his is the second installment on pet peeves of the past year. A series I began on my birthday this year based on things relating to the occult and/or the people that worship or study in an occult path. This particular blog will deal with The Freemasons. For the record....I am  personally not a Freemason, nor do I have any personal connection to them.

The Freemasons

Unlike the Illuminati of my first blog, the Freemasons have the benefit of actually existing. This accounts for the reason their opponents walk on eggshells sometimes. Its hard to slander someone if the risk of a lawsuit hangs over your head. But it doesn't stop some people from still trying.
The Freemasons have a long and colorful history, some of it fact and some fiction. As far as their history goes, I'll try to deal with things that are bona fide fact.

As an Order, the Freemasons are (for the most part) a Christian based organization, so when other Christian organizations take aim at them, it makes me want to scratch my head in wonder.

The first written mention I've found on Freemasons was in documents that were held by the Knights Templar. These state that when the Catholic Church was hunting Templars down, the Masons hid some of the Order within Mason ranks, and smuggled Templars over what would be considered international borders of the time period. This would have been around the late 1200's. But there is an indication the Masons existed prior to that. This small courtesy done by the Masons for the Templars probably accounts for why the Masons now use the word 'Templar' within some of their own rituals and ceremonies. The first seeds of misinformation of the Freemasons began as early as 1784, when John Noorthouk claimed King Charles II had been made a Freemaon during his exile in the Netherlands from 1649 - 1660. This was patently false, as there were no Masonic Lodges in the Netherlands at the time stated. But no one questioned Noorthouk at the time, so the rumor was accepted.

As some of the Freemasons began to leave Europe for what would become the United States, they very quickly put down roots, and the reason was clear and obvious. The Masons wanted to place as much distance as possible between themselves and the insane madness of King George III. There is a great deal to be found from this time period but some highlights are:

1) In 1775, Benjamin Franklin wrote the first draft of what is now called The Constitution of the United States, based loosely on the 2nd Virginia Charter of King James I. Except with Franklin's version, the land and all Rights went to the People instead of the Monarchy. Its the first US Law that was ratified by what was then the 12 states. The original document still exists, and sits in a place of honor at the Law Library of Yale University. Benjamin Franklin was a proud Freemason.

2) On July 2, 1776, Thomas Jefferson sat down and wrote a draft that was to become very important to the US. On July 4, 1776, John Adams presented Jefferson's draft to Continental Congress, and it was ratified by what had become 13 states. The US Declaration of Independance came into existence, effectively putting King George III on notice. The original document has been lost, and there is now a signed copy, dated August 2, 1776,  sitting in the National Archives in Washinton D.C. Of the 56 names on this signed copy, 12 have been confirmed (so far) as being Freemasons. Thomas Jefferson is among them, and he was a proud Freemason.

This is just some of the important history surrounding the Masons.

Out of all the modern enemies of The Freemasons, a man named Alex Jones is probably the most vocal. He definitely has media savvy. He hosts the most popular radio talk show in USA (Howard Sterrn has a hard time keeping up, and Stern brings in rock stars and porn actresses. wow), and its one of the most popular in the world. He's written books. And he's produced quite a number of conspiracy films. He recently set up a contest whereby his viewers and listeners could send in their own conspiracy films and the winner (judged by Jones himself) will get a prize of US$100,000 plus a contract to work for his media company called "Infowars". (Translation: He's running out of ideas to scare people and wants to pay you to come up with new ideas)

Alex Jones claims he is a moderate Christian, that is just out to promote the ideals of personal frreedoms, proper justice, and the right of every American to live their Christian life. (what about those that aren't Christian, I wonder......hmmmm). Others have said Jones is a right-wing, fundametalist radical. Which I suppose is either a good thing or a bad thing.....depending on which side of the fundamentalist fence you happen to be sitting on.

He began his career with an all out concentrated attack on the Freemasons and their beliefs. (wait....aren't the Freemasons predominantly Christian based? Christians attacking Christians. I guess canabalism is ok when everyone else is willing to fight back) But when someone said the phrase "New World Order" (good job, former President Bush Jr) suddenly Jones had lethal cannon fodder. Suddenly he was claiming this "New World Order" actually existed, and the Freemasons were the ones responsible.(Let's see.....first blog mention NWO was supposed to be set up by Illuminati, now its Freemasons. Wonder how many other groups I'll find that are responsible. Any guesses?)

So to recap with some questions:

1) Jones (and others like him) say that The Freemasons are the enemy of America. They say the Masons are going completely against what America's founding fathers had intended. Would these be the same founding fathers as men like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson? The 2 proud Freemasons that wrote the first drafts for both the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independance? Are Freemasons the enemy of those Freemason founding fathers? (I know, you almost need a score card, right?)
2) Would these be the same Freemasons that gave guys like Alex Jones the right to Free Speech so he could bad mouth them and their beliefs?
3) The same Freemasons that gave Fundamentalists the Right to Freedom of Religion?
4) The same Freemasons that risked being drawn and quartered for treason against the British Crown?
5) The same Freemasons that helped build a country that so many have a love for? Are we talking about those Freemasons?

Are the Freemasons really a picture of "evil incarnate"? Or are they just people trying to live their lives the best way they know how?

An ironic update......conspiracy theorists are now suspecting Alex Jones is a secret Freemason because he's been putting subliminal Masonic images in his films.

The insanity never ends, does it.