The Temple and the Lodge

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 306 pages
• Published by: Arcade Publishing April 22, 1991
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1559701269
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1559701266
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
George Washington, Ben Franklin and Edmund Randolph--all framers of the Constitution--were active Freemasons, as was John Marshall, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In this riveting and careful study, Baigent and Leigh (coauthors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail ) suggest that Freemasonic lodges served America's Founding Fathers as a working model for our federal system. Freemasonry's doctrine of universal brotherhood and tolerance, they assert, had a liberalizing influence in England and France, in particular on Voltaire, Hume, Rousseau, Montesquieu as well as their disciples in what was to become the United States. Early, largely conjectural chapters link Freemasonry to remnants of the Knights Templar, a medieval society of European warrior-monks, some of whose members appear to have found refuge in Scotland. This jigsaw's pieces include Grail romances; the Scots Guard, personal bodyguard to the French king; Scottish freedom-fighter Robert Bruce; Rosicrucians; and the British Royal Society. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
When I bought THE TEMPLE AND THE LODGE I thought I would read about the Templars and the Masonic order and I did. However, I did not know I would discover so much of interest about US history. Baigent and Leigh provide a great amount of information about the origins, experiences and demise of the Knights Templar including their battles in the Holy Land and the persecution and destruction of their order by King Phillip of France. The authors also provide a cogent argument for the involvement of the remnants of the Templar order in the battle of Bannockburn which freed the Scots from England. And, Baigent and Leigh discuss the rise of the Freemasons and their connections to the White-Robed Knights. However, one of the more interesting parts of this book is the story of the founding of the US (shift from British colony to Republic) which took place under the guidance of Freemasons such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Was the Revolution a Masonic plot? Baigent thinks not, but he does point to British officers and their men who were Masons (Howe, Cornwallis, etc) who might not have put their hearts and souls into a fight with fellow American Freemasons. He also notes Freemasons came from all over Europe to assist the colonists-France (Lafayette), Germany (von Steuben), Poland (Pulaski), etc. Baigent points out quite correctly that the ideas of European thinkers such as Locke, Hume, Adam Smith, and the French philosophers are incorporated in the Constitution. He also suggests that most of these thinkers were Freemasons or men who moved in Masonic circles. Masonic notions such as the "separation of church and state" are at the heart of the Constitution. "In God We Trust" (found on the one dollar bill) was not the motto of the men who drafted the Constitution. Their motto was "Novus Ordo Seclorum" (also found on the one dollar bill above the pyramid-a symbol of Freemasonry). Novus Ordo Seculorum refers to the "new secular order" the founders thought they were establishing. They recognized the tyranny of religion and wanted it kept arms length from the public arena. Novus Ordo Seculorum was pushed aside in the 20th century-may it be restored in the 21st. Comment | | (Report this)