{"id":4741,"date":"2012-11-27T13:09:11","date_gmt":"2012-11-27T20:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4741"},"modified":"2012-11-26T10:32:39","modified_gmt":"2012-11-26T17:32:39","slug":"when-esotericists-were-really-underground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4741","title":{"rendered":"When Esotericists Were Really Underground"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 250-year-old ciphered manuscript is deciphered and turns out to have been created by a Masonic-type fraternity.<\/a><\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans belonged to secret societies in the 18th century, \u00d6nnerfors explained to Megyesi; in Sweden alone, there were more than a hundred orders. Though they were clandestine, they were often remarkably inclusive. Many welcomed noblemen and merchants alike\u2014a rare egalitarian practice in an era of strict social hierarchies. That made the orders dangerous to the state. They also frequently didn\u2019t care about their adherents\u2019 Christian denomination, making these orders\u2014especially the biggest of them, Freemasonry\u2014an implicit threat to the authority of the Catholic Church. In 1738 Pope Clement XII forbade all Catholics from joining a Masonic lodge. Others implied that the male-only groups might be hotbeds of sodomy. Not long after, rumors started that members of these orders actually worshipped the devil.<\/p>\n

These societies were the incubators of democracy, modern science, and ecumenical religion. They elected their own leaders and drew up constitutions to govern their operations. It wasn\u2019t an accident that Voltaire, George Washington, and Ben Franklin were all active members. And just like today\u2019s networked radicals, much of their power was wrapped up in their ability to stay anonymous and keep their communications secret.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s a strange, complex story \u2014 were the “outsiders” actually the “insiders” pretending otherwise?<\/p>\n

(Hat tip to Grant Cunningham.<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 250-year-old ciphered manuscript is deciphered and turns out to have been created by a Masonic-type fraternity. Hundreds of thousands of Europeans belonged to secret societies in the 18th century, \u00d6nnerfors explained to Megyesi; in Sweden alone, there were more than a hundred orders. Though they were clandestine, they were often remarkably inclusive. Many welcomed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[89],"class_list":["post-4741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-esotericism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-1et","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":158,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=158","url_meta":{"origin":4741,"position":0},"title":"The Masonic conspiracy The wacko\u2026","author":"Chas S. 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