Is Dan Brown a freemason?

In Público, 30.10.2009
Quando António Lopes, director do Museu Maçónico Português, chegou ao fim das 571 páginas de "O Símbolo Perdido", o novo romance de Dan Brown, sentiu que estava "muito bem feito" do ponto de vista da simbologia maçónica e viu-se perante dois livros. "Se este livro for lido por um maçon, ele consegue compreender as expressões que lá estão e sabe o seu significado. Mas também há um outro livro. Se não soubermos o significado daquelas expressões, lemos uma história completamente diferente", explicou o historiador, anteontem à noite, na apresentação da obra na FNAC Vasco da Gama, em Lisboa, antes de o livro começar a ser vendido (à meia-noite).

Na opinião deste membro do Grande Oriente Lusitano, se cada frase deste romance for devidamente "digerida e reflectida", é possível aprender muito sobre maçonaria. O autor demonstra conhecer muito bem os rituais, o que não significa que seja maçon. "Provavelmente não é", disse António Lopes, acrescentando que em alfarrabistas e em bibliotecas se encontram descrições de grande parte destes rituais: não são segredo.

"Por tradição, a maçonaria não identifica os seus membros vivos, a não ser que o próprio aceite divulgar o seu nome. Se Dan Brown disse que não é maçon, pode ser ou pode não ser. Se ele disse que sim, de certeza que não o é.

"O escritor norte-americano não publicava um romance desde 2003, altura em que lançou "O Código Da Vinci", e os tempos que antecederam a publicação do novo livro foram de grande expectativa para os maçons. José Manuel Anes, que foi grão-mestre da Grande Loja Legal Regular de Portugal entre 2001 e 2004 e também participou no debate, lembrou a tensão que se sentia nos grupos de discussão maçónicos na Internet. "O que virá dali?" era a pergunta mais colocada a propósito do romance. Mas no dia a seguir ao lançamento internacional do último livro, a 15 de Setembro, os maçons respiraram de alívio. Várias pessoas comentavam que o romance era óptimo, era propaganda à maçonaria, era magnífico. Um "contentamento generalizado" notou-se nesses fóruns, conta José Manuel Anes, que considera ser este o livro mais interessante de Dan Brown e até o mais bem escrito. Como aborda a maçonaria americana, fala da história da América e dos seus fundadores. "São indissociáveis. Nesse sentido, este livro é como disse a revista Time: uma ode à América."

Para os especialistas portugueses, em "O Símbolo Perdido" perpassa a ideia da questão dos valores da maçonaria. "A maçonaria, de que o autor fala e existe, é uma organização de homens livres que se reúnem para discutir tudo", explica António Lopes, para quem a honra e a palavra são aspectos destacados ao longo da história contada por Dan Brown. Também por lá passa a ideia de que não basta ser-se iniciado para se aceder ao conhecimento. "O livro fala muito da questão da sabedoria, do conhecimento e da sua partilha. Há uma frase lapidar no livro que diz que "a ignorância é o que ajuda o caos a crescer". Fez-me lembrar a frase de um amigo meu maçon açoriano, já falecido, que dizia: quem não partilha o conhecimento nunca deixará de ser medíocre."

Outra questão ali abordada é a de que os antigos tinham conhecimento e de que num maçon há a constante procura da sabedoria. "O livro leva-nos também a considerar a tolerância, o respeito pelo outro." António Lopes discorda, no entanto, da ideia que o livro dá, de um certo secretismo da maçonaria e da afirmação de que os membros do 33.º grau são raros. "Não são poucos, nem raros", afirma. "A maçonaria foi secreta enquanto era ilegal. Quer durante o Estado Novo, quer durante alguns regimes políticos da Europa. Não é simpático para um ditador que haja um grupo de pessoas que se reúna para discutir. Aí, sim, era ilegal, era secreta." Agora já não é. A Lisboa falta Dan Brown.

