Secrets of the Freemasons
Do They Control the Government?
April 19, 2006 — Having tackled the secretive Catholic conservative group Opus Dei, Dan Brown says he's writing his next book about the Freemasons.
The Freemasons say they are simply a fraternity that aims to make good men better and to support each other. Because they are essentially secret, however, groups such as the Freemasons can stir all kinds of theories.
The all-seeing eye atop the pyramid on the $1 bill is a Masonic symbol. Some say that some of the great American buildings have Masonic symbols incorporated into their architecture.
Many of our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock, were Freemasons. There are currently 1.7 million members, though membership has been declining since 1960.
Some conspiracy theorists say that the Freemasons, or Masons, have designs on government control.
"The thing people think about when they think of Masonry is secrecy. They think of this hidden order that they know almost nothing about," said Steven C. Bullock, author of "Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order."
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1859087&page=1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Esoteric secrets, Scottish Freemasonry and the building of the American dream
DIANE MACLEAN
DAN BROWN'S next book The Solomon Key is said to speculate on the role and influence of Freemasonry. In much the same way that The Da Vinci Code has its climax in Rosslyn Chapel, it may well be that the best-selling author's latest work will also find its roots in Scotland.
For if Brown's new novel is looking at alleged Masonic conspiracy in the US, then there is a strong and vocal body of Masonic historians who believe that the whole of American Freemasonry is essentially Scottish.
Robert Cooper, museum and library curator of the Grand Lodge in Edinburgh, is convinced that there is a strong connection between the two countries.
"There is no doubt that there was some influence on America by the Scottish Freemasons," says Cooper. "The connection between it and the building of America might be nearer the truth than you think."
...
vice:
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/lead-story152.htm