by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor
Andrew Rizzitello
“A person is smart; people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know
it.”
~Agent K, Men in Black (1997)
Satanism. New World Order. Lizard people. Blood sacrifice. These are just some of the
unscrupulous ideas that have surrounded our Fraternity; many of which started before
the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England. But where did they come from
and why did they start? Some point to the Roman Catholic Church and its Papacy,
others to the various “exposés” created by both non and anti-Masonic writers, and still
some point to various political leaders, whose cult of personality kindled sparks of
violence against any group that met “in secret”. In an endeavor to combat these
thoughts, one does not have to look too far, but one does have to let go of any form of
confirmation bias. The purpose of this essay is to assist those that wish to gain the
knowledge to disprove and debunk these inane theories, to aide those who may
question the legitimacy of the claims, and shed light on the enemies and naysayers of
not just our great Fraternity, but any group that hopes to better the world through
friendship and brotherhood. Before we begin, however, we will need to understand
some psychological terms.
CB/CD
No, it is not the newest Hard Rock band coming out of Australia. This abbreviation
stands for Confirmation Bias/Cognitive Dissonance, terms which go hand in hand when
a person encounters new, possibly contradictory, information to something they are
familiar with. Take this phrase, for example:
“Cleopatra lived closer in time to the launch of the iPhone than she did to
the building of the pyramids.”
At first, someone who reads that phrase may exclaim “No way!”, since Egypt, the
pyramids, and Cleopatra all seem to blend together in our mind. That exclamation, or
one like it, is a small bit of our cognitive dissonance showing. We were presented with
new information and, at first, went on the defensive, since our previous knowledge of the
subject suggested otherwise. What happens next determines if we can overcome this
dissonance or fall into the mire of confirmation bias.
If the individual decides to explore the statement further, they will find that the
approximate date for the creation of the Great Pyramid is around 2478 BCE
(Dominguez), and this predates the life of Cleopatra by about 2500 years (Elhassan). It
is amazing to think that the famed Queen of the Nile wasn’t even a blip in the universe
when the construction of one of the 7 Wonders of the Natural World occurred.
However, if the individual continues to deny the plausibility of the claim, this is when the
mental quicksand of confirmation bias starts to take hold. An example of this could be
seen when, after being presented with the information, the person states that
“technology just couldn’t advance that quickly…” and simply walks away from the
conversation, choosing to remain ignorant. Confirmation bias can be seen most
prominently in today’s socio-political climate when a person, presented with new medical
or scientific research, refuses to believe the change and, even if their data was at one
time correct, continues to rely on outdated or blatantly wrong treatments or theories. An
infuriating example of this, which itself has devolved into its own conspiracy, would be
the argument that vaccines somehow cause autism. Too many sites exist (about
19,900,000 results via Google) that absolutely debunk this mindset and yet it remains
prevalent in today’s society (Hoffman).
While both cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias happen to someone when presented
with new or conflicting ideas, the former can be overcome with logic and reasoning, while the
latter is nothing more than choosing to remain ignorant and in the dark. As Masons, we are
taught to be the bearers of truth and light, meaning we must learn to deal with our own
CB/CD before relaying new information to others. Due diligence and proper research are a
must.
Freemasonry and the Catholic Church: An Age Old, One Sided
Rivalry
Any Mason who has done the slightest bit of digging will know that the Roman Catholic
Church has not had the most favorable view of the Fraternity. Even today, the Church holds true to its stance that the "faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin…” (Ratzinger) and, at first, are unable to receive Holy Communion, and then, if still resilient in their Masonic affiliation, will be excommunicated. The origin of this stems from a papal bull written in 1738 by Pope Clement XII named In eminenti apostolatus specula. The reason for the production of this bull came about because of a conflict between the Jacobites (supporters of King James II and a primarily Catholic group) and the Hanoverians (supporters of William III and Mary II, and primarily Protestant). Both of these groups formed and had Masonic Lodges throughout the countries of Europe, but the problem arose when the preferred religious stance of the Lodges came into question.
You see, the Jacobite lodges, while being primarily Catholic, allowed Protestants to join, and
the Hanoverian lodges, primarily Protestant in nature, allowed Catholics admittance. This did
not sit well with leaders of the two factions, notably James Fances Edward Stuart and Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury. James saw that Hanoverian Freemasons in France had recruited so many Catholics to their cause that it tipped power in the Grande Loge de France. This alarmed James so much that he asked Pope Clement to issue a bull that banned Hanoverian Freemasonry from any Catholic country in Europe (Corp).
