12-26-2020, 05:38 PM
In all, instead of solidifying the various lodges, myriads of new Masonic rites and orders mushroomed, competing against or using each other, their strange theories rising into popularity or falling into obscurity, each founder squabbling over who had discovered the true history of Masonry, or who were the legitimate guardians of esoteric wisdom and could lead mankind to the surest path of perfection. We cannot help but notice that in Lord of the Rings Tolkien may have alluded to the deep ‘secret devilry’ introduced by this strange proliferation of constructed legends and rites, in particular, the Templar legends that continue to intrigue people today. King Solomon’s Temple was built on Mount Moria (2 Paralipomenon 3:1) the exact same name Tolkien calls his fabulous underground kingdom of the Dwarves. Just as wise King Solomon’s temple and kingdom were associated with one* precious metal, gold, the alchemical symbol of wisdom among the hermetic scholars, Tolkien’s Moria is prized for its extremely rare mithril, the priceless metal of kings and princes. However, the Dwarves burrowed too far into Moria in their quest for mithril and unleashed the terrifying Balrog of the depths, a demon-servant of the satanic Morgorth as we recall. In the end, evil creatures overtook their beloved kingdom and the Dwarves were forced to abandon their realm. No doubt Tolkien was secretly jabbing at the hermetic scholars who delved too deep into forbidden places in their quest for the hidden ‘gold’ of wisdom and ultimately unleashed the multi-headed hydra of Masonic spiritualism. Only the Angelic Pontiff of the Church would eventually put an end to the Enemy and his useless rites once and for all as symbolised by Gandalf quelling the Balrog of Moria.
For obvious reasons, the all-inclusive nature of occult esoteric study in Freemasonry and its offer of an alternative path to redemption divorced of Christ’s organised religion became a great cause for alarm with the Church.76 Any promised path to perfection or salvation derived from pagan religions and whitewashed with Christian mysticism was nothing more than a ploy of the devil to ensnare the curious through alluring but hazy ‘mysteries’ that lead nowhere. Scripture clearly states that all pagan deities are devils and places idolatry in the same category as witchcraft, a ‘spiritual adultery’ separating the soul from God. Hence, the study of hidden wisdom from the medieval days was no longer viewed as a completely innocent academic occupation as it dived straight into pagan sources for alternative sources of ‘wisdom’, the term ‘occult’ now viewed as something demonic. Mankind still corrupted by original sin could not save itself without Christ and the graces of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Freemasonry could offer nothing more than fool’s gold, a spiritual sect with no known or concrete foundation in history luring new followers in with the promise of attaining true wisdom but failing to deliver, giving nothing but appealing yet illusive vagaries followed by the accomplishment of strange rites without any power invested in them from Heaven and therefore could not bestow or convey supernatural grace to lead man to salvation.
Freemasonry therefore became an ‘empty’ organisation in contrast to the Church and its grace-giving seven Sacraments established by Christ Himself: two of which imparted the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Baptism and Confirmation, one which restored grace when lost through sin, the Sacrament of Penance, and of course, the Blessed Sacrament of His own Body and Blood, the Eucharist that sustained body and soul unto Life Everlasting. No other religion, sect or fraternity possessed the promised gifts of Christ and the Holy Ghost, nor had the power to forgive sin and impart grace. Anyone who attempted to seize Christianity and its mysticism while at the same time setting themselves apart from Christ’s one and only Church, or claimed to have the secrets to salvation, or declared that all religions were equal, was nothing but a fruitless sham leading souls to perdition. Therefore, Satan, who separated himself from God yet could not make his own kingdom and had to accept Hell prepared for him and his angels, could not create a convincing ‘church’ of his own unless he appropriated the mysticism of Christ’s true Church and used it to promote his diabolical aims, turning the original good intentions of the medieval freemason guilds into a satanic Antichrist ‘church’. We observe Tolkien’s Lord Sauron shares similar characteristics as Frodo remarks: “The Shadow that bred them (the orcs) can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own.”77
This division between Freemasonry and the Church became more apparent in the 18th century when many lodges were used as tools to foster the ideals associated with the Age of Enlightenment, in particular, Deism: the belief that the ‘Sublime Being’ or Creator was not concerned with the affairs of mankind after the Creation and left humanity to its own devices. It was the duty of man to tread the path of good, and therefore was given the gift of reason to learn how to accomplish this, namely, by doing charitable deeds and promoting the concepts of equality, fraternity, liberty and love. Deism proposed the belief that reason and observation of the natural world alone were sufficient means to determine the existence of a Creator, therefore deists rejected religious knowledge as a source of authority, including the scriptures. Of course, by rejecting revealed religion in favour of a ‘natural’ belief system, the deists also cast aside the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which in turn was to reject the concept of a loving God. In all, Deism inferred that man was left independent of God, and could advance in perfection by his own reasoning power and merits.
