Word: freemason
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Search Encyclopaedia Britannica for the word Freemasons and an unusual though not entirely unexpected result pops up: the entry for scapegoats. The secretive organization that once counted George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire among its ranks has been a favorite target for conspiracy theorists since the 17th century, when Masonic lodges first spread across Europe. Now best-selling novelist Dan Brown has taken aim at the group's cultlike reputation in his latest book, The Lost Symbol - a fact that comes as no surprise to author Jay Kinney. In his own new book, The Masonic Myth, Kinney attempts to dispel...
...political PR campaign, or even an army recruiting push. This comely and admirable man is the grand master of Masons in Massachusetts, and he wants (some of) you.Entitled “The Grand Master Invitation,” the video welcomes viewers to an informational Web site about the Freemasons, and encourages them to learn more about the fraternity. The site is a far cry from the Freemason’s enduring image as a super-secret society, but that’s the point. “We’re not like ‘The Da Vinci...
...story of presidential faith throughout history is one of argument and mystery, as it was meant to be. A sense of independence was hard-wired into the nation so that all could worship as they pleased. Washington was a Freemason and a deist; no one knew what he truly believed. Jefferson read the Bible every day--even wrote his own version--but that was because he wanted to cut out all the miraculous parts, including the Resurrection. Lincoln worshipped faithfully but never joined a church, and was labeled an infidel by at least one congressional opponent. And it was Bill...
...Ehrmann, who describes himself as a Freemason with an anarcho-Marxist philosophy, is intent on pushing the envelope when it comes to social contracts as well as technology developments. "I have always lived in a tribal fashion," he says of his penchant for cohabiting with several women simultaneously. "We show each other respect...
...France's estimated 120,000 Masons are also embroiled in controversy. In 1999 the public prosecutor of Nice, Eric de Montgolfier, denounced the existence of "networks of Freemasons" that, he said, were exerting an influence on the region's judiciary. His allegations were given renewed life with the revelation last October that Alain Bartoli, a Nice police officer and a Freemason, had used a law-enforcement database to conduct extensive background searches on several people. Bartoli has admitted using classified police files only to check up on candidates for membership in his local lodge, but among those he targeted...