Meanwhile, the Cardinal, as chief minister to Louis XV of France, was trying to keep peace with Britain. After Jacobite Freemasons, who had formed secret lodges in France, tried to influence him, he had their premises raided. These actions on their part led to the Cardinal urging the Pope to ban all Roman Catholics (Hanoverian, Jacobite, and everything in between) from becoming a Freemason, under the penalty of excommunication. For a Roman Catholic during this time, separation from the church was devastating and could induce a very real fear or dread.
Pope Clement, upon receiving both of these communications, sought to write the bull in such a way that it did not distinguish between these two forms of Masonry. Opting for a religious
approach rather than a political one, he criticized Freemasonry because of its openness to any
man, regardless of religion. He added that many governments saw the Masonic lodges
"spreading far and wide and daily growing in strength" as a threat that should be "prudently
eliminated", so far as to call for bishops and Inquisitors to search for signs of suspected heresy (Clement).
As stated previously, the ideals in this centuries old, misguided writing are still upheld, even if
the current Pontiff seems to be more lax than his predecessors.
The Bavarian Illuminati: How Not to Make a Secret Society
Second only to the Taxil Hoax, claims that Freemasonry and its members have infiltrated all aspects of a conspiracy theorist's life through the power of The Illuminati are probably the most abundant. While the majority of these inane theories are laughable at best, such as knowing rappers like Jay Z and Eminen are Illuminati members because they use triangular hand gestures, there is a more nefarious and dangerous side. Individuals who claim that there is a secret cabal planning a new world order, one run by Illuminati Freemason elites, are often citing ideas found in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, among other anti-semitic ideologies.
These ideas helped many a despot come to power, most notably Adolf Hitler.
But where did these Illuminati claims originate?
It all started in 1776, with a man named Adam Weishaupt. Mr. Weishaupt was a professor of
law and, later, canon law at the University of Ingolstadt. While there, he was the only
non-clerical member of its staff, the rest being former members of the Jesuit order. The Jesuits, even though their order had been dissolved by Pope Clement XIV, were constantly harassing and discrediting any non clerical worker who brought forth any idea they deemed “liberal” or “Protestant”. This pushed Adam to become increasingly anti-Clerical and solidify his beliefs in rationalism and the Enlightenment (Stauffer).
Originally, Weishaupt rejected Freemasonry, as he found it too expensive and not open to his
ideas. His order was "to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice, to control them without dominating them." So, on May 1, 1776, he, along with 4 students, formed the Covenant of Perfectibility, only to change the name to The Order of the Illuminati in 1778. The founding members all chose aliases for themselves, taking inspiration from Greek mythology. From ‘76-’78, the membership grew to some 27 individuals, all of which learned secret grips and words, in a similar manner as our own, and some were even allowed to actively recruit new members. Weishaupt kept tabs on his members by a system of espionage within the Order; both to keep control and see who he wanted to become a member of the ruling council, or Areopagus.
Although Weishaupt initially wanted nothing to do with Freemasonry, he eventually did join. This action was two fold: on one hand, Adam had a hard time keeping his own members from joining our Fraternity and, on the other, he wanted more material to help expand his own degree system. He received his degrees under the Rite of Strict Observance, in a lodge called
Prudence. His mercenary motives did not yield any of the mysteries he wanted, as he thought
there were “higher degrees” than what the Blue Lodge had to offer. This, however, did not
dissuade him from forming his own lodge under a warrant issued from the Grand Lodge of
Prussia, called the Royal York of Friendship [ yes, that’s the entire name of the Grand Lodge
(United Grand Lodges of Germany)] named Theodore of Good Council. Shortly after filling
this lodge with his own members, Weishaupt separated from the aforementioned Grand Lodge by way of recognition with the Premier Grand Lodge of England, allowing Theodore of Good Council to begin creating subordinate lodges of their own (Le Forestier, 193-201).
