| Christianity and World Religion Christianity and World Religion forum gives Christians and non-Christians the opportunity to come together to better understand and learn about different religions. |
 | | 
27th October 2009, 03:59 PM
|  | Senior Veteran
     
 | | Join Date: 2nd May 2005
Posts: 2,712
Blessings: 44,429,611
Reps: 159,784,663,935,918,112 (power: 0) | | | Seriously, Dan Brown? *rolleyes*
Don't take that man's scribblings with a mere grain of salt. Better use a SHOVEL.
Sure, I enjoyed "Angels and Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code" as the popcorn novels they were, and derived some entertainment from them. Conspiracy theories are intriguing as a fiction, but really become ridiculous as soon as you take them seriously. The research behind Brown's previous novels was extremely poor, so I don't expect his newest "astonishing revelations" to be any different. Just a bunch of third-rate convolutions based on second-rate conspiracy theories.
Of course, the Masons have their own mythological conspiracy theories, trying to trace their existence to the Knights Templar, the architects of Solomon's temple, and/or Egyptian master builders unraveling the secrets of the cosmos. |
28th October 2009, 08:28 AM
|  | Sarcasm is kind of an art isn't it?
    
| | Join Date: 3rd July 2009
Posts: 5,076
Blessings: 6,084,699 My Mood 
Reps: 113,334,091,635,218,480 (power: 113,334,091,635,226) | | Originally Posted by sidhe  No.
I really don't know how to answer it other than that.
Maybe this:
NO.
Oh come on Sidhe... tell us what you really think?
lol
Ok guys, I'm going to take a HUGE risk here, i mean HUGE, by taking this risk I may be taken out by the higher powers in the world.
Dan Brown operates by manipulating peoples curiosity.
He choose "secret" groups within religious orders and then exploits peoples ignorance of those groups for his own uses.
Does this make him a bad man? I wouldn't say so, I would say tho that people who watch his movies or read his books and take them as gospel without researching any of the ideas he brings up are "special people".
Simply put, Dan Brown chooses a subject that was already considered slightly controversial, "secret religious society" or "religion vs science" and exploits it, making it seem much more fantastic than it really is.
He over hypes these subjects hoping that people will talk about them. And talk about his books.
So that he can make movies... and start the whole process over again.
Honestly if you want to know what the Masons believe go ask them. Most of them are nice older men they will tell you.
__________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
THE NEW BOSS: JUST LIKE THE OLD BOSS.
Paraphrased from a song written by the great Pete Townsend To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
dir="ltr"> they told me if I voted for John McCain that I would get a President like Bush that would violate the airspace and sovereignty of an allied nation with a military force to assassinate a foreign national of another allied country and then their dead body would be dumped in the ocean. and they were right.
I support the arts. |
28th October 2009, 09:32 AM
|  | Surfing the Stars
35   
| | Join Date: 31st March 2008 Location: New Joisey
Posts: 2,679
Blessings: 14,253,225 My Mood 
Reps: 358,768,327,770,009,472 (power: 358,768,327,770,015) | | Originally Posted by TerranceL Simply put, Dan Brown chooses a subject that was already considered slightly controversial, "secret religious society" or "religion vs science" and exploits it, making it seem much more fantastic than it really is.
Pretty much. He picks a few facts and fits them into his story to make it sound more real. It says "novel" right on the covers, which by definition, makes them fiction.
__________________
"I finally realize what I was put on this earth to do; be a mother! ... Or was it to open a frozen yogurt shop?" - Daffy Duck
|
30th October 2009, 10:29 AM
|  | Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity
59 
| | Join Date: 16th September 2003 Location: SC
Posts: 4,096
Blessings: 1,063,369 My Mood 
Reps: 50,655,056,570,868,352 (power: 50,655,056,570,881) | | Originally Posted by MichaelArchangelos Yes. This is mentioned in the book. The man that you're talking about thanks Peter Solomon, one of the main characters, for his "invitation" to the 33rd Degree.
Okay, I stand corrected. My son hasn't given the book back yet  so I hadn't picked up on that. Originally Posted by Wicked Willow Of course, the Masons have their own mythological conspiracy theories, trying to trace their existence to the Knights Templar, the architects of Solomon's temple, and/or Egyptian master builders unraveling the secrets of the cosmos.
Most Masonic historians won't try to go there these days, ever since Robert Gould's history debunked early origin theories. It's generally agreed that it developed sometime in the late medieval era, probably through the trade guilds.
But I guess a bunch of stoneworkers plying their trade would have made for a pretty dull movie.
