# Freemasons, where did the conspiracy ideas come from?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [November 23, 2001, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862 "2001-11-23T05:03:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862/21 "2001-12-01T07:47:49Z")

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Eternal, are you counting the government under the Articles of Confederation or something?

I’m reminded of Calvin when he formed G.R.O.S.S.

Hobbes: Why all the secrecy?

Calvin: People pay more attention to you when they think you’re up to something.

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**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862/22 "2001-12-01T14:20:36Z")

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> [@](#):
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> there was a piece on the history channel which said 54 men signed the declaration of independence. 50 of them were known freemasons. what is the probability of that without conspiracy?

So most of the primary figures of the Revolution knew each other. Is that a surprise to you? Can you point any successful rebellion that did not start from a small group of agitators with social ties or one sort or another?

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**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862/23 "2001-12-03T12:14:42Z")

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So do they worship Jabalon? Anyone know?

Anyone _dare_ to guess?!!

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**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862/24 "2001-12-03T12:52:27Z")

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Ah ha I found it - but I was mispelling it up until now - it is JaoBulOn.

[http://www.cephasministry.com/masonic\_god.html](http://www.cephasministry.com/masonic_god.html)

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**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\
**Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freemasons-where-did-the-conspiracy-ideas-come-from/94862/25 "2001-12-03T15:19:30Z")

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For an overview of Freemasonry, I’m inclined to recommend Stephen Knight’s book _The Brotherhood_, on the basis of a rather peculiar endorsement… I found a copy in the public library at Gateshead (a town which has a fairly considerable Masonic population), and noticed that, on the cover page, somebody had written a row of funny-looking symbols, and added “3[sup]o[/sup]” by way of signature. Being well-versed in “secret Masonic alphabets” and bog-standard substitution ciphers, I was able to translate the row of symbols as saying “This book is the truth”.

(Of course, I don’t know if “3[sup]o[/sup]” was a master Mason, somebody pretending to be a master Mason, or one of the Three Degrees, for that matter…)

Knight’s conclusions, as relevant to this thread, may be crudely summarized as:

1. Freemasonry is an extensive and formalized sort of “old-boys” network, with the vices thereof; members look after each other, possibly to the detriment of non-members. More of a clique than a sinister secret society, though.

2. Some aspects of Masonic ritual are consciously non-Christian in nature (that is, originally developed with a view to shocking the local vicar); few Masons actually notice this, and even fewer give a monkey’s.

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