Secret societies and subversive movementsWebster, Nesta Helen
History
Secret societies and subversive movements
Webster, Nesta Helen
Secret societies
In this manner Weishaupt demonstrates that "Freemasonry is hidden
Christianity, at least my explanations of the hieroglyphics fit this
perfectly; and in the way in which I explain Christianity no one need be
ashamed to be a Christian, for I leave the name and substitute for it
Reason."[550]
But this is of course only the secret of what Weishaupt calls "real
Freemasonry"[551] in contradistinction to the official kind, which he
regards as totally unenlightened: "Had not the noble and elect remained
in the background ... new depravity would have broken out in the human
race, and through Regents, Priests, and Freemasons Reason would have
been banished from the earth."[552]
In Weishaupt's masonic system, therefore, the designs of the Order with
regard to religion are not confided to the mere Freemasons, but only to
the Illuminati. Under the heading of "Higher Mysteries" Weishaupt
writes:
The man who is good for nothing better remains a Scottish Knight.
If he is, however, a particularly industrious co-ordinator
[_Sammler_], observer, worker, he becomes a Priest.... If there are
amongst these [Priests] high speculative intellects, they become
Magi. These collect and put in order the higher philosophical
system and work at the People's Religion, which the Order will
next give to the world. Should these high geniuses also be fit to
rule the world, they become Regents. This is the last degree.[553]
Philo (the Baron von Knigge) also throws an interesting light on the
religious designs of the Illuminati. In a letter to Cato he explains the
necessity of devising a system that will satisfy fanatics and
freethinkers alike: "So as to work on both these classes of men and
unite them, we must find an explanation to the Christian religion ...
make this the secret of Freemasonry and turn it to our purpose."[554]
Philo continues:
We say then: Jesus wished to introduce no new religion, but only to
restore natural religion and reason to their old rights. Thereby he
wished to unite men in a great universal association, and through
the spread of a wiser morality, enlightenment, and the combating of
all prejudices to make them capable of governing themselves; so the
secret meaning of his teaching was to lead men without revolution
to universal liberty and equality. There are many passages in the
Bible which can be made use of and explained, and so all
quarrelling between the sects ceases if one can find a reasonable
meaning in the teaching of Jesus--be it true or not. As, however,
this simple religion was afterwards distorted, so were these
teachings imparted to us through Disciplinam Arcani and finally
through Freemasonry, and all masonic hieroglyphics can be explained
with this object. Spartacus has collected very good data for this
and I have myself added to them, ... and so I have got both degrees
ready....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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