Solomon's Builders

Right Worshipful Brother Christopher Hodapp has written an instant classic in his new book 'Solomon's Builders'. The book is clearly designed to leverage against the next Dan Brown novel that is supposed to be titled 'Solomon's Key'. Dan Brown's novel will be a work of fiction and is sure to allude to all manner of conspiracy theories and astronomical mumbo-jumbo. In contrast the non-fiction book 'Solomon's Builders' is impeccably well researched, referenced, and with a detailed bibliography.

Brother Hodapp is able to cover a broad range of material in a smooth and flowing way that ultimately produces a compelling narrative; one that keeps the reader turning each page wanting to know 'what comes next'. I believe this book will be a requirement on the bookshelf of every Freemason or person interested in Freemasonry. One of the things that Brother Hodapp does so very well is to lay the record straight on just how influential Freemasonry, and the enlightenment principles it spread, were during the time of the American Revolution. He makes the point that whether or not any particular individual was, or was not, a Freemason is beside the point. What is critical to understand is how the prevailing ideas were spread through this organization, literally, all over the world. He points out, correctly, that while monarchies still ruled the day Freemasons were practicing representative democracy in their lodges and meeting upon the level. One cannot underestimate just how influential these ideas were at the time.

I can only hope that of the millions who are likely to read Dan Brown's next work of fiction that a significant number of them will pick up 'Solomon's Builders' to learn the true story behind the myth.

Moving on, I have to say I've been reading quite a bit lately. On my last business trip I read the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. The feeling of connection you get when reading the words written by this most fatherly of founding fathers is profound. It brings the man alive again and instills a deep desire to know more about the immediate history of that time.

After reading Benjamin Franklin's personal autobiography I next read a much more detailed biography covering his entire life by Walter Isaacson. Next I decided to tackle David McCullough's massive autobiography of Right Worshipful Brother (and President) Harry Truman. I read the first couple of chapter's and then set it aside briefly. I decided to first read 'Solomon's Builders' and I'm glad I did. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading Truman all of the way through beginning to end.

In between these books I also read 'The Inquisition' by Baigent and Leigh. This was an excellent book and I was able to read through it very quickly. I have really mixed opinions about Baigent and Leigh. I have read almost every book they have written as their books are always interesting and easy to read. In their work they create a convincing *illusion* of being well referenced and researched. However, their references are usually incestuous and they often stray way too far into specious reasoning. They draw inferences where none should be found and then later in their book treat those inferences as if they were proven facts. Half of their books should probably be labeled fiction. They have single handedly created the whole 'Jesus Christ married Mary Magdelene and had a kid' myth. They are actively creating new mythologies and show some success and promoting them into the collective psyche. Their current partner in crime is Dan Brown who simply takes the mythology churned out by Baigent and Leigh and then turns it into trash fiction for the masses. What's always amusing to me is when everyone acts all 'shocked' when this material shows up in a Dan Brown book when, in fact, it was all old news for anyone following Baigent and Leigh. I have to admit to having a love/hate relationship with these authors because I continue to receive a great deal of entertainment reading their books. I would recommend them to anyone, so long as you retain a healthy dose of skepticism and a large grain of salt. I would also make some effort to check their references which, half of the time, just refer to their own previous books or the works of other highly speculative authors.

What I like about lately reading so much non-fiction based on the development of Western Civilization is that I am starting to get a real sense of the timelines and people involved. I guess I am just growing up a little bit. In my youth I read so much fantasy and science fiction it would boggle the mind. I read 'The Lord of the Rings' 13 times by the time I was in my early twenties (I read it once a year). I read Frank Herbert's 'Dune' series numerous times and Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy as well. I don't know if it is me, or the quality of science fiction and fantasy these days, but I rarely find anything new to read in these genres any more. The only authors I have been able to stay following in more recent years has been Dennis Danvers, Greg Bear, and Robert L. Forward who, I am sad to say, has passed. My favorite Dennis Danvers novel is called 'Circuits of Heaven' and if you have been looking for something new, fresh, and different to read I can't recommend it enough. My favorite Greg Bear novel is 'Songs of Earth and Power'. Greg Bear is primarily known as a science fiction author but this is a fantasy novel of the highest caliber. I strongly recommend it.

Aside from doing a little reading and, of course work, I frequently check my calendar to see what I have been doing and what I plan to do.

This Saturday I participated in my first MO-CHIP program. CHIP stands for 'Child Identification Program'. This is a new project that Grand Lodges throughout the country have been setting up. Click on the link to read more about it. I had mixed feelings about this program at first but I am now a supporter. At our last regular stated communication the grand officer in charge of the program gave a presentation. He is a retired police detective who specialized in child recovery cases. He spoke so enthusiastically about the program that I decided it probably does offer some real value.

It turns out that a man who owns several Wehrenberg Theatres is a Freemason. He personally donated a great deal of money to purchase one of the systems needed to run a CHIP event. He next offered the use of all of his movie theatres to run events. On Saturday myself and a number of my brethren spent the day at the Saint Charles 18 theatre working with families to get their children identified. It was a very rewarding experience and I look forward to assisting in more events in the future.

As I look back on my calendar I see a note about the installation of my high-definition direct TV system. This is particularly annoying because it is one more case of screwing myself because I was an early adopter. A couple of years ago I bought a brand new 73" Mistubishi WS-73711 high definition TV. The only way to receive a high definition signal at the time was to purchase a high definition DirectTV receiver to go with it. As an early adopter this receiver cost somewhere around $500. Next, I found out I had to have a new satellite dish installed to use it. Once that was finally done, and my High Def was officially hooked up, I found that I only received a handful of TV channels in high definition.

A couple of weeks ago my high def receiver broke and I contacted DirectTV for a replacement. It turns out, that they now have an entirely new receiver which requires yet another new antenna to get high definition. The upside is that they now have a high definition DVR. So, I went ahead and upgraded for yet another $300. My old satellite dish and receiver is now simply trash. I have to say, though, that getting all of the network channels in high definition and having a two-receiver DVR is pretty awesome. After I installed the one new box I was able to take out of my entertainment center *four other devices*! I removed two Tivo's and two DirectTV receivers and replaced it with a single device! The only thing I lost was the ability to do picture-in-picture. This is an absurd oversight on the part of DirectTV. Since they have a two receiver system they could easily have output two separate video signals. The only way I can think of now to get my PIP back is to use a video transmitter from my bedroom down to the main TV. I have purchased video transmitters in the past and the damned things never seem to work any further than a few feet away. If anyone knows of a solid, reliable, video transmitter that will transmit crystal clear through a large home, I would like to hear about it.

Finally, this Saturday I plan to attend 'The Sword of Bunker Hill' at Troy Lodge. If you don't know what this degree is, well you are missing out on something quite interesting. While the lecture itself is very patriotic much of the degree can be, how shall I say, very humorous. On the one hand it is a bit silly for grown men to be doing some of this nonsense. On the other hand, that's kind of the point. Sometimes people take themselves a bit too seriously. While we say we meet upon the level, still, we have a great deal of pomp, ceremony, and flowery titles in our institution. There's nothing like seeing a right worshipful going through 'The Sword of Bunker Hill' degree to reinforce the principle that none of us should take ourselves too seriously. It is a nice day of fellowship and I am looking forward to the event as I have the past couple of years.

I will close for now and, once again, I strongly recommend all of the brethren to grab your own copy of 'Solomon's Builders' and read it today.