My friends and regular readers know I seldom get too serious here. There are zillions of other forums in which to do that and I'd rather not offend anyone who disagrees with me on something, at least not here. I always wanted this to be a fun and funny site, informative and entertaining and if you were here during this last year, you'll know I like to poke fun at politicians, no matter what party to which they belong.
Still, sometimes I have to speak out. I frequent a Texas woman's liberal blog and have been doing so since before the primaries. I was looking for some reason, ANY reason to vote for Hillary Clinton, whom I believed would be running against McCain. (to be honest, I didn't find one and since she didn't win her party's nomination, the choice became clearer. Not totally clear, but I did not want to vote for Obama.)
That said, a post in this other blog made me so angry I could spit. This man was railing on about all the popular conspiracy stuff that's been going around....the CFR, the Biderberg Group, Skull and Bones and all that jazz. It was when he brought up Freemasonry and vomited forth how they were a satanic group and bent on taking over as so to kick off The New World Order. It wasn't even
that so much that bothered me, but how he was lying about the Masons. It was when I read a few of his earlier posts and found out he was Catholic that I decided to "tear him a new one".
I think I succeeded and managed to give the Church a black eye while at it. They deserve it.
Pot, meet kettle.
Here's my reply:
I've been on the net for about ten years now and have seen hundreds of posts condemning Freemasonry. Without exception, the hatred comes from Catholics, rabid, foam-at-the-mouth evangelicals or conspiracy theorists/nutjobs.
It's one thing to be ignorant, but to be willfully and woefully so is a sin.
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36-37
I am not a Mason, but my father was and my nephew is, as well as are many of my good friends and not a single one is a satanist. I find your accusation to be highly offensive, but I'll chalk that up to years of Catholic brainwashing.
Your statements about Freemasonry show your ignorance. To learn more about the organization, please do a 'net search on it, but please be honest in your quest for knowledge, not rely solely on anti-Masonic sites. I would suggest
Freemasonry for starters. Wiki, while sometimes not the best source for factual information, will elaborate more on why the Catholic Church is so opposed to it.
You will find that Freemasonry is NOT a religious organization but rather a fraternal one. Freemasonry is dedicated to brotherhood, good works and wisdom. It's nothing short of egregious to insist otherwise...but that's to be expected of ignorant bliss.
I've read all sorts of posts about Masonic rituals and that they're proof of satanic activity. I've tried to keep an open mind about that, but it dawned on me that the same condemnation also might very well apply to my h.s. FFA Parliamentary Procedure competition group.
Or the Opus Dei, for that matter.
There are several requirements to being accepted as a Mason, but the first one is that one must believe in God. (pretty much the same as another satanic cult, the Boy Scouts.)
Neither Bush was a Mason; Bill Clinton was in Demolay, a Masonic youth organization. I have a suspicion why Clinton didn't pursue a membership in the lodge but I'll keep that to myself on this, a pro-Clinton site.
Here's a list of Presidents who were Masons: George Washington,James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson,James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft,Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford.
McKinley became a Mason after observing the exchanges of kindness between Northern and Southern troops during the War of Secession. (wasn't a "civil war", BTW. Look it up)
Truman said being a Grandmaster of his Masonic Lodge meant more to him than being President because the position had been given to him by his brothers. He did not seek it.
A few more "satanists" from history: Paul Revere, John Hancock, Ben. Franklin. I could go on, but I'm trying my best to keep this as short as possible.
In all my research, I've never seen a reputable source for linking Freemasonry to the CFR, Bilderberg, Skull and Bones ... and the reference to the Bohemian Grove nearly made me cramp up from laughing so hard. (worshiping an "idol", a huge OWL? Yet again, that could also apply to my FFA adviser since his place was "here by the owl". )
(and to think my pop was a member of the Illuminati. Sheesh, know a guy for 50 years and not have him try to recruit me, his one and only son, over to the Dark Side...why, it boggles the mind)
This is the sort of thing, being a Ron Paul supporter, that I've grown used to, though. The only reason I didn't dismiss your posts out-of-hand is that you didn't include that you were a 9-11 "truther", the CIA killed JFK and THE FACT that NASA faked the moon landings.
Good Grief.
Your statement that the Masons financed both Hitler and Stalin would be ludicrous if it weren't so pathetically false. If you bother to read, you'll find that Masons were persecuted by BOTH the Nazis and the Communists.
