The Deadly Deception: Freemasonry Exposed by One of Its Top Leaders

by Tom C. McKenney

The 33rd Degree initiation ceremony revealed for the first time in history. Now we can visit behind the locked door into this deadly deception which is victimizing multitudes of sincere men. Coauthor, Jim Shaw opens the doors for the reader.

Paperback

First published June 30, 1988

About the author

Lt. Col. Tom Chase McKenney, USMC (Ret.) is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was an infantry officer and parachutist in the United States Marine Corps, serving in Korea and Vietnam. A student of military history, he has contributed articles to such magazines as Guideposts, the American Legion Magazine, Military, and Leatherneck. His books and activism for veterans' issues have had him appearing on hundreds of radio and television programs including Fox News, the Today Show, and CBS Morning News."

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is Alister Crowley. He was a Freemason. He's also considered an evil Satanist. Are you scared by someone who looks like this?



Do you want to know the big secret exposed in this book? There isn't one! There is nothing to Freemasonry except a bunch of Dungeons and Dragon bullshit with no real answers, or secrets, just a bunch of smoke and mirrors and fat dudes hanging out in costumes.

A few days after finishing this drivel, I was driving upstate with my dad, and we passed some rusted out piece of shit pick-up truck with a gun rack and some dirt bag looking guy driving the truck. On the back of the truck were a bunch of Freemason stickers. I pointed him out to my dad and said, "does anyone believe that this asshole is part conspiracy that rules the world?"

But lots of rich and powerful people are Freemason, and so were the founding fathers and all those other people Dan Brown talks about, they are trying to put a one world government in place, look at the dollar bill!!!

I have a theory about this. Rich people like hanging out with other people like themselves. The same for powerful people. Don't you like hanging out with people with similar interests that you do? Yeah, but they rule the world, so fucking what? You probably elected most of them, people who win elections generally know lots of other influential people and are parts of groups that do ridiculous things like wear robes and carry swords and tell scary stories about egyptian gods, or they are part of some group called the Elks or the Antler club or whatever meets every Tuesday at the one nice restaurant in town to have a business man's lunch.

You are just one of them!

Yeah, most likely.

Anyway. Along with Wacky Christians (I'm ok with the non-wacky types) I have decided that I am fully fed up with conspiracy theorists in 2010. Oh and any believers in New Age bullshit. Basically anyone who I have deemed a moron and who regularly makes more work for me at the bookstore by their lack of respect for the books they look at. So that means Bible readers (I mean come the fuck on, you think the book is the word of your God, would it hurt you not to destroy the books while you flip through them?), and every brand of New Age / Conspiracy / Astrology person. You are all wrong, you are all ignorant, and too many of you have zero respect for books so you are now my enemies (it's good to have sworn enemies).

Back to the book review, which brings together the two great intellectual traditions of Evangelical Christianity and Conspiracy Bullshit; this book is a true piece of shit. It's poorly written, which is funny because apparently the dude who this stuff 'happened' to is unable to write his own book so he has this hack who can barely write do the writing for him. I thought being a ghost writer would involve some awareness that there are rules to the English language when it comes to creating prose. Besides the book being poorly written it also just reeks of bullshit. There is something dishonest about this book. I don't doubt the guy was a freemason, and then converted, and there aren't details that sound made up, but something about the whole story sounds contrived. It's been a few weeks since I read the book, so the actual details are fuzzy, but I can remember thinking clearly, 'what a load of horseshit' at many different points in the book (oh I remember what the problem was, the whole background of the guy seemed to have come out of some Hallmark Sunday Night movie...)

I don't feel like I've done a good job defending why this is bullshit but it's not like anyone I know was thinking of reading this anyway. Now vote for me so this can be the most popular review for this book.

P.S.



Freemasons have their own NASCAR. Ohhhh, what to do, support the conspiracy by watching the car race, or love God, why does life throw so many curveballs at me???

[Code Phined · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent insight into some Freemasonic Rituals but... he offers a totally broken evangelical Christian solution.

His story is very interesting, and the book is very heavily recounts his life experiences. Whether or not it is a true account of his life, the book has a strong "once saved always saved," "faith alone" protestant Christian overtone. If you are only interested in the Masonic rituals and information, this is probably not the book you are looking for. It is very heavy on his personal life which turns into a testimony of turning toward Christ in the last two-three chapters.

Not to say that it does not cover Freemason rituals, he does go through an overview of several of their doctrines, but more deeply talks about the blue degrees. He generally covers the secret words, handshakes, etc, of the blue degrees (first three degrees of Masonry).

...
In Chapter 9, in the section titled, "The Light Breaks Through," the author details another visit to an eye doctor. He picks up a Bible in the waiting room, and flips to John Chapter 6. It details the words of Jesus, explaining that He is the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35-40).

