Thanks I LoveTTATT2.
Your article has several very interesting points. That Russel claimed that Masons gave him a particular handshake and he recognized it and returned it, points to two things.
1. Either he was close with a particular Mason and that person divulged the secrets of Masonic handshakes to him and he continued to use it with other Masons for reasons not clear .Or he was bsing.
2. If yu notice I've used the plural handshakes and not handshake. Along with every different handshake is a particular password. No Mason in his right mind will "recognize" another Mason just by a paticular handshake. The corresponding password is required for recognition. So Russels claim that he received and returned handshakes and was accepted by some - erronously- as a Mason is -in my opinion- pure bs if the first point I made is true; in which case he would be found out sooner or later by someone in the Masonic fraternity.
Your article is well written and goes a long way to disprove his membership in Masonry but also makes clear his close association with a member or members of that fraternity.
The square and the compass is the primary symbol of Masons. Did Russel at any time use or idolize that symbol in his misguided mission to establish his own religion? If he did, then the issue cements point one above, concomitant with you irrefutably having disproven his Masonic membership.
