A few days ago a friend of mine sent me a text message telling me that I should record a documentary on
History International about the
Israelite exodus. In the process of setting up the DVR, I came across two other interesting documentaries, each two hours in length. It is important to note that these two documentaries were aired in a certain order, and back to back: The first, if memory serves, was
Mysteries of the Freemasons. The second documentary was
Holy Grail in America.
Let me preface the following by saying that, of all of the good Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, and other Christians that I know, I am one of very, very few who look upon the Freemasonry without suspicion, much less utter disdain.
I have a rather high view of Masons, and have a great deal of knowledge about their practices and traditions, knowledge that goes against the majority of what one reads in fantastical, anti-Masonic literature, and sees in outlandish Hollywood garbage.
I've defended Freemasonry to several Protestants, and a Catholic or two. My favourite story of me defending Freemasonry took place when a pastor friend of mine condemned them when I brought them up in casual conversation. I then proceeded to show him how if all of the Masons in his congregation were removed, over half of the programs would cease to function, and most of the ministries would sit idle, and nobody would be able to hear him preach: Almost every ministry and program, including the sound team, were run by Masons.
However, this is not a forum on Freemasonry, and I don't want anyone discussing its "right-ness" or "wrong-ness" in the comments. My point in this post lies elsewhere.
The first documentary spent two hours trying to do three things: malign Freemasonry's alleged method for gaining and changing power, tie them to the Knight's Templar, and prove that Freemasonry founded America, or at the very least, that all of the ideals of Freemasonry, handed down from the Templar, were all of the founding ideals of our nation: That America was the brainchild of the Masons.
The second documentary spent its first hour and forty-seven minutes trying to convince the audience that the Knight's Templar came to America before Columbus, and that they could have hidden the Holy Grail in America somewhere. They even propose that Columbus was either a member or very close to members of the Knights of Christ, allegedly an offshoot of the banished Templar, and that his journey to the Americas was actually not in search of the Indies, but was actually in search of the Templar treasure, and the grail.
Then, in the final moments of a four hour conspiratorial epic, they reveal that, perhaps, the "Sacred Cup" is actually "Sacred Geometry" (allegedly, according to them, part of both the Templar and the Freemasonry), or more broadly, "Sacred Knowledge;" and that their overall goal was to create a new Jerusalem, or a new world order. Did I mention that in the first documentary they tried to prove the Freemasonry founded America, sometimes called Novus Ordo Seclorum?
The final theory proposed, which it would appear is actually their synthesis of the data, and is absolutely the final thought the documentaries leave you with, is that America, as a nation, is the fulfilment of the "Sacred Knowledge," the "Holy Grail" of the Templar treasure. Congratulations America, you're the cup of Christ.
They actually propose that the Templar/Masons fulfilled their goal of nearly six hundred years by discovering and then founding their nation, our United States, using some "Sacred Knowledge" from ancient Egypt and Israel, and even God Himself.
I cannot in my brightest moment imagine a more narcissistic conclusion to the grail legend, the Templar:Masonic conspiracy, and the Masonic:American conspiracy.
While I disagree with a lot of the statements they make about the Masons, and question their scholarship across the board, proposing something that makes "The Holy Grail" and "The American Dream" one and the same seems absolutely hysterical.
What struck me even more was that nobody else noticed. I didn't watch this with a group or anything like that, but in my head I went "Did nobody in the production team go 'Hey guys, don't ya think this is kind of, well, weird?' !"
Anyway- just a random rant about the narcissism of our culture. Thought y'all might enjoy it!
In other news, three great things happened to me today: I woke to an e-mail informing me of my acceptance into
Reformed Theological Seminary's
Master of Arts in Religion program. Then, late this afternoon, I learned of a secret plot by a secret organisation to bring wonderful blessed holy riches and beverages to God's chosen people on the holy hill. My day closed with the discovery that my brand new copy of
The Complete Works of Plato shipped today. I'm on top of the world!
Goodnight, and good luck.
-R.T.
