(Firstly I appologise if this repeats any threads content - I did have a flick through the    topics in this section to see if there was a thread containing this subject, but couldn't find any..so appologies to Mike, Tom etc if I am wrong.)

I have just picked up The Hiram Key and Turning the Hiram Key at my local Waterstone's, started reading through Turning the Hiram Key last night, I found it's first three chapters very moving..Certainly coming from a perspective of knowing virtually nothing of Masonry a few months ago, the more that I learn the more I see a fantastic intricate beauty in it's teachings.

I am looking forward to being able to call all here brothers when I am initiated <hopefully> later this year.

All the Best

Chris

The Hiram Key, by Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas, ISBN 0 7126 8579 0 published 1996, 384 inc. Index & Appendices. Cost £can’t remember.

Both of the authors were Freemasons although they don’t mention their lodges, it was funny reading this book again as it reminded me that I had come to the conclusion that they probably weren’t first time around. This was due, in part, to their amazing claim to have only heard of the Royal Arch whilst researching the book, this in spite of the fact that they had both been masons for 10 and 20 years respectively. This was their first book in this vein.

If not taken seriously, this book is a fantastic read. It succeeds in demonstrating that the founders of Freemasonry, did indeed weave into it elements of ancient practises, unfortunately the authors try to claim this as proof and as some form of a “concrete” line of descent.

The part dealing with the basis of the Craft Degrees being based on an ancient Egyptian “King Making Rite” element is very interesting (although it is difficult to see where the evidence ends and the speculation begins). However, it seems strange (to me at least) that if this was such an “earth shatteringly” important ritual that anyone would change the names and places then just forget all about it.

The book seems to take on a pretty “anti Christianity” flavour during the Chapters dealing with the life and times of Christ and the Jerusalem Church. However, I am sure that it is unintentional, especially it is only based on the Authors’ speculation as to what happened in those times. Again these parts of the book are very interesting but as ever are very speculative, I personally doubt that Jesus was a Freemason. I also  remember reading this book and thinking that the Qumran/Nag Hammadi  Scrolls must all be intact, so I went and bought a book about them. Unfortunately that book told me that most of them are in fragments, rarely more than a 1 or 2 Centimetres in size and that they are on the whole pretty unreadable.

It is very important to read this book carefully, as the authors have the terrible habit of throwing in some fantastic speculation then later in the book referring to it as if it has now become accepted fact. The book seems to be an attempt to find things that could possibly be retrospectively labelled as “masonic” then do so, along with overlaying masonic imports on things that are totally unrelated.

The Chapters dealing with the Sinclairs and Rosslyn Chapel are definitely the best chapters in the book. However, their conclusions are generally pretty fantastic and it is somewhat surprising to note that the catacombs of Rosslyn Chapel have still not been excavated 8 years after the book, although I suspect that its visitor figures have increased considerably.

My Overall Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: Medium difficulty to read but packed full of interesting history, clearly illustrating the basis of the authors’ speculations. The book is a great read but falls over when it tries to claim a definite basis for Freemasonry and its Ritual in a little heard of Egyptian King called Sequenenre Tao.

The Second Messiah, by Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas, ISBN 0 7126 7719 4 published 1997, 254 pages inc. Index & Appendices. Cost £16.99.

Both of the authors are Freemasons, I’ve checked as their lack of awareness about Appendant Orders” is more usual in anti-masonic writers and gave me concern about their “bona fides”. Once again it was funny re-reading this book that I had read avidly at publication then consigned to the dusty bookshelf and I had forgotten just how far-out some of their claims actually were.

The central theme of the book is that Jaques de Molay was in fact the “second coming” of The Messiah. However, this is not in the sense of “The Son of God” but as the leader of an underground movement that had existed at the time of the destruction, by the Romans, of King Solomon’s Temple. This organisation had its roots in the Ancient Egyptian world and had become the group well known as the Essenes. The story goes that the surviving Essenes had hidden their treasures and secrets under KST then dispersed over the face of the World to form the Rex Deus or Kings of God (an hypothesis presented on the say-so of a man who allegedly told one of their fellows and was never heard of again). It goes on to say that the original founding Knights Templars were in fact Rex Deus members and retrieved the goodies. As usual the Knights Templar then transformed into Freemasonry etc etc. Of course it touches on tons more than this.

As with the Hiram Key, if not taken seriously, this is an excellent read. It brought to light to me the fact that the Shroud of Turin had been Carbon 14 dated and found to have been created in the 14^th century by means unknown. The hypothesis is that the torture of de Molay may have created it. I’ll say that I have no problem with that personally.

One bad point about the book is that the authors continued the habit of referring to their earlier speculations as accepted fact this is accentuated by the fact that they also quote their previous book. The book generally follows the same pattern as the Hiram Key.

My Overall Rating: 6/10

Conclusion: Medium difficulty to read but packed full of interesting history, clearly illustrating the basis of the authors’ speculations. The book is a great read but falls over when it tries to claim a definite basis for Freemasonry and its Ritual in the Sons of Zadok, the Essenes and the Knights Templar.

As far as the content goes. These books are rubbish and should be discarded.

I was going to put something more delicate than that but there you go, They offended me.

To contrast with these books I could refer to a volume used by many Brethren myself included, "The Freemasons' Guide and Compendium" by Bernard E Jones. Now this is a first class TEXT BOOK and I often refer to it myself and have learned much from it. However it is hardly going to have the reader gripping the edge of their seat, it is not in the "I couldn't put it down" category of literature. Much of the academic works on Freemasonry are as dry as dust and not likely to maintain the interest of the non-scholar.

People have asked my opinion on Knight and Lomas books and I have replied, go ahead, read them and form your own conclusion. I often wonder if some of the disdain shown towards them is because they question the Official Party Line and are looked upon as Heretical?