During this time, Weishaupt came across a young man named Adolph Knigge, who would prove to be incredibly important in recruitment and ritual formation of the Illuminati. Knigge was of a similar mindset to Weishaupt; both men wanted more out of Freemasonry. Achieving all that there was in the Craft at the time, Knigge was intrigued by the “higher learning” that was supposedly available in Weishaupt’s group. Knigge even went so far as to recruit for Weishaupt, but was constantly embarrassed when he could not produce evidence of the existence of these “higher degrees” or “Most Serene Superiors”. Weishaupt eventually admitted to Knigge that no such group existed and that the higher degrees still needed to be written (Le Forestier, 202-226). With that revelation, Weishaupt encouraged Knigge to write material for the higher degrees and promised aid in the endeavor. By January of 1782, Knigge had completely revamped the entire Illuminati structure, separating the individual grades into 3 classes: The Nursery, The Masonic Grades, and The Mysteries.
This, however, would ultimately prove to be the fall of the order. After expanding to many cities
outside of Bavaria such as Austria, Bratislava, Switzerland, and Milan, the Council of
Areopagites was replaced with the Council of Provincials.This new council achieved very little in terms of control and resulted in nothing more than a headache for Weishaupt. This was because many on the council favored Knigge’s more mystically oriented degrees and direction he was taking the order, rather than Weishaupt’s philosophical and (primarily) anti-clerical stance; a stance that also pushed back against Weishaupt’s continued insistence of recruiting
Freemasons, who were more mystically minded at the time. The infighting got to such a heated point that Weishaupt threatened to tell everyone that Knigge made up the “flawed” Priest ritual, to which Knigge responded by saying he would tell the world that the entirety of the Illuminati rituals were made up. In 1784, Knigge agreed to leave the order, and by virtue of an agreement, return all papers that were relevant. This agreement also saw Weishaupt retract all slanderous and derogatory statements against Kingge (Le Forestier). This departure was a deathblow to the Illuminati, as Knigge was their greatest asset, not only for his reorganizing and creation of the degrees, but also for his recruiting.
With that history lesson out of the way, we finally come to the reason why the conspiracy of
Illuminati still lingers. You see, as the order was bleeding out with the loss of Knigge, members in Munich were also causing problems because of their boastfulness and criticism of the monarchy. It soon became apparent that members of the Illuminati held office in state and governing bodies. While that number was small, it was still enough to attract the ire of the
populace, and examples of preferential legal treatment, anti-religious publications, and the
replacement of Jesuit positions in Ingolstadt only fueled that fire. This eventually led to Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, in 1785 to ban all secret societies. Weishaupt, in the meantime, had fled, although documents were seized in 1786 and ‘87, and published by the government that detailed the order’s internal correspondences and dealings (Roberts 128-29).
About 10 years later, Augustin Barruel and John Robinson each published books (Memoirs
Illustrating the History of Jacobinism and Proofs of a Conspiracy, respectively) dealing with a
conspiracy that states the Illuminati had survived, are part of a broader, international conspiracy, and even spurred on the French Revolution. These claims were reprinted, cited, and used in other works in the following years, from books to sermons. This led to these claims making their way into newspaper articles, particularly in America, and, of course, political discourse, leading to the election of 1800 (Stauffer).
The Great Provocateur: Mr. Jogand-Pagès
We have finally arrived at what is probably the most often used and cited source of
anti-Masonic rhetoric that still persists to this day. Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, better known by his pen name Leo Taxil, created one of the greatest lies about our Fraternity, all to get a rise out of members of the Catholic Church. The ideas and imagery expressed in Taxil’s work were so extravagant that he is even quoted as saying (Brayley, pg 228-229):
“I thought I would kill myself laughing at some of the things proposed, but everything went; there is no limit to human stupidity".
So, without further ado, let us head straight into the quackery that is the Taxil Hoax.
Mr. Jogand-Pages was a French journalist who was already known for his anti-Catholic and
anti-clerical views. Having been disillusioned with Catholic teachings after spending years in a Jesuit seminary school, he began writing about how religious ideology was harmful in society, sometimes under the pseudonym Prosper Manin. He first gained notoriety with his books La Bible amusante and La Vie de Jesus, which were satirical, yet critical, looks at Biblical hypocrisy and inconsistent storytelling. His next works were attacks on the clergy and the Pope, claiming them to be hedonists akin to the Marquis de Sade. However, it wasn’t until 1879 that the law actually got involved, and Mr. Jogand-Pages had to be acquitted of insulting a state recognized religion.
