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Diğer Lisanlar => English => Brethren => Konuyu başlatan: MASON - Eylül 27, 2006, 06:52:14 öö

Başlık: Albert Pike
Gönderen: MASON - Eylül 27, 2006, 06:52:14 öö
Albert Pike

No discussion of anti-Masonry would be complete without an extensive mention of Albert Pike. The flyleaf of a recent biography of Pike by Mason Jim Tresner describes him as "...a pioneer, a crusader for justice for Native Americans, a practical joker, a reformer, a journalist, a philosopher, a prominent Washington lawyer, and a Civil War general." For many years, he was leader of the Scottish Rite in the southern United States and he was the author of Morals and Dogma published in 1871. The title in and of itself has led to much confusion since those who are NOT Masons automatically assume that this is 'dogma' for Freemasonry itself. Nothing, though, could be further from the facts.

To begin, most of those who join Masonry have no idea whatsoever who Pike was and most Masons throughout the world become members and die without ever encountering either him or his works. We'd estimate that fewer than 1% of those who become Masons will have ever seen a copy of ANY of his many publications. Of the few who have, what they're familiar with will likely be Morals and Dogma - a book that anti-Masons love to claim is the 'Bible' of Freemasonry.

But what are the facts? For about 60 years this book was given to all who joined the Southern United States jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, an appendant body of Freemasonry (and NOT Freemasonry itself!). In the earliest printings, due to the cost of publishing books, there was an instruction inside that it was to be returned to the Supreme Council. Of course, there was no way to enforce that and as book publishing costs became less onerous, that request was dropped in later editions.

We'd guess that of the few who actually begin reading this ponderous 850+ page tome, few finish it and of those who do, the great majority admit that they could barely understand it. Yet despite this, anti-Masons assert that Pike and his works exert significant influence over Freemasonry today. The book was NEVER given to all Masons and even those outside of the Southern United States jurisdiction of the  was Of the few who actually begin reading this ponderous 850+ page tome, few finish it and of those who do, the great majority admit that they could barely understand it. Yet despite this, anti-Masons assert that Pike and his works exert significant influence over Freemasonry today.

Morals & Dogma by Albert PikeMorals and Dogma is a philosophical work, created by an individual who was an extraordinarily prolific writer even for an age when prolific writing was the norm. It was also fashioned in the style of Pike's time when public speaking was a high art form and Pike was known far and wide for his skills in this area.  Morals and Dogma is not a manifesto (i.e. public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions) for Masonry or even for the Scottish Rite's Southern Masonic Jurisdiction. It is, rather, an attempt by Pike to provide a framework for understanding religions and philosophies of the past. Pike believed that without understanding the history of a concept, one couldn't grasp the concept itself - and thus his lengthy explanations of various religious beliefs (consistent with knowledge of those beliefs in the mid-1800s).
Başlık: Re: Albert Pike
Gönderen: MASON - Eylül 27, 2006, 07:06:14 öö
Albert Pike
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Albert Pike (born December 29, 1809 in Boston; died April 2, 1891 in Washington, D.C.) was an attorney, soldier, writer, and Freemason. Pike is the only Confederate military officer or figure to be honored with a statue in Washington D.C. The statue sits in Judiciary Square.

Biography

Pike was born in Boston, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Andrews) Pike, and spent his childhood in Byfield and Newburyport, Massachusetts. He attended school in Newburyport and Framingham until he was fifteen, at which point, having passed the Harvard entrance exam but unable to afford tuition, he began a program of self-education, later becoming a schoolteacher in Gloucester, Fairhaven and Newburyport.

In 1831 Pike left Massachusetts to travel west, first stopping in St. Louis and later moving on to Independence, Missouri. In Independence, he joined an expedition to Taos, New Mexico, hunting and trading. During the excursion his horse broke and ran, forcing Pike to walk the remaining 500 miles to Taos. After this he joined a trapping expedition to the Llano Estacado in New Mexico and Texas. Trapping was minimal, and after traveling about 1300 miles (650 on foot), he finally arrived at Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Settling in Arkansas in 1833, he taught school and wrote a series of articles for the Little Rock Arkansas Advocate under the pen name of "Casca." The articles were popular enough that he was asked to join the staff of the newspaper. Later, after marrying Mary Ann Hamilton, he purchased part of the newspaper with the dowry. By 1835 he was the Advocate's sole owner. Under Pike's administration the Advocate promoted the viewpoint of the Whig party in a politically volatile and divided Arkansas.

He then began to study law, and was admitted to the bar in 1837, selling the Advocate the same year. He was the first reporter for the Arkansas supreme court, and also wrote a book (published anonymously), titled The Arkansas Form Book, which was a guidebook for lawyers.


