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• (Back to Chapter One: Albert Pike and "Luciferian Masonry")
• (Back to Chapter Two: Anti-Masonry in the Electronic Age)
• (Back to Chapter Three: John Ankerberg and "The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge")
• Chapter Five: The Reverend James D. Shaw and "The Deadly Deception"
• Chapter Six: T.N. (Skip) Sampson and "Cornerstone Ministries"
• Chapter Seven: Falsus in Multus, Falsus in Omnibus
• Epilogue: The Fruits of Anti-Masonry: Garden of Evil? / Stones of Evil
• Addendum:Please Look a Little Closer

CHAPTER FOUR:
TABLE OF CONTENTS

• A Sin to Divulge the Truth
• A Book of Nonsense?
• Luciferian Masonry
• Trying to Stop the Dissemination?

THE REVEREND RON CARLSON

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

--Plato

The Reverend Ron Carlson⁽⁶⁹⁾ is president of Christian Ministries International in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He is a professional anti-Mason in that he partially supports himself and his ministry by selling audio cassettes of his sermons in which he "exposes" the secrets of Masonry. The quotations that follow come from one such cassette sermon, "Freemasonry and the Masonic Lodge," which appears to have been preached in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Early in his sermon he establishes his credentials and objectivity:

• Now understand that what I am going to say tonight is not from anti-Masonic writings. I have spent two years almost full time researching Freemasonry and the Masonic lodge. What we are going to be sharing tonight is from the authoritative works of Masons themselves.⁽⁷⁰⁾

In concluding his sermon, Rev. Carlson summarizes the results of his research, "Freemasonry is not of God, it's from the pit of Hell."⁽⁷¹⁾

His years of study lead us to expect a higher standard of research and documentation than from other critics. His position as a minister of the gospel lets us expect a love of truth and a sense of fairness. His promise to use "authoritative works of Masons" lets us expect accurate, factual statements. These expectations are not met.

A Sin to Divulge the Truth

• Let me read for you what Albert Pike says, page five hundred and forty-five, concerning revealing any of the secrets, quote:
  • All the mysteries should be kept concealed, guarded by faithful silence, lest it should be inconsiderately divulged to the ears of the Profane. He sins against God who divulges to the unworthy the Mysteries confided to him. The danger is not merely in violating the truth, but in telling the truth.

  Albert Pike says it is a sin to divulge the truth. Now how different this is from what we read in God's word.⁽⁷²⁾

Ironically, the truth is that Ron Carlson is not quoting Albert Pike. Here is what Pike actually wrote in Morals and Dogma (unacknowledged omissions by Rev. Carlson are struck out).

• St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, who was born in 340, and died in 393, says in his work De Mysteriis: "All the Mystery should be kept concealed, guarded by faithful silence, lest it should be inconsiderately divulged to the ears of the Profane. . . . It is not given to all to contemplate the depths of our Mysteries . . . that they may not be seen by those who ought not to behold them; nor received by those who cannot preserve them." And in another work: "He sins against God, who divulges to the unworthy the Mysteries confided to him. The danger is not merely in violating the truth, but in telling truth, if he allows himself to give hints of them to those from whom they ought to be concealed. . . . Beware of casting pearls before swine! Every Mystery ought to be kept secret; and, as it were, to be covered over by silence, lest it should rashly be divulged to the ears of the Profane. Take heed that you do not incautiously reveal the Mysteries!"

Pike was clearly quoting St. Ambrose on what he taught regarding the Christian Mysteries. It was, we find, a Christian Father who said it was a sin to tell the truth. We here discover that the Pastor himself is guilty of what he accuses Masonic authorities of doing--he lies to the unwitting.

Rev. Carlson further compounds his deception as he gleefully tells his audience that

• Albert Pike says it is a sin to divulge the truth. Now how different this is from what we read in God's word. Jesus says, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." He said, "Go unto all the world and proclaim this good news." But the Masons say, "No, it is a sin for you to reveal truth."⁽⁷³⁾

If we analyze Pastor Carlson's statement we find:

• (1) He claims to be quoting Albert Pike when he was in fact quoting St. Ambrose, a Christian Father.

  (2) He claims that the supposed words of Pike represent universal Masonic teachings by stating, "But the Masons say. . . ."

  (3) He ignores that Pike wrote in his preface that "every one is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to be untrue or unsound."

