Saturday, October 23, 2004
TRADITIONALISM AND THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY
Defining "Traditionalism" can be difficult since in its current incarnation, it includes many different religions. The list offered by "The Crisis of the modern World, the New World Order and Kali Yuga" website that I linked in a blog below does not include Freemasonry as a category, but Freemasonry does subscribe to the Perennial Philosophy. Leon Zeldis offers this recommendation in his website article titled "Esotericism & Freemasonry":
Three books are recommended to begin the study: The Kybalion by Three Initiates, a small book that contains an excellent introduction to Hermetism; Mystic Initiations by Mircea Eliade, that contains a wealth of information on initiation ceremonies in various times and places; and The Perennial Philosophy of Aldous Huxley, a panoramic view of Esotericism.
Zeldis has written for the journal of Ars Quatuor Coronati, the premier Masonic research lodge.
In an article titled "The Lost Sacred Feminine of Freemasonry" by Wayne M. Chiapperini 32 deg., posted on the website of "American Mason," a Masonic webzine, he writes:
Aldous Huxley expounds on this idea that there are basic and root truths which have been a part of humanity’s thoughts since the beginning of consciousness. He calls these the Philosophia Perennis...
He notes that rudiments of the Perennial Philosophy may be found among the lore of primitive peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions. From the beginning, humanity has assigned symbolism to the Perennial Philosophies (which has also come to be identified to us as the Mysteries), for symbolism is a form of identification which can be applied to anything that serves as an outward sign of something else, usually spiritual or immaterial.
In the website of The Cornerstone Society, a Masonic group, an article by W. Kirk MacNulty titled "A Philosophical Background for Masonic Symbolism" states:
This idea of "interior work", of turning within and seeking to experience the presence of an indwelling Deity, is as old as human civilization. It recurs periodically throughout the world’s history in various cultural idioms and has been referred to as "the perennial philosophy". I will suggest that the Masonic symbolism, as represented on the Tracing Boards, reflects these principles and the Hermetic / Kabbalistic idiom from which they are derived. It is in that sense that I suggest Freemasonry to be a codification of the philosophical essence of the Renaissance.
The Perennial Philosophy, in other words, is the heart of any and all religions; and it is the ultimate source of syncretism. If all religions contain basically the same core teachings, all religions are equally valid, and are merely different expressions of the ultimate truth. This is the teaching of Albert Pike in Morals and Dogma.
This appears to be the book that fathered the concept of "perennialism."
Thirty-third degree Mason Manly P. Hall spoke of the "ageless wisdom" in his lecture on ancient philosophy titled "Rosicrucian and Masonic Origins":
This high priest after an ancient order must realize that those before him are not merely a gathering of properly tested men, but the custodians of an eternal lore, the guardians of a sacred truth, the perpetuators of an ageless wisdom, the consecrated servants of a living God, the wardens of a Supreme Mystery.
"The Ancient Wisdom" is the title of a paper on metaphysics at the Cornerstone Society website. (Notice while you're in there that there are several papers by Michael Baigent, author of the magazine "Freemasonry Today" and co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail from which Dan Brown fashioned The Da Vinci Code.
This concept of "Ancient Wisdom" and "Perennial Philosophy" has not appeared in Catholic theology historically (however, the "Ancient of Days" is a recognized name for God the Father taken from Judaism).
This website equates "ancient wisdom" with "perennial philosophy," suggesting that this is the "modern thought." (Notice that the author is New Ager Stanislav Grof, and that this is a homeschooling website.)
Catholicism historically has condemned Freemasonry. Numerous popes starting in 1738, 21 years after the founding of the Craft, have spoken out against it. The Church today opposes New Age beliefs. Yet ironically, the latest issue of AMDG which exposes the heretical activities in the Los Angeles Diocese presents the following quote taken from the 2001 diocesan Religious Education Conference. In a talk given by Megan McKenna (who appears on Our Lady's Warriors Dissenting Authors and Speakers list):
As members of the audience shouted out their various feelings in one or two words, McKenna elaborated on their feelings, expressing such thoughts as this in response to the answer, "It tells us ancient wisdom": "First woman wrote the laws....Again, matriarchal cultures - you know - they're the ones who have real laws...they're the ones in touch, they're the ones who can articulate...all major native writers are women...women articulate the basic core of the ground we stand on...."
McKenna is discussing a myth she claims is a Navajo story, and asking her audience to react to it by expressing the feelings it engenders.
Freemasonry will be quite at home with this new concept of Traditionalism that is emerging, since it is simply a new label for Freemasonry. Will Catholicism also fit in? To do so, essential changes must be made in our understanding of who Christ was and what the nature of the Catholic faith has been and is. It must become a new religion if it is to join forces with this movement of Traditionalism. Are we prepared to go there? Is this what the Pope is leading us to with his ecumenical programs? Is the long history of opposition to Freemasonry to be brought to a close?
Returning to the list of Traditional websites, I notice that a number of those listed are Catholic. This website is one of them. Does it get any more traditionally Catholic than this website? Not really. This is another linked site which is ultra Catholic. As is this one. What do any of these Catholic websites have to do with New Ager Stanislav Grof and Freemasonry? Yet they are being presented to us as though they share the same perennial wisdom as the esoteric websites.
Most important of all, where does Christ, the sole and only begotten Son of God, the source of salvation of the world, fit into perennial philosophy as presented by Freemasonry?
