Jerusalem and the Templars

[Angus mac Lir]

Good morning, MJ,

Have you personally read these books? Do you have any idea what they say, or
how this work is received by Freemasonry? Do you have any idea of the views
of modern Freemasonry vis-à-vis the Roman Catholic church? Freemasonry has
not been anti-Catholic, even though the same is not true. And any bias that
exists in evaluating the history of an organisation among its members should
be considered on a case-by-case basis, unless there exist some clear,
consistent pattern of bias. I submit that no such pattern exists for
Freemasonry. However, the same cannot be said for the Church. I need not
mention its history re Freemasonry-instead I offer the Church's position re
G. Galilei until quite recently, and its position re the theories of C.
Darwin. Certainly _these_ two gentlemen were biased and incorrect in the
eyes of the Church, but the men did have something to say that was worthy of
consideration by others. Perhaps we should be wary of Catholic writers
regarding the history of their Church, and wary of the comments of Catholics
regarding works that discuss the history of their Church, regardless of the
sources of those works?

 With my warm regard,

Angus

-----Original Message-----
From: MJ anderson [mailto:mjcandersonaworldnet.att.net]
Sent: Thursday, 10 May 2001 04 59
To: Angus mac Lir
Subject: Re: Jerusalem and the Templars


Angus mac Lir wrote:

> Well, as a Master Mason myself, I think that these brothers are quite
> serious and sincere. I trust their statements as their honest attempts to
> describe actual events more than to sell their books. Since they _do_
speak
> to their brethren of the history and origins of the Craft, they are held
to
> a higher standard than common writing. I, and many of my brothers, do not
> consider their writings to be sensational or novelistic. We take this
stuff
> quite seriously.

.........I do believe, sir, that you, and they "take this stuff seriously."
My
point is that because Freemasonry and the Cathnolic Church are at odds, it
is
not likely that two Masons would produce a non-biased book. There are
factual
errors in those books that are the normal expectation of bias in favor of
the
Masons simply because the authors have an inherent perspective from which
they
write.
MJA

>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage [mailto:GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu]On Behalf
Of
> MJ anderson
> Sent: Wednesday, 09 May 2001 21 43
> To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
> Subject: Re: Jerusalem and the Templars
>
> Angus mac Lir wrote:
>
> > For an excellent history of the origins of Freemasonry and the fate of
the
> > Knights Templar, see, "the Hiram Key" and "Second Messiah"  by two
English
> > Freemasons, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas.
>
> ...Please...these books are hardly "balanced"  and are meant to sell, not
to
> recount accurate history.
> MJA
>
> > These books, particularly
> > the first, gives a very revealing discussion of the origin of the Roman
> > Catholic church and ecclesiastical power-politics. They are both quite
> > well-researched and are solidly reasoned. Even so, they may offend the
> > sensibilities of persons with more doctrinaire thinking. (Sometimes the
> > truth is ugly.)
> >
> > Ah, well-as we are told, "the crimes are not of Spain, but of the
times."
> > The same may be said of churches, as well.
> >
> > The survivors of the slaughter of Freemasonry in France escaped to
> Scotland,
> > and just BTW, intervened in the battle of Bannockburn. The Freemason
> > connection between Scotland and France was one of the fundamental ties
> > between the kingdoms.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage [mailto:GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu]On
Behalf
> Of
> > Rosina Lila
> > Sent: Wednesday, 09 May 2001 17 33
> > To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
> > Subject: Re: Jerusalem and the Templars
> >
> > Hi Preston,
> > How very nice to read a message from you again.
> > My own father was a Mason, although I doubt that he knew of the
historical
> > and/or religious provenance of  the order. . Your reference to the
Masons
> > evolving from the Templars does make some kind of sense.  But, how and
> when
> > the Scotland connection?  If you find the sources, and any possible
extant
> > remnants of Santiago-pilgrims-protector-knights  in today's Jerusalem,
> > (where
> > I'll be on May 26), I'll be as grateful to you as always..... and maybe
> even
> > more.
> > Warm regards,
> > Rosina