Deciphering a Lie:
Breaking Apart the Infamous James Chick "Baphomet" Tract
D. David Will, Jr.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be alway acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.  Psalm xix. 14, 15.

Much of the Anti-Masonic literature stems from ouright lies about Masonry, associations that people have made between us and satanism, witchcraft, and other forms of devilry. It pains me, friends and brothers, to see that material such as the following has propagated. Rather than to simply wave a fist and shout at the slanderous acusations made against the bretheren, I've decided to address the Chick tract outright, one panel at a time, and show why not only is are the accusations made against Masonry slanderous, they also border on blasphemy.

Note that these are the people who also attack Catholicism and try to say that Catholics aren't really Christians either. As a devout Christian, this truly bothers me, because what more would the Enemy want than to divide God's Church? James Chick is more one of the more divisive writers. In one of their other tracts, Chick Publications tries to assert that the IHS on Catholic Communion wafers, as well as on banenrs and altars in Protestant traditions, represents the Egyptian gods Isis, Horus, and Seb. How could anyone say such a horrible thing? These letters represent Iesus, Hominem Salvator, or "Jesus, Savior of Men."

Below is the Chick tract "The Curse of Baphoment," a particularly vitriolic tract that makes a wide variety of slanderous accusations against Masons and Masonry. I have dissected this tract once panel at a time in response to the accusations.