If unchecked, the subtle manipulation of source material aids both the construction and destruction of the ersatz Albert Pike by allowing the Pastor to build on a false premise. Significantly, Rev. Carlson spouts his glib remarks on the lack of truth in Masonry in spite of the fact that virtually every American "Monitor of the Lodge" advocates the cultivation of this virtue:

• The principal tenets of our profession are three: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. . . .

  Truth is a divine attribute, and the foundation of every virtue. To be good and true, is the first lesson we are taught in Masonry. On this theme we contemplate, and by its dictates endeavor to regulate our conduct. Hence, while influenced by this principle, hypocrisy and deceit are unknown among us, sincerity and plain-dealing distinguish us, and the heart and tongue join in promoting each other's welfare, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity.⁽⁷⁴⁾

How Carlson can make the unfair allegations he does when authorized grand lodge publications prove contrary is astounding. Surely he must have encountered the above paragraph on truth often during his two years of intensive research, because it appeared in every randomly selected American blue lodge monitor we inspected, from William Preston's 1772 Illustrations of Masonry and Jeremy Cross' 1820 True Masonic Chart to those currently in use. British publications also contain this paragraph, almost verbatim, in the current "Lectures of the Three Degrees" (first lecture, sixth section). Upon checking unauthorized publications, we found it in a host of ritual exposures, English and American, spanning over a hundred years.

A Book of Nonsense?
Perhaps the most flagrant demonstration of his ability to distort the truth is Rev. Carlson's claim that Albert Pike ridiculed Christianity and the Bible. Albert Pike revered Jesus Christ "above all the other great teachers" (Morals and Dogma, pp. 718­721), but now, Carlson has the straw-man Pike insult the Bible. (Unacknowledged omissions by Rev. Carlson are struck out, while his additions are in bold.)

• Well, you want to know what Masonry thinks of Christianity? First of all, concerning the Bible. Albert Pike, page eleven, Morals and Dogma, says, quote:
  • The Holy Bible, Square and Compass, are not only styled the Great Lights in Masonry, but they are also technically called the Furniture of the Lodge; and, as you have seen, it is held that there is no Lodge without them. This has sometimes been made a pretext for excluding Jews from our Lodges, because they cannot regard the New Testament as a holy book. The Bible is an indispensable part of the furniture of the Christian Lodge, only because it is a sacred book of the Christian Religion. The Hebrew Pentateuch in a Hebrew Lodge, and the Koran in a Mohammadan one Moslem Lodge, belong on the Altar; and one of these, and the Square and Compass, properly understood, are the Great Lights by which a Mason must walk and work.

    The obligation of the candidate is always to be taken on to obey the sacred book or books of his own religion, that he may deem it more solemn and binding. . . .

  So they tell us that the Bible is considered a piece of furniture in the lodge; and that it is no more valuable than the Koran, or any other scriptures of any other religions, it's simply a piece of religious literature equal with all the others. Page seventeen we read: "The Holy Scriptures were an entirely modern addition to the Lodge."

  You know, but Masons will tell me, "But we got the Bible on our altar." Albert Pike says, quote:

  • The Holy Scriptures were an entirely modern addition to the Lodge, like the terrestrial and celestial globes on the columns of the portico. Thus the ancient has been denaturalized by incongruous additions.

  "The Bible has no place there," he is saying.⁽⁷⁵⁾

In this quotation, Pike is using the technical terminology of the Craft when he refers to the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses as the furniture of the lodge. They are, in fact, so important that without these in place a lodge is not furnished and cannot open. Pike's statement declaring the Bible a "modern addition" refers to the addition of a drawing of the Bible atop the symbol of the point within a circle (see Figure 7), as he very clearly states in Morals and Dogma on pages 16­17. Pike believed that the symbol of the point within a circle was previously depicted without the Bible over it, and without the Saints John on its side. He was not saying, as Rev. Carlson imputes, that the Bible does not belong upon the altar of the lodge.

Rev. Carlson now performs what we believe is his most dishonest misrepresentation of Pike.

• Page seven hundred forty-four, he goes on to say, quote (listen to what Albert Pike, the leading authority says):
  • The Bible, with all the allegories it contains, expresses, in an incomplete and veiled manner only, the religious science of the Hebrews. The doctrine of Moses and the Prophets, identical at bottom with that of the ancient Egyptian Mysteries, also had its outward meaning and its veils. The Hebrew books were written only to recall to memory the traditions; and they were written in Symbols unintelligible to the Profane. The Pentateuch and the prophetic poems were merely elementary books of doctrine, morals, and literature; and the true secret and traditional philosophy was only written afterward, under veils still less transparent. Thus it was that a second Bible was born, the New Testament, unknown to, or rather uncomprehended by the Christians; a collection of monstrous absurdities.

