HomeArticlesThe Roots of Freemasonry: Satanism and Occultism

The Roots of Freemasonry: Satanism and Occultism

[Excerpts from Crept In Unawares: Mysticism by Heath Henning is available for purchase here.]

Evaluating the relations with the mystery religions, as well as those involved with the modern revival of the satanically inspired movement, there is no reason to assume anything but an attempt to infiltrate the local church. “Alice Bailey interestingly enough, like Blavatsky and Besant, was a well-known female Masonic leader of her day.”1)Gary Kah, The Demonic Roots of Globalization, Huntington House, 1995, p. 42 Manly P. Hall wrote: “The Secret Doctrine and Isis Unveiled are Madam Blavatsky’s gift to humanity, and to those whose vision can pierce the menacing clouds of imminent disaster it is no exaggeration to affirm that these writings are the most vital literary contribution to the modern world. No more can they be compared with other books… The Secret Doctrine assumes the dignity of a scripture.”2)Manly P. Hall, The Phoenix: An Illustrated Review of Occultism and Philosophy, The Philosophical Research Society, 1960, p. 122, as cited by David Carrico, “Freemasonry and the Twentieth Century Occult Revival,” The Dark Side of Freemasonry, edited by Ed Decker, Huntington House Publishers, 1994, p. 192 The Masonic views of Blavatsky’s blasphemous books are the same as Theosophists. “The Secret Doctrine, which is still regarded as divinely inspired interpretation or oracular instructions by most loyal Theosophists.”3)Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults, Bethany House Publishers, 1965, 2003, p. 285 One authority called “Theosophy a species of Gnosticism.”4)John H. Gerstner, The Theology of the Major Sects, Baker Book House, 1960, p. 99  One Theosophist revealed, “To the student of Theosophy who is also a student of Masonry it becomes more and more apparent that the movement which is generally termed Masonic had its roots in that true mysticism which originated, as an ideal effort, from the spiritual Hierarchy which guides the evolution of the world.”5)Isabel Cooper-Oakley, Masonry and Medieval Mysticism: Traces of a Hidden Tradition, Theosophical, 1977, p. 31-32 In a footnote Gary Kah exhibits, “In order to regularly voice her contempt for God and disdain for Jesus Christ, Blavatsky founded Lucifer Magazine, a monthly publication promoted and circulated by the Theosophical Society from 1887 to 1897.”6)Gary H. Kah, The New World Religion, Hope International Publishing, Inc., 1999, p. 24 In The Secret Doctrine she wrote:

 

Lucifer is divine and terrestrial light, the “Holy Ghost” and “Satan,” at one and the same time…7)H.P. Blavatsky, THE SECRET DOCTRINE: THE SYNTHESIS OF SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND PHILOSOPHY, Theosophical University Press Online Edition, http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd2-2-06.htm, accessed 9/12/11; also cited by Gary H. Kah, The New World Religion, Hope International Publishing, Inc., 1999, p. 23

 

This seems to have been paraphrasing another author, the satanic occult philosopher Eliphas Levi, who has written, “The intellectual Lucifer is the spirit of intelligence and love; it is the paracelete, it is the Holy Spirit, while the physical Lucifer is the great agent of universal magnetism.”8)Eliphas Levi, The Mystery of Magic, Kessinger Publishing Co., undated, p. 482; as cited by Ralph Epperson, Masonry: Conspiracy Against Christianity, Publius Press, 1997, p. 137 Dick Smith declared, “We could spend much time exploring H.P.B.’s [Helena P. Blavatsky’s] anti-Christian dogma… But, we get the same doctrine in Pike’s work!”9)Dick Smith, “Freemasonry and the New Age World Religion,” The Dark Side of Freemasonry, edited by Ed Decker, Huntington House Publishers, 1994, p. 69 This is because both Madame Blavatsky and “Albert Pike learned at the feet of Eliphas Levi, and he learned his lesson well.”10)Ralph Epperson, Masonry: Conspiracy Against Christianity, Publius Press, 1997, p. 138

The Holy Spirit is called “the comforter” (John 14:16), in Greek “paracelete,” which is the name Blavatsky and Levi are attributing to Lucifer “the spirit of intelligence.” Jesus said “he shall teach you all things,” (John 14:26) which is to enlighten Biblical truths to the Christian. To occultists it is Lucifer who brings this enlightenment as is seen in Albert Pike’s statement. “Lucifer, the Light-Bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!”11)Albert Pike, Morals And Dogma, The Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, 1871, p. 321 This statement of Pike was plagiarism. “Once again, few Freemasons realize that Albert Pike is quoting directly from page thirty-six of The History of Magic by Eliphas Levi.”12)David Carrico, “Freemasonry and the Twentieth Century Occult Revival,” The Dark Side of Freemasonry, edited by Ed Decker, Huntington House Publishers, 1994, p. 211

 

The official historian of the Scottish Rite of the Southern Jurisdiction, Charles Lobinger, said Pike’s book “swarms with citations from Eliphas Levi,” author of Dogme et Rittuel, and that Morals and Dogma “is shown to be literal and verbatim extractions from those of the French Magus.”

