Monday, October 31, 2011

Founding Fathers, The Hell-Fire Club; Sex, Politics, and Religion in Eighteenth-Century England


Founding Fathers, The Hell-Fire Club; Sex, Politics, and Religion in Eighteenth-Century England

 On moonlit nights during the reign of England’s King George III, immensely powerful members of His Majesty’s Government, important intellectuals, and influential artists could sometimes be seen travelling up the Thames River by gondola to a ruined abbey near West Wycombe. There, to the sonorous tolling of the deconsecrated cloister’s bell, they dressed in monkish robes and indulged in every manner of depravity, culminating in a Black Mass celebrated on the naked body of a debauched noblewoman and presided over by that notorious rake Sir Francis Dashwood. Their diabolical devotions concluded, the inner circle would adjourn to plot the course of the British Empire.
This “unholy sodalily,” as it has been called, styled themselves, with suitably Gothic flair, “The Friars of St. Francis of Medmenham,” though they have been immortalized by their popular epithet “The Hell-Fire Club.” In that gossipy age there was much speculation about the infernal activities of the society, and in 1765, Charles Johnstone published a roman a clef entitled Chrysal, or the Adventures of a Guinea, which was popularly believed to reveal the secrets of the “Medmenham Monks.”
Unfortunately for those whose prurient tastes are tempered with a dose of critical scholarship, the Hell-Fire Club does not live up to its reputation. Most of the contemporary writers who allude to “Saint Francis” and his “Brotherhood” at Medmenham Abbey had an ax to grind, and the Monks themselves were so secretive that some modern historians have concluded that the whole thing was mere fiction. (1) But perhaps now, over two centuries later, we can attempt to sketch the Hell-Fire Club against the background of its time, tentatively pencilling in the enigmatic features of its putative high priest, Sir Francis Dashwood, Baron Le Despencer.
THE CLUB’S PRECURSORS
Although the Medmenham Monks are the most famous band to be dignified with the appellation, they were certainly not the original Hell-Fire Club. The first half of the century saw the establishment of many circles of rakehells throughout the British Isles, and tales of their activities have often been transferred to Dashwood’s group. (2)
For our purposes the Monks’ most important precursor is the Hell-Fire Club founded around 1719 in London by Philip, Duke of Wharton (1698-1731). (3) Wharton was a prominent Whig politician, Freemason, and atheist who sought to ridicule religion by publicly presiding over festive gatherings with “Satanic” trappings. These meetings were often held in a tavern near St. James’s Square, although a nearby riding academy was sometimes pressed into service to permit the attendance of ladies of good reputation who could not be decently expected to be seen in a public house.
Of the female members, one in particular stands out: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

THE FLEDGLING RAKE
Portrait of Sir Francis Dashwood From a sign in the Hellfire Caves
Francis Dashwood was born in 1708 into an illustrious line of Turkey merchants (6) who had raised themselves into the ranks of the aristocracy by a combination of hard work, political prowess, and strategic marriage. Dashwood’s mother died when he was two years of age and he was soon packed off to Eton for his education. Upon hearing of his father’s death in 1724, he locked himself in a cellar for a week to get drunk.
In 1726, the fledging rake left England for his grand tour of the Continent. To Dashwood’s credit, it must be said that this trip did inspire him with admiration for more than fine wine and courtesans. While in Florence, he made the acquaintance of the Catholic Jacobite Freemason Abbe Nicolini and was entered in the English Lodge there.
THE HELL-FIRE CLUB
Tradition asserts that Dashwood’s Hell-Fire Club originally met in London at the George and Vulture Inn. (19) It is possible that Dashwood and his friends gathered in a public house to revel in the freedom now implicitly granted to witches, resurrecting Wharton’s Hell-Fire Club in a spirit of mockery. On the other hand, in the early eighteenth century taverns were frequently the meeting places for Masonic lodges, so it is also quite possible that the nascent Hell-Fire Club was a cabal of Jacobite Freemason s. Indeed it might very well have been both.

