THE FREEMASONS
To the layman, the Freemasons are a mysterious brotherhood. But in this book Jasper Ridley attempts...
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To the layman, the Freemasons are a mysterious brotherhood. But in this book Jasper Ridley attempts to separate myth from truth. He describes the development of Freemasonry from the lodges of the operative working masons of the Middle Ages to the 'gentlemen masons' and speculative masons of the eighteenth century; the formation of Grand Lodge in London in 1717; and the Papal Bull of 1738, condemning Freemasonry, which was the beginning of a two hundred and fifty year war between the Freemasons and the Catholic Church. He examines the part played by the Freemasons in the American Revolution of 1776 and the creation of the United States; the significance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute; and the responsibility of the Freemasons for the French Revolution.He examines the persecution of the Freemasons by Hitler, who denounced them as agents of the Jews, working to achieve Jewish world domination; the difficulties which the Freemasons have encountered in Japan and in other parts of the world; the effect of their secrecy and their ceremonies on their public image; and their attitude towards women, for which they have been criticised for nearly three hundred years.He ends by examining the position of the Freemasons in British society today; how far the current fears and suspicions of them are justified; and whether they will be able to adapt to modern developments in the world of the twenty-first century.
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