The Mysteries: The First Secret Society

Beginning nearly a thousand years before the common era, various organizations begin to emerge, first in the east, and later in Macedonia, under the name of "Mysteries". As the Mysteries appear to be the world's first collection of secret societies, the readers and members of our forum may be interested in the topic. Although a wide variety of Mysteries existed, including the Eleusinian Mysteries in Greece, the Osirian Mysteries in Egypt, and Mithraic Mysteries in Persia, the general character of them remained the same, and theefore I will deal with them as if they were one organization, without regard for the geographical existence.

It is sometimes difficult to ascertain what exactly the Mysteries were. They were often condemned by theologians and politicians, but were praised by many of the intellectuals, especially the philosophers. Indeed, it was a Greek initiate of the Mysteries, Pythagoras, who coined the term "philosophy", and is generally regarded as the first modern philosopher.

Pythagoras was born in 569 B.C.; in his youth he traveled to Egypt in order to study mathematics and astronomy, and was there initiated into the Mysteries at On, a city which the Greeks called Heliopolis. Upon returning to Greece, he organized a sect commonly known as the Pythagoreans; a requirement for membership was initiation into the Mysteries, which were practiced at Eleusis. The Pythagoreans taught several interesting doctrines, including the immortality of the soul, the absolute duty of man to practice virtue, and that spiritual knowledge and understanding in its truest form can only be approached rationally, through mathematics, especially geometry and trigonometry.

These doctrines seemed to be borrowed from the Mysteries themselves. We know that in the Eleusinian Mysteries, certain Greek myth cycles were acted out dramatically, as a theatrical spectacle before the candidates. The story there re-enacted was that of Persephone and Demeter. According to the popular Greek myth, Demeter, the earth goddess, had her daughter Persephone snatched away from her by hades, the god of the dead, who was in love with her. Demeter petitioned the gods, who ruled that Persephone must stay with Hades 6 months of every year, but would be allowed to return to Demeter for 6 months every year.

The people of Greece took this myth, and others like them, literally. It was their religion. However, the Mysteries affirmed to the candidates that they were only allegories, designed to teach certain lessons in science and morality. It was there declared to the initiated that Demeter represented the earth during autumn and winter, and that her mourning for her daughter was symbolic of the earth turning cold and barren in those months; Demeter's celebrating Persephone's return was symbolic of nature being reborn in spring, and becoming fertile in summer. These and other lessons in natural science were later revealed in the Mysteries.

The Mysteries of Osiris and Mithras used other myths to teach the same doctrines.

Over time, many non-initiates began to become suspicious of the Mysteries. They claimed that the Mysteries were secret because "they must have something to hide". This helped lead to to the arrest and execution of Socrates.

Socrates was probably the most philosopher in history. Indeed, all philosophers before Socrates are generally referred to as "Pre-Socratics", while every philosopher after him are "Post-Socratics". To the best of our knowledge, he never actually wrote anything, but his beliefs and teachings were preserved to us by his student Plato.

Exactly when and where Socrates was initiated, we do not know. However, there is little doubt that he was. Plato's work called the Meno featues a conversation between Socrates and an Athenian intellectual named Meno. At the beginning, Meno asks Socrates whether virtue can be taught, or if it comes from nature, or if it can be acquired some other way. A long discussion follows, with the final paradoxical conclusion being that virtue if a gift from God bestowed upon the virtuous. This conclusion is indeed rather ambiguous; what is important in this regard is that Socrates goes on to tell Meno that if he wants a true and deep understanding of the meaning of virtue, he should accompany him to the Mysteries and be initiated.

Another work of Plato, called the Phaedo, elaborates on the Mysteries even further. This work is a conversation between Socrates and several close friends while in Socrates' jail cell, hours before he was scheduled to be executed. The group is surprised that Socrates is cheerful, even so near to death. Socrates then explains that true philosophers do not fear death because they are virtuous and courageous, and that death is a good, not an evil, to those who practice virtue.

Socrates goes on to explain his belief in the immortality of the soul, and issues a fascinating argument in defense of his belief in reincarnation. He furthermore begins to expound a doctrine of the Mysteries, concerning the opposing forces that compose Nature: good and evil, love and hate, light and darkness, etc.
Plato records Socrates' words: "And I conceive that the founders of the mysteries had a real meaning and were not mere triflers when they intimated in a figure long ago that he who passed unsanctified and uninitiated into the afterworld will live in a slough, but that he who arrives there after initiation and purificationwill dwell with the gods. For, as they say in the mysteries, 'Many are the thyrsus-bearers, but few are the mystics' - meaning the true philosophers.'"

