Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 8 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 7 months ago by
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I am in my 20th year as a Master Mason, and have enjoyed all of it, except the prejudice from people who don’t understand us. I sit in lodge with other ministers, garbage collectors, blue collar, white collar, people from every aspect of society you can imagine. We just try to help good