatest
care during his apprenticeship and afterwards, when he enters the Lodge of
Adoption as Companion to use that as your criterion, your instrument of
infallible control.
"The Lodge of Brothers which has
failed to annex a Lodge of Sisters is incomplete and destined inevitably
never to produce anything but Brethren, with whom politics are the chief
concern, men who will be chiefly preoccupied with intrigue and rivalry,
who will do bad work and whose politics will be incoherent."
pp. 220-221
The theological dogma of Albert Pike is
explained in the "Instructions" issued by him, on July 14, 1889, to the 23
Supreme Councils of the world and have been recorded by A. C. De La Rive
in La Femme et l'Enfant dans la Franc-Maçonnerie Universelle (page
588) from which book we translate the quote as follows:
That which we must say to the crowd
is:--We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without
superstition.
To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors
General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd,
31st and 30th degrees-The Masonic religion should be, by all of us
initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian
doctrine.
... ...
"If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay
(the God of the Christians) whose deeds prove his cruelty, perfidy, and
hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his
priests, calumniate him?
"Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately
Adonay is also God. For the eternal law is that there is no light without
shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the
absolute can only exist as two Gods: darkness being necessary to light to
serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the
brake to the locomotive.
"In analogical and universal dynamics
one can only lean on that which will resist. Thus the universe is balanced
by two forces which maintain its equilibrium: the force of attraction and
that of repulsion. These two forces exist in physics, philosophy and
religion. And the scientific reality of the divine dualism is demonstrated
by the phenomena of polarity and by the universal law of sympathies and
antipathies. That is why the intelligent disciples of Zoroaster, as well
as, after them, the Gnostics, the Manicheans and the Templars have
admitted, as the only logical metaphysical conception, the system of the
two divine principles fighting eternally, and one cannot believe the one
inferior in power to the other.
"Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a
heresy; and the true and pure philosophic religion is the belief in
Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good,
is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil."
"One must not lose sight of the fact
that Pike occupied simultaneously the positions of Grand Master of the
Central Directory of Washington, that of Grand Commander of the Supreme
Council of Charleston and that of Sovereign Pontiff of Universal
Freemasonry.
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There are several problems with this
quotation, some obvious and some subtle. To start with, about 1 million out of
2½ million American Masons have the 32° in the Scottish Rite, including
ministers, rabbis, bishops, and other devout worshipers of God. It is
inconceivable that there would not be mass resignations and protests if these
men were taught this disgusting "Luciferian doctrine." Is it believable that the
millions of Scottish Rite Masons during the last two centuries could be cowed
into such total silence? Dr. Robert Morey, an opponent of Masonry, put it well,
"Since most Masons in the United States are members of Christian churches and
many clergymen belong to the Fraternity, the idea that they are all involved in
some kind of devil cult is absurd."(11)
Also, the quotation is riddled with logical inconsistencies. There is not now
and never has been a position of "Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry."
This office is Taxil's invention and alone demonstrates the letter is a forgery.
There is no "Confederation of Supreme Councils." Neither Albert Pike, the Mother
Supreme Council, nor any grand lodges ever recognized any lodges of adoption
(Masonic lodges open to men and women). In the United States virtually every
Scottish Rite Mason progresses to the 32°. Why would Albert Pike suggest special
treatment for 30°, 31°, and 32° Masons, when that would have included nearly
everyone?
The real evidence of a hoax comes in de la Rive's footnote, which neither
Lady Queenborough nor anyone else has ever bothered quoting. The footnote refers
to Diana Vaughan, the matchless creation of Léo Taxil's twisted mind, who,
despite her illustrious pedigree created by Taxil, never existed.
*Ce fut la Sur Diana Vaughan
qu'Albert Pike,--afin de lui donner la plus grande marque de
confiance,--chargea d'apporter son encyclique luciférienne, à Paris,
pendant l'Exposition Universelle.
*It was the Sister Diana Vaughan that Albert Pike,--in order to give her
the greatest mark of confidence,--charged to carry his luciferian
encyclical, to Paris, during the Universal Exposition.
The hoax is well known and has been explained
time and time again for nearly a century. The New Catholic Encyclopedia
says this about Léo Taxil.