Arthur Waite, a Masonic authority on, and translator of Levi’s work, has written: “No person who is acquainted with Morals and Dogma can fail to trace the hand of the occultist therein and it is to be especially observed that, passing from grade to grade in the direction of the highest, this institution becomes more and more Kabbalisitic.”13)Paul A. Fisher, Behind the Lodge Door: Church, State & Freemasonry, Shield Press, 1987, p. 42

 

David Carrico exposed, “Eliphas Levi became a Freemason on 13 March 1861 and authored many books that have become classics in occult literature. …but the information we are dwelling on here is the Luciferian doctrine that Levi passed on to another Freemason of great repute, Albert Pike.”14)David Carrico, “Freemasonry and the Twentieth Century Occult Revival,” The Dark Side of Freemasonry, edited by Ed Decker, Huntington House Publishers, 1994, p. 209 This is significant since, “…the truth is that Pike was, and is, Scottish Rite Masonry’s highest authority. The word authority is based on the word author, and Pike is the one who authored the Scottish Rite as practiced today.”15)Dick Smith, “Freemasonry and the New Age World Religion,” The Dark Side of Freemasonry, edited by Ed Decker, Huntington House Publishers, 1994, p. 53

Attempting to defend Masonry from the fact that it is incompatible with Christianity, Michael Maness retorted…

 

Pike did not contradict Christianity, and like most Masonry scholars defended freedom of conscience. Since Masonry is not a religion, one should look to Christian Masons for Christian compatibility more than to Pike. Still, Pike stands out.

Pike’s massive Morals and Dogma… was given to each Scottish Rite Mason for almost a century, for an estimated 500,000, copies.16)Michael Glenn Maness, Character Counts: Freemasonry Is a National Treasure and a Source of Our Founders’ Constitutional Original Intent, Revised Second Edition, author House, 2006, 2010, p. 60

 

The definition of “dogma” closest to the time Pike was writing is “A settled opinion; a principle, maxim or tenet; a doctrinal notion, particularly in matters of faith and philosophy; as the dogmas of the church; the dogmas of Plato.”17)Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828, reprinted by the Foundation for American Christian Education, 2006, “dogma” Even a Christian Mason is obliged to turn to Pike for authoritative Masonic “dogma.” Pike’s dogma was occultism. This is not questioned by any who have read his work, yet Maness defends Pike by presenting his intended definition of “occult” in Pike’s writings. “There was a time even in medicine where occult referred to the hiding of something, as under the skin or in the sky. Today, in spite of the old definition, the more common connotation of occult for most Americans is an equation of occult with the black arts of soothsaying and black magic…. Several [critics] depend upon their catapults and upon the common Christian conception and disgust of the soothsaying occult, a definition that came into being in 1923. So this is a strange gambit for critics to use occult as their attempts to slur Masonry as a Pagan cult without truly defining occult or Pagan.”18)Michael Glenn Maness, Character Counts: Freemasonry Is a National Treasure and a Source of Our Founders’ Constitutional Original Intent, Revised Second Edition, author House, 2006, 2010, p. 206 The definition of occult from 1828 (a century before he claims it began to identify with black magic): “Hidden from the eye or understanding;… The occult sciences are magic, necromancy, &c.”19)Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828, reprinted by the Foundation for American Christian Education, 2006, “occult” Maness defined Pagan suitably as “an umbrella term much like the term Protestant, where Paganism includes various denominations like Wicca, Druidism, Odinism, Astru, even Vampirism and Satanism.”20)Michael Glenn Maness, Character Counts: Freemasonry Is a National Treasure and a Source of Our Founders’ Constitutional Original Intent, Revised Second Edition, author House, 2006, 2010, p. 136 Satanist Aliester Crowley and Gerald Gardner, founder of the Gardnerian school of neo-Wicca were Masons. Albert Pike said “Masonry, of no one age, belongs to all time; of no one religion, it finds its great truths in all.”21)Albert Pike, Morals And Dogma, The Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, 1871, p. 524 Maness also acknowledged “Freemasonry is not against or for any religion, not even against Paganism.”22)Michael Glenn Maness, Character Counts: Freemasonry Is a National Treasure and a Source of Our Founders’ Constitutional Original Intent, Revised Second Edition, author House, 2006, 2010, p. 136 So Freemasonry is synonymous with the definition of Paganism as “an umbrella term” which, some Christian Masons like Maness, think it justifies their being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).

[Excerpts from Crept In Unawares: Mysticism by Heath Henning is available for purchase here.]

print

References[+]

Heath Henning
Heath Henning
Heath heads the Set Free addictions ministry on Friday nights at Mukwonago Baptist Church and is involved in evangelism on the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus, offering his expertise in apologetics at the weekly Set Free Bible Study every Tuesday evening. He currently lives in East Troy, Wisconsin with his wife and nine children. Read Heath Henning's Testimony

Related Articles

Other Featured Articles

When and Where did Job Live?

Many have questioned the time and place of the events recorded in the book of Job. Even the author of the book is unknown...

The Skull of Homo Naledi