THE HELLFIRE CAVES






“Mysteries of the Hellfire Caves and the Church of St. Lawrence.” For those who know anything about this period of 18th century British History the mention of the “Hellfire Clubs” seems to provoke swift and polarised reactions.Some immediately respond with mutterings of dark satanic rites and debauchery of the most extreme kind while others simply laugh at the wild tales and dismiss them as exaggerations.  The elusive truth is probably somewhere in the middle – a very complicated middle!This section of the Aquiziam website focuses on the “club” and “caves” established by Sir Francis Dashwood which has assumed the reputation of being a “Hellfire Society” although, allegedly it never officially referred to itself as such – perhaps because of government edict outlawing the “Hellfire” clubs in1721.
SEX AND POLITICS
Dashwood married Sarah Gould in 1745, but in an era when prostitution was the surest means for a woman to advance in society and the fate of nations might be determined by syphilis-spawned madness, it would have been unnatural for the Medmenham Monks not to have had some sexual aura about them. Legend portrays the Monks as indulging in sadomasochistic orgies, but given the rumours about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Divan Club, one might well wonder if there is not a hint of Oriental sex magic in all this.
Certainly the monks engaged in ribald jesting. One of their members, probably the satirist George Selwyn, praised the Earl of Sandwich’s sexual prowess in an Anglo-Saxon-laced lampoon of Popes Essay on Man.
RELIGION
In 1773 Dashwood and Benjamin Franklin revised the Book of Common Prayer – an odd activity for a supposed Satanist. Possibly the two Freemasons were trying to bring the Anglican Church in line with Masonic Deism. In his introduction to this work, Dashwood stressed the usefulness of the church to the community and affirms the teachings of Jesus Christ in such a way that his allegiance to the Church of England is equivocal at best. Most of their changes involve removing all references to the Old Testament and eliminating repetitions wherever possible. This liturgy is still used by some Protestant sects in America. (31)
The whole question of religion is central to the fascination that Dashwood continues to exercise.

Everyone must listen to this Fantastic c2c with Winter Laake


Filling in for George Noory, John B. Wells (email) welcomed occult practitioner Winter Laake for a discussion on Satanism and Black Magic. Laake said his interest in the occult began in early childhood. Subsequent study of the dark arts led him to conclude that mankind is inherently evil and "Satan is the master of the world and the universe... a pervasive force, [an] energy that is throughout and all." Satan is a spiritual force that can take forms here on Earth and throughout the galaxy, he continued. It is an energy that can become part of us, Laake explained, noting that he believes an elevated dark force has manifested within him. Lower tier evil entities on the other side possess people of lesser wills, he added.







Saturday, October 29, 2011

Full Moon With A Side of Jupiter 10/10/11

Full Moon With A Side of Jupiter 10/10/11

Moderate Islamists win landmark vote in Tunisia and what this means.


Moderate Islamists win landmark vote in Tunisia and what this means.


And We Thought The NBPP At Voting Polls Was Threatening
Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party Ennahda, banned for decades, emerged as the official victor in the nation’s first free elections, taking 90 of 217 seats in an assembly that will write a new constitution, the electoral commission announced on Thursday.
The announcement on national television of final results in Sunday’s landmark voting capped an ebullient period for this small North African country, which inspired the Arab Spring as it moves toward democracy after more than a half-century under one-party systems.
Don’t Gloss Over The Violent Texts
By Tawfik Hamid
In regards to Islam, the words “moderate’” and “radical” are relative terms. Without defining them it is virtually impossible to defeat the latter or support the former.
 Radical Islam is not limited to the act of terrorism; it also includes the embrace of teachings within the religion that promote hatred and ultimately breed terrorism. Those who limit the definition of radical Islam to terrorism are ignoring?and indirectly approving of?the Shariah teachings that permit killing apostates, violence against women and gays, and anti-Semitism.
Moderate Islam should be defined as a form of Islam that rejects these violent and discriminatory edicts. Furthermore, it must provide a strong theological refutation for the mainstream Islamic teaching that the Muslim umma (nation) must declare wars against non-Muslim nations, spreading the religion and giving non-Muslims the following options: convert, pay a humiliating tax, or be killed. This violent concept fuels jihadists, who take the teaching literally and accept responsibility for applying it to the modern world. Moderate Islam must not be passive. It needs to actively reinterpret the violent parts of the religious text rather than simply cherry-picking the peaceful ones. Ignoring, rather than confronting or contextualizing, the violent texts leaves young Muslims vulnerable to such teachings at a later stage in their lives.
Mr. Hamid, a former member of the Islamic radical group Jamma Islamiya, is an Islamic reformer and a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.editors note: I Googled  Jamma Islamiya and was redirected to included link.  shera~


Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Islamist Ennahda movement in Tunisia, greets supporters after the announcement of the country's election results in Tunis on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

However, there was an immediate hitch as unrest hit the town of Sidi Bouzid, where the protests that toppled Tunisia’s strongman began, after electoral officials invalidated six lists of the fourth-placed party whose leader is a native son.
Soldiers in Sidi Bouzid fired warning shots after hundreds of alleged party supporters flooded the streets and burned tires, according to a witness reached by telephone, Attia Athmouni.
Ahead of the voting, Mr Hamdi, owner of the Mustaqila satellite television channel based in London, had broadcast promises to give Tunisians free healthcare, new factories and thousands of jobs. Electoral officials ultimately invalidated five lists tarnished by financing violations and one led by a former member of the ruling RCD party — now banned.
The voting carried other surprises, such as the second place, and 30 seats, won by the Congress for the Republic party, founded in 2001 by noted human rights activist Moncef Marzouki, a doctor who had lived in exile in Paris.
The third-placed party was the centre-left Ettakatol, or the Democratic Forum for Labor and Freedoms, led by Mustapha Ben Jaafar, also a doctor. It won 21 seats in the constituent assembly.
Ennahda’s leading role in fashioning a new Tunisia was evident shortly after the vote. However, electoral authorities had said they were slow in announcing full results because they were taking care with counting and verifying.
The assembly will form an interim government to replace the one in charge of this small North African nation since protests forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee in January. He took refuge in Saudi Arabia.
The Tunisian protests inspired similar movements in other Arab countries, including successful revolutions in Egypt and Libya, which was proclaimed liberated last Sunday as Tunisians went in droves to the polls.
International observers have praised Tunisia for an exemplary election.  The path ahead remains fraught with difficulties.more


Everyone Needs To Show Support For Arizona Mother On Anti-Germ Campaign


Everyone Needs To Show Support For Arizona Mother On Anti-Germ Campaign

Exposé gets Valley mom banned from McDonald’s

PHOENIX — An Arizona State University professor’s campaign against dirty restaurant playgroundsgot her banned from several McDonald’s in the Valley.
Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan, a mother of four, started recording and posting videos of trashy playgrounds, and quickly built an international following.  Her lab tests, which revealed dangerous bacteria on the equipment, have been featured on network broadcasts and in major national newspapers.
This week, Carr-Jordan was notified by an East Valley franchisee’s attorney that she is no longer allowed in any of his McDonald’s restaurants that have playgrounds.
“Rather than have someone come into the playgrounds and do the right thing and make them clean and safe, they told me not to come in anymore,” Carr-Jordan said.

Ban won’t stop mom from fighting filth at McDonald’s

PHOENIX — The Valley mom on a mission to clean up fast-food restaurant playgrounds says she has no intention of abandoning her anti-germ campaign despite being banned from eight local McDonald’s restaurants earlier this week.
Dr. Erin Carr Jordan, of Arizona, is crusading against bacteria laden play areas ...
said support is still pouring in from across the country and she’s more determined than ever to keep those play areas clean.
Carr-Jordan said she’s had samples tested from McDonald’s play areas throughout the Valley and across the country and many of them revealed dangerous germs. Now, she wants the owners to be forced to clean them up.
When she first saw the dirty conditions inside the play areas of a number of McDonald’s restaurants, Carr-Jordan didn’t know who to inform.
“There’s nobody even to call,” she said. “They say complain to the managers. That obviously didn’t go so well. I complained to the managers and now I got banned.”
Carr-Jordan is now forbidden to visit eight Valley McDonald’s restaurants after warning others about the dirt and danger, some of which she displays on her Facebook page.
She said other people are volunteering to help.
“There’s so many other people who are saying, ‘Give me the swabs, I’ll pick up the torch’ or ‘I’ll go in here and take video for you,’” Carr-Jordan said.
A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Environmental Services said that inspectors will talk to managers or owners at restaurants with playgrounds if they find the conditions dirty or if they find equipment broken, but it is not a violation on their health code report. Most McDonald’s get high grades on those reports, which have to do with food service and preparation areas.
Thank you Tyler

Bound for Glory - I Stood