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	Okay, just a general introduction to this tract. Chick Publications, the author of this tract, also puts out anti-Catholic literature, denouncing Catholics as not being Christians either. Looks like Masons are in good company then. Our story starts with a family who finds out that their child has been shot, and is in intensive care. Begin the scare tactics...
	They set up the reason for the tract quickly by jumping into the fact that their son has attempted suicide, and has barely made it. For some reason, yet undisclosed, "He has no will to live." And, of course, the answer comes next.
	"How could God do this to us?" This defines Chick's extremist theology. Our Lord and Savior would not do this to us! God doesn't reach his hand down and make an innocent boy attempt suicide as some demented payback! This contradicts God's love as clearly shown in the Bible. Remember that God grants us the Grace to keep our faith strong during tragedy.
	And so it begins. "Witchcraft" They throw in a byword to scare people. Witchcraft is the study and usage of dark magic, expressly forbidden in God's Word. Never will you find witchcraft practiced in a Lodge! The Lodge is governed by the Volume of Sacred Law, the Holy Bible. To say that Masons are "into witchcraft" is slanderous. Masonry is about emphasizing Godly virtue as expressed in the Bible and applying it to our daily work.
	Immediately, the Masonic family gets defensive and mad. This is to make them look as if they already know something is wrong. The only answers that have for Ed are singing hymns and an open Bible? Nevermind that all the ritual comes from scripture, the moral lessons are taught from scripture, and that the stories form the very heart of Masonic Lore follow the building of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem!
	1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (Matthew 2:1-3) The five pointed star did not become associated with devilry until the destruction of the Templars at the hands of King Phillip IV, who falsely accused them of Idolatry.
Prior to that, it was seen as a holy symbol, the five points representing Christ's wounds. Before that, the Jews viewed the Pentagram as a holy talisman, each point representing one of the books of the Pentateuch, the Books of Moses. As far as the clever drawing of a goat's head within the pentagram, with a little work, I could draw a clown's head in that thing too... does that make Bozo of the Devil?
	Hmm... Albert Pike. Where to begin with him. Albert Pike may have been a Masonic scholar, but he was not the end all, tell all on Masonry. To say as a Mason, that Albert Pike is our voice, would be like saying that Pat Robertson is our voice as Christians. Christians do not believe in assassination, and Masons to not believe that Satan is a god. There is one God, and that is our Lord in Heaven, and Jesus Christ is his Son. Never base the beliefs of a group on the writings of one man.
	So, who was Albert Pike? Pike was a Confederate General in the Civil War. He wrote a massive, volumous work that many anti-Masons consider to be a "Masonic Holy-text." It's one of those, "Well, if its in Morals and Dogma, they must believe it!" kind of things. Very few Masons have actually read Morals and Dogma, because it is almost 900 pages long, and a rather boring read. There is no Masonic "religion." Freemasonry is simply a system of morals expressed through ritual, that can be found in the Bible.
And so, the story of the Pike Quote gets even better. Note that the quote is not even attributed to Pike's own writings! In early versions of this tract, Chick did in fact say that Pike wrote it, and it was published in a Masonic publication. When the citation was proven false, however, he had to change it to something else. The text that Chick finally attributes it to is a book that was part of the famous Léo Taxil Hoax, a body of lies against the Lodge that was part of a 12 year prank by Taxil (an Atheist) against not only the Lodge but the Catholic Church as well (For more information, see "The Léo Taxil Hoax," on the main page of this site..
	The symbol of Baphomet? Wrong again. It is a variant of the Papal Cross, which is a form of the Cross of Lorraine. In the Catholic Church, a second bar on the Cross represented Archbishops, while the third bar represented the Papacy. The purpose of the two extra bars on this cross is as a symbol of leadership, as an Inspector General. Note: those who believe the Papal Cross to be of Baphomet are also those who would tell you that the Celtic Knot on the cover of NKJV Bibles are actually a Wiccan 666. Granted, that is a symbol that they have adopted for that purpose, but if they had adopted a cross, would we turns our backs on the Instrument of our Savior's Death and the very symbol of our faith?
	Masonic Light and the Light of Christ are two different things entirely. Light, in Masonic terms, has to do with knowledge. If you aren't privy to certain information, do you not say that you are "in the dark" about it? Are they saying that if you utter the words "I'm in the dark," that means that you are saying that you haven't accepted Christ? Extremism refuses to allow symbolism to have many meanings... only the one that the extremists peg as being "right."
So, what does it mean to be brought from darkness into light? To a Mason, that means that before we walk into the Lodge room, we don't know anything about Masonry, it's rituals, and its purpose. As the initiation goes on, you learn more about what is going on. Each ritual has its rhyme and reason so to speak. Every symbol represents something. You are brought to light because you are no longer "in the dark" about what is going on. Clever, huh? Certainly not the insidious denial of Christ that anti-Masons would lead you to believe. Never once in a Lodge is anyone asked to deny what they believe.
	This one really bothers me. The all-seeing eye is one of the most beautiful and important symbols in Masonry. It is not Osiris. It is a representation of the very Eye of the Lord, Jehovah God, God the Father. To say that God's eye is all-seeing is an understatement! God watches all that we do, and knows our very hearts. He knows our love for Him, and watches over all our work. As for the obelisk... does everything have to be sexual? What kind of pervert sees phalluses in every long object they come across? Are they saying that the Washington Monument is a phallus? How absurd. That is disgusting.
	"Big Lodge in the Sky..." Does that mean that Dale Earnhardt fans really believe that race car drivers get to go to a race track in the sky too? I've seen that on a few cars. Once again, symbolism goes straight over their heads. The "Big Lodge" that they speak of, is Heaven. At no time does Masonry deny Christ's salvation, nor does it say that that being a Mason grants you salvation. Masonry does teach following the Bible as the Volume of Sacred Law. If we follow the Bible, we must follow Christ! As far as the Baphomet reference in the second frame, I think we have covered that well enough, thank you.
