http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/masons/ en-us Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:49:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046880/posts There is a belief abroad in many conservative circles that the U.S. is "a Christian nation". This belief is found in perhaps its most extreme form in the Mormon doctrine that the Constitution of the United States is a divinely inspired document. Less extreme versions hold that Christian piety was an shaping influence on the thinking and writing of the Founding Fathers, and Christianity therefore has (or ought to have) a privileged position in the political and cultural life of the U.S. The Mormon doctrine is unfalsifiable. But claims about the beliefs and intentions of the Founding Fathers are not,... Armed and Dangerous http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046880/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:49:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019162/posts IN LOS FELIZ, across from a 7-Eleven on North Vermont Avenue, a few dozen men in their early 20s to late 80s share a dinner behind closed doors. Some wear full tuxedos with bow ties and jeweled cuff links, some have shoulder-length hair, and others wear open-collared shirts that reveal the slightest filigree of tattoo arching across their chests. Over Italian food, retired lawyers and judges sit elbow-to-elbow with owners of scrap metal yards and vintage clothing boutiques. They hold forth on philosophy, the weather; they rib each other and joke about saving room for cannoli. As they reach for... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019162/posts#comment Wed, 21 May 2008 15:10:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1996496/posts It's been nearly a quarter of a century since Freemasons in Utah rescinded a 60-year ban that prohibited Latter-day Saints from joining their fraternity. And while many remember the religious division that had characterized Freemasonry in the Beehive State from pioneer times, Glen Cook believes he is evidence that things are changing among his Masonic brethren. Cook, a Salt Lake criminal defense attorney and Brigham Young University law school graduate, is believed to be the first member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be elected grand master in Utah in nearly a century, overseeing the activities... Deseret Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1996496/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2008 03:28:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982797/posts Freemasons open a lodge at Buckingham Palace... but the Queen isn't amused By SARAH OLIVER - More by this author » Last updated at 23:59pm on 8th March 2008 Comments A Royal Mason: The Duke of Kent is the organisation's Grand Master A branch of the Freemasons secret society is being formed by members of the Royal Household and police who protect the Royal Family. And their decision to call it The Royal Household Lodge has put them on a collision course with Buckingham Palace – as has their plan to co-opt the royal cipher – EIIR – for their... www.dailymail.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982797/posts#comment Sun, 9 Mar 2008 12:32:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967873/posts SCOTTISH MASONS' MYSTERIOUS SIGNATURES IN STONE TO BE RECORDED By 24 Hour Museum Staff 08/02/2008 Courtesy Historic Scotland Mysterious symbols carved into Scotland’s medieval churches, castles and bridges are to be studied and recorded in a new scheme supported by Historic Scotland. Masons’ marks are enigmatic signatures cut into stone wherever they worked, and hold clues as to dates of construction as well as the craftsmen who worked on the structure. However, little is known about the identities and life stories of these men who played such an important role in creating the country’s most cherished buildings from the Middle... 24 Hour Museum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967873/posts#comment Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:38:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1882266/posts Lesson 34: The First Commandment "Come let us praise the Lord with joy:  let us joyfully sing to God our savior.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to Him with psalms.  For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  For in His hand are all the ends of the earth:  and the heights of the mountains are His.  For the sea is His, and He made it:  and His hands formed the dry land.  Come let us adore and fall down:  and weep before the Lord that... OLRL http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1882266/posts#comment Thu, 16 Aug 2007 23:41:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1879602/posts After decades of indirectly criticizing the Catholic Church through friendly media outlets, the powerful Mexican Masonry has now directly gone after Catholic bishops, accusing them of pretending to “control” Mexican politics by demanding the right to education and information. The previous Mexican Constitution, because of Masonic influence, stripped the Church of the right to own schools and communications media. Recently, the Mexican bishops announced they would begin a campaign to regain these rights. The Grand Lodge of the Valley of Mexico, which brings together 12,000 Masons, reacted to the proposal by calling a press conference in which Great Teacher Pedro... Catholic News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1879602/posts#comment Sat, 11 Aug 2007 02:25:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1870648/posts NAFTA Superhighway Has Giuliani As Key Player Submitted by admin on Tue, 2007-06-26 20:28.A NAFTA superhighway extends North through Texas into Oklahoma and Colorado, and it's a four lane huge superhighway.On March 23, 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush, former Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin and former Mexican President, Vicente Fox, authorized the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), now under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Most Americans have little to no knowledge of this seemingly innocuous sounding unofficial treaty and therefore believe there is little reason to be alarmed.However, what could be misinterpreted as legislation which has... HULIQ.