  Unquote. Now you tell me how any Mason can be a Christian, when they say the New Testament is a collection of, quote, "monstrous absurdities," unquote.⁽⁷⁶⁾

According to Rev. Carlson, Albert Pike deemed the New Testament a collection of "monstrous absurdities." Carlson's quotation of Pike, if accurate, would indeed reflect a prejudice against Christianity. Upon checking Morals and Dogma, however, we discover that Pike has again been misquoted. Besides putting words into Pike's mouth, Carlson misunderstood the context of Pike's remarks, which concerned not the New Testament, but the Jewish Talmudic writings. (As before, Rev. Carlson's unacknowledged omissions are struck out, his additions are bold.)

• The Bible, with all the allegories it contains, expresses, in an incomplete and veiled manner only, the religious science of the Hebrews. The doctrine of Moses and the Prophets, identical at bottom with that of the ancient Egyptians, also had its outward meaning and its veils. The Hebrew books were written only to recall to memory the traditions, and they were written in Symbols unintelligible to the Profane. The Pentateuch and the prophetic poems were merely elementary books of doctrine, morals, or liturgy and literature; and the true secret and traditional philosophy was only written afterward, under veils still less transparent. Thus a second Bible was born, the New Testament, unknown to, or rather uncomprehended by, the Christians; a collection they say, of monstrous absurdities; a monument, the adept says, wherein is everything that the genius of philosophy and that of religion have ever formed or imagined of the sublime; a treasure surrounded by thorns; a diamond concealed in a rough dark stone.

This clearly says that the Christians considered the Talmudic works absurd. It is difficult to see how Pastor Carlson confused the issue, and his unwarranted interpolation of the words the New Testament into Pike's text only amplified his error. As he did in the case of St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, Carlson makes Pike say something he never did.

Either Carlson intentionally distorted Pike, or he could not understand his writings and therefore misrepresented them. Either of these options makes Carlson an unsafe guide.

Luciferian Masonry
Rev. Carlson displays his research skills and sense of fairness by foisting the Léo Taxil hoax upon his audience.

• Well, friends, it gets worse. Albert Pike, who was the Supreme Pontiff of all Freemasonry, speaking on July 14, 1889, to the twenty-three Supreme Councils of the World, said this, I quote. If you're a Mason, listen to the leading authority as to what Freemasonry teaches. Albert Pike, July 14, 1889, to the twenty-three Supreme Councils of the World said, quote:
  • That what we must say to the crowd is: We worship a God, but it is a God that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees: The Masonic religion should be, to all of its initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine. Yes, Lucifer is God. The true and pure philosophic religion of Freemasonry is the belief in Lucifer.

  Unquote. You can read in context, it goes on and it gets worse.⁽⁷⁷⁾

This allegation by Rev. Carlson shows the inadequacy of his research and his naïve credulity. After spending "two years almost full time researching Freemasonry and the Masonic lodge," he still fell for Taxil's fake quotation. He didn't bother confirming the quotation nor checking his sources nor crediting the translator. But why should he? He'd already decided that Masonry is Satanic, and the Taxil quotation just confirmed what he already believed.

The section in this book, "Albert Pike and Lucifer," thoroughly details the Taxil hoax, and gives some of the abundant references available to those interested in the truth. Taxil's forgeries were exposed decades ago and have been widely published. It is difficult to believe that anyone could spend "two years almost full time researching Freemasonry and the Masonic lodge" and not discover the truth of the matter. It is especially deceptive for Rev. Carlson to invite his audience to "read [the quotation] in context," without citing his source. And this after assuring his listeners that he would refer only to the "authoritative works of Masons themselves."

Trying to Stop the Dissemination?
At the end of his talk, Rev. Carlson took several questions from the audience. Most of the questions are not intelligible on our audio tape, but they can be inferred from the answers. In answering the eighth question, Rev. Carlson asserted with authority, "You won't--you cannot--find Morals and Dogma in a library."⁽⁷⁸⁾ The answer to question thirteen further highlights Rev. Carlson's research skills and his regard for accuracy.