	"God will never bless a church led by Masons." Wrong. I was raised in a Baptist Church where almost every deacon in my was a Mason. Now, I attend the Episcopal Church, where our Priest is a Mason. Some of the most Godly Christian men I have ever known were also Masons. Once again, we get scare tactics of demonic attack. Are we really supposed to believe that demons are pouncing all over Tommy because his dad is a Mason?
	Once again, I repeat for the record... Masony is not witchcraft. It is a moral belief system based in Biblical truth that Masons choose to incorporate into their lives. The symbols therein are reminders of those truths. As far as the "legal ground" is concerned... God doesn't just abandon his children to demons. To say that is to place blame on God for the bad things that happen in life, and that is nothing more than an excuse.
As far as the Fez is concerned, a hat is not a shrine! I guess it could be one if the person who owned it believed it was one. I know quite a few shriners, and not a single one has ever prayed to his hat. If you are snickering at the notion of praying to a hat while reading that, think of how hard I'm laughing while writing it! Shriners are a group within Masonry who are dedicated to having a good time together while serving their primary purpose: to help CHILDREN! Children who go to Shriners' Hospitals get free medical care, thanks to the benevolence of a large group of Godly men who choose to be of service to others on earth. "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14 KJV)
	Okay, the scare tactics continue. The Fez actually originated as an adaptation to European influence in Arab states. The hats of fashion in Europe were bowlers, top hats, berets, etc. They never came into fashion because of arab traditions of brimless head attire, because brims kept them from properly kneeling in prayer with their heads to the ground. The first fezzes were in three colors, red white and black. They were not in the modern shape, but looks more like bonnets that turbans could be worn on top of.
Over time, the idea of two hats was probably an inconvenience, because the turban vanished, and the shape of the fez slowly changed into what we have today. Basically the only thing correct in this whole deal is that there is a city in Morocco called Fez.
	Now, they attack the apron! I took great pride in getting my apron, and I shall be buried as a Mason with my apron around my waist when I die. It is not "packed with occult symbols." Actually, the aprons that are worn in lodge are plain white cloth. The symbols which appear on officers' aprons are called "working tools." Each tool comes from the operative stonemasons toolbox, and has its symbolic meaning in Lodge. These symbols have nothing to do with the occult, but rather make allusions to moral values.
Furthermore, at no time is it ever said that a Mason is saved because he wears one! We wear our aprons proudly in Lodge because we choose to live our lives with the innocence of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. White represents purity, and the Lambskin is representative of that innocence. When a Christian, like myself, says that he is washed in the blood of the Lamb, am I saying that I have engaged in some horrific animal mutilation ritual? No, I am saying that I choose to be free from sin and cleansed by Christ's blood and his sacrifice on that cross at Calvary.
	And now, the tract prepares to come to a close with the couple "seeing the error of their ways" and burning anything Masonic that they have in their house. I wonder... did they burn the Bible that he was given when he was raised to Master Mason, too?
	This is one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen! They are saying one of two things here, and both are repulsive. You could either take this to mean that they boy was under some "demonic attack" (see above) beacuse his father is a Mason, or that God is so vengeful that he would personally attack an innocent boy because his father is a Mason. Neither image falls into what we know of Christ. God is LOVE, and we are loved wholeheartedly by the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
To say that either of those were true would be to doubt the loving nature of God. God would never reach out and attack (or allow to be attacked) someone. Why would God, who sacrificed his Son so that we can come to him for redemption and grace start picking us off one by one to prove a point? We are saved because we chose to follow Christ and accept Him, and His sacrifice with our whole heart, not because we have been blackmailed into it.
	The final page of this tract. Masonry never claims to be a religion, a way to God, a way to Heaven, etc. No man has ever said, "I don't have to go to Church, I'm a Mason, so I go to Lodge!" Masons do not put their trust for salvation in anyone or anything Masonic. As far as the "generational curse" is concerned, that may beat the prior frame as being the most disgusting thing the tract. Are they saying that by being a Mason, and
being from a family of Masons, that we are all cursed? And yet, I have seen Christ work so many amazing things through my life once I became saved, that there is no doubt that he is playing an incredible role in my life. My grandfather was a Godly man and a deacon in his church for forty years. My father, as well, has an undying faith in Christ and His salvation. They were both examples of Godly men in my life. What's more, are they saying that even if my father and I weren't Masons, but my grandfather was, that we would both be cursed because of it? That is appalling to me. God is a God of love, mercy, and grace. To say that God would curse us in that manner goes against the very nature of Christ.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of seeing things like this online. The sooner that Masons start speaking out against things like this, the better off that we all will be! We can stand up for ourselves against onslaughts like this just by defending ourselves. So many people are fooled by tracts such as these because they believe that in our silence we are giving legitimacy to their claims. It becomes one of those "Well, they certainly didn't deny it!" kind of things. This isn't the first time that Masonry has come under attacks like these, and it certainly won't be the last. What we can do in the meantime, is to stand up for ourselves. Let the world see the good that Masonry is. If we are to claim that Masonry makes good men better, let the world see how!

We give hours of our time and millions of dollars to charity to help the less fortunate. We stand as a network of men to uplift each other in times of need. We stand together as moral men who wish to make a difference. So many people talk about how they wish that they could make a difference in this world, but how often do people actually do it. I am proud of being a Mason, and I always will be.