Let's not forget the ol' Qur’an kisser himself, John Paul II. He apologized for some of the wrongs the Catholic Church had done in the past, but if he'd done the Mea Culpa on EVERYTHING the church has done, he'd have needed to have lived for another hundred years.
While visiting a mosque in Damascus he said "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
Hmmm....not a word about coming to God through Jesus, I noticed. Just sucking up to those who want to kill anyone who isn't a Muslim, that's all.
How 'bout this gem of wisdom:
"Membership in the Militia means complete dedication to the Kingdom of God and to the salvation of souls through Mary Immaculate."
Nothing about Christ...again. Remember Christ's words? One would think a Pope would ..."NONE may come to the father except through me"
Through Christ, that's all. Not through the BVM, not the Pope, not Padre Pio. Sounds a little satanic to me....just sayin', that's all.
Granted, ol' JP2 did much to mend the schism between Jews and Catholics...then after he kicked the bucket (or was euthanized, as many believe) the Church picks a former Hitler Youth to be God's sole rep. here on Earth.
Take that, you jooz!
Then there's the recent case of Richard Williamson, the Bishop who denied the Holocaust ever happened. Just another example of rampant antisemitism in the Church.
The Catholic Church is the most critical of Israel than any other non-Muslim entity. They can't seem to get past the "Jews killed Jesus!" mindset.
Back to WWII: You might want to do a search on the percentage of Nazis who were Catholics. I've read figures that claim 80% of German soldiers were Catholics.
Gott mit uns, eh?
Ever hear of the Reichskonkordat? Pretty revealing, that. The Concordat effectively legitimized Hitler and the Nazi government to the eyes of Catholicism, Christianity, and the world. Can't blame 'em for having a sense of self-preservation, of course, but on the other hand it smacks of craven cowardice. (actually, it WAS craven cowardice, no doubt about it)
For a little light reading, you might try "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwell. If you are too intellectually lazy for that, then do a search on "brown priests", "Vatican ratlines" and the ties between the Church and Hitler, Horthy, Franco, Petain, Mussolini, Pavelic, Hudal and Tiso.
(when you get done with those, lemme know. I got enough to keep you busy reading until the next election...or confession, whichever comes first)
The Church being evil (yes, I said EVIL) certainly didn't begin in the last century; for hundreds of years it burned witches at the stake, tortured "heretics" to death. The Catholic Church murdered Copernicus and imprisoned Galileo for daring to suggest that the earth revolves around the sun.
Study history and see how the Church trod on the heels of the Conquistadors as they wiped out entire populations in order to steal their gold. (the Church may have said "sorry 'bout that" but I noticed they didn't return their loot.)
The Church condoned and participated in slavery because the Bible said it was the thing to do. Must be OK to pick 'n choose what one wants to believe out of The Book.
Dig a little deeper into history and you'll find out how the Catholics meddled in Vietnam and dragged the US into that particular war. Read how the Church sided with Gen. Pinochet in Chile and murdered tens of thousands of Communists.
So much for the "sanctity of life" thing, huh? No abortions, not even if the life of the mother is at stake and Sister Jean Pratin kept herself in the limelight by opposing the executions of the worst sort of human scum.
The evil continues today: Do some research and find out how the Church insists that condoms help to
SPREAD AIDS. Not enough Catholics in Africa, don't guess. Still, one would think that they'd care about S. America....
Tell me something: why was it that something like 50% of voting Catholics were hypocrites this last election? Need a source?
What Happened to the Catholic Vote? Yep, thanks to the Catholics, we have Obama.
(and please note the source. I wouldn't want to be accused of going to some anti-Catholic site to get the information)
I know this essay and rebuttal has probably made some folk's eyes glaze over and I'm truly sorry I couldn't condense it down any farther, but I did the best I could and in doing so, left out a thousand other Catholic transgressions throughout the centuries.
Getting information on Freemasonry from a Catholic is akin to getting drug counseling from a crackhead.
What I find amusing is the same fundamentalists who side with the Catholic Church on Freemasonry consider the Church to be "The Whore of Babylon". They might have something there, though.
So, you tell me, which is more evil? An organization that shuffles pedophile priests from parish to parish in order to save itself embarrassment and lawsuits for its rapist God's Representatives.... or one that helps little crippled children walk again?
If you're truly a Christian, the answer is obvious.
"Swim the Tiber"? I'd rather go to Hell.
Same difference.