Taxil purported to reveal the
existence of "Palladium," the most secret Masonic order, which practiced
devilworship. He recounted the story of its high priestess Diana Vaughan; and
ended by publishing the Mémoires d'une ex-Palladiste after her
conversion to Catholicism. When doubts began to spread, Taxil realized the
time had come to end the deceit. In a conference in Paris (April 19, 1897), he
cynically admitted his hoax, whose aim, he said, was to hold up Catholicism to
derision.(12)
After Taxil's public confession, A. C. de la
Rive expressed his disgust and recanted his writings on Diana Vaughan in the
April 1897 issue of Freemasonry Unmasked, a magazine devoted to the
destruction of the Craft. As much as he hated Freemasonry, de la Rive had the
integrity to admit Taxil's hoax.
With frightening cynicism the miserable person we shall not name here [Taxil]
declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for twelve years he
had prepared and carried out to the end the most extraordinary and most
sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been careful to publish special articles
concerning Palladism and Diana Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a
complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having
existed.(13)
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Figure 5. Cover of
Woman and Child in Universal Freemasonry, the most frequently
quoted source of the "Luciferian Doctrine" falsely attributed to Albert
Pike. Most of the quotes, however, have been plagiarized from Edith Starr
Miller's Occult Theocracy. |
Morals and Dogma
Few
Masonic books have created as many controversies as Albert Pike's Morals and
Dogma. It is a collection of thirty-two essays that represent Pike's
interpretation of the lessons of the Scottish Rite degrees. The essays are
largely concerned with the history of philosophy and with man's constant search
for God. First published in 1871, the book was given to every 32° Mason in the
Southern Jurisdiction for about a century; hundreds of thousands of copies have
been distributed. It is now out of print, though widely available in used book
stores.(14)
Morals and Dogma is not available only from a "secret publishing
house,"(15) it is not
"the Bible of the Masons,"(16) nor is it
"the most readily available and universally approved doctrinal book of
Freemasonry."(17) It is not
even widely distributed or read. It is used only by the Supreme Council 33°,
Southern Jurisdiction, which in 1871 had far less than 5% of American Masons as
members and in 1993 claims only 20%.
The preface gives the best understanding of how Pike and all succeeding
Supreme Councils have viewed his book.
The teachings of these Readings are
not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of
other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
uses the word "Dogma" in its true sense, of doctrine, or
teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term.
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
judgement. 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 and the Deity.(18)
This is not the way to introduce the ultimate
authority on any subject. Anti-Masons choose to ignore the clear intent of the
book and to distort Pike's personal opinions into the absolute truth for all
Masons.
One of the most frequently quoted passages by anti-Masons from Morals and
Dogma concerns Pike's theory that symbolic lodges exist to hide the true
secrets of Masonry from the masses.
The Blue Degrees [1º-3º] are but
the outer court or portico of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed
there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false
interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is
intended that he shall imagine he understands them. Their true explication is
reserved for the Adepts, the Princes of Masonry. . . . It is well enough for
the mass of those called Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue
Degrees. . . . (19)
Anti-Masons would have us believe this passage
is a public admission of the deceptions imposed on most Masons by the "leaders"
of the Craft. Common sense is again thrown out the window. Why would such a
damaging "secret" doctrine be printed in a widely available book? With hundreds
of thousands of copies distributed, shouldn't some blue lodge Masons have caught
on by now? Anyone, like Pike, is free to think he knows the true interpretation
of Masonic symbolism, but it will remain his personal opinion. Only grand lodges
have the authority to interpret the symbolism of the blue lodge, and they are
not inclined to yield to any other power.
Pike was simply repeating one of the currently popular theories about the
origins of the "high degrees." Just because Albert Pike was a brilliant
ritualist, an able administrator, and a well-respected Mason doesn't mean all of
his opinions are right. The Masonic encyclopedist, Henry Wilson Coil, offers a
good summary of the influences on Albert Pike's Masonic writings.
Fate decided that Pike should enter
the Scottish Rite only four years after he became a Mason and before he had
time or occasion thoroughly to study the history of all branches of the
Society and, so, he began his study from the upper levels without knowing much
of the foundation. He evidently did not know until his later life that the
Scottish Rite degrees were a part of that type of ritual which sprang up in
France in 1737 and subsequent years but regarded it as Primitive Masonry which
had come right on down from Greece, Asia Minor, and Egypt and out of the
Ancient Mysteries and Magism, which there held sway. He found books which said
so and he never had any doubt about that theory. He regarded Craft Masonry as
then known to be puerile, though he said it had a deeper meaning which was
hidden from its superficial adepts, who were taught to be satisfied with trite
explanations. He even asserted that Craft Masonry had been devised so as not
only to hide its true meaning but to cause its members to think that they
understood it. [Albert G.] Mackey encouraged him in those notions, for he,
too, had been made a Mason only four years before he began writing books on
the subject, in which he adopted the more sensational theories of mystery and
symbolism. But Mackey changed his views as soon as the work of the British
realistic school began to be felt. Pike did not waver; his work was nearly
complete and too voluminous to be done over. (20)
FOOTNOTES
1. Robert A. Morey, The Truth About
Masons, (Eugene Oreg.: Harvest House Publishers, 1993), p. 21.