"O Símbolo Perdido" tem como cenário a cidade norte-americana de Washington D.C. e o simbologista de Harvard, Robert Langdon, personagem dos últimos livros do escritor, tem doze horas para salvar o seu mentor Peter Solomon, um eminente maçon e filantropo que é brutalmente raptado. Langdon vai ter de andar por templos e túneis onde se escondem segredos e revelações da maçonaria. Para aqueles que lêem o livro e pensam que "estas coisas dos mapas e dos edifícios simbólicos" só existem em Washington, António Lopes explica que não são exclusividade norte-americana. "Em Portugal temos a Quinta da Regaleira, o Palácio do Marquês de Pombal, em Oeiras, a Cervejaria Trindade, em Lisboa, que está repleta de simbologia maçónica; a Praça do Comércio, bairros operários, como o Estrela de Ouro, em Lisboa, etc." Para fazer em Lisboa um livro muito semelhante, "bastaria, para isso, a arte e o engenho de um escritor como o Dan Brown".

O romance chega às livrarias portuguesas um mês e 15 dias depois ter sido publicado em língua inglesa. No debate os especialistas elogiaram esta tradução. Não foi fácil. Quatro pessoas estiveram a traduzir o romance em simultâneo, depois a editora Bertrand fez uma primeira revisão para unificar os critérios. Seguiu-se outra e por fim um especialista fez a terceira revisão técnica para o livro estar coerente com a terminologia maçónica. "Foi um grande desafio editorial", explicou o editor da Bertrand, Eduardo Boavida. "Foi feito com este timing porque achámos que tínhamos de minimizar o tempo entre a publicação em inglês e a nossa. Somos o quinto país a editar o livro e a Espanha também está a lançá-lo hoje [ontem]. Foi lançado na Alemanha, na Itália e na Noruega." Ontem, à hora do fecho desta edição, ainda não havia números de vendas disponíveis.

Looking the explain the symbolism behind "The Lost Symbol" novel

The writer and journalist Pedro Pablo Garcia May has just published "The Keys of the Lost Command," a study that explains and supplements the substantive items of the latest novel by U.S. author Dan Brown.

"All symbols and all mysteries can be explained and understood, insofar as one is able to observe from the right angle," said Garcia May, an expert on mythology and symbolism and author of more than a dozen essays.

The journalist was among the first people who had the opportunity to read the book in Spain to analyze Brown's original, though that is not necessary to have read the text of the American author to enjoy "The Lost Keys Symbol" published by Metro.

Dan Brown's novel, which was released in Spanish last day 29 with a record circulation of a million and half copies, restores the character of the university professor Robert Langdon, who went to Washington to deliver a lecture and is involved in a plot that reveals the great influence of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States and its existing management.

"In Spain, many people tend to take a joke of this brotherhood through the continual accusation of Judeo-Masonic conspiracies," says Garcia May, "but without their influence is impossible to understand our contemporary world; it is enough to recall the large number of Masons who were behind the launch of the original draft of the European Union”.

"The Keys of Symbol Lost" describes the origins and symbols of the Freemasons and Freemasonry, which according to the author, "are often confused, though not exactly the same", and other current secrecy and mystery as the Kabbalah, of which this organization had many influences.

After thoroughly analyzing the Masonic symbolism in the U.S., the author includes a reference to the Masonic clues that can be found even today in architecture and sculpture in Madrid and Barcelona.

"We live surrounded by symbols, we prefer to ignore or interpret because we do not know because we fear it and embrace the power they have over us in our daily lives, "said the journalist, who works at the agency Efe.

Garcia May believes, however, that "despite our technological development, man is still as superstitious and easily manipulated in times of Sumerians.

"One of the characters in Brown's novel says it quite clear: to solve any mystery simply change of perspective, and I would add that we should raise our level of alertness as to what happens to us in everyday life, because everything happens is always a sense, though we are unable to recognize at first sight "he concludes.

