Post by plumbob on Mar 14, 2009 22:58:55 GMT -6
What are your impressions of this story which appeared in the Courier on 2/13/09. One of the reasons the brethren of Cedar Falls created our websitewww.blackhawklodge65.org was to educate the general public and dispel conspiracy theories. Has this article helped?- plumbob
Friday the 13th: Cross your fingers today if you're superstitious
By JOHN MOLSEED, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- For some people the scariest part of the news today will be the date.
A combination of superstition, tradition and cherry-picked historical events have given Friday the 13th a reputation as an unlucky day.
Whether people take the superstition to heart, one theory links its origin to members of an international fraternal group --- the Freemasons.
On Friday, Oct. 13, 1307, the king of France, Philip IV, ordered the mass arrest of the legendary Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were a military order charged with protecting Christians making pilgrimages to the Holy Land during the Crusades. The order is credited with setting up the first international banking system, which allowed the group to amass land and wealth. Dreams of possessing that wealth are likely what prompted Philip to break up the order, said Ken Anderson, a member of the Martin Masonic Lodge in Waterloo.
"That is believed by many to be the origin of the superstition," Anderson said. "From there it's a very, very tenuous historical connection to get to the Freemasons today."
Legend links the order to the original Knights Templar. The novel "The Da Vinci Code" added to the myth.
Being one of the older Christian fraternal groups, the Masons are the subject of numerous rumors, myths and conspiracies --- including the link to the Knights Templar.
The Masons are variously credited with everything from controlling governments to picking the Oscars.
"Those are good stories, but there's hardly any truth to that," Anderson said.
The recorded charters and hierarchies of the Masons date back to 1717. That long --- and incomplete --- history may help fuel the rumors.
"How old it is, there again we don't have a lot of good evidence," Anderson said.
At the Waterloo Masonic temple at East Park Avenue and Mulberry Street, that history is on display, from a painting of George Washington with his Masonic symbols to photographs of past lodge leaders.
Replica swords and ancient builders' tools are used in ceremonies at Lodge meetings on the third floor of the building. People who want to climb the steps higher to find the Masons' secrets would be disappointed.
"Everything above this floor is unfinished," Anderson said. The reason?
"Ran out of money," he said. "So much for running the world."
The ceremonies and the exact meaning of the symbols aren't openly shared and are kept mostly among the Masons. Anderson said that it gives the members a sense of belonging and adds a little mystery about the group in the public eye.
"It distinguishes us from other groups," he said.
Trying to dispel the larger, more sinister conceptions would be futile, he added.
"I don't think you can set the record straight on those, he said. "They have a life of their own."
The real impact of the superstition is as debatable as its origins. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, N.C. estimates that $800 to $900 million is lost in business in the U.S. on the date. People may be reluctant to make a major purchase or travel because of paraskavedekatriaphobia --- the fear of Friday the 13th.
Locally, such anxiety is hard to find.
"I book a couple people on trips last week for Friday the 13th," said Maureen Payton, a travel agent at the Travel Store in Waterloo.
"I think price comes before superstition," she added.
Latching onto the number 13 as unlucky is a cultural perception, said University of Northern Iowa Psychology Professor Carolyn Hildebrandt. People who may believe bad things happen on Friday the 13th may only see evidence that supports the belief, she said.
"People just focus on the positive evidence."
While the superstition is well-known, it's acceptance doesn't seem as broad, she added.
Friday the 13th: Cross your fingers today if you're superstitious
By JOHN MOLSEED, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- For some people the scariest part of the news today will be the date.
A combination of superstition, tradition and cherry-picked historical events have given Friday the 13th a reputation as an unlucky day.
Whether people take the superstition to heart, one theory links its origin to members of an international fraternal group --- the Freemasons.
On Friday, Oct. 13, 1307, the king of France, Philip IV, ordered the mass arrest of the legendary Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were a military order charged with protecting Christians making pilgrimages to the Holy Land during the Crusades. The order is credited with setting up the first international banking system, which allowed the group to amass land and wealth. Dreams of possessing that wealth are likely what prompted Philip to break up the order, said Ken Anderson, a member of the Martin Masonic Lodge in Waterloo.
"That is believed by many to be the origin of the superstition," Anderson said. "From there it's a very, very tenuous historical connection to get to the Freemasons today."
Legend links the order to the original Knights Templar. The novel "The Da Vinci Code" added to the myth.
Being one of the older Christian fraternal groups, the Masons are the subject of numerous rumors, myths and conspiracies --- including the link to the Knights Templar.
The Masons are variously credited with everything from controlling governments to picking the Oscars.
"Those are good stories, but there's hardly any truth to that," Anderson said.
The recorded charters and hierarchies of the Masons date back to 1717. That long --- and incomplete --- history may help fuel the rumors.
"How old it is, there again we don't have a lot of good evidence," Anderson said.
At the Waterloo Masonic temple at East Park Avenue and Mulberry Street, that history is on display, from a painting of George Washington with his Masonic symbols to photographs of past lodge leaders.
Replica swords and ancient builders' tools are used in ceremonies at Lodge meetings on the third floor of the building. People who want to climb the steps higher to find the Masons' secrets would be disappointed.
"Everything above this floor is unfinished," Anderson said. The reason?
"Ran out of money," he said. "So much for running the world."
The ceremonies and the exact meaning of the symbols aren't openly shared and are kept mostly among the Masons. Anderson said that it gives the members a sense of belonging and adds a little mystery about the group in the public eye.
"It distinguishes us from other groups," he said.
Trying to dispel the larger, more sinister conceptions would be futile, he added.
"I don't think you can set the record straight on those, he said. "They have a life of their own."
The real impact of the superstition is as debatable as its origins. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, N.C. estimates that $800 to $900 million is lost in business in the U.S. on the date. People may be reluctant to make a major purchase or travel because of paraskavedekatriaphobia --- the fear of Friday the 13th.
Locally, such anxiety is hard to find.
"I book a couple people on trips last week for Friday the 13th," said Maureen Payton, a travel agent at the Travel Store in Waterloo.
"I think price comes before superstition," she added.
Latching onto the number 13 as unlucky is a cultural perception, said University of Northern Iowa Psychology Professor Carolyn Hildebrandt. People who may believe bad things happen on Friday the 13th may only see evidence that supports the belief, she said.
"People just focus on the positive evidence."
While the superstition is well-known, it's acceptance doesn't seem as broad, she added.