Military career

When the Mexican-American War started, Pike joined the cavalry and was commissioned as a troop commander, serving in the Battle of Buena Vista. He and his commander, John Selden Roane, had several differences of opinion. This situation led finally to a duel between Pike and Roane. Although several shots were fired in the duel, nobody was injured, and the two were persuaded by their seconds to discontinue it.

After the war, Pike returned to the practice of law, moving to New Orleans for a time beginning in 1853. He wrote another book, Maxims of the Roman Law and some of the Ancient French Law, as Expounded and Applied in Doctrine and Jurisprudence. Although unpublished, this book increased his reputation among his associates in law. He returned to Arkansas in 1857, gaining some amount of prominence in the legal field and becoming an advocate of slavery, although retaining his affiliation with the Whig party. When that party dissolved, he became a member of the Know-Nothing party. Before the Civil War he was firmly against secession, but when the war started he nevertheless took the side of the Confederacy.

He also made several contacts among the Native American tribes in the area, at one point negotiating an $800,000 settlement between the Creeks and other tribes and the federal government. This relationship was to influence the course of his Civil War service. At the beginning of the war, Pike was appointed as Confederate envoy to the Native Americans. In this capacity he negotiated several treaties, one of the most important being with Cherokee chief John Ross, which was concluded in 1861.

Pike was commissioned as a brigadier general on November 22, 1861, and given a command in the Indian Territory. With Gen. Ben McCullough, Pike trained three Confederate regiments of Indian cavalry, most of whom belonged to the "civilized tribes," whose loyalty to the Confederacy was variable. Although victorious at the Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern) in March, Pike's unit was defeated later in a counterattack, after falling into disarray. Also, as in the previous war, Pike came into conflict with his superior officers, at one point drafting a letter to Jefferson Davis complaining about his direct superior.

After Pea Ridge, Pike was faced with charges that his troops had scalped soldiers in the field. Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman also charged Pike with mishandling of money and material, ordering his arrest. Both these charges were later found to be considerably lacking in evidence; nevertheless Pike, facing arrest, escaped into the hills of Arkansas, sending his resignation from the Confederate Army on July 12. He was at length arrested on November 3 under charges of insubordination and treason, and held briefly in Warren, Texas, but his resignation was accepted on November 11 and he was allowed to return to Arkansas.


After the war

Pike faced the postwar years unable to earn the trust either of his former comrades or of the Union victors, and subsequently relocated to New York and later to Canada. He was however at length given a formal pardon by Andrew Johnson on August 30, 1865, and therefore enabled to continue his career in public life, becoming an associate justice of the Arkansas supreme court, later practicing law in Memphis, Tennessee from 1867-68 (where he also served as editor of the Memphis Appeal), and finally moving his law office to Washington, D.C. in 1870, becoming editor of the Patriot newspaper.


In Freemasonry
Pike in Masonic regalia
Enlarge
Pike in Masonic regalia

He had in the interim joined a Masonic lodge and become extremely active in the affairs of the organization, being elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction in 1859. He remained Sovereign Grand Commander for the remainder of his life (a total of thirty-two years), devoting a large amount of his time to developing the rituals of the order. Notably, he published a book called Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1871, of which there were several subsequent editions.

Many claim that in Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Pike proclaimed that Freemasonry is a "religion", and that its ideology is of "Lucifer". They base the assertion essentially on a single paragraph.

    * "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion." Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p.213
    * "The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is that of Yahveh reversed; for Satan is not a black god... Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!" Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p.321

However, Masons and others explain that Lucifer, as used in this context, refers to the planet Venus rather than to Satan. Because Venus appears on the horizon before the rising of the sun, it symbolizes the bringing of light and the attainment of knowledge. They assert that it is incorrect to conclude from Pike's work that Masons are Satan worshippers.

Pike is still sometimes regarded in America as an eminent[1] and influential[2] Freemason. His anti-Catholic pronouncements were seen as representative of American freemasonry by Catholic sources.[3]


Other Interests

Additionally, Pike wrote on several legal subjects, and continued producing poetry, a hobby he had begun in his youth in Massachusetts. His poems were highly regarded in his day, but are now mostly forgotten. Several volumes of his works were self-published posthumously by his daughter.

In 1859 he received an honorary Ph.D. from Harvard.

Pike died in Washington, D.C. and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery (against his wishes—he had left instructions his body be cremated). In 1944 his remains were moved to the House of the Temple, headquarters of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite.


