Tony Sunderland's Blog
March 18, 2019
New Book...
For those people interested; here is a link to my free podcast titled 'Rational Religion' - The mystery of Freemasonry and the quest for the Jesus of history. http://rationalreligion.book2pod.com/
Author’s note...
This book is not about exposing the fraternal secrets that bind the brotherhood of Freemasons together; nor is it about exposing so-called conspiracies that have been created to demean either Freemasonry or the Catholic Church. But I am interested in searching for a narrative that best fits with established knowledge about what has happened in the past, and how this may influence our future. I am not a Freemason; nor am I a religious Christian. But I am interested in the history and evolution of religious thought in Western society. In my first book, The Obelisk and the Cross, I posed three questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? And what happens when we die? Predictably, I found no definite answers I only found more questions; I was also confronted with the premise that the stories and myths handed down to us may also contain other ‘truths’ that have either been deliberately hidden, discarded or forgotten over time.
Over the last 20 years in my role as an educational researcher, I have become increasingly aware that some aspects of how we see things, particularly through the lens of established Western sensibilities, may be skewed to suit a particular agenda that may or may not be in the best interests of all. The signs and symbols that surround us only have meaning if they are understood from a perspective that takes account of the history, culture and spiritual aspirations of those people who created them. Even then, the intended meaning embedded within them may change and evolve to suit new contexts over time.
In writing this book, I have been heavily indebted to two authors—Joseph Fort Newton and Albert Schweitzer. Newton wrote a landmark book on Freemasonry, titled The Builders. This work details the rich history of Freemasonry and the religious meaning attached to many Masonic rituals without betraying any of the finer secrets of the brotherhood. If Freemasonry is indeed a ‘system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols’, Newton gives us a glimpse into a tradition that has also had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of Western society.
Schweitzer, in his Quest for the Historical Jesus, presented to the world the first tangible picture of the human Jesus outside the confines of established Church dogma and doctrine. The image of Jesus Christ is perhaps the most significant symbol in Western history. However, the story of the human Jesus has been all but abandoned by both independent and religious scholars. The sign of the cross and the image of a crucified Christ have become part of a greater spiritual narrative that positions Jesus as God at the expense of his human incarnation. Few people would be aware that the early Christians were called atheists by their pagan opponents throughout many parts of the Roman Empire. Christians were accused of being cannibals when they ate the body of their saviour. They were also accused of incest in the way that they embraced brotherly and sisterly love. Many of the first church services were held in secret, and the very early Christians used secretive signs and symbols to promote the faith with those who had been baptised. The early Christians were, for the most part, poor and illiterate, and had no hope of a better life on earth. They found meaning in the religion of Jesus, with its vision of a human brotherhood under the guidance of a divine Father. The religion of Jesus, as represented by various forms of Christianity, has permeated our society and culture, to the extent that both peace and war has been declared in his name.
The Grand Masonic Lodge of England has estimated that there are over 6 million men throughout the world who currently identify themselves as Freemasons. Freemasonry may be best defined by what it is not. It is not a structured religion, nor does it possess any strict religious creed or dogma. It does not enforce the worship of any one deity; rather, members must believe in some sort of supreme being. Freemasonry is, however, a secretive brotherhood that aligns itself to ancient symbols, beliefs and practices that can be traced to the earliest groupings of people. Simply, through an association with the first natural and man-made religious symbols, initiates reached out to something divine that could transcend material existence—a life beyond death. The history of what would become known as speculative Freemasonry was born from the ‘mystery religions’ of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Israel and the rationalist Enlightenment and its direct confrontation with the doctrinal authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
Psychoanalyst Ernest Becker contends that the true heroic nature of humankind is revealed in the knowledge of the ultimate humiliation that death brings to everyone; as such, the aura of death permeates all aspects of everyday life. The knowledge of death becomes ‘life after death’. Confronted with this knowledge, an individual can gain meaning in their mortal existence through an appreciation of the beauty of the natural world and also through the self-esteem, gained from recognition by others in our collective struggle against the necessity of death. But this journey is also personal; every one of us is unique. The decisions we make and the lessons learned—given the circumstances that surround us—dictate whether or not this struggle is all in vain.
Both Freemasonry and the Catholic Church address this struggle, albeit from different perspectives. For Freemasons, it is a personal quest for heroic enlightenment. For the Catholic Church, it is the communal surrender to loving salvation. However, both institutions cloak their teachings in secrecy and selectively disseminate the true mission of their faiths. Underneath this veneer, of structured worship there is a deeper form of spirituality which abandons any notion of a supernatural or personal god. This pantheistic and rational conception of the divine is at the heart of the Western religious tradition—the divine resides within us and all around us. This enduring and ancient spiritual meme has been secretly communicated through expressions in architecture, literature, art, music, ritual and symbolic representations.
Our quest will begin with an analysis of how religious thought, practices and symbols permeated the life of very early communities. These symbols were carved from stone, and their enduring presence stands as a testament to the innate desire to find an intermediary between humanity and the divine. It will culminate in the search for the ultimate intermediary and symbol of divine perfection in human form—Jesus Christ and the realisation of the ‘divine within’.