About five years later, Pope Leo XIII publish his encyclical Humanum Genus, which further attacked Freemasonry and split the human race into two groups:
“separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other of those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ... The other is the kingdom of Satan... At this period, however, the partisans of evil seems to be combining together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strongly organized and widespread association called the Freemasons. (Roman Catholic Church)”
After seeing this, Jogand-Pages rebranded himself, coming out as Leo Taxil, and faked a conversion to the ways of the Catholic church. He also expressed that he would right the wrongs that were supposedly in his previous books. This is where Taxil started his anti-Masonic career.
The first work published by Taxil was a 4 volume “history” of Freemasonry, in which he wrote about the involvement of Satanic practices in Masonic rituals; all according to unverified “eyewitness” accounts. Taxil then partnered with a “Dr. Karl Hacks”, which was really an unnamed collaborator, to publish Le Diable au XIXe siècle (The Devil in the 19th Century), and introduced his protagonist, Diana Vaughn, to the anti-Masonic world. Diana was somehow supposedly related to Thomas Vaughn, a well known philosopher and alchemist. This book described Diana’s adventures in Freemasonry, in which she met with demons, one of which wrote prophecies on her back (Hause). After professing a love for Joan of Arc, the demons accosting Diana were driven away, and she was able to escape her involvement with Satanic Freemasonry. Taxil would go on to use this character to publish two books under her name, Eucharistic Novena, which was a collection of prayers, and Confessions of an Ex-Palladist, in which she described more of her supposed involvement within the Freemasons.
Also described in Le Diable au XIXe siècle, were a group known as the Palladists. This group,
hidden away in the highest echelons of Freemasonry (according to Taxil), were a cult that practiced Theistic Satanism, and were based out of Charleston, South Carolina (Waite). This finding was all too convenient for Taxil and his contributor, Abel Clarin de la Rive, as they were able to pin Ill. Bro.Albert Pike to their conspiracy. It was written in this book that Pike was the head of the Palladists, and the original creator was the Italian lawyer and activist Guiseppe Mazzini. The Palladists were then supposedly broken up when French authorities found out of its existence only a few years after its formation.
It is argued that Mazzini was a Mason, possibly a Grand Master, in the book 10,000 Famous
Freemasons by William R. Denslow, however, the Grand Orient of Italy questions his legitimacy and does not acknowledge him as a Past Grand Master. As for Bro Pike, his alleged involvement with this mysterious group would later be spun off into another book, La Femme et l’enfant dans la franc-maçonnerie universelle (Women and Children in Universal Freemasonry), where the infamous Luciferian quote is first shown. This quote, which states:
“That which we must say to the world is that 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 higher degrees, maintained in the Purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, 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 for light to serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive....
Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy, and the true and pure philosophical 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.”
Is sourced to Diana Vaughn in a footnote of the book. The quote and book’s real author, Abel Clarin de la Rive (real name Pierre Abel Clarin Vivant), was one of the people who fell for Taxil’s writings without question, and wished to expand on it. He took Taxil’s ridiculous claims and added his own speculation to it, such as sex magic and rituals (Kreis). Vivant would go on to write Le Juif et la franc-maçonnerie (Jews and Freemasonry), in which he states that both Freemasonry and Palladists were controlled by Jews, and that the rituals were actually based on Jewish Kabbalah.
However, not everyone fell for Taxil’s writings, including other anti-Masonic individuals. Many
pressured Taxil into revealing Diana Vaughn, in person, so that it could make his stories more
plausible. Taxil eventually conceded, and on April 19, 1897, he held a press conference at Société de Géographie, which he stated would be the introduction of Diana to the world and the final proof of his wild accusations. This, of course, never came to fruition; as Leo Taxil, in the midst of clergymen and other opponents of Freemasonry, admitted to making all of it up. His entire confession was printed in a Paris newspaper, Le Frondeur, on the 25th of the same month under the story titled Twelve Years Under the Banner of the Church, The Prank Of Palladism. Miss Diana Vaughan–The Devil At The Freemasons. A Conference held by M. Léo Taxil, at the Hall of the Geographic Society in Paris.