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1870648/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:59:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1862318/posts A hot and fetid June night on the small Mediterranean island of Malta, and a Christian sentry patrolling at the foot of a fort on the Grand Harbour had spotted something drifting in the water. The alarm was raised. More of these strange objects drifted into view, and men waded into the shallows to drag them to the shore. What they found horrified even these battle-weary veterans: wooden crosses pushed out by the enemy to float in the harbour, and crucified on each was the headless body of a Christian knight. This was psychological warfare at its most brutal, a... UK Daily Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1862318/posts#comment Sat, 7 Jul 2007 20:10:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1861021/posts What's true and what's not about the Masons is the topic of a recent book by an expert in the history of religions. Father Manuel Guerra Gómez, who is an author of 25 books on sects and other topics, recently released "La trama masónica" (The Masonic Plot), published in Spanish by Styria. Father Guerra is a diocesan priest of Burgos, and a retired professor of the Burgos headquarters of the Faculty of Theology of Northern Spain. In this interview with ZENIT he says that "the Masonic method, atheistic in nature, reflects historical relativism and leads to the socio-cultural relativism that... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1861021/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jul 2007 01:21:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1828848/posts Weekend Edition Saturday, May 5, 2007 · In the 18th century, the word on the cobblestone street was that Freemasons were an occult group promoting a pagan agenda through the American government. After all, members themselves call Masonry "the craft." And the Masonic founders of America built the roads around the U.S. Capitol in the form of a five-pointed star – a pagan symbol. Then there is that "seeing eye" pyramid on the dollar bill – a known Masonic symbol. Some conspiracy theorists have argued that the pyramid is evidence of a Masonic cabal within the U.S. government. (Historians pooh-pooh... NPR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1828848/posts#comment Sat, 5 May 2007 14:24:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1834203/posts HAVANA -- In a nation dominated for generations by President Fidel Castro and the Communist Party, one group is emerging as a refuge for those chafing under the constraints of daily life on this Caribbean island. Widely popular before the 1959 revolution, Cuba's Masons suffered a precipitous decline in ensuing decades, but the group has since recovered its appeal, as some Cubans look for an alternative to the uniformity inherent in the nation's one-party system. Chicago Tribune via Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1834203/posts#comment Wed, 16 May 2007 00:45:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1820884/posts When the old spymaster thought he was dying, his eldest son came to visit him at his home in Miami. The scourges had been constant and terrible recently: lupus, pneumonia, cancers of the jaw and prostate, gangrene, the amputation of his left leg. Long past were his years of heroic service to his country. In the CIA, he had helped to mastermind the violent removal of a duly elected leftist president in Guatemala and assisted in subterfuges that led to the murder of Che Guevara. But no longer could you see in him the suave, pipe-smoking, cocktail-party-loving clandestine operative whose... The Sunday Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1820884/posts#comment Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:47:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1794332/posts Says Its Philosophies Are Incompatible With Church ROME, MARCH 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church has not changed its ruling on Catholic membership in the Masons, said the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti made this statement Thursday at a conference on the topic of Freemasonry held at the St. Bonaventure Pontifical Theological Faculty. The bishop presided over the congress held in cooperation with the Socio-Religious Research and Information Group of Italy. Officials of Masonic associations and grand masters also took part in the meeting. Bishop Girotti reminded his listeners that the Church has always criticized the concepts and... Zenit News Agency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1794332/posts#comment Sat, 3 Mar 2007 01:58:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1781738/posts Q: A member of the RCIA program was told by another member of the parish that if they were going to become Catholic they needed to terminate their involvement with the Masonic lodge before they could join. Is this still the case in the United States? -- T.N., Howard City, Michigan A: This question is more canonical than liturgical. The Church's position with respect to membership of Masonic lodges, even though canon law no longer explicitly mentions the Masons, has not substantially changed. The new code states in Canon 1374: "A person who joins an association which plots against the... Zenit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1781738/posts#comment Fri, 9 Feb 2007 03:48:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758813/posts Just Announced on Fox Fox http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1758813/posts#comment Wed, 27 Dec 2006 04:49:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1735609/posts Congratulations to Craig Heimbichner who identified the most Masonic symbols in the creepy and twisted "portrait" of Paul VI presented to, and accepted by, Paul VI in the 70's. (Hit the link for the original post and the picture printed by Smithsonian Magazine in April of 1977.) And the symbols are: 1. Three pillars 2. Two columns 3. Cresent moon 4. Various Pentagrams 5. Sphynx at the top of the pillar 6. The columns and angles combine to form a square and compass 7. The point within the circle at the top is an old Illuminati symbol 8. Above Paul... Freakly Photo of Paul VI Celebrates 30 Years in the Vatican http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1735609/posts#comment Thu, 9 Nov 2006 16:35:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1705367/posts Is Masonry just a harmless fraternity?In the past century, enrollment in the group has plunged in both Europe, where it was once a huge threat to Catholicism, and the U.S., which now has over half of the world's Masons (despite the closing of its halls in many cities).  