Author’s note...
This book is not about exposing the fraternal secrets that bind the brotherhood of Freemasons together; nor is it about exposing so-called conspiracies that have been created to demean either Freemasonry or the Catholic Church. But I am interested in searching for a narrative that best fits with established knowledge about what has happened in the past, and how this may influence our future. I am not a Freemason; nor am I a religious Christian. But I am interested in the history and evolution of religious thought in Western society. In my first book, The Obelisk and the Cross, I posed three questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? And what happens when we die? Predictably, I found no definite answers I only found more questions; I was also confronted with the premise that the stories and myths handed down to us may also contain other ‘truths’ that have either been deliberately hidden, discarded or forgotten over time.
Over the last 20 years in my role as an educational researcher, I have become increasingly aware that some aspects of how we see things, particularly through the lens of established Western sensibilities, may be skewed to suit a particular agenda that may or may not be in the best interests of all. The signs and symbols that surround us only have meaning if they are understood from a perspective that takes account of the history, culture and spiritual aspirations of those people who created them. Even then, the intended meaning embedded within them may change and evolve to suit new contexts over time.
In writing this book, I have been heavily indebted to two authors—Joseph Fort Newton and Albert Schweitzer. Newton wrote a landmark book on Freemasonry, titled The Builders. This work details the rich history of Freemasonry and the religious meaning attached to many Masonic rituals without betraying any of the finer secrets of the brotherhood. If Freemasonry is indeed a ‘system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols’, Newton gives us a glimpse into a tradition that has also had a significant and enduring impact on the evolution of Western society.
Schweitzer, in his Quest for the Historical Jesus, presented to the world the first tangible picture of the human Jesus outside the confines of established Church dogma and doctrine. The image of Jesus Christ is perhaps the most significant symbol in Western history. However, the story of the human Jesus has been all but abandoned by both independent and religious scholars. The sign of the cross and the image of a crucified Christ have become part of a greater spiritual narrative that positions Jesus as God at the expense of his human incarnation. Few people would be aware that the early Christians were called atheists by their pagan opponents throughout many parts of the Roman Empire. Christians were accused of being cannibals when they ate the body of their saviour. They were also accused of incest in the way that they embraced brotherly and sisterly love. Many of the first church services were held in secret, and the very early Christians used secretive signs and symbols to promote the faith with those who had been baptised. The early Christians were, for the most part, poor and illiterate, and had no hope of a better life on earth. They found meaning in the religion of Jesus, with its vision of a human brotherhood under the guidance of a divine Father. The religion of Jesus, as represented by various forms of Christianity, has permeated our society and culture, to the extent that both peace and war has been declared in his name.
The Grand Masonic Lodge of England has estimated that there are over 6 million men throughout the world who currently identify themselves as Freemasons. Freemasonry may be best defined by what it is not. It is not a structured religion, nor does it possess any strict religious creed or dogma. It does not enforce the worship of any one deity; rather, members must believe in some sort of supreme being. Freemasonry is, however, a secretive brotherhood that aligns itself to ancient symbols, beliefs and practices that can be traced to the earliest groupings of people. Simply, through an association with the first natural and man-made religious symbols, initiates reached out to something divine that could transcend material existence—a life beyond death. The history of what would become known as speculative Freemasonry was born from the ‘mystery religions’ of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Israel and the rationalist Enlightenment and its direct confrontation with the doctrinal authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
Psychoanalyst Ernest Becker contends that the true heroic nature of humankind is revealed in the knowledge of the ultimate humiliation that death brings to everyone; as such, the aura of death permeates all aspects of everyday life. The knowledge of death becomes ‘life after death’. Confronted with this knowledge, an individual can gain meaning in their mortal existence through an appreciation of the beauty of the natural world and also through the self-esteem, gained from recognition by others in our collective struggle against the necessity of death. But this journey is also personal; every one of us is unique. The decisions we make and the lessons learned—given the circumstances that surround us—dictate whether or not this struggle is all in vain.
Both Freemasonry and the Catholic Church address this struggle, albeit from different perspectives. For Freemasons, it is a personal quest for heroic enlightenment. For the Catholic Church, it is the communal surrender to loving salvation. However, both institutions cloak their teachings in secrecy and selectively disseminate the true mission of their faiths. Underneath this veneer, of structured worship there is a deeper form of spirituality which abandons any notion of a supernatural or personal god. This pantheistic and rational conception of the divine is at the heart of the Western religious tradition—the divine resides within us and all around us. This enduring and ancient spiritual meme has been secretly communicated through expressions in architecture, literature, art, music, ritual and symbolic representations.
Our quest will begin with an analysis of how religious thought, practices and symbols permeated the life of very early communities. These symbols were carved from stone, and their enduring presence stands as a testament to the innate desire to find an intermediary between humanity and the divine. It will culminate in the search for the ultimate intermediary and symbol of divine perfection in human form—Jesus Christ and the realisation of the ‘divine within’.
