The Master Game

October 31, 2011
Hancock (Fingerprints of the Gods) and Bauval (The Orion Mystery) claim to have pieced together an ancient "master game," which they link to the Gnostics, Knights Templar, Cathars, Manicheists, Rosicrucians, and finally the Freemasons, a group dedicated to the destruction of the Catholic Church, the restoration of a more dualist abstract view of Christianity, and the recapture of Jerusalem and restoration of Solomon's temple. While the authors acknowledge that many of these links are speculative, this moderately interesting set of historical facts about minor Christian sects and the acts of the Inquisition against heretical groups quickly becomes unfocused. Though Hancock and Bauval try to contextualize the rise of Freemasonry along a tenuous line from early Christianity to modern times, the book never feels like it develops a central thesis. Readers will also wonder what exactly the master game is, because the behavior of most sects seems fairly innocuous. The abrupt ending may leave readers confused, as if they are expected to draw connections and relevance themselves.