Still Running Off at the Keyboard

PUTTING THE BLOG TO SLEEP TEMPORARILY

What with daily trips to the hospital for radiation and some other activities in the real world, I'm getting too far behind, so it's time to take a break. I'm going to stop blogging until the end of the month.

TIMELINE OF THE AUTHENTIC TRADITION

by Jonathan Sellers

Vienna. 1782

Moses Dobruschka (now Franz Thomas von Schoenfeld) moved to Vienna. He was one of the founders of the "Asiatische Brüeder," a masonic lodge with predominantly Jewish members, and formulated its doctrines. -- Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 6, cols. 143-4. This is the same person who was appointed by Jacob Frank as his successor. This would be the same Asiatic Brothers we have been tracking in our research, and given a year or so on either end of 1782, it would appear that this is perhaps one of the most important historical links to the Authentic Tradition we can find. For not only is he said to have been one of its founders, but that he formulated its doctrines. These doctrines eventually found their way, not really to the SRIA, but to later neo-Gnostic groups, such as the French Gnostic succession, to the Adamites described by Theodore Reuss, to the pre-OTO of Kellner, to the OTO of Reuss, to the Golden Dawn itself. The Frankists, be it remembered, were the lineal descendants of the Shabbeteans, who, in turn, were the lineal descendants of the Lurianic School of Kabbalists at Safed in Palestine. And the Lurianic school can be traced back directly to the Spanish Kabbalists, whose origins are to be found in the Iyyun circle in Gerona, which was directly inspired by the Sages of Lunel and Narbonne, typified by Isaac the Blind of Posquiéres, who, in turn, received the Gnosis from his Fathers, who received it directly from an apparition of Elijah on the Day of Atonement, and from the German Hasidim, who got their teachings from (ultimately) Rabbi Abu Aharon ben Samuel ha-Nasi of Baghdad, where the teachings of the Ophites, the Borborites, the Mandaeans, the Batinis of Abdullah ibn Maymun were common currency among the Illuminati (Maskilim) of their day. This is definitely how the Gnosis was perpetuated through the Dark Ages. It only surfaced by accident in the Christian world in those days, and when it did, it was usually inspired by our Jewish and Isma'ili ancestors in the Tradition.

November, London, 1786

November. London. Cagliostro arrives in London, as the "Count Sutkowski," a Polish Nobleman, and and asserts that he hails from a Swedenborgian Secret Society at Avignon which had been formed in Courland in 1779. Cagliostro visited the Swedenborgians at their Theosophical Society meeting in rooms in the Middle Temple and displayed minute acquaintance with their doctrines, whilst claiming a superior knowledge." -- Notes on the Rainsford Papers, in Ars Quatuor Coronati, Vol. XXVI, p. 111.

December 1789:

In l789 another Jewish Swedenborgian named Samuel acted as a liaison between the London society and the illuminist lodge at Avignon, which was accused of "frivolous erotic practices." Nordenskjöld fully supported the efforts of charismatic Masonic emissaries from France—Count Cagliostro, Count Grabianka, and Louis Claude de St. Martin—to radicalize the London Swedenborgians and to promote Kabbalistic theories of spirit communication and conjugal love.

July 4, 1790:

In l790, when Blake asserted in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell that "now is the dominion of Edom," he seemed to draw on Frankist tradition, which was assimilated into certain Jewish-Christian rites of Freemasonry. Scholem notes that among the disciples of Jacob Frank, ...Edom symbolizes the unbridled flow of life which liberates man because its force and power are not subject to any law... It was necessary to abolish and destroy the laws, teachings, and practices which constrict the power of life, but this must be done in secret; ...it was essential outwardly to assume the garb of the corporeal Edom, i.e., Christianity...[but] Jesus of Nazareth was no more than the husk preceding and concealing the fruit, who was Frank himself [the reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi]....