Via EFE

Freemasons Hall

Psst, here's the password: Freemasonry giving up some of its secrets

In TwinCities.com
Psst, here's the password: Freemasonry giving up some of its secrets
By Jessica Fleming jfleming@pioneerpress.com


Freemasonry is an ancient fraternity, and just a decade ago, its leaders saw their membership getting pretty ancient, too.
But best-selling novels like Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and movies like "National Treasure" are helping to change the group's demographics, local leaders say. And an influx of younger members is blogging, tweeting and linking the organization away from being a "secret" society.
"It's more like we choose to keep some things private," Minnesota's Masonic Grand Master Thomas McCarthy said.
In Farmington, Corinthian Lodge No. 76 recently opened its doors to the community to show off the newly redone hardwood floors and refurbished kitchen in its Craftsman-style building. In the past, the group probably would have been reluctant to invite the public inside, lodge Master Paul Hardt said.
But shedding the secrecy of the fraternity is something the Farmington lodge is embracing.
Its senior warden — "kind of like the vice president" — is Nick Johnson, a 27-year-old lawyer who blogs about Freemasonry, also known as Masonry, at millennialfreemason.com.
Johnson discovered a few years ago that both of his grandfathers were Freemasons, and after some research, he decided to join the fraternity.
His father joined shortly thereafter, and both are members of the Farmington lodge. In his blog, Johnson discusses the role of Freemasonry in his life, but also tries to dispel common misconceptions about the group.
Hardt said Masons take a vow not to talk about their rituals and symbols, but in the Internet age, keeping things a true secret is impossible.
"Google it," Hardt said. "You can find the exact rituals we do."
Johnson said social networking sites and online forums have been useful in his leadership role in the lodge.
"The Internet has changed Freemasonry into an exchange of ideas; it has opened it up so lodges can talk to each other, and it makes researching much easier," Johnson said.

AN ANCIENT ORDER
History and research are important parts of the all-male society, which arose from stonemason guilds in the Middle Ages, scholars say. At the time, legend has it, Masons were mystical men who carved huge stones from quarries and raised them into the air to construct soaring cathedral walls that defied gravity.
Masons knew the science of geometry enough to turn a small drawing into a massive structure, and that knowledge was a fiercely guarded trade secret.
The Masons developed passwords and secret handshakes to identify each other.
They also performed rituals when a man transitioned from apprentice to mason and, later, to master mason.
The organization kept many of the ancient rituals, symbols and handshakes, but over time evolved into a fraternity emphasizing personal study, self-improvement and social betterment.
Freemasonry was popular in colonial America — George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were Masons.
Although women are not allowed to be Freemasons, in the mid-1800s, an associated society, called the Order of the Eastern Star, was created for women interested in Masonry. Though any man can petition to be a Mason, a woman must have a familial connection to a Freemason in order to join the Eastern Star.
Masonry reached its pinnacle of membership in the late 1950s with more than 4 million members. Currently, fewer than 1.5 million men in the United States are Freemasons. In Minnesota, 15,700 men are Freemasons — also commonly referred to as Masons.
"The numbers are still going down, but at a lower rate than they had been," said McCarthy, the lodge master.
"The Greatest Generation, when they came home from (World War II), they joined everything," he said. "Baby boomers just didn't join things. For so long, we were losing more members to death than we were gaining."