It is not a movement on the upswing. And the average member of Freemasonry, as it is more formally known, is not aware of the deeply occultic origin of its rituals. Many don't even know that the Catholic Church has consistently condemned them. Freemasonry had its origins in masons who built the... Spirit Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1705367/posts#comment Thu, 21 Sep 2006 04:58:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1699074/posts Is the Devil in the Details of D.C. Streets?Laris Karklis -- The Washington Post The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1699074/posts#comment Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:51:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1690137/posts [John] Wayne, arguably the No. 1 all-time cinema hero, bought into the most valuable tenets of the Shriners' fun brand of freemasonry – friendship, morality and brotherly love. Who wouldn't want to join a fraternity with tenets like those? Apparently, a lot of us these days don't. In 1975, the same year Universal Pictures released "Rooster Cogburn," the Shriners opened Afifi Shrine Temple next to the Scottish Rite Temple, on nearly 20 acres in Tacoma's West End. They needed more space to accommodate a growing membership that numbered roughly 8,700 Afifi Shriners plus their circus calliope, old clown jalopies, parade... Tacoma News Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1690137/posts#comment Fri, 25 Aug 2006 22:31:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1681567/posts The Man Who Stepped Out of LineIn this post-feminist age where men are still learning remedial masculinity, we have a model of manhood lived heroically which we would do well to emulate. In the early twentieth century Poland gave us that manly priest, John Paul II, but also his hero, Maximilian Kolbe, priest, missionary, spiritual father and martyr of brotherly love. St. Maximilian’s feast day is August 14th, the vigil of his beloved Virgin Mary’s Assumption and the day which commemorates the conquest of virile love over the totalitarian creeds of his generation. As men, we could all learn a... Spirit and Life http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1681567/posts#comment Fri, 11 Aug 2006 01:42:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1669684/posts John Hawkins apparently has taken on a mission to prove that the Bush Administration is not creating a North American Union to replace the United States, or a new currency -- the Amero -- to replace the U.S. dollar. Recently, in a blog debate on this website, I exchanged views with Mr. Hawkins. When Mr. Hawkins declined to respond in what the editors termed “Round 4” of that debate, I concluded Mr. Hawkins allowed me to have the final word because he lacked a convincing rejoinder. Now, we see Mr. Hawkins wants to carry on the debate but this time... Human Events Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1669684/posts#comment Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:39:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1668591/posts IS THE NEW CATHEDRAL TO PADRE PIO IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO ACTUALLY A "MASONIC TEMPLE"? I have just received and am in the process of studying a special issue, #381 (March 2006), of the Italian religious magazine “CHIESA VIVA”. It is my understanding that in March 2006 this special issue was sent by the publisher/editor of “Chiesa Viva”, Dr. Monsignor Luigi Villa, to Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary. This entire special issue deals with only one subject, that being the inauguration in July 2004... Chiesa Viva authored by Dr. Engineer Franco Addessa http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1668591/posts#comment Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:40:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1669388/posts PARIS, July 18, 2006 (AFP) - A Paris judge has been sent to a psychiatric hospital after going on a drunken rampage with a Masonic sword, legal sources said on Tuesday. Police were called to the home of Philippe Bonnet of the Paris appeals court after a guest staying there alerted them to his unusual behaviour. He attacked the two officers with the sword, slightly injuring one, before being overpowered with a flash-ball, a non-lethal weapon used by French police. He was then taken to a psychiatric hospital. Two weeks previously, the judge had threatened his host with the weapon... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1669388/posts#comment Thu, 20 Jul 2006 20:29:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1664070/posts With virtually no mention in the mainstream media, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez convened on June 15, the first meeting of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), an apparently extra-constitutional advisory group organized by the Department of Commerce (DOC) under the auspices of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). A March 31 press release on the White House website, under the title “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: Progress,” announced the formation of the NACC. The press release noted that the NACC would meet annually “with security and prosperity Ministers and will engage with senior government officials on an... Human Events Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1664070/posts#comment Wed, 12 Jul 2006 01:50:36 GMT