2. Robert A. Morey, p. 22.
3. "Freemasonry on Its Own Terms," The John
Ankerberg Show, DM-170, 1986.
4. James L. Holly, The Southern Baptist
Convention and Freemasonry, Vol. II (Beaumont, Tex.: Mission and
Ministry to Men, 1992), pp. 46-51.
5. Robert A. Morey, p. 21.
6. Robert A. Morey, p. 23.
7. James L. Holly, The Southern Baptist
Convention and Freemasonry (Beaumont, Tex.: Mission and Ministry to Men,
1992), p. 19.
8. Martin Short, Inside the Brotherhood
(New York: Dorset, 1989), pp. 94-95.
9. Jack T. Chick, The Curse of
Baphomet, Chino, Calif: Chick Publications, 1991, p. [10]. The general
level of Mr. Chick's writing can be inferred by these comments on what he has
written about Roman Catholicism. "[O]n the whole we feel that Chick Publications
does more harm than they do good. Because of its lack of scholarship and, more
importantly, Christian sympathy we can only conclude that Chick Publications
promotes what can be called 'Comic-book theology,' something Christians ought to
definitely avoid." (Hendrik H. Hanegraaff, "Chick Publications and Roman
Catholicism," CRI Perspective, CP-0809 [San Juan Capistrano: Christian
Research Institute, n.d.]).
10. C. Fred Kleinknecht, Washington, to Pat
Robertson, Virginia Beach, Va., May 12, 1992, Typescript, Copy in the Archives
of the Supreme Council 33º, S.J., Washington.
11. Robert Morey, p. 23.
12. R. Limouzin-Lamothe, New Catholic
Encyclopedia, s.v. "Taxil, Leo." Even with Taxil's exposure of the twin
hoaxes of Diana Vaughan and the Palladium, entrepreneurs still try to sell this
stale story to the gullible. "I was brought into Palladium Lodge (Resurrection,
#13) in Chicago in the late 1970's and received the degree of 'Paladin' in that
Lodge in 1981. . . ." (William Schnoebelen, Masonry: Beyond the
Light, [Chino, Calif.: Chick Publications, 1991], p. 194.) It is
interesting to note that Mr. Schnoebelen has combined two distinct and unrelated
ideas in his tale, though both use similar sounding words. Palladium
refers to a small statue of Pallas Athena which was thought to
protect the city of Troy. Paladin is a type of European knight descended
from Charlemagne's Counts Palatine.
13. Quoted in Alec Mellor, Strange Masonic
Stories (Richmond, Va.: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc.,
1982), p. 151.
14. While there are no plans to reprint
Morals and Dogma, The Supreme Council 33º, S.J., has recently published
two books to help readers better understand Pike's often dense prose: Rex R.
Hutchens and Donald W. Monson, The Bible in Albert Pike's "Morals and
Dogma" (Washington: The Supreme Council 33º, 1992) and Rex R. Hutchens, A
Glossary to "Morals and Dogma" (Washington: The Supreme Council 33º, 1993).
The Supreme Council 33º, S.J., sells used copies of Morals and Dogma when
they can be obtained.
15. Ron Carlson, Freemasonry and the
Masonic Lodge, preached by the author, audio cassette (Eden Prairie, Minn.:
Christian Ministries International, n.d.), side 2, 34:18. N.B. The times
listed are measured from the beginning of the audio and may vary slightly
depending on the equipment used.
16. Ron Carlson, side 1, 4:41.
17. J. Edward Decker, Jr., The Question of
Freemasonry (Issaquah, Wash.: Free the Masons Ministries, n.d.), p. 3.
18. Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, rev. ed. (Washington:
Supreme Council 33°, S.J., 1950), p. iv, emphasis added.
19. Albert Pike, p. 819.
20. Coil, s.v. "Pike, Albert."
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