At the same time, Swedenborg became suspicious of the sincerity of Dr. Falk, whose apparent Christian sympathies clothed his private Shabbetean beliefs. Some initiates of Frank's and Falk's inner circles encouraged antinomian sexual practices in the name of holy sinning, while forbidden magical practices were undertaken to hasten the messianic reversal of reality. In his journals, Swedenborg described the sexual rituals and magical practices of certain Jews in London, which both inspired and frightened him....

Initiated Brothers of Asia supposedly dies out. We say it went under cover from this date on, until the O.T.O. But see later on, in the National Mexican Rite -- seeds of the original RC, seeds of the original Illuminati, seeds of the Initiates of Asia, and a potential influence upon the Rites which were responsible for the development of the OTO. Those sceptical of this admission would do well to consult the record. See also F. G. Irwin's Order of X

In 1791

10 December. Offenbach:

With the death of Frank, and the gradual withering away of the families that made up his groups of believers, so died a Tradition which had been preserved for nearly 2,000 years.

In 1794:

5 April. Paris. Scholem: "The man of whom it appears to have been thought for some time, that after Frank's death in 1791 he would become his successor as the leader of the sect [of Frankists] in Offenbach, was sent to the guillotine in 1794, together with Danton, under the name of Junius Frey." -- Major Trends, Lecture 8,7, p. 320, and note 72. Scholem: "Moses, the son of Schoendel Dobruschka, Frank's cousin, who was known in many circles as his nephew, was the outstanding figure in the last generation of the Frankists, being known as Franz Thomas von Schoenfeld (a German writer and organizer of a mystical order of a Jewish Christian kabbalistic character, the "Asiatic Brethren"), and later as Junius Frey (a Jacobin revolutionary in France). Apparently he was offered the leadership of the sect after Frank's death, and, when he refused, Eva, together with her two younger brothers, Josef and Rochus, assumed responsibility for the direction of the court. Many people continued to go up to Offenbach, to 'Gottes Haus' as the 'believers called it" -- Kabbalah, Part II, 3, "Jacob Frank and the Frankists," pp. 304 - 305.

This is an interesting admission. We never find this name anywhere else, in all the works we have gathered for this research. Shabbetai Zevi was inspired, to some extent, by the school of Isaac Luria, which was one of the legitimate descendants of the original Kabbalah, which evolved over many centuries, from the time it reached the Languedoc around 1130 c.e. Jacob Frank, too, was inspired by the Shabbetean movement, and was in fact a successor to it, in Poland. Moses Dobruschka, then, being not only a relative of Frank, but a successor to him, was in an important position in the history of Kabbalah. Not only that, being one of the organizers of the Asiatic Brethren, he is placed into an important position within the Western Esoteric Tradition, for the Asiatic Brethren is what can be considered one of the ancestral traditions behind the Occult Revival in Europe in the 19th Century which brought us the Golden Dawn and the revived Illuminati of Reuss, and the various other Orders and Associations in Europe which existed in the 19th Century and had influences on politics, Left and Right at the same time... If we are to believe that Danton was one of the Illuminati, then probably too was Dobruschka. The name Junius Frey may have been his Order Name, for all we know. It is perhaps a coincidence that this individual dies the same year that Sigismund Bacstrom is initiated by the Comte de Chazal on the island of Mauritius. It is also worth noting that Casanova was in contact with Eva Frank on occult matters.

In the year 1796:

Another self-styled 'guru' of the day -- who had risen meteorically from peasant to king's adviser -- was supported by the Johannites, and they appear to have stage managed certain visions of the Virgin -- such as that of La Salette in the foothills of the Western Alps in 1846. The objects of this group of Johannites were 1.) An attempt to regenerate Catholicism from within. This involved replacing mainstream dogma -- based on the authority of Peter -- with a mystical and esoteric Christianity in the belief that an age was drawing in which the Holy Spirit would be in the ascendant. A feature of this was the elevation of the feminine, in the outward form of the Virgin Mary, but this soon took on a more overtly sexual character and began to seem actively hostile to the Church. The vision of La Salette -- which was condemned by the Church -- was central to this plan. Somehow, John the Baptist's role in these developments was crucial. 2.) The movement was also allied with the attempt to have Naundorff recognized as the legitimate king of France, probably because, it it had succeeded, he would have been favorable to this new form of religion (having already endorsed Vintras). Significantly, Melanie Calvet, the girl who had the vision at La Salette, had herself come out in favor of Naundorff. It is interesting that the Church reacted by shipping her off to a convent in Darlington, in the north-east of England, where she could do no more harm. The combined forces of Church and State prevented the movement's grand plan from being fulfilled, and whatever really happened is now buried under an avalance of scandal and innuendo. But no doubt it is significant that the Church's reaction to this threat was to make the Immaculate Conception of Mary an article of faith in 1854. (This doctrine was to be conveniently endorsed by the Virgin Mary herself when she appeared to the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes some four years later, although tjhe latter at first simply described her vision as 'that thing'.) Prophets such as Martin and Vintras appear to have been 'managed' by the Johannites, rather than actually being part of the sect themselves. Vintras' link with them was his mentor, a certain Madame Bouche, who lived in the Place St. Sulpice in Paris, and went under the name of Sister Salome.

This is a good example of why the Church must bear the responsibility for determining which visionary experiences are authentic.

There is much more in Seller's Timeline. These are just some of the high points for the eighteenth century that show how it is possible for the Shabbatean heresy to have descended through the secret societies and irregular Freemasonry even down to the present day given that the O.T.O. is still in existence.

There is no doubt that spiritualism plays a major role in this belief system, and there is no doubt that it is contrary to the teachings of the Church. This is the best explanation I've seen for the various rites and rituals of irregular Freemasonry and even of the higher degrees in Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

Sellers admits there may be mistakes in his timeline and that it is an ongoing research project. Yet the sheer wealth of details lends it credibility that I don't think can be ignored.

MAKING OUR KIDS PAY FOR OUR MISTAKES

The idea has reached a new low. LifeSite reports:

January 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Hundreds of millions of the nearly $1 trillion price tag on President Obama's economic stimulus bill is expected to go to contraception and the abortion industry.

Last week, during consideration of the congressional Democrats’ spending bill by the House Energy & Commerce Committee, the panel made universal a Clinton-era Medicaid waiver that allowed states to seek federal funding for contraception and abortion. Under the new program, the federal government would match state funding for "family planning" services with $9 for every $1.

House Republicans immediately criticized the move, questioning whether such funding actually helped stimulate the economy or create more jobs.

"How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives – how does that stimulate the economy?" questioned House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH). "You can go through a whole host of issues that have nothing to do with growing jobs in America and helping people keep their jobs.”

House Democrats defended the measure, however, as an indirect means of reducing the burden on state budgets allotted to children's health and education.

Read the rest... in a link provided by NOR, including the role played to the infamous Catholic Nancy Pelosi.

POLISH NATIONAL CHURCH MAY BUY TWO CLOSED CATHOLIC CHURCHES

More than a century ago, Catholic communities of Polish-Americans around the country, including Buffalo, broke with the Roman Catholic Church in disputes over property and lay governance.

Now, two recently closed Roman Catholic churches are being considered for use as worship sites by the Polish National Catholic Church, a denomination established in 1897 as a result of the split.

Some of the vacant churches’ former parishioners — many of whom objected to the closings — are expected to be among those in the pews again.

Read the rest...

TIMELINE OF THE AUTHENTIC TRADITION

by Jonathan Sellers

From the year 1769:

In Conjugial Love, Swedenborg's experience seemed to merge Yogic with Kabbalistic practice.

Also in Conjugial Love, Swedenborg described a secret mystical society, in which "spirits from Asia" teach inititiates how to meditate on emblems of love"works of art and some small images as though cast in silver" that represent "the many qualities, attributes, and delights which belong to conjugial love."

