Secret societies and organizations aren't thought of to be as prominent in today's world as they were hundreds of years ago. However, there still are society's, fraternities and sororities that exist in today's world and are considered to be secretive and exclusive. For example, the Freemasons, a society that is considered to consist of thousands of men who share secrets amongst themselves and host secret meetings, are just one of the many societies that are covered up with false rumors and exaggerated conspiracy theories. Although it may be a shock and a tad disappointing, since the time when the Freemasons were founded in the 14th century they really didn't aim to be a society filled with so much secrecy. They actually had the main goal …show more content…
The most popular conspiracy theories that surround the Freemasons are that they designed the pyramids, plotted the French Revolution and they are continuously trying to keep the flame alive for the Knights Templar. Even though most of these theories seem unrealistic and are unable to be proven to be true people still believe that the Freemasons are behind the majority of these events. However, the Masons themselves even believe these rumors to be over dramatic and extremely false. For example, an ex member of the Freemasons, Sammy Lapoint stated, “From everything I’ve witnessed as a Freemason, there is no grand conspiracy. The whole notion that the so-called “Illuminati” and Freemasons are behind everything is absurd and intellectually lazy (Lapoint). Through this statement the conspiracy theories and predictions about the Masons seem even more unrealistic and false due to the fact that an ex Mason is even talking about that as if they are ludicrous assumptions. To add, another ex mason statded his opinion on of the conspiracy theories and secrecy behind the Masons by exslaping, “ A secret society tries to hide the fact that it exists. Masonic Lodges are marked with signs, listed in the phone book, and their meeting places and times are usually listed in the newspaper. Members identify themselves with pins and …show more content…
Ever since the very beginning when George Washington and Ben Franklin were Masons themselves the organization always promoted good works and to help those in need. Interestingly enough, Many of Washington’s brothers in his Freemasonry Lodge later served beside him in the Continental Army (Immekus). To add, Thomas Galen described the Freemasonry works in the 18th century by saying, “ During the late 1700s it was one of the organizations most responsible for spreading the ideals of the Enlightenment: the dignity of man and the liberty of the individual, the right of all persons to worship as they choose, the formation of democratic governments, and the importance of public education”(Gaylen). Through this quote the true intentions of the Freemasons are portrayed. Overall, since the Masons focused on good works and promoting religion they were disliked by certain people, organizations and distinct religions who didn't believe in what the Masons practiced. Therefore, to avoid persecution, bombarding and physical encounters with others, the Freemasons began to keep their society a secret during the mid 1700’s for the sole purpose of avoiding hateful people who disagreed with the beneficial and kind beliefs. Lastly, the secrecy that is thought to be behind Masons could
Mormonism and its effect on Mason’s life was surprisingly not very influential. In the 1840’s, Mormonism was on its westward journey and eventually landed some followers in California. Being a slave to a Mormon apostle Amasa Mason Lyman and his 8 wives heavily impacted Biddy Mason’s view on religion (P.434). Being constantly around a faith that was fairly new didn’t completely rub off on Biddy, instead she went against the stream and aided the spread of proud African American culture by opening that Methodist church. Since the church, she opened was the first black church, it gave many opportunities for strong black communities that wasn’t restricted by the Mormon faith. Biddy Mason travelling against the stream of the influence of religion got many to follow her through her opening of the
Morse, Sidney. Freemasonry in the American Revolution,. Washington, D.C.: Masonic Service Association of the United States, 1924. Peters, Madison Clinton. The Masons as Makers of America: the True Story of the American Revolution. 3rd rev. ed. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Patriotic league, 1917.
The “Burr Conspiracy” proved the effectiveness of America’s government (people disliked by the government could not be eliminated by a charge of treason due to the checks and balances of the American government), and revealed possible threats to national unity.
Bob Lazar was one of the first and largest figures to bring evidence forward about the conspiracies of area 51. Lazar was the first person to speak his claims on public tv and be heard by many. He can be looked at as the Edward Snowden of Area 51. He claims to have worked on reverse engineering extraterrestrial technology at a site called S4, in the Emigrant Valley and Old Kelley Mine area near the Area 51 test facility. His hospital birth records, college transcripts and employment records, including those of his employment with Los Alamos National Laboratories had been erased. While Universities from which he claimed to hold degrees show no record of him, his knowledge with technology in that field show otherwise. In Lazar's previous home in New Mexico, he had a thirty-foot particle accelerator. It was not explained what he did with such a thing, but apparently he claimed to be using it to derive hydrogen fuel to power automobiles. According to George Knapp, there
Conspiracy theorists, calling themselves Truthers, have provided evidence to support their claims numerous times in attempts to convince the general population. Truthers start by pointing out the FBI Crime They demand the government to explain what really happened and that justice be fairly served. They have not had an open playing field, however, they received opposition at every move they make with explanations, counterarguments, and information from the government, police forces, first responders, and the residents of Newtown.