Albert Pike and the Ku Klux Klan

Pike has been accused of being a founder and high ranking member of the Ku Klux Klan; however, there is no evidence of this and the claim appears to be based on the unsubstantiated writings of Klan apologist Walter L. Fleming and revivalist Susan L. Davis.

One of the Klan founders, Captain John C. Lester, wrote a 119 page book in 1884, in which he recalled the founding of the Klan fifteen years before. The only person that Lester mentioned was "Gen. Forrest," undoubtedly referring to Nathan Bedford Forrest. Lester does not mention Pike.

Fleming republished Lester's memoir in 1905 and added a list of names and pictures of "Klansmen." These included Pike but also Rev. D.L. Wilson who had been Lester's co-author but not a Klansman. Thus if the inclusion of Pike on the list was a mistake, then it was not Fleming's only one.

Davis published her "Authentic History" of the Klan in 1924. She disagreed with Lester and regarded Fleming as not knowledgeable about the Klan. She also said that David L. Wilson was wrong to say that the original Klan was a failure. (This is not surprising since Davis was actively supporting a revival of the Klan at the time of her publication.)

Virtually all books or articles that claim Pike was part of the Ku Klux Klan use Fleming, Davis, other authors who cite Fleming or Davis, or else use no sources whatsoever. As one source puts it, "Research into primary source material will reveal that there isn't any primary source material" that proves or disproves Pike's association with the Klan. It is noteworthy that when the Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee around Christmas 1865, Pike was living in Arkansas, and there is no record of him journeying to or being in Pulaski.

Below is a quote from one of Albert Pike's writings which supporters of the thesis that Albert Pike was, at the very least, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, sometimes cite in support of their thesis[1][2] (Albert Pike was the owner and publisher of the Memphis, Tennessee Daily Appeal, and the below quote is from an editorial by him in that paper from April 16, 1868):

    With negroes for witnesses and jurors, the administration of justice becomes a blasphemous mockery. A Loyal League of negroes can cause any white man to be arrested, and can prove any charges it chooses to have made against him.... The disenfranchised people of the South ... can find no protection for property, liberty or life, except in secret association.... We would unite every white man in the South, who is opposed to negro suffrage, into one great Order of Southern Brotherhood, with an organization complete, active, vigorous, in which a few should execute the concentrated will of all, and whose very existence should be concealed from all but its members.



Conspiracy theories

Pike's contributions to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, combined with his unique life and written works, has made him a person of note in virtually every conspiracy that mentions Freemasons.

Below are literal straight forward quotes by Albert Pike that supporters of conspiracies sometimes cite in support that Pike was indeed a Luciferian (all are from his book Morals and Dogma[3][4]):

    "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion." Morals and Dogma, p.213

    "LUCIFER, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darknesss! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!" p.321

    ...

    "Masonry, like all the Religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled, to conceal the truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would pervert it."

    ...

    "The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them. Their true explication is reserved for the Adepts, the Princes of Masonry ... It is well enough for the mass of those called Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degrees; and whose attempts to undeceive them will labor in vain."

    ...

However these quotations are ambiguous and taken out of context[citation needed], and are not representative of the whole. The 859 pages of "Morals and Dogma" speak unequivocally in favor of justice, equality and liberty for all mankind and the work seems impossible to reconcile either with a supporter of slavery or with a founder of the Ku Klux Klan. For example, just to extract a few examples from the first chapter:

    Page 3 -- "Under Claudius and under Domitian there is a deformity of baseness corresponding to the ugliness of the tyranny. The foulness of the slaves is a direct result of the atrocious baseness of the despot... And so Humanity wages war against Humanity, in despite of Humanity... Tyrants use the force of the people to chain and subjugate -- that is, enyoke the people. Then they plough with them as men do with oxen. Then the spirit of liberty and innovation is reduced by bayonets and principles are struck dumb by cannonshot."

    Page 4 -- "Therefore it is one of the fatalities of Humanity to be condemned to eternal struggle with phantoms, with superstitions, bigotries, hypocrisies, prejudices and the pleas of tyranny. Despotisms, seen in the past, become respectable, as the mountain, bristling with volcanic rock, rugged and horrid, seen through the haze of distance is blue and beautiful. The sight of a single dungeon of tyranny is worth more, to dispel illusions and create holy hatred of despotism, and to direct FORCE aright than the most eloquent volumes. The French should have preserved the Bastile as a perpetual lesson; Italy should not destroy the dungeons of the Inquisition.”

    Page 6 -- “Though Masonry neither usurps the place of, nor apes religion, prayer is an essential part of our ceremonies. It is the aspiration of the soul toward the Absolute and Infinite Intelligence which is the One Supreme Deity… Thought, meditation, prayer are the great mysterious pointings of the needle. It is the spiritual magnetism which connects the soul with the Deity. These majestic irradiations of the soul pierce through the shadow to the light.”

