from Roman occupation. The authors do not claim that the Christianity is incompatible with the ideals and goals of Freemasonry. Neither do they claim that the Jewish Faith or the Muslim faith or Buddhist faith are incompatible with the tenets of Freemasonry. Although The Hiram Key highlights some inconsistent historical references within various dogmas, they do not claim dogma to be devoid of value to humanity. The book is more an examination of historical references rather than an examination of religion. Jesus did not claim to work miracles, according to the authors. When Jesus claimed to have raised Lazarus from the dead, it was intended as an allegorical reference; followers were referred to as the "living" and others were referred to as the "dead" in certain Jewish esotericism of the time. Similarly, Jesus' turning water into wine merely meant elevating people to a higher status within the framework of the sect. The authors believe that Jesus' sect, the Jerusalem Church, operated some kind of "quasi-Masonic" initiation ceremonies and develop that line of thought to claim that Jesus was thus, in a sense, a Freemason. In Chapter 5 of the Hiram Key, Jesus Christ: Man, God, Myth, or Freemason?, the authors state: "We realise that this is a statement that will offend many Christians, and particularly many Roman Catholics," but the conclusion they came to, based upon historical context derived outside the accepted religious context, was that Jesus was a Freemason. Controversy The book contains a radical hypothesis about the origins of Freemasonry, seeking to demonstrate a heritage back through the Knights Templar to the Jerusalem Church and Pharaoic Egypt, claiming to draw on a wide range of material to support this hypothesis. The work has been subject to criticism from within the established body of masonic-research, based on: Creeping assertion - caveats on statements are reduced as the statements are used as foundation for further development. Lack of critical assessment of sources. Use of symbolic ritual as a statement of historic fact. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2067 the principal Lodge of Masonic research under the United Grand Lodge of England, has criticised the book as Pseudohistory, and some Masonic libraries categorise the volume as fiction. Reviews of the work are commonly critical; publishers of this criticism include: Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon Masonic Info Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2067, on the register of the United Grand Lodge of