Historians do not have access to many documents that elaborate on the Knights Templar, but what they do have access to demonstrates that the Knights Templar, were extremely influential on the Medieval Church. The Knights Templar, a fairly controversial and secretive order, has been greatly misunderstood since the order began in the Middle Ages. Despite the misunderstandings and controversy, the Knights Templar had many good accomplishments; including protecting Christian pilgrims, defending the Church from heresy and blasphemy, and helping oppressed Christians.
Mystery cults greatly influenced the development of Pythagoreanism as Pythagoreans adopted many of their traditions, behaviors and beliefs. Pythagoras, the founder of the Pythagoreans, established a school in which he developed and taught these adopted cultural behaviors and beliefs. "The nature of daily living in the school, both its moral and its intellectual disciplines, can perhaps best be understood as an intellectualized development from earlier mystery cults such as the Eleusinian" (Wheelwright 201). The Pythagoreans and the mystery cults were not identical, but they shared many similar beliefs on subjects such as the soul, transmigration and reincarnation, and they practiced many of the traditions of initiation, ritual and secrecy. Pythagoreans combined the mystery cults' views on these subjects with philosophical thought as a foundation to develop their own unique beliefs.
When people talk about the Illuminati, they are talking about the most secretive, powerful, wealthiest, influential, sneakiest, manipulated, greediest people on the earth. It was a group formed in Germany 1776 in order to rule the world with their wealth and power (“Illuminati” 1). Recently it has been on everyone’s mind, but why? It is being exposed more and more every day. They are trying to take over our nation. “The infamous Illuminati secret society has remained the focus of so-called ‘conspiracy theorists’ for hundreds of years. They have been called the puppet masters who secretly pull the strings of the world’s events from elections to revolutions, and from business monopolies to stock market crashes” (Dice 1). People are completely oblivious of the Illuminati or chose to not believe this is going on behind closed doors. However, there are some people who do believe and are aware of what they are capable of. The Illuminati is harmfully corrupting our nation through the government, specialty groups, and celebrities.
It is hard to believe that a country founded on honesty, hard work, and good morals is involved with lies, deception, and manipulation. Since birth, as U.S. citizens, there has always been an underlying theme to accept things as is. Questioning the way society runs has never been popular. There are very few who actually go against the grain and offer inquisitions when they suspect things are differently than they appear. Rather than dismaying the skeptics or completely trusting the media, everyone should examine the facts individually and question the amount of government involvement and distorted truth in the American people's lives- and particularly in Sandy Hook on December 14, 2012.
In 1867, Oliver Kelley saw the plight of the American farmer and created the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, the National Grange. Loosely modeled after the Masons, the Grange originally set out to be more of a social and educational outlet to help combat the isolation felt by many farming families and included women among its members.
When the British Army left Boston, this Lodge, # 441, granted Prince Hall and his brethren authority to meet as a lodge, to go in procession on Saints John Day, and as a Lodge to bury their dead; but they could not confer degrees nor perform any other Masonic "work".
Cults are organizations that generally portray their own types of religion and generate practices. Cults typically do not follow the common moral code of their surrounding societies. In other words, cults make their own society by drawing in members through close friends and family members. Organizations that have been targeted as cults include the Amway Motivational Organizations and Scientology. Not only are these organizations classified as a cult through their Pyramidal structure and regulation of member behaviors, but they are also classified as a cult through their psychological manipulation.
These conspiracy theories all seem false with no real evidence to back any of these claims. Skull and Bone say be a secret society but it does not appear like these are the secrets they are keeping.
Since the beginning of settled civilizations, people have had more mutual sharings than ever before. By the same token, there have been some conspiracy theories that are usually against the culturally accepted beliefs of religions, science and society. A conspiracy theory can be described so differently. However, as in his text, Marshall Brain explicates, a conspiracy is generally defined as a theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act (Brain). Especially, after the new media has become quite popular, more and more conspiracies are theorized every single day, which aim to catch society’s attention via such media tools as the internet, journals and newspapers. Thus, people who theorize those conspiracies tend to use such objects as spiritual and mysterious ones in order to interest people. To illustrate, many examples can be given. For instance, many people have claimed that they were abducted by aliens, although they could show no evidences. Here, a citation from Blackmore could facilitate to understand the circumstance better. She states that people occasionally claim that they have been abducted from public places by aliens, in this case that may provide them with witnesses and affirmations but no evidence could be shown so far (Blackmore). As it is well known, only a small number of people believe such alien abductions, however, rating of this kind of news is quite high on media, because humankind has been wondering if there are extraterrestrial creatures out of the earth. Another example can be conspiracy theories which are about the origins of religions such as the rejection of Jesus Christ. There are some people who pay attention to...
"The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies." Secret Teachings of All Ages: , Part Three. N.p., 30 June 2007. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.