And anyway, since everybody's going to be looking at us suspiciously anyway, why not go for it, and act like we're up to something? Originally Posted by TerranceL Honestly if you want to know what the Masons believe go ask them. Most of them are nice older men they will tell you.
Hey! I resemble that remark!
But hey, you can't have everything, huh? At least I'm nice.
__________________
No one is more to be pitied than those dedicated to the ignorant persistence of persistent ignorance. |
4th November 2009, 03:16 PM
|  | Senior Veteran
27 
| | Join Date: 6th December 2004 Location: Arizona
Posts: 7,097
Blessings: 86,166 My Mood 
Reps: 49,903,868,200,929,752 (power: 49,903,868,200,944) | | Originally Posted by Eudaimonist The reason that conspiracy theories spread is that they make the world a far more planned place than it actually is. Want to know why politicians do stupid things? It's the ILLUMINATI!
No, it can't just be voters unwisely voting for stupid candidates....that would be too unplanned. Everything must happen for a specific reason planned by somebody. (No, wait! It's the Illuminati who rig elections to put stupid people into office. Yes, it's all so clear now!)
Unfortunately, there is a market for conspiracy theories because there is a sizable portion of the population who have leanings towards paranoid personality disorder. Anyone can write a conspiracy book. It doesn't even have to be well-researched. Whoever bothers to check up on the details? The conspiracy book is taken to be the authority.
How brave these writers must be to take on such sinister organizations. They must disappear mysteriously in the night after publication. No, wait. They don't. But that's so clever of those organizations, to discredit conspiracy theorists by not retaliating! It's all so clear now!
I have little doubt that the Freemasons are a harmless group of people who have a few rituals, ideals, and beliefs, but who are primarily about making business contacts, drinking booze, and escaping from their wives for the evening. They have no more secrets than anybody else.
Of course, that's just what you'd expect someone who controls half of the planet to say.  fnord,
Mark
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
|
4th November 2009, 06:16 PM
| | Senior Veteran
| | Join Date: 2nd May 2005
Posts: 2,712
Blessings: 44,429,611
Reps: 159,784,663,935,918,112 (power: 0) | | | Yay, Alan Moore! Consider me a fawning fan. |
5th November 2009, 12:12 AM
|  | Seemly Unseelie
32
| | Join Date: 27th September 2004 Location: CSRA
Posts: 4,473
Blessings: 2,273,895 My Mood 
Reps: 59,243,360,003,904,480 (power: 59,243,360,003,916) | | You can tell Alan Moore is a great magician because his beard looks like it may contain living things. 
__________________ I am the microcosmic reflection of God Herself. I get to make up my own religion. I got my permission slip signed. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. |
5th November 2009, 04:25 AM
|  | Reverencing the Exalted Spirit of Man
45 
| | Join Date: 1st January 2003 Location: American resident of Sweden
Posts: 18,497
Blessings: 8,259,763 My Mood 
Reps: 440,945,404,461,670,976 (power: 440,945,404,461,699) | | I wasn't aware that Alan Moore had an opinion about conspiracy theories, but what he says towards the end of the video about chaos being scarier than conspiracy is pretty much my point. People who have leanings toward paranoid personality disorder are especially troubled by chaos, and will go to heroic efforts to make everything simple and crystal clear, even when reality is too complex for this. You can tell Alan Moore is a great magician because his beard looks like it may contain living things.
He does seem to have the wooly look of a mystic about him. eudaimonia,
Mark
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Last edited by Eudaimonist; 5th November 2009 at 05:33 AM.
|
12th December 2009, 09:14 PM
|  | An Ex-Mason for Jesus
| | Join Date: 22nd January 2004 Location: USA
Posts: 1,407
Blessings: 198,497 My Mood 
Reps: 573,659,189,683,781 (power: 573,659,189,693) | | Take it from someone who has "been there and done that," Freemasonry is a false religion, no matter what they tell you differently. Feel free to visit us at Order of Former Freemasons.
__________________
Ephesians 5:11
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." |
13th December 2009, 11:43 PM
|  | Poultry in Motion
 
| | Join Date: 15th August 2006 Location: Georgia
Posts: 933
Blessings: 10,155,039 My Mood 
Reps: 69,074,397,389,441,256 (power: 69,074,397,389,447) | | Originally Posted by O.F.F. Take it from someone who has "been there and done that," Freemasonry is a false religion, no matter what they tell you differently.
Oh well, so much for the theory that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation then.
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here! This is the WAR Room! | | |
| Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode |
| | |
