[extropy-chat] The Annunaki, The Face on Mars, and the references to them both in the Bible.

[BillK]

On 7/19/05, david stiger wrote:
> Why does there seem to be an unmistakeable connection with the Freemasons
> and the origins of Civilization as we know it?
> 

Only if you accept what Freemasons tell you. But you don't have to
believe what cult members tell you without looking for some evidence
to back up their myths.

See, among others, 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry#History_of_Freemasonry>

Officially, the first Grand Lodge of England was founded in 1717,
marking the founding of the modern era of Freemasonry.

There is written evidence of the Masons dating back to the fourteenth
century. In the Middle Ages stonemasons and architects were an elite
class who could travel between countries, unlike serfs who had
restrictions on their travel. They called themselves "free" because of
this. The Masons were responsible for building beautiful structures
across Europe, especially the cathedrals. Until the sixteenth century,
Masons were simply craftsmen learning the operative art of masonry in
guilds and unions (Mackey and McClennachan, 744-750).

In the beginning of the seventeenth century, union membership began to
decline, and elite and prominent members of society were allowed in as
"patrons of the Fraternity" and later as "accepted masons." (This is
where the term "Free and Accepted Masons" comes from.) By the end of
the seventeenth century a great change had occurred; the accepted
masons outnumbered the actual stonemasons in the unions, and their
discussion had turned from aspects of the actual trade to moral
philosophy (Durrah, 90-92).

That all the evidence there is. Anything earlier is speculation and myths.

Freemason legend dates their fraternity back to the building of King
Solomon's temple in the Bible (which itself is very speculative - The
huge empire of Solomon, the large cities and the temple are now
thought to be pretty unbelievable in a time of Iron Age villages).

Some scholars speculate that Freemasonry has connections with the
Greek and Roman mysteries, or the Knights Templar, or the Priory of
Sion, or the Roman Collegia, or the Comacine masters. The list of
speculation goes on and on, in the absence of any evidence.

BillK