In the next section titled "Hey Doc, Is This Really True?," He begins on verse 47 (Jn 6:47) "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
This is the main verse he uses from of this whole dialogue between Jesus and the Jews to justify "faith alone" is enough. With this verse taken completely out of context it would indeed say that. Except, in context, it is saying that if you believe that He is the Bread of Life, that you must eat His Flesh and drink His Blood and in doing this in belief, you can have eternal life. Even then, eternal life is not an absolute guarantee. We must be baptized (John 3:3-5; 1 Peter 3:21) abstain from sin, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12).

John 6:53, Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you. (6:54) Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. (6:55) For my Flesh is real food and my Blood is real drink. (6:56) Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person. (6:57) As the living Father sent me and I draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me.

Those who did not believe in this doctrine that Jesus taught (pertains to our day too), walked away from Him and followed Him no more (John 6:66).

--
Now, maybe the author wasn't really aware of what Communion is (not a mere symbol)--I assume he just picked up the Bible himself without any understanding of Christian tradition.... but this is the theme throughout the end of the book. He goes on to tell that only simple "belief" is necessary. Faith alone. Unfortunately for him, the Bible does not teach "faith alone." (James 2:14, 2:17-18)

It would be like entering a race (accepting Christ) but stopping a mile down the road claiming you're finished (become saved). In this sense, the author just stops at Jn 6:47, calling it a finished race. All he must do is believe in Him, and that's it. Race is finished.

In the last Chapter, he talks about how his friend Mike turned to Jesus. "In Moments It was Done." He mentions that in moments it was done, (his friend Mike accepting Christ and praying the sinners prayer)--"a thing that would last for eternity." Here we have more of the once-saved-always-saved doctrine...which is just as dangerous as Masonic doctrine; only not as overtly evil.

All-in-all, it was a little less-than-decent read. Very large on his personal story (with a strong protestant agenda), and light-to-medium on actual Freemasonic doctrine & ritual.

At the end of the book, I ran into exactly what expected to run into. What's a good protestant book without a couple pot-shots at the Catholic Church?

[Brian Reagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shaw makes numerous claims in this text about his own background in Freemasonry that are not just false but are bold and plain lies.

First of all he never was a 33rd degree Mason. Second he was never a past master of his lodge. Third, during the time he alleges all of his Masonic activity the degrees and memberships never came close to $1000 let alone to the alleged "thousands of dollars."

Shaw is fond of taking quotes out of context, and the deadly deception is that one who claims to be a preacher of the Gospel of Truth, who is Jesus Christ, would resort to such lies to make his point.

Freemasonry is in most place to most people nothing more than a good old boys club. Anyone who seriously studies the rituals will find that they are filled with nonsensical gibberish, that the legends are frequently made up, and very little of what it teaches has any foundation in historical fact.

Shaw did not expose anything, and what he claims to have exposed was done by other writers in earlier centuries.

Save your money on this book written by a liar and false teacher who is more motivated by Satan than Christ. The real angel of Satan pretending to be from Christ is Shaw in this event, not Masonry.

[Steven H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A FORMER 33RD DEGREE MASON TELLS OF HIS CONVERSION

Tom McKenney wrote in the Foreword to this 1988 book, “Freemasonry, sincerely entered into, is a search for light… Yet, beneath the surface… there is much more. This truth is seldom realized by the Masonic candidate. As a matter of fact the vast majority of Masonic seekers are never aware that there IS anything more available to them in Masonry, beyond what they see and hear in their Blue Lodge experience… Very few Masons … press on through the degrees and offices of Masonry and the writings of the Masonic philosophers in an unending search for enlightenment---for intellectual and spiritual fulfillment. Only a small number make that extra commitment that goes far beyond social and business motivations. They continue… climbing the mountain of Masonic knowledge, searching for light in all its fulness. Jim Shaw was such a man. He was not satisfied with social fulfillment or surface knowledge; he sensed the deeper, true meaning of that promised light and sought it with all his heart, mind and strength. His ardent quest carried him through all the chairs of leadership in the Blue Lodge and the Scottish Rite, all the way to the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C. to the Thirty-Third and Last Degree’ and the position of Sovereign Grand Inspector General, Knight Commander of the House of the Temple of Solomon. There, at the top of the Masonic mountain, he broke through the clouds at last and found the full revelation, the true meaning of light and life. This is his story.”