    Page 17 -- “Masonry has its decalogue… These are its Ten Commandments:

        II. Thy religion shall be to do good because it is a pleasure to thee, not merely because it is a duty…
        Thy soul is immortal! Thou shalt not degrade it!
        III. Thou shalt unceasingly war against vice!
        Thou shalt not do unto others that which thou wouldst not wish them to do unto thee!
        IX. … Thou shalt render good for evil!
        Thou shalt not misuse either thy strength or thy superiority!
        X. … Thou shalt be just!”

Page 21 -- “In the works published for the use of the Craft, we are told that the three great tenets of a Mason’s profession are Brotherly love, Relief and Truth. And it is true that a Brotherly affection and kindness should govern us in all our intercourse and relations with our brethren ; and a generous and liberal philanthropy actuate us in regard to all men. To relieve the distressed is peculiarly the duty of Masons -- a sacred duty, not to be omitted, neglected, or coldly or inefficiently complied with.”

Or:

Page 329 -- "To honor the Deity, to regard all men as our Brethren, as children equally dear to Him..."

He also cites repeatedly from texts from throughout the world, so that there can be no doubt that he regards the Negro and Oriental races as human and therefore subject to these laws of liberty, equality and justice. For example,

“The trinity of the Hindus became among the Ethiopians and Abyssinians Neph-Amon, Phtha and Neith -- the God Creator, whose emblem was a ram.”
Başlık: Ynt: Albert Pike
Gönderen: Waldow - Ocak 23, 2009, 11:07:24 ös
Can u translate in turkish for understanding us ?
Başlık: Ynt: Albert Pike
Gönderen: Lux_e_Tenebris - Ocak 23, 2009, 11:51:59 ös
Good Luck. It seems to me that you already have knowledge about the subject, or at least you act like you do . I don't know which one is worse ;)
Başlık: Ynt: Albert Pike
Gönderen: Lux_e_Tenebris - Ocak 23, 2009, 11:56:08 ös
No discussion of anti-Masonry would be complete without an extensive mention of Albert Pike. The flyleaf of a biography written by Mason Jim Tresner describes him as "...a pioneer, a crusader for justice for Native Americans, a practical joker, a reformer, a journalist, a philosopher, a prominent Washington lawyer, and a Civil War general." For many years, he was leader of the Scottish Rite in the southern United States and he was the author of Morals and Dogma published in 1871. The title in and of itself has led to much confusion since those who are NOT Masons will automatically assume this book sets forth 'dogma' for Freemasonry. Nothing could be further from fact.

Let's clarify right at the outset: the vast majority of those who become Masons have no idea whatsoever who Pike was. In fact, most Masons throughout the world become members and will eventually die without ever encountering either him or any of his works. In fact, of all the Masons world-wide, it's likely that fewer than 2% will have ever even SEEN (much less read) a copy of ANY of his hundreds of writings, most of which have been relegated to the dustbin of history. Of the few who have, what they're familiar with will - almost without exception - be Morals and Dogma, a book that anti-Masons delight in holding up as the 'Bible' of Freemasonry.

But what are the facts about this book? For about 60 years, it was given as a memento to all who joined the Southern United States jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, an appendant body of Freemasonry (and NOT Freemasonry itself!). In the earliest printings, due to the cost of publishing books, there was an instruction inside that it was to be returned to the Supreme Council in the case of death of the owner. Of course, there was no way to enforce that and in a majority of cases, it was ignored. As book publishing costs became less onerous, that request was dropped in later editions. Those who find such a REQUEST nefarious (it was not an order and certainly impossible to enforce), ignore the reality of the times.

We'd guess that of the few who actually begin reading this ponderous 850+ page tome, only a small percentage actually finish it. Of those who do, the great majority admit that they could barely understand it. (Lately, with the advent of various book comparison online venues, it would seem that far more NON-Masons have read the book than Masons!) Yet despite this, anti-Masons assert that Pike and his works exert significant influence over Freemasonry today. Let's be clear: the book was NEVER given to all Masons and it has NEVER, EVER (not once, anywhere, anytime) been used as a 'textbook' or 'instruction' for Masons.

Morals and Dogma is a philosophical work, created by an individual who was an extraordinarily prolific writer even for an age when prolific writing was the norm. It was also fashioned in the style of Pike's time when public speaking was a high art form and Pike was known far and wide for his skills in this area. Morals and Dogma is not a manifesto (i.e. public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions) for Masonry or even for the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction. It is, rather, an attempt by Pike to provide a framework for understanding religions and philosophies of the past. Pike believed that without knowing the history of a concept, one couldn't grasp the concept itself - and thus his lengthy explanations of various religious beliefs, consistent with knowledge of those beliefs in the mid-1800s.

