What's the connection? Is it true?
Dubs and Freemasons
by Chameleon 7 Replies latest jw friends
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Gill
I believe that it is a theory of some that Russell was a Freemason, and others strongly disagree.
Those who believe in a Freemason link show the original Zion's Watchtower emblem of the Cross and Crown, and that Zion was a name of a particular Freemason Temple near to where Russell lived. Also, the Pyramid link. Freemason traces its beginning to Ancient Egypt and their belief of Maat or Fairness and Goodness. Russell is notorious for his pyramid measurements that led him to the fantastic belief that certain measurements give us the date of 1914, or the beginning of Christs rule on the Earth.......which of course didn't happen. Also, a sort of headstone is errected to Russel in the form of a Pyramid at his graveside!
Even if Russell was not actually a freemason, he did have Freemason ideas and even perhaps aspirations.
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LittleToe
He was into what we would now deem the occult, but there's no evidence that he was a Freemason. The absence of the "lights" of the Square and Compass should immediately demonstrate that. All other so-called evidences are in use by a wide range of groups, both occult and Christian, so no beef there.
I have little doubt that he had masonic aquaintences, and this may have influenced his thoughts, but that cannot be claimed for the man himself.
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gumby
I heard his only connection to the Masons was that he traded miracle wheat to them in exchange for their virgins.
Gumbrittanica
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ballistic
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/Mackey_symbolism_fr.html
A link to something interesting if you like reading stuff.
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ballistic
There's some information on there about the tetragammaton, and the first letter being an equalateral triangle (Yod) the symbol itself for deity. You can let the imagination run wild on how Russel must have been really into this kind of thinking when he wrote Studies In The Scriptures I and the pyramidology references.
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Honesty
About the only connection I know of is that a crackpot by the name of Charles Taze Russell was involved in numerology and the pyramids invented a religion and said the Freemasons were his friends.
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sf
Last week, while at the doctors office, I asked her if I could have the magazine I was reading while waiting. { no, not THAT magazine }. It is the September 5, 2005 issue of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, featuring the piece entitled INSIDE THE MASONS-"The fraternal order has long been the target of conspiracy theories and hoaxes. Here's the real story" By Jay Tolson. She said sure.
Referring to page 33 {spooky...just kidding} of the magazine it reads:
How Masonry had come to such an exalted position in American public life, briefly to lose it before regaining a lesser mantle of respectability, is a story that begins in Scotland and England. Descended from medieval stonemason guilds, the lodges of 17th-century Britain were still dominated by actual (or "operative") masons who gradually welcomed into their ranks, often as patrons, selected gentlemen,as long as they pledged loyalty to the crown and faithfulness to God.These "accepted" members were drawn as much by the sociable character of the fraternities (which typically met in inns or taverns) as by private rituals and signs that had once helped the artisans protect secrets of their craft. Masonry's ties to ancient architecture, geometry, and other rational arts and sciences heightened its allure to men who participated in or closely followed the development of modern experimental science.
Would it be a fair statement to say that given what facts are out there thusfar, that Russell was perhaps an "ACCEPTED MEMBER" that indeed PATRONIZED Masons?
Google has these:
USNews.com: The Masons have long been the target of conspiracy ...
Inside the Masons. The fraternal order has long been the target of conspiracy theories and hoaxes. Here's the real story. By Jay Tolson...
www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050905/5masons.htm - 31k - Cached - Similar pagesInside The Masons. By Jay Tolson U.S. News & World Report ... Copyright 2005. The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts. Privacy Policy ...
www.askafreemason.org/ - 9k - Cached - Similar pagesNews | Grand Lodge F. & A. M. State of New York
Inside The Masons. Submitted by Site Administrator on Mon, 2006-06-26 14:01. [ News ]. By Jay Tolson, US NEWS and WORLD REPORT ...
www.nymasons.org/cms/view/news?page=4 - 24k - Cached - Similar pages________
sKally