Jim Shaw recounts, “I was led to swear… the oath of an Entered Apprentice Mason… As it progressed I realized that I was swearing to protect the secrets of the Lodge. Then I heard myself saying that I was ‘binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut from ear to ear…’ The awfulness of the oath dawned within me as I was speaking it and it was both frightening and repulsive to me. But, having begun… I just continued to the end. The Master then told me that, in order to seal the oath, I was to kiss the open Bible before me… I leaned forward the kissed it. I had no idea that I was actually kissing Jesus goodbye at a pagan altar. I didn’t know that throughout my lifetime in Masonry I would not be allowed to pray in His name, or even to hear or speak His name in the Lodge, even in Scripture readings. But I didn’t know Him then, so would have had no sense of loss even had I known this.” (Pg. 26)

He explains, “Blue Lodge Masonry is the heart of Masonry and the Third Degree is the heart of the Blue Lodge… I had been in the Blue Lodge about four months… when one day I was talking with a brother… He said something about the Scottish Rite and wondered why he hadn’t seen me there… He said, ‘Jim, you’ve just got to get into the Scottish Rite, because you really don’t know what Masonry is all about until you do….’ He said that if I wanted him to, he would … get things rolling. I said that it sounded good to me and asked him to go ahead.” (Pg. 57-58)

He observes, “Having grown up with no religious training, no church affiliation of any kind, and no spiritual identity, I really had no concept of the meaning of life… And, without realizing it at first, this emptiness in my life was being filled with what I was learning and doing in Masonry. From the very beginning I had been troubled by the fact that so many of the man just came to Lodge and sat there… I wanted to grow, and that was exactly what I was doing---at last.” (Pg. 70)

Later, “Still motivated in my search for religious understanding, I was happy when asked to become Master of the 18th Degree… The degree book went on to say that the symbolism for this degree comes from the ‘ankh,’ the Egyptian symbol for life, which comes from Deity (God), meaning that the Egyptian gods were at least the equal of the Christian God. It also said that ‘In all religions there is a basis of truth, in all there is pure morality.’” (Pg. 78)

He recalls, “On the evening after my installation as Master we had a special dinner party for the outgoing Master… He had already had quite a bit to drink and was very frank in the telling of his ‘testimony’ as a Mason. We laughed as he told us that then he applied for membership … ‘I was so drunk when they arrived that I couldn’t get up…’ I laughed with everyone else at first. Then I was troubled by the obvious contradiction there. One of the basic tenets of Masonry is SOBRIETY. Yet this Past Master was accepted for membership when he was so drunk he couldn’t stand up and walk. This troubling thought… stayed with me.” (Pg. 79-80)

He goes on, “Mike and I finished up the degree work … we discussed the lecture he gave in the 25th Degree and the one I gave in the 32nd Degree. Neither of us had ever studied the Bible… With the degree work and other Masonic writings as our source, we finally decided that the truth lay in reincarnation and that if we would try to live a good life now, be good to our brother Masons, help the sick and attend to good deeds in general, when we died we would enter the next life on a higher plane---just like going through a door. However, if we did no try to live right… we could expect to go… into a lower form of life…” (Pg. 84-85)

Eventually, he became a Christian. When he explained this to the Senior Warden, “I told him as plainly as I could that I had been saved, I now belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I could no longer belong to the Masonic Lodge… He immediately became very angry and shouted, ‘I WILL BE GLAD TO HAVE YOU GONE!’” (Pg. 115)

This book will be of keen interest to Evangelicals seeking critiques of Masonry.

[kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend that recently left Freemasonry. It is interesting and explains a lot of things about Masonry that 'profanes' wouldn't know anything about. My friend told me that 99% of the book is accurate. The 1% that he couldn't vouch for was because different Lodges have different practices. The big downfall of The Deadly Deception is that it is poorly written. It seemed to me that the arthor felt readers needed a Dick and Jane style of writing to understand Masonry. It was rather insulting at times.

[Cordell Dyck · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title of this book is rather fitting considering the book itself is a deception. The front cover alone makes four false claims. The authors of this book knowingly and deliberately lie numerous times in this book, and they do it from a position of Christianity. Shameful.

[Jack Sprat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a great book, but it's one I'm really, really glad that I've read. Like so many people, I really knew nothing about the highly secretive world of freemasonry, until I read this. "The Deadly Deception" gives a really good insight into what it's all about; coming obviously from a source that eventually converted to Christianity. There's a lot of his personal story in there, and I found it very useful to read that perspective.

Although my own views are closer to freemasonry than Christianity, freemasonry is a cult, which like a lot of religious orders, has positive and negative aspects to it. I can absolutely understand why some men are attracted to it; but it's also important to understand that it's mind-control, and to be aware of the pitfalls. And like so many pyramidal structures, the higher you go up the pyramid, the more sinister are the people at the top. The elitism inherent in freemasonry is well worth noting. This book helped me to understand freemasonry and it's powerful, but often hidden impact on Western civilisation.