Interested in Pike's "Lucifer" Quote? Click HERE!

If one were to estimate, the numbers would likely be as follows:
          Out of the next 100 men who join Masonry world-wide, less than 10 will obtain (either through purchase or from a library) Pike's Morals and Dogma.
          Out of those 10, perhaps 8 will actually pick it up to read. (Others will have received it as a gift from a relative or mentor - and simply aren't interested.)
          Out of those 8, perhaps 3 will actually finish reading it. (It is, after all, over 900 pages long and has an index of over 200 pages. When's the last time YOU read a book with over 1,100 pages???)
          Out of the 3 who actually finish, perhaps one will feel he understands it!

It is a massive book and is certainly not 'light reading'!

And we suspect that precious few anti-Masons have ever really read the book - but are not at all hesitant about quoting passages they've found (or have been pointed toward). The index mentions every word that Pike used and thus when talking about the beliefs of this or that religion, there's surely a titillating word or two to be found. Taking quotes out of context is a cottage industry that has developed around this particular work.
 

Because of the writing style used by Pike, many of the explanations he seeks to provide are totally lost on current day readers. Pike felt that unless one understood the complete background of a philosophy, he could never expect to understand any part thereof. In consequence, he attempted to put literally everything he'd read, learned, or 'knew' into his prodigious writings.

In the case of Morals and Dogma, it's sheer size alone keeps most people today from reading, much less understanding it. (Don't believe it? Use our Reality Gauge and get a copy from your local library. READ IT! Don't just browse and look for offensive passages which you might find if you take it out of context; actually READ THE BOOK!)

Grabbing quotes out of context (and this was, after all, a discussion of various world religions), it's quite easy to find things which will make Pike sound just awful. In context - and particularly when one considers that this is one book by one writer - Morals and Dogma simply has no relevance to the actions and activity of Freemasonry.

How did Morals and Dogma gain such 'notoriety'?
For many years, the Southern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States' Scottish Rite gave those who received the 32nd Degree a copy of this book. It was a tribute to a man who had done so very much for their organization. For many Masons who joined after World War I or around the Great Depression in the US or during/after World War II, it might have been the only book they owned which related to Freemasonry! Hundreds of thousands of copies of this work were published and given away. They have collected dust on bookshelves for decades ever since.

For those who sought to learn Masonry's supposed "secrets", this tome seemed to be a ready reference. A cover with a 'Masonic' emblem; reference to "all" the degrees (so they thought), and a book which had been in their house since they were old enough to remember. A phrase was plucked from here and there - and suddenly Masonry was an all-encompassing satanic group in their mind.
 

Starting with the first edition of Morals and Dogma in 1871, every edition is prefaced with these words:

"Everyone is free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound. It is only required of him that he shall weigh what is taught, and give it a fair hearing and unprejudiced judgment."


As anti-Masons continue to claim that this book 'rules' Freemasonry in some unspecified way, they totally ignore this admonition. How can one assume that Masons follow blindly everything else Pike 'taught' (he wasn't 'teaching' but that's another discussion) but ignore the two sentences that start the book?

Today, some Masons will diminish Pike's importance so as to deflect the charges of anti-Masons. Sometimes too, we'll see the statement that Pike never held an office in Freemasonry. For the record: Pike joined Freemasonry in 1851 and in 1855 was the Master of his lodge. He also served his Grand Lodge as the Chairman of the Committee on Masonic Law & Usage and for a year was the Chairman of the Library Committee. While these are important offices, they were at a jurisdictional level and NOT involving hundreds of other Grand Lodges worldwide.

Certainly there is no doubt that he was among the most influential Masons of his time. It must be also remembered that this was a time when communications even with surrounding states was severely limited and travel from place to place took days. Pike wrote Morals and Dogma some eight years before Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first wireless telephone message! Pike was a giant of his time who did extraordinary things in his lifetime. He was, in fact, the ONLY Confederate soldier to be honored in America's capitol: Washington, DC, where a huge statue of him dominates a major intersection (Judiciary Square). See more about that here.

While Pike was an extraordinary man, his writings are mischaracterized and the shadow he casts over Freemasonry today is, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential. His philosophical writings have been misquoted and used completely out of context to the point that today it is likely even he would not recognize them! Demonization is the name of the game that anti-Masons play with Albert Pike!

For reference info visit the references part of the forum.