Under the year 1771:

(At this time, we are still dealing with the history of the Frankists, and survivors of the Shabbeteans)... The schools of this area not only taught traditional sacred texts such as the Torah, Talmud and Zohar, but also more esoteric themes of the Kabbalah. This means the Frankist Kabbalah....

In the year 1772:

August. Czestochowa. When Czestochowa was captured by the Russians in August 1772, after the first partition of Poland, Frank was freed by the commander in chief and left the town early the next year, going with his daughter to Warsaw.

In the year 1773:

March. Warsaw. From Warsaw, Frank and 18 of his associates disguised as the servants of a wealthy merchant to Bruenn (Brno) in Moravia, to the home of his cousin Schoendel Dobruschka, the wife of a rich and influential Jew. Frank remained in Bruenn until 1786, obtaining the protection of the authorities, both as a respected man of means with many connections, and also as a man pledged to work for the propagation of Christianity among his numerous associates in the communities of Moravia. He established a semi-military regime in his retinue, where the men wore military uniform and went through a set training. Frank's court attracted many Shabbeteans in Moravia, whose families preserved for generations the swords that they wore while arriving at his court.

In the year 1775:

March. Vienna. Frank went with his daughter to Vienna and was received in audience by the Empress and her son, later Joseph II. Some say that Frank promised the empress the assistance of his followers in a campaign to conquer parts of Turkey, and over a period of time several Frankist emissaries were sent to Turkey, working with the Doenmeh, and perhaps as political agents or spies in the service of the Austrian government. During this period Frank spoke a great deal about a general revolution which would overthrow kingdoms, and the Catholic Church, in particular, and he also dreamed of the conquest of some territory in the wars at the end of time which would be the Frankist dominion. For this, military training would be a deliberate preparation. Where Frank obtained the money for the upkeep of his court was a constant source of wonder and speculation and the matter was never resolved. Stories circulated about barrels of gold sent, some said, by his followers, while others claimed it was from his foreign employers. At one period there were in Bruenn, several hundred sectarians who followed no profession or trade and whose sole and absolute master was Frank, who ruled with a rod of iron..

Martinist Order created, by St. Martin. He reformed the Elus Cohens. Mackey says that Lodges opened in Paris, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Toulouse. The Devotees of Martinez Paschalis, the founder, were called Martinistes. Partly Hermetic, partly Sweden-borgian; based partly on Qabalah and Hermetica. Nine Degree System. St Martin's first published work also appears this year. Des Erreurs et de la verité which is used by the Philalethes and recommended by the Initiated Knights and Brothers of Asia.

Under 1780:

...the leaders of the Rit Primitif would appear to have been law-abiding and loyal gentlemen devoted to the Catholic religion, yet in their passion for new forms of Masonry and thirst for occult lore ready to associate themselves with every kind of adventurer and charlatan who might be able to initiate them into further mysteries.

STUDY OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS ANNOUNCED

The Vatican has begun a first-ever comprehensive study of women's religious orders in the United States, four decades into a steep decline in the number of Roman Catholic sisters and nuns in the country.

The study, ordered by a Vatican congregation in December and announced Friday in Washington, will examine "the quality of the life" of 59,000 members in more than 400 Catholic women's religious institutes, said Sister Eva-Maria Ackerman, a spokeswoman for the study, which is called an apostolic visitation.

"The study is really to encourage the communities, to strengthen them, to help them grow in their vitality," she said, adding that "women's religious communities have played such a significant part in building up the church and society in this country."...

In recent years, newly formed traditional orders — whose members dress in habits, show fidelity to Rome and focus on education, health care and social work — have reported growth. More established orders that tend to take more progressive social stances have seen their members' ages and numbers of vocations dwindle.

"The Vatican may be asking the question, 'Why is this happening, and is there something these more traditional orders offer that the more progressive orders can learn from?'" said the Rev. Jim Martin, editor of the Jesuit magazine America.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the nation's largest association of Catholic women religious communities, said it was informed of the study in a bulletin Friday.

The study is expected to be completed in 2011.

Read the whole story...