Mr. Jogand-Pages died 10 years later in March of 1907, but we can say, without a doubt, that he is rolling in his grave seeing his joke still being used to influence and misinform people to this day.
Judaism and Freemasonry: A Conspiracy Theorist's
Favorite Tag Team
In today’s constantly connected world, if one finds themselves involved in any sort of social
media, they will no doubt come across antisemitism. It is the dead horse that has been kicked
throughout the centuries, with no shortage of slang terms, dog whistles, and vile rhetoric that
still perpetuates to this day. And, without fail, it has undoubtedly been connected to our
Fraternity. With so much as a click on a hashtag, one can find comments proclaiming that
Freemasonry is “judaism for the goys”, that Freemasonry is the playground for the “global elite” (an antisemetic dog whistle), and that any Mason who speaks against this just “isn’t a high enough level.”
An individual does not have to stray too far from one of the previous writers mentioned to see
this type of hateful rhetoric displayed. Abel Clarin de la Rive continued on with the anti-Masonic and antisemitic writings even after Taxil’s confession. After losing readership in his publication, La France chrétienne, De la Rive went so far as to say that the confession was forced and that Diana Vaughn and the Palladists really still existed (Kreis). It wasn’t until the Dreyfus Affair, a French political scandal that split the Third French Republic, that de la Rive started to gain traction again, mainly fueled by increased antisemitism in the country.
Possibly the biggest source for the tie in between Freemasonry and Judaism is the nefarious
Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion, a publication from 1903 first appearing in Imperial Russia. It is what scholars call “black propaganda”; a type of propaganda intended to look like it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. This document took heavy inspiration from previous books written by Jacob Brafman, namely The Local and Universal Jewish Brotherhoods and The Book of the Kahal. In these books, Brafman claimed that the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and organization in France that was formed for the safeguarding of human rights for Jews around the world, was actually the head of an international conspiratorial network, and its leader was Adolphe Crémieux, a known Freemason. Two other books that seem to have influenced The Protocols are The Conquest of the World by the Jews by Osmen Bey and The Talmud and the Jews by Hippolytus Lutostansky.
All of these writings came together in a disgusting stew to create The Protocols. Twenty four different “protocols” were said to be discussed in the writing, with number 15 being directly tied to how the “Elders” plan to use Masonic lodges to spread their influence across the globe. After being translated from Russian into other languages, notably German and English, the slime that was The Protocols began to infest the rest of the world. Even with the inclusion of Masonry in The Protocols, some of our own Brothers were influenced by its lies, the most famous of which being Henry Ford (Singerman).
These accusations of “evil Jewish influence” can even be seen up until very recently. Only a few weeks ago,, a Mason from Arizona who goes by the screen name “KyleIsBased” on social media, released a recording of the Master Mason degree to his X (formally Twitter) followers. During the videos, “Kyle” has messages appear on screen that tie what is going on during the degree to “secret jewish kabbalah ritual” or “jewish burial rites”, neither of which are part of the degree. Henry Guy Carr, Edith Star Miller, Reverend John Ankerberg, and Alex Jones, are all proponents of The Protocols.
What Can We Do?
After doing even a modicum of research, it seems that the odds are against us Brothers to try
and keep the conspiracies at bay. The reality is, the falsehoods held against the Fraternity have always been there and always will be. As Masons, we can only seek to educate ourselves
properly to the nature of these accusations, so that we may better educate the public in regards to what actually happens in Lodge.
Will there be radicals that attempt to harm our Brothers? Unfortunately, with the current political, social, and economic conditions in the US and abroad, the answer is yes, as we sadly saw what happened in Texas with Bro Robert Wise. This should not deter us with our mission to not only improve ourselves, but improve the communities around us.
Brothers can start small, maybe with a friend group or community night. More experienced and well versed Brothers could branch out to farther reaching means, such as podcasts, Youtube, and other social media ventures. Finally, we do have Brothers who are the public eye, and are considered a positive influence, such as Bro Shaquille O’Neal or Bro Brad Paisley. We can always approach them to see if they would be willing to speak on their positive path with the Fraternity, not in a recruitment sense, but in a more down to Earth, “this helped me grow”, style interview.
A Freemason should never stop growing. Not only in the way of personal growth, but also in the way they approach new technology and the opponents it reveals. Never stop growing. Never stop learning. Never stop educating.
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~AR