* “For no account was made of silver in those days,” i.e., during King’s Solomon’s reign. (2 Paralipomenon 9: 20)
76 The Russian author Leo Tolstoy indicated this was a particular lure of the Lodges. In War and Peace Pierre Bezùkhov joins the Freemasons, believing he has found the true path to heaven and the surest road removed from the oppressive ‘rules’ of religion. He declares all other creeds are a lie: “Freemasonry, he claimed, was Christian doctrine freed from the bonds of politics and organized religion, (...) ‘You must understand, my dear fellow, outside this fraternity it’s all lies and deceit.” Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Volume II, Part II, Ch. 12, Penguin Red Classics, (London: Penguin Books, 2006), p. 418. Eventually Pierre is disillusioned with the members of the lodge as they joined simply to make connections or to be sociable, rarely paid their expected alms to the poor, were too busy trying to poniard those who had betrayed the secrets of the lodge, or were scrambling to find which lodge had the oldest charters: nearly all members proving to be hypocrites, failing to practise the supposed wisdom that they preached.
For obvious reasons, the all-inclusive nature of occult esoteric study in Freemasonry and its offer of an alternative path to redemption divorced of Christ’s organised religion became a great cause for alarm with the Church.76 Any promised path to perfection or salvation derived from pagan religions and whitewashed with Christian mysticism was nothing more than a ploy of the devil to ensnare the curious through alluring but hazy ‘mysteries’ that lead nowhere. Scripture clearly states that all pagan deities are devils and places idolatry in the same category as witchcraft, a ‘spiritual adultery’ separating the soul from God. Hence, the study of hidden wisdom from the medieval days was no longer viewed as a completely innocent academic occupation as it dived straight into pagan sources for alternative sources of ‘wisdom’, the term ‘occult’ now viewed as something demonic. Mankind still corrupted by original sin could not save itself without Christ and the graces of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Freemasonry could offer nothing more than fool’s gold, a spiritual sect with no known or concrete foundation in history luring new followers in with the promise of attaining true wisdom but failing to deliver, giving nothing but appealing yet illusive vagaries followed by the accomplishment of strange rites without any power invested in them from Heaven and therefore could not bestow or convey supernatural grace to lead man to salvation.
Freemasonry therefore became an ‘empty’ organisation in contrast to the Church and its grace-giving seven Sacraments established by Christ Himself: two of which imparted the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Baptism and Confirmation, one which restored grace when lost through sin, the Sacrament of Penance, and of course, the Blessed Sacrament of His own Body and Blood, the Eucharist that sustained body and soul unto Life Everlasting. No other religion, sect or fraternity possessed the promised gifts of Christ and the Holy Ghost, nor had the power to forgive sin and impart grace. Anyone who attempted to seize Christianity and its mysticism while at the same time setting themselves apart from Christ’s one and only Church, or claimed to have the secrets to salvation, or declared that all religions were equal, was nothing but a fruitless sham leading souls to perdition. Therefore, Satan, who separated himself from God yet could not make his own kingdom and had to accept Hell prepared for him and his angels, could not create a convincing ‘church’ of his own unless he appropriated the mysticism of Christ’s true Church and used it to promote his diabolical aims, turning the original good intentions of the medieval freemason guilds into a satanic Antichrist ‘church’. We observe Tolkien’s Lord Sauron shares similar characteristics as Frodo remarks: “The Shadow that bred them (the orcs) can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own.”77
This division between Freemasonry and the Church became more apparent in the 18th century when many lodges were used as tools to foster the ideals associated with the Age of Enlightenment, in particular, Deism: the belief that the ‘Sublime Being’ or Creator was not concerned with the affairs of mankind after the Creation and left humanity to its own devices. It was the duty of man to tread the path of good, and therefore was given the gift of reason to learn how to accomplish this, namely, by doing charitable deeds and promoting the concepts of equality, fraternity, liberty and love. Deism proposed the belief that reason and observation of the natural world alone were sufficient means to determine the existence of a Creator, therefore deists rejected religious knowledge as a source of authority, including the scriptures. Of course, by rejecting revealed religion in favour of a ‘natural’ belief system, the deists also cast aside the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which in turn was to reject the concept of a loving God. In all, Deism inferred that man was left independent of God, and could advance in perfection by his own reasoning power and merits.
* “For no account was made of silver in those days,” i.e., during King’s Solomon’s reign. (2 Paralipomenon 9: 20)
76 The Russian author Leo Tolstoy indicated this was a particular lure of the Lodges. In War and Peace Pierre Bezùkhov joins the Freemasons, believing he has found the true path to heaven and the surest road removed from the oppressive ‘rules’ of religion. He declares all other creeds are a lie: “Freemasonry, he claimed, was Christian doctrine freed from the bonds of politics and organized religion, (...) ‘You must understand, my dear fellow, outside this fraternity it’s all lies and deceit.” Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Volume II, Part II, Ch. 12, Penguin Red Classics, (London: Penguin Books, 2006), p. 418. Eventually Pierre is disillusioned with the members of the lodge as they joined simply to make connections or to be sociable, rarely paid their expected alms to the poor, were too busy trying to poniard those who had betrayed the secrets of the lodge, or were scrambling to find which lodge had the oldest charters: nearly all members proving to be hypocrites, failing to practise the supposed wisdom that they preached.