 |
PHOTO: SARAH MEYSSONNIER / REUTERS |
by Christopher Hodapp
The near-miraculous rebuilding of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral after the horrific fire of 2019 culminated in its internationally celebrated reopening over the weekend, with great fanfare and well-deserved accolades from all corners of the globe.
English language readers, have a look at the Friends of Notre Dame de Paris website for lots of photos and details of the rebuilding and restoration work. And you might consider a donation to the efforts, if you haven't already done so.
And here a couple of stunning restoration shots from the NPR website courtesy of AFP last week.
But I suppose it wouldn't be France, Paris, or a massive, high-visibility construction project if some puerile, bored, knuckle-dragging keyboard troll didn't hurl a couple of pinheaded attempts at alleging a 'Masonic conspiracy' that is clearly HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT!™ regarding the cathedral's reconstruction. The top guffaw-inducing ones I saw over the weekend run the complete comedy spectrum from hee to haw.
viz:
- French President Macron DELIBERATELY made an inverted Masonic pyramid symbol with his fingertips, ALERTING THE ILLUMINATI MASONS!!
- The black and white checkered mosaic floor was ADDED BY FREEMASONS during the reconstruction to deliberately resemble A MASONIC LODGE!!
- A medallion mounted at the apex of the pointed arch near the entrance shows some unidentified figure surrounded by MASONIC STARS!!
(You'll note the double exclamation points to emphasize the Earth-shattering nature of these breathless revelations. Doubtless the Earth shattered at least a smidgin while you were reading them. I plumb reckon.)
When it gets to the point of the France24 English-language news service feeling the need to explain and debunk such idiocy (video below), surely you must realize you've hit the bottom of the barrel with these kinds of absurdities. Interestingly, they are alleging the source to be a well-known Russia-based peddler of online propaganda, mischief and other assorted hogwash in the conspiracy-monger realm.
Of course, the great cathedral has been around since the 15th century and has had quite literally thousands of operative stone masons working on it over the centuries. Their handiwork and craftsmanship can be seen in every square inch of this incredible temple of faith. It was the art, the beauty, the architecture, the engineering, and the symbolism of this and so many other medieval churches that inspired 17th and 18th century Enlightenment thinkers to adapt the tools, terminology and symbolism of those ancient stone masons and the temples they created into a new kind of fraternal organization in the first place. A fraternity that seeks to create temples in the hearts of men, exhorting them to make their own bodies, hearts and minds into more perfect edifices that are suitable for the proper worship and presence of God. And in turn, making the world a better place to live in, however momentarily that might be for all of us.
If you want to believe that's conspiratorial, that's your choice.
We rather like it as a philosophy.
I have been to Paris twice, and seen the covered up Notre Dame each time. The first time was in June 2019, weeks after the fire. The second time was this past September. I hope one day to see the interior of that majestic building.
ReplyDeleteBeing that Freemasonry takes its allegories from the building of King Solomon’s Temple, it is no coincidence that some of its symbology will also be found in Abrahamic houses of worship. Freemasonry borrowed from the churches, not the other way around.
I like that a conspiracy theorist believes that Macron is a Freemason. The world would be a much better place, if most of our leaders were Freemasons.
Bob Plank PM
Indiana, US