A RENAISSANCE
That's turning around with Generation X and Millennial men, who are once again seeking to belong to a group.
"We have new members that are 18 to 20 years old," McCarthy said.
Another way Masons embrace the Information Age — and perhaps make younger members feel comfortable — is by handing each new member a copy of "Freemasons for Dummies," which offers an overview of Freemasonry, its history and its rituals.
"It's a great book," Hardt said.
One tenet of Freemasonry holds that the group not be allowed to recruit new members — interested men must contact the organization.
An Internet presence allows potential members to research the group and decide if it is something they are interested in.
And with the popularity of books such as "The Lost Symbol," whose fictionalized plot revolves around Freemasonry and its symbolism, the public is interested.
Opening up to the outside is not really built into the organization, though, and some older members are leery of the group's Internet presence, McCarthy said.
"We, like many organizations, are finding the old guys have a hard time letting go," McCarthy said. "Change is hard for everybody."
Farmington's lodge, an unassuming brick building in the city's old-fashioned downtown, was built in 1917.
The average passer-by wouldn't know it's a lodge — a red door to the upstairs meeting hall is nestled between two storefronts, one a salon and the other a martial arts school.
The lodge was built that way to keep it low key, but also to provide a revenue stream, Hardt said.
Look closer, though, and the square and compass symbols on the door's handle and the pediment above it become apparent.
The letter "G" in the center of the square and compass symbol stands for God and geometry — representing the spiritual and scientific emphasis of Masonry.
Masonry is a spiritual journey, Hardt said, but as long as a member believes in a higher power, he is welcome.
"We have Christians, Buddhists, Muslims," Hardt said. "We are one of the only organizations where people of different faiths can meet on common ground and not worry about being discriminated against."
Members are not allowed to talk about religion or politics, and that's part of what has kept Johnson — who was initially attracted to the society's mysterious history — coming back to the lodge.
"I'm friends with guys I would have never met otherwise," said Johnson. "I'm not a member of their religion or don't vote the same way they do."
Just as younger people are searching for a place to belong, they are also seeking the intangible, Hardt said.
"I think a lot of people today are looking for answers," he said. "They're looking for spiritual growth. I think Freemasonry can be part of the answer. We do not see it as a religion, though."
Throughout history, Freemasonry, because of its secretive symbols and rituals, has been looked upon warily by some religions, including the Roman Catholic faith.
The Catholic Church still bans its members from being Masons, but thousands of Roman Catholic men belong anyway.
The church objects to the fraternity's solemn oaths and secrecy, and has said that it considers Freemasonry a rival religion.
But Masons, McCarthy and Hardt say, are mostly about the betterment of the individual and the charity work they do, which should make them compatible with religions.
"We are not a replacement for church," Hardt said. "We are supplemental."
About 150 men are members of the Farmington lodge, Hardt said, but many of them no longer live in the area. An average of 15 men attend each lodge meeting, but Hardt would prefer that number to be closer to 25.
So he embraces Johnson's blog and Twitter feed, and even the Internet presence of Freemasonry critics.
"Some of our best recruiters are anti-Masonic Web sites," Hardt said. "They demystify things for people."

A struggling Lodge

Often we question ourselves what is the reason to get together in a Lodge meeting, what is the purpose to assist to a sometimes boring ritual and lack the essential that brought freemasonry together: a place of reflection, of betterment for men of different backgrounds and allegiances. Ritualism is not an end in itself just a pathway to truth and brotherhood.
In our sister blog The Lodge Room some of these questions are decisively met.

Going in circles? "If we examine where Freemasonry... is at the moment, to put it bluntly, we are engaged in initiating ever more men into the craft and conferring second and third degrees on them, so that they shall in their turn confer more degrees to a new lot and be Appointed To Offices on to the Masters Chair. To what end? Is it too much to ask 'what advancement'?"
-Julian Rees PGM"What will keep them? More mindless, boring meetings? Only good will and respect keeps many brothers from walking out and it is often not enough to keep them coming back. Lodge meetings are essentially ritualized business meetings but too often there is little business being accomplished. The Master of the Lodge opens and closes in Long Form because without that tedious recital nothing would occur. This is Freemasonry in name only." - James Garland PGMA struggling Lodge is an opportunity and a rare one when there is leadership available.
When a Lodge is pared down of excess it is an opportunity to bring in best practices and to look for a new path with new blood while giving committed brothers the chance help set things aright. Far too many lodges just fold up their tent or consolidate with another struggling lodge only for that lodge to do the same in another five or ten years.
Many potentially good or worthwhile members are likely to see the handwriting on the wall and get out. The answers for a lodge's problems are most often to be found internally not externally. -George Brat, PGM