ere is an adventure that traces the
its ideas from the Egypt of the Pyramid Builders through to modern day
Freemasonry. Central to the whole are the Templars and what it was the original
knights of the order discovered in the Temple of Jerusalem when they were
first founded in the 12th Century. The book is full of exciting discoveries,
but, alas, suffers from some major flaws.
he book centres around the origins
of Freemasonry. It shows the modern Freemasons as having no idea of the meaning
of their secret rituals. It makes a strong case that those rituals descend
from the Templars. It also makes a strong case for there being some wonderful
secrets to be discovered at Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. Indeed, if the authors
succeed in persuading the Chapel authorities to commence an archaeological
exploration of the Chapel then I shall be on tenterhooks awaiting the outcome.
They are certainly not the first people to try to put this into motion, for
example Andrew Sinclair's, whose excellent "The Sword and The Grail" puts
the chapel firmly in Templar territory and into the realms of pre-Columbian
visits to the New World. [Note from the Scribe: Rosslyn Chapel
apparently was vandalized recently by some people who wished to see whether
the Templar secrets really are beneath the chapel floor. The attempt managed
to dislodge and break a few floor stones, but that is about all.]
he Hiram Key's weaker parts concern
the tracing of the Masonic rituals from Ancient Egypt through Moses, through
Solomon, the Babylonian Exile of the Jews to Jesus the King of the Jews.
The main symbolism used as evidence for these links are simply too common
to support their case. The symbols involved are two pillars which the Freemasons
use in their rituals. The argument goes something like this: since Freemasons
use Pillars as symbols then all people using pillars are Freemasons, or at
least proto-Freemasons. The drive to prove this case narrows the authors'
wider vision and dispells logic to the wind.
t may be that the authors have evidence
of a direct connection between Freemasons and Ancient Egypt - the evidence
of ritual language being quite persuasive. Their interpretation of the invasion
of Egypt by Semitic kings during the Hykos period very interesting. However,
the tourist route through the history of the Israelites and the beginnings
of Christianity seems unnecessarily tortuous and fails to persuade.
Points of confusion remain for which
I would be grateful for answers:
[Note by Dennis Maggard: Solomon's Temple, both the original and the rebuilt version, were rectangular. What the Templars modled their churches and preceptories on was not the temple but the mosque which they occupied on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which was round.]
verall an enjoyable book which will
probably raise the hackles of many an academic.