• [Answer to the thirteenth question]: Morals and Dogma? Yeah, it's copyrighted. Yeah, "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871 in the Office of the Library of Congress." There is also, ah, a place down in Chicago where you can, uhm, buy a copy, it's the publishing house for the Masonic lodge. And I wish I had the address with me. I'd give it to you, but, uh, if they have some in stock, uh, you can get one from them. Uh, though the last person I told that to, when they called down there--they just told me a few months ago that they had called down there--and, ah, the publishing house told them that they are now only giving them to the Masonic lodges, for the thirty-second degree Masons. You can no longer buy it from their secret publishing house. And so, evidently, uh, they've heard about us, and are trying to stop the dissemination of this information.⁽⁷⁹⁾

Carlson contradicts himself here within a matter of seconds. First he claims the Masonic publisher of Morals and Dogma is in Chicago, and if he had the address with him, he would give it to his audience, so copies could be ordered. He then turns right around and conveniently says the last person he told that to was refused a copy for not being a thirty-second degree Mason; the publisher now becomes a "secret publishing house." To top it off, Carlson's megalomania becomes apparent as he takes credit for the publisher's alleged refusal to sell the book.

We suggest this account is fictitious. Morals and Dogma has never been printed or published in Chicago.⁽⁸⁰⁾ There is no "secret publishing house" for Masonry. Morals and Dogma originally was published for only thirty-second degree Masons, but it is widely available today from used book dealers and libraries. The Supreme Council 33º, S.J., sells used copies when they can be obtained.

If Rev. Carlson had bothered to check the public libraries near Eden Prairie, Minnesota, the location of his headquarters, he would have discovered the easy availability of Morals and Dogma. In February 1993 there was a loan copy in the West St. Paul libraries and loan and reference copies in the Minneapolis libraries. These copies would have been available to Rev. Carlson through the Metropolitan Library Service Agency. Elsewhere in Minnesota, the public libraries of both Duluth and Winona have loan copies.

A little more research would have revealed dozens of copies of Morals and Dogma in college and university libraries around the country.⁽⁸¹⁾ And for those in Rev. Carlson's congregation who may have difficulty reading, Morals and Dogma is available from Recording for the Blind, Princeton, New Jersey.

Link to Chapter Five: The Reverend James D. Shaw and The Deadly Deception

ENDNOTES

69. Most of the material on Rev. Carlson is quoted from Art deHoyos, The Cloud of Prejudice: A Study in Anti-Masonry (Kila, Mont.: Kessinger Publishing Co., 1992), with the generous permission of the publisher, Bro. Roger Kessinger.

70. Ron Carlson, Freemasonry and the Masonic Lodge, preached by the author, audio cassette (Eden Prairie, Minn.: Christian Ministries International, n.d.), side 1, 4:21. N.B. The times listed are measured from the beginning of the audio and may vary slightly depending on the equipment used.

71. Ron Carlson, side 2, 17:00.

72. Ron Carlson, side 1, 11:24.

73. Ron Carlson, side 1, 11:45.

74. Grand Lodge of Texas, Monitor of the Lodge (Waco, Tex.: Waco Printing Co., 1982), p. 36.

75. Ron Carlson, side 1, 7:00.

76. Ron Carlson, side 1, 8:03.

77. Ron Carlson, side 2, 3:17.

78. Ron Carlson, side 2, 25:57.

79. Ron Carlson, side 2, 34:18.

80. Ray Baker Harris, Bibliography of the Writings of Albert Pike (Washington, D.C.: Supreme Council 33º, 1957), pp. 89­90.

81. Here are just a few of the places where Rev. Carlson could have borrowed the book in September 1993, according to the Online Computer Library Catalog (O.C.L.C.): Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama; University of Alabama; University of Arkansas; University of Arizona; University of Colorado at Denver; Grinnell College, Iowa; Northwestern College, Iowa; Murray State University, Kentucky; University of New Orleans; University of Minnesota, Duluth; Rust College, Mississippi; University of Nebraska, Kearney; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Oral Roberts University; University of Central Oklahoma; Geneva College, Pennsylvania; University of South Carolina; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; University of the South, Tennessee; Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Texas; University of Texas at Austin; University of Texas at Permian Basin; University of Texas at El Paso; University of Utah; Liberty University, Virginia; and West Virginia Wesleyan College.

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