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Book Review- Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry

Book Review- Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry.

 

Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry, The Methods of Anti-Masons.

By Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris

1993, 1997 Masonic Information Center

 

This entire work is available for reading online at:

 

 

Let me begin by thanking Don and anyone else who mentioned this work in their comments. I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the discussion concerning Freemasonry that has been dominating this site the past few weeks.

 

In chapter one, the authors present some much needed, straight-forward information beginning with “The Organization of Masonry” itself, and quickly progress into a discussion of “Masonic Experts” including a section on entitled “Albert Pike and Lucifer” in which the Taxil hoax is refuted and a bibliography of other works in which it discussed is listed. In addition a bibliography of other anti-Masonic books that present the Taxil hoax is also listed. Interestingly enough, the very words that were used by those Masons who introduced this Examiner to Morals and Dogma, and which began a series of discussions on this site are used and refuted in this work. Now the discussion on “Masonic Experts” makes it explicitly clear that no Mason speaks anything more than their own opinion; that he speaks in no authoritative manner, except in special circumstances and only on certain matters, therefore, we must conclude, that although the authors refute the reference to Morals and Dogma as “the Bible of the Masons”, this is merely their own personal opinion, as is the same claim made by those who have posted such on this site.

 

In chapter two the authors discuss post-modern issues such as the use and abuse of the internet and the resources which are available both for and against Masonry online. Issues concerning the Difficulty of Dialogue, Fundamental Misunderstandings, accurate and inaccurate information, Deficient Research, the misunderstanding of sources by non-Masons, the acceptance of unsubstantiated allegations, and the use of selective quotations are all sub-headings of this chapter. It is also in this chapter that the authors turn their attention to the criticisms of specific anti-Masons such as Enchanter, John Ankerberg, and John Weldon. Pike’s work has obviously caused a great deal of grief for Masons for well over a century and they have certainly provided a barrage of facts and statistics to offer proof that Pike’s work has never held as high a regarded place in Masonic life as non-Masons and anti-Masons have alleged.

 

Chapter three is devoted to specific issues surrounding John Ankerberg, and John Weldon, and their work, The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge; for which somewhat of a critique is provided. From some of the criticisms the authors make of Ankerberg’s and Wedlon’s work, one’s curiosity is aroused almost to the point of purchasing a copy of that work published by Moody Press to read the unabridged version. The authors continue their critique by discussing the “Masonic Religion” and the “Meaning of Jabulon, the name of the “secret” god that Ankerberg and Weldon allege Freemasonry worships.

 

Chapter four turns attention to Reverend Ron Carlson and Christian Ministries International, whom the authors claim is a “professional anti-Mason”. His ministry website is www.roncarlson.com. Reverend Carlson provides selective quotations from Albert Pike’s infamous work and the authors provide the remaining context of the paragraphs quoted to show the parts that Carlson has omitted. Of all that is presented in this work concerning Albert Pike and Morals and Dogma one thing seems rather clear: that the importance and value of Albert Pike’s work Morals and Dogma may be understated by many Masons in their zeal to counter the negative effects that it has had on Freemasonry at the hand of the anti-Masons and non-Masons, who obviously do not have the intelligence or knowledge of the inner workings and teachings of Freemasonry to properly interpret what Pike states in that work.

 

In chapter five the focus is on the Reverend James Dayton Shaw and Tom McKenney, and their work entitled, The Deadly Deception. The claims made in this work are of such grave importance that the rest of the author’s book is devoted to issues surrounding it. Reverend Shaw purports himself to be a former Mason, and a “Top Leader” in the Craft at that; claims which the authors vehemently deny and against which they present several photocopies of documents to prove their case.

 

Chapter six presents a series of letters of correspondence between T.N. Sampson, founder of Cornerstone Ministries, and one of the authors, S. Brent Morris, as well as one from C. Fred Kleinknecht, an official in the Supreme Council, certifying the claims that the author made in his letters concerning some of the statements made by Reverend Shaw in his book. A position paper is also included in this chapter of correspondence written by Reverend Shaw’s co-author, Tom McKenney, attempting to answer some of the charges levied against Shaw and McKenney’s work, especially on the character of Reverend Shaw. These various letters provide great insight into BOTH sides of the issues raised in this work.

 

Chapter seven is a short conclusion which all must remember, since it was written by Masons, must be understood to be merely their opinion, for no Mason can speak with authority on such issues as is well documented within this work itself through the various points made by the Masonic authors.

 

The book is brought to a close through the telling of a true story of anti-Masonic activity of a particular church, Westwood Hill Baptist Church of Kempsville, near Virginia Beach, Virginia, about the destruction of a garden and certain items within that garden alleged to be Masonic-related. It seems that the garden had been dedicated in the memory of a church member and Sunday School teacher who had also been a Mason, and his class donated money, time, and labor to build this memorial garden as a tribute to his dedication. It would be counter-productive for this Examiner to recount the entire story for surely he would leave out details in such a summary that would cause criticism, so suffice it to say that all interested parties should visit the website and read, not only this story for themselves, but the entire work of approximately 120 pages.

 

Anyone can see by perusing the endnotes at the close of each chapter that this book is well documented, and the very nature of much of the material contained in its pages dealing with both Masonic and anti-Masonic claims makes it difficult, if not impossible, to assert any kind of bias in the actual presentation; although that very material presented provides no conclusive answers to the issues raised within the book itself. In the end, conclusions are to be drawn by the reader based upon the evidence presented by both Masons and non-Masons alike. This work is easily read and easily understood and this Examiner finds that it presents a somewhat fair and balanced amount of information that has been extremely helpful in expanding his understanding of many of the issues that have been raised on this site at Examiner.com. As stated early on in this review, this Examiner heartily recommends this book for further reading by all who are interested in the claims of both Masons and anti-Masons.