"Aaron"  wrote in message 
news:k1vcb5pvffqoos9uptvmgusqgu88kii599@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:42:30 -0700 (PDT), Darth Simian
>  wrote:
>
>>On 20 Sep, 04:27, "S.J."  wrote:
>>> My Dad was a Mason, as was my Grandfather. And Shriners. Both deseased.
>>>
>>> What is to know about The Illuminati, etc? Masons?
>
> The Illuminati was a polisical movement that existed from 1776-1784.
> Its goal was to remove superstition and occultism from government.
> They have not existed for over 200 years, but ignorance and paranoia
> have kept a weird distorted legend alive.
>

polisical? do you mean political or police movement?

Here we go again: Aaron with truth mingling.

How freemasonic ! ... and he is only a masonic aspirant according to his own 
posts in alt.freemasonry !

For the vast majority of Masons, Freemasonry is a lifelong succession of 
deceptions. Most Lodge leaders do not realize that they are deceiving their 
members. For the most part, they are simply reciting the same things they 
have heard and said, over and over, assuming that they are right and good. 
However, the Princes and Adepts of Freemasonry deliberately deceive the 
Masons under them. (See Tom C. McKenney, "Please Tell Me...Questions People 
Ask About Freemasonry -- and the Answers," pages 123-133.)

Masons take blood oaths, but are told that they are only symbolic. They 
participate in rituals that they don't understand, assuming that they must 
be alright because their masonic friends have done it.

Even a Thirty-Second Degree Mason will have limited understanding unless he 
studies the Secret Doctrine and the writings of the Princes and Adepts of 
Masonry. It is difficult for a man to turn away from Freemasonry because of 
the many blood oaths which he has made in order to obtain his degrees. 
Furthermore, he has invested a lot of time, effort and money into Masonry, 
and many of his friendships and business connections are with fellow Masons.


According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminati (links to sources are 
there to):

Writers such as Mark Dice, David Icke, Ryan Burke, Jüri Lina and Morgan 
Gricar, have argued that the Bavarian Illuminati survived, possibly to this 
day. Many of these theories propose that world events are being controlled 
and manipulated by a secret society calling itself the Illuminati. Theorists 
have claimed that many notable people were or are members of the Illuminati, 
including Winston Churchill, the Bush family, Barack Obama, the Rothschild 
family, David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski.
In addition to the shadowy and secret organization, several modern fraternal 
groups claim to be the "heirs" of the Bavarian Illuminati and have openly 
used the name "Illuminati" in founding their own rites. Some, such as the 
multiple groups that call themselves some variation on "The Illuminati 
Order" use the name directly in the name of their organization, while 
others, such as the Ordo Templi Orientis, use the name as a grade of 
initiation within their organization.

Not only is Freemasonry a religion, its highest authorities claim that it is 
superior to Christianity. Freemasonry is considered to be the highest and 
purest form of religion:

  "Freemasonry is not Christianity, nor a substitute for it. It does not 
meddle with sectarian creeds or doctrines, but teaches fundamental religious 
truth." (Albert G. Mackey, "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry," page 162)

  "Drop the theological barnacles from the religion of Jesus, as taught by 
Him, and by the Essenes and Gnostics of the first centuries, and it becomes 
Masonry, Masonry in its purity, derived as it is from the old Hebrew Kaballa 
as a part of the great universal religion of the remotest antiquity." (J. D. 
Buck, "Mystic Masonry," page 119).

    "A Christian Mason is not permitted to introduce his own peculiar 
opinions with regards to Christ's mediatorial office into the lodge." 
(Albert G. Mackey, "Lexicon of Freemasonry," page 404).

    "Whether you swear or take God's name in vain don't matter so much. Of 
course the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, as you know, don't amount to 
anything, but Mah-hah-bone--O, horror! You must never, on any account, speak 
that awful name aloud. That would be a most heinous 
crime--unmasonic--unpardonable." (Edmond Ronayne, "Masonic Handbook," page 
184).

  James Shaw, a former Thirty-Third Degree Mason, was appointed Chaplain in 
the Scottish Rite. Since at that time he didn't know how to pray, he got a 
book of John Wesley's prayers and read one, ending "in Christ's name". For 
that he was sharply rebuked by his Commander and reported to the Secretary 
of the Scottish Rite, who told him that he was never to end a prayer "in 
Jesus' name" or "in Christ's name." (Tom McKenney, "Please Tell Me," page 
72).

Even a Thirty-Second Degree Mason will have limited understanding unless he 
studies the Secret Doctrine and the writings of the Princes and Adepts of 
Masonry. It is difficult for a man to turn away from Freemasonry because of 
the many blood oaths which he has made in order to obtain his degrees. 
Furthermore, he has invested a lot of time, effort and money into Masonry, 
and many of his friendships and business connections are with fellow Masons.

Freemasonry is a religion. Masons meet in temples, such as the Scottish Rite 
Temple. They have an altar and there is a "holy book" on it. They have 
prayers, deacons, and religious titles for their leaders, such as High 
Priest and Worshipful Master. They say that they bring men from spiritual 
darkness to spiritual light. In some Masonic degrees, they even serve 
communion. Although Freemasonry is a religion, most Masons deny it. They use 
double talk and say "We are an order of religious men, but not a religion." 
Most of them are quite sincere about this. (Tom C. McKenney, "Please Tell 
Me," pages 81-82).

"The symbolism of the Master's Degree, as we have it now, is necessarily 
restricted to the First Temple and to the present life; although it reaches 
a climax in the assurance of a future life all without the aid of the Bible, 
God, Jesus Christ or the church." (John A. Hertel Company, "The Masonic 
Bible,' pages 10-11).

Most Masons sincerely (but wrongly) believe that Freemasonry is not a 
religion. How can they be so wrong when they are so sincere? Tom McKenney 
says, "...they were told upon entering the Lodge that, whatever their 
religion, Masonry would not conflict with or contradict it. They believed 
this because sincere men told them so. Those sincere men who told them so 
believed it because an earlier generation of sincere men had told them the 
very same thing. And so, this deception, which originated as a lie in 
Masonry's dark beginnings, is perpetuated generation after generation." (Tom 
C. McKenney, "Please Tell Me," page 82).