Socrates began proclaiming many of the doctrines of the Mysteries openly, which got him in hot water with both the religious groups and the politicians. The theologians charged him with atheism and making innovations in religion because he "rejects the gods of Athens, and sets up new divinities in their place." The politicians opposed him because he echoed the teachings of the mysteries by proclaiming that "man's first duty is to virtue", rather than to blindly follow the state or tradition.

He was found guilty of corrupting the young, and making innovations in religion, and was executed. As his method of execution, he chose to drink a poisonous tea made of hemlock. His friends were by his side till the very end, and he exited this life sitting on his jail stool, still teaching them of the virtue of charity.

As with Socrates, we do not know of the time and place of Plato's initiation. All we know is that Plato's favorite student, Aristotle, later wrote that Plato had an "unwritten doctrine" that was communicated to students only after they had been initiated. Aristotle, in his work known as the Metaphysics, confirms that this doctrine was that of the Mysteries.

In recent times, beginning in the late 18th century, some Masonic writers have claimed that Freemasonry is the successor of the Mysteries. Like the Mysteries, Freemasonry uses dramatic ceremonies of a mythological character to teach virtue, science, and philosophy through symbolism. Like the Mysteries, it has a reputation for secrecy, and also like the Mysteries, it has religious and political opponents. A further study of the subject is required to come to a full understanding on the influence of the Mysteries, but such a study will no doubt prove to be enlightening for those willing to undertake it.

Your history lesson is so stupid -
If this has one thing to do with the High Level Masons ruining this country
or secret society
Masonic Blight is showing you how tedious and wearing these masons can be- must be 50 of em here they chit chat about nothing between themself and have for all purposes ruined this group,no doubt the purpose.
Beware of a group so united in keeping their secrets , avoiding ALL responsibilities, and denying the past.
180' Programed savants of the Order of the Lost

Excellent post, MA. I�ll print it out right away.

I guess you deserve

You have voted Masonic Light for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have one more vote left for this month.

If there are any Freemasons who truly believe they are True Christians you need to get out of there

Millions of men throughout the world, including six million Americans, look to the Masonic Lodge for brotherhood and fellowship. They are proud to be part of an organization that engages itself in worthwhile causes, such as children's hospitals. Many of them feel strongly about the Masonic tenets of the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the immortality of the soul. Masonry (or Freemasonry) claims to be the friend of Christianity, and yet it contains doctrines that are contrary to biblical teaching. As unpleasant as it may be, it is the obligation of the discerning Christian to point this out, both for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of Christian Masons and for those who might yet become Masons. The Masonic ritual (i.e., Masonry's ceremonial rites of initiation that all Masons must pass through) of the First, Second, and Third Degrees teach all Masons exactly what God condemns as a false gospel, namely that a person is saved and goes to heaven as a result of his or her personal character and good works. As all Christians know, the Bible places such a teaching under God's curse. Paul said in Galatians 1:8&9:


�But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that we have preached to you, let him be accursed.�



The Bible clearly teaches how a man is saved:



�For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast� (Eph. 2:8-9. See also John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Rom.3:28-29; 4:6; 11:6).

retracted the Taxil quote my appolagies

Try these then

www.cuttingedge.org...





www.geocities.com...

the other thread
www.abovetopsecret.com...
ML also called Christianity my bazaro cult,Christianity is`nt Christianity if its not scriptural you therefore cannot claim to be a True Christan whilst being a Mason.
Here`s a Mason site who agree`s with this,although calling true Christians narrow minded
Therefore to the Bible literalist, who believes all other faiths are false, the answer is most clearly No the true Christian cannot be a Freemason. However, for millions of other Christians who are more open minded with regard to their faith in Christ, their is no conflict between their religion and the fraternity.link
www.freemasoninfo.ca...


[edit on 7-1-2005 by gps777]

Originally posted by gps777 Albert Pike let �the cat out of the bag in his secret instructions for 30th 31st and 32nd degree Freemasons:
That which we must say to the crowd is - We worship a God, but it is the God 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 us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Lucifererian 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 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 two divine principals 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 philosophic religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.

Wow!!! It seems like this was just discussed a day or two ago!
OMG... it was!!!

www.abovetopsecret.com...
towards the middle of the page and what do you know...
posted by me even! Talk about de ja vu!

This indeed has been proven to be a hoax...

www.templarhistory.com...
www.geocities.com...
www.free-definition.com...

plus this has been discussed on other threads on this board, as well as whether or not Masonry is compatible or not with Christianity.

[edit on 1/7/2005 by cotwom]

[edit on 1/7/2005 by cotwom]

GPS777 also took offense to other persons calling Christ Lucifer...

KJV
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

Latin Vulgate
2Pe 1:19 et habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem cui bene facitis adtendentes quasi lucernae lucenti in caliginoso loco donec dies inlucescat et lucifer oriatur in cordibus vestris


Lucifer is Strongs number

G5459
φωσφόρος
phōsphoros
foce-for'-os
From G5457 and G5342; light bearing (�phosphorus�), that is, (specifically) the morning star (figuratively): - day star.

According to Jamison-Fausset-Brown Christian Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Whole Bible:
In reference to this word in this passage...
day star--Greek, the morning star," as Rev_22:16. The Lord Jesus.

John Wesley Commentary...
"Till the day should dawn - Till the full light of the gospel should break through the darkness. As is the difference between the light of a lamp and that of the day, such is that between the light of the Old Testament and of the New. And the morning star - Jesus Christ, Rev_22:16. Arise in your hearts - Be revealed in you."

So I guess... yeah Jesus can be called Lucifer..
Also as noted above, aplace where Jesus calls himself the morning star...

KJV
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Now since morning star is another term for day star, which in latin translates to lucifer, he is saying he's lucifer.

LUCIFER IS NOT SATAN!!!

It's a star that is visible at dawn...ie Venus. The light bringer. Jesus brought light to world. I'm a Christian and even I get that.

BTW all this is referenced from a free bible program called E-Sword so I have no page numbers but easily verified.

[edit on 1/7/2005 by cotwom]

Try these then

www.cuttingedge.org...

Good article!!!

One problem "Freemasonry" in general does not recommend books, with one or two exceptions.

Also I'm sure many Masons have never heard of the publisher mentioned at the start of that article.

Individual Masons on the other hand may reccomed books they like and collectively with other Masons agree are good.

Example: I recomend you read Born in Blood and a Pilgrims Path by John J Robinson. Both Pro Masonic books highly reccomended books by many Masons.

I personally find Madame Blavatsky's writings very interesting and have since before I was a Mason. Would I reccomed them? It depends on what an individual is studying.

As far as the other authors mentioned, I have heard of half of those authors/books and read much less than that. If Masons read those or even research the material mentioned that is the individual Masons choice. It is NOT pushed by the Masonic Fraternity as a whole.

I even read books I disagree with like The Brotherhood an Anti-Mason book.
I've read the Quran. I'm still a Christian though. I as an individual encourage people to read many book they might disagree with or initially take offense to.

By the way, your next link www.geocities.com...

I must question the info presented there as it seems they also believe that hoax I pointed out. Not very informed are they?
Actually, it looks exactly like what you had posted a moment ago word for word!!!
Near the bottom of the page under the snaphot of Mr. Crowley...

The True god or gods of Freemasonry
The secret name for the god of the Freemasons is �Jahbulon� or �Yahbulon�. This is a compound name taken from �Jehovah or Yahweh� the Christian God, �Bul� from the ancient pagan fertility god �Baal� and �On� from the ancient Egyptian god "Osiris". Albert Pike let �the cat out of the bag in his secret instructions for 30th 31st and 32nd degree Freemasons:
That which we must say to the crowd is - We worship a God, but it is the God 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 us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Lucifererian 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 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 two divine principals 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 philosophic religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.


This pretty much shows that the Freemasonry doesn�t hold to the doctrine of the Trinity, and believe in a dualistic god / devil balance of power in the
universe, like the pagan Gnosticism. Also since Lucifer or Satan is nothing more than a created and fallen angel according to the Bible, it appears freemasonry elevates him to godhood, worshipping and calling the Devil 'God'. Again remember this isn't an opinion, it comes from the Masonic Authority Albert Pike himself.

[edit on 1/7/2005 by cotwom]

This is as close as i can find to sum up that Christ is not Lucifer for you,you cannot be a True Christian and a Mason sorry to say

www.blessedquietness.com...

Masonary is totally opposite to which Christ instructs his people
and
www.1john57.com...

Masons will tell you anything to take you away from the truth

[edit on 7-1-2005 by gps777]

Originally posted by gps777
This is as close as i can find to sum up that Christ is not Lucifer for you,you cannot be a True Christian and a Mason sorry to say

According to your interpretation. Are you a part of the clergy, and angel, a prophet, a person of divinity

If not then you are not a voice of authority and can merely give your opinion, which is your entitlement, but at least state it is your opinion. Christianity cannot decide on whether Freemasonry is compatible, a recent poll run in the UK produced a vote of approx 6000 to 500 in favour that the two organisation are compatible. This poll was advertised here, on nearly all Christian forum sites and masonic forum sites as well as on radio and on general sites. Does democracy not rule.

Let's face it if Christianity can't decide for itself, no one or group of Christians can definitively say yes or no. And even if it did Christianity has been wrong in the past, the Earth is round

Originally posted by Bondi

Originally posted by gps777
This is as close as i can find to sum up that Christ is not Lucifer for you,you cannot be a True Christian and a Mason sorry to say

According to your interpretation. Are you a part of the clergy, and angel, a prophet, a person of divinity

If not then you are not a voice of authority and can merely give your opinion, which is your entitlement, but at least state it is your opinion. Christianity cannot decide on whether Freemasonry is compatible, a recent poll run in the UK produced a vote of approx 6000 to 500 in favour that the two organisation are compatible. This poll was advertised here, on nearly all Christian forum sites and masonic forum sites as well as on radio and on general sites. Does democracy not rule.

Let's face it if Christianity can't decide for itself, no one or group of Christians can definitively say yes or no. And even if it did Christianity has been wrong in the past, the Earth is round

NO unclean spirit has authority over a Christian

Originally posted by gps777
This is as close as i can find to sum up that Christ is not Lucifer for you,you cannot be a True Christian and a Mason sorry to say


Masonary is totally opposite to which Christ instructs his people
and
www.1john57.com...

Masons will tell you anything to take you away from the truth

Freemasonry teaches men the duty they owe to God, his family, other people and himself. Show me where Freemasonry has any philosophy that is anti Christian. Having read your posts against Freemasonry which are often very long but without much substance I will be susprised.


Gerard

[edit on 7-1-2005 by Gerard]

Originally posted by gps777
NO unclean spirit has authority over a Christian

And no person on Earth has a clean spirit, which again means you cannot make the statement of what is or isn't compatible with Christianity.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying you are wrong in your opinion, I merely mean you can only make an opinion. To state categorically that it is not compatible, if you do you are claiming an authority to be able to rule this judgement.

If you had said in my opinion it is not compatible, I wouldn't of even responded, but Christians will continually state that no one rules Christianity, but at the same time state the religions position on certain subjects, you cannot have it both ways.

Opinion and statement are two very different things, and people need to show what they are making.

Call it a technicality, call me picky, but people need to know exactly what you mean, and I mean you as in the person making the post not you personally.

Bondi i am saying it is not compatible to Christs teachings and Gods word,which therefore are not compatible to me either hope thats clear enough but i guess not your simply a Mason groupie and not interested in the truth.

Originally posted by gps777
Bondi i am saying it is not compatible to Christs teachings and Gods word,which therefore are not compatible to me either hope thats clear enough but i guess not your simply a Mason groupie and not interested in the truth.

Never been called a groupie before Groupie, follower, supporter, guess you are simply a groupie of Christ then. Although personally I would not class a Christian as a simple groupie, more a devote person following the interpreted teachings of who they class their lord and saviour, determine to live a life of goodwill, charity and harmony with their fellow man, certain types excluded of course, only the few deserve such kindness.

To take this further on our topic, I hope the author wont mind us continuing on this tangent, are the teachings of Christ, and God, not all in the good book. Written by neither, at a later time to the events spoken of, and are all interpretations of said teachings spoken by the forementioned. I don't believe either actually wrote any of it himself, at best the first five were dictated to moses, although at the same time no man can hear the words of god a survive. You'll have to excuse me if I am wrong with any of my information, if it is wrong my old Christian religious studies teacher may not be a Christian after all.

Which does leave the possibilty that any previous or current interpretation may not be exactly as intended, although will be along the same lines and generally teach the same principles.

Which part of the teachings are you referring to, both from the book, and the contradictory teachings of Freemasonry. If you are going to post scripture could you also include the exact interpretation that is governed by Christianity to be correct, and the correct governed interpretation of the Freemasonry lesson, agreed by all the Grand Lodges of the World.

Just so I know exactly what you are talking about.

gps777. You are wrong on soooooooo many counts, it's just amazing. Really, just how wrong can one person be on a single subject?

Freemasonry does not promise salvation either through good works or by any other means. Never has. Never will. It's left to your Church to state that if you swallow unopposed dogma, you will go to Paradise.

I just love Bible literalists. There are so many contradictions and errors within the book it's a wonder how they get out of bed to face the world in the morning!!! How do they decide what to do, when even the Bible doesn't agree with itself? That's of course, if a literalist has even read the Bible - most of them get their literalist attitude from somewhere else, without even picking a Bible up. If they had actually bothered reading the book, they would know that 99% of their argument is pure trash - based on historical innacuracy, mistranslation, blatant error and political manipulation.

And you just gotta admire the way that they merrily roam about condemning people left, right and centre when their religion even tells them time and time again that you shouldn't judge others. Literalist all claim to be good Chistians but they all seem to rewrite the religion for their own agendas. "I'm a literalist but the Bible really says this and nobody can disagree with me even though it's my own opinion". They're not even literalists - they're personal interpreters the majority of the time!!!!


ML. I've looked a little at the Greek Mysteries. They're an interesting subject but because of their very nature, it's hard to find good resources for study. Is it possible that you have some good links to websites regarding this subject?
I've read elsewhere that the mystics endowed people like Pythagorus with powers not far removed from those of Christ. ie: he was able to perform miracles such as walking on water. If this is true, is there some link between early Christianity and the earlier Greek Mysteries? The link would point to Christianity adapting aspects from the Mysteries just as it did with Mithraism. And the Mysteries themselves: what was their basis? Certain parts of the belief system seem to be closely linked to Egyptian religion as you state but was there any other influence that can be found elsewhere?

Personally, I see the mysteries as an updating of even more ancient beliefs but with the addition for the first time of logical philosophy. It was a questioning of religion - probably the first example of a rebuttal of dogma. Maybe you should study them too gps777.




[edit on 7-1-2005 by Leveller]

Great article ML, would you mind if I presented it in my lodge as education?

Originally posted by Agnis
Excellent post, MA. I�ll print it out right away.

I guess you deserve

You have voted Masonic Light for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have one more vote left for this month.

Silly mistake, I mean excellent post, ML. I must be reading this forum too much since I have even started to write Masked avatar instead of Masonic Light.

Btw, why isn�t there edit button anymore?


[edit on 7-1-2005 by Agnis]

Originally posted by Leveller
ML. I've looked a little at the Greek Mysteries. They're an interesting subject but because of their very nature, it's hard to find good resources for study. Is it possible that you have some good links to websites regarding this subject?

users.erols.com...
www.san.beck.org...

I've read elsewhere that the mystics endowed people like Pythagorus with powers not far removed from those of Christ. ie: he was able to perform miracles such as walking on water. If this is true, is there some link between early Christianity and the earlier Greek Mysteries?

There is almost certainly a connection between the myths of the ancient Greeks and those of the later Christians. For example, the myth that a certain sage was able to walk upon a water seems to be an allegory that the person was spiritually developed to a point that he had mastered that element.

And the Mysteries themselves: what was their basis? Certain parts of the belief system seem to be closely linked to Egyptian religion as you state but was there any other influence that can be found elsewhere?

Much concerning the Mysteries are still unknown, but there are two major schools of thought on the subject. One school claims that the exoteric religions predated the Mysteries. According to these researchers, it was impossible for people of education and intellect to literally believe in the popular religions, so they designed the Mysteries in order to show that the common religion was composed of mere allegories in order to teach lessons in science, morality, mathematics, and philosophy.

A second school believes the Mysteries predated the religions. They believe it was the Mysteries who invented the religius myths, which were meant to be symbols; but after the symbols fell into the hands of the commoners, they began taking the allegorical stories literally, which resulted in the formation of the common religions. Albert Pike was of this opinion, and he wrote in "Morals and Dogma" that "The symbols of the wise always become the idols of the vulgar."

P.S. for Heading East: feel free to use anything I've posted.



[edit on 7-1-2005 by Masonic Light]

Originally posted by GLeamer

If this has one thing to do with the High Level Masons ruining this country
or secret society

If you want to talk about politics, go to the political forum. This forum is about secret societies, which, by their very nature, were founded parallel to the Mysteries.

Besides, it's ridiculous to say that Masons are ruining our country, when it was indeed Masons who founded it in the first place. The problem with the country is not Masons in government, but rather the lack of them. As Dr. Buck points out in his book "Mystic Masonry", originally, the majority of members of our government were Masons, but now Masons in government are few and far between; furthermore, even those in government who are still Masons are only nominally so, i.e., they have Lodge membership cards, but never actually attend Lodge, nor do they really know anything about Masonry.
Therefore, Buck correctly contends that the problem with our country currently is the tendency of government to ignore the Masonic ideals upon which it was founded.

Originally posted by Masonic Light
Therefore, Buck correctly contends that the problem with our country currently is the tendency of government to ignore the Masonic ideals upon which it was founded.

I couldn't agree more. Like I have said before, if more people lived up to the standard set by good Masons, the world would definitely be a better place.

Good post!

You have voted Masonic Light for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have one more vote left for this month