Secret societies...what do you know about them???

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by svandamme

oi, not enough bowing to me.
And while at it... send cash too, i don't need it being who i am, but it shows your loyalty, and that's what it's all about .

Bypassing your loyal treasurer again, eh Stijn?

Please send your money and property titles to me, and I'll make sure Stijn (aka Jesus XII) sends you a nice thank you note. That is all.

[svandamme]

You forward the cash, i'll do the thank you notes personally, including yours.
I like to take care of those things personally, because i care.

[craigster59]

Okay, raise your right hand and repeat after me...

[Aurel]

Originally Posted by red-beard

2 Members. His father was Skull and Bones as well.

You can add John Kerry too, that makes three members.

Aurel

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Aurel

You can add John Kerry too, that makes three members.

Aurel

Didn't help him though

[Bill Douglas]

Be very careful what you join. You loose the right to make your own decisions.

When I worked for Defence I wondered how certain dumb f*s got their job. It turned out they were Freemasons and the bosses were told by someone to hire them.

Plus the person who makes your life decisions for you may be some idiot who likes walking around in a robe with a 2 dollar crown calling himself King F*.

[crustychief]

Actually the Freemasons aren't a secret society. It is a society with secrets.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

These days, but they have a long and sordid history.

No. Long yes, sordid no. Absolutely not.

There was a couple of well documented occurances where certain masons broke the law to either protect one of their members or their secrets. The rest is pure hogwash.
Blown completely out of proportion by tin-foil hat wearers who let their paranoia, imagination, and ignorance get the best of them. The same urban myths still float around because of those character flaws.

Go ahead and pick a group who's members are all perfect and never do or did anything wrong. Go ahead. To judge all masons by something a few masons did a hundred years ago is ludricrous. SomE of the very best men our country has ever been blessed with were masons.
They are very good people, much better than most and they do not deserve this kind of BS.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by livi

I am a member of Priory of Sion. We believe Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered a child, whose blood line we keep secrete and defend.

The priory of scion is a ficticious group made up by a kook who wanted publicity. It is a well known hoax perpetuated by a con man who "suggests" falsehoods are true in order to sell books.
Not exactly the kind of company a person would want to keep IMO.

[legion]

My grandfather got kicked out of the Masons. (And it was well deserved.)

I don't know if that means I can never be a member or not.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

It is a well known hoax perpetuated by a con man who "suggests" falsehoods are true in order to sell books.
Not exactly the kind of company a person would want to keep IMO.

Careful Sammy. That's my business plan you're talking about.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

They are very good people, much better than most and they do not deserve this kind of BS.

Musta hit a button, huh?

The Freemasons have deep connections with some Caballistic groups from way back when. That does not mean they were/are bad people, but it does mean they have a sordid past. They were not always the community supporters they are now, and they were not always so easy to join. Calling them "sordid" doesn't infer that they were raping and pillaging

Oh, I know, when you're one of them, you learn the whole complete unabridged history of the group, and they never ever did any such thing...I've heard it before. No, they didn't drink blood, no they didn't start world wars, no they didn't create the fall of the Roman empire, but yes, they did have high ranking members who were tied into other secret societies, some of whom brought some of the ritualism and symbolism back with them into the Freemason folds. Big deal, don't get so irritated from it.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

The priory of scion is a ficticious group made up by a kook who wanted publicity. It is a well known hoax perpetuated by a con man who "suggests" falsehoods are true in order to sell books.
Not exactly the kind of company a person would want to keep IMO.

Oh, yeah, damned those authors, how dare they write anything creative or fictitious, and then dare to sell their fictional books in the fiction section of the bookstore.

Hoax...con man...kook...you've got lots of buttons that are easy to push, huh? You musta hated when that kook wrote that hoax about that false person who whitewashed that fence...what a con man.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Musta hit a button, huh?

The Freemasons have deep connections with some Caballistic groups from way back when. That does not mean they were/are bad people, but it does mean they have a sordid past. They were not always the community supporters they are now, and they were not always so easy to join. Calling them "sordid" doesn't infer that they were raping and pillaging

Oh, I know, when you're one of them, you learn the whole complete unabridged history of the group, and they never ever did any such thing...I've heard it before. No, they didn't drink blood, no they didn't start world wars, no they didn't create the fall of the Roman empire, but yes, they did have high ranking members who were tied into other secret societies, some of whom brought some of the ritualism and symbolism back with them into the Freemason folds. Big deal, don't get so irritated from it.

I am not a mason and have never considered becoming one. But I do know a little bit about what they strive to do and be. Their goal is for cultural and social improvement of mankind. It is an admirable ambition, one deserving of praise instead of scorn and false accusations.

The modern freemasons only date back to the early18th century. Yes, that's right. they have been around for just under 300 years. Yes, They started by building museums and orphanages, that's pretty sordid. There were rumors and stories about craft lodges prior but they were not freemasons. There may be certain similarities bertween the ancient craft guilds and the modern gentlemen's socity, but they are more or less coincidental. Suggesting otherwise is false.

There have been plenty of hoaxes and false claims made against the masons, like The Taxil hoax which is still spread by mushheads:

Between the years 1885 and 1897, Léo Taxil maintained a hoax against both Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church, by making increasingly outlandish claims regarding Freemasonry. On 19 April 1897, Taxil called a press conference at which he claimed he would introduce the "author" of his books to the press. He instead announced that his revelations about the Freemasons were fictitious. Nevertheless, the material is still used on some anti-Masonic websites today.

Do you even know what cabalistic means besides secretive?(duh). Don't give us any crap about the occult, I will call that out as BS in advance. it simply isn't true. They use plenty of symbols and symbolism in their ceremonies but it closer to biblical than anything else.
How about a few examples of what you refer to as sordid and cabalistic as pertaining to modern freemasons?

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I
Do you even know what cabalistic means besides secretive?

but it closer to biblical than anything else.

Apparently you don't know what it means, because Cabbalistic IS Biblical (and Jewish)! You claim that *I* am degrading people (which I'm not), yet YOU don't even know what I'm claiming! Oh, you musta heard from someone that it was Satanic, or witchcraft, huh? Well, that person lied to you, so sorry that you had to hear it from me.

300 years is a damned long time for a secret society, especially one that was primarily populated by rich white guys, who often dabbled in other things during the heyday of 19th century Europe. There is no question that the Masonic history/rituals/symbolism/rites are Caballistic in origin, since they exactly replicate some classic Caballistic rituals/symbols/rites!! Even the Orders and Degrees come DIRECTLY from ancient Caballistic hierarchy! I did not however say that they were the Templars (as some suggest), nor did I say they were Satanists (as some suggest), not did I say that they are the Illuminati (which some suggest)...no, they're just a bunch of rich white guys, who like to hang out together. Some enjoyed other...diversions...which unfortunately besmirched their name at times.

There ain't anything wrong with what I said, but you sure do protest a lot.

[DARISC]

I don't have cabal.
I have DSL.
I did hire a mason though (to get the wars through the seement walls).
He struck me as very secretive.

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by DARISC

I don't have cabal.
I have DSL.
I did hire a mason though (to get the wars through the seement walls).
He struck me as very secretive.

That's priceless!

[on2wheels52]

"they're just a bunch of rich white guys"

I can't wait to tell my wife the news.
Jim

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

That's priceless!

I usually find the masonry bit dull, a lot of chatter. This guy's was pretty sharp though.

[scottmandue]

But... without masons we would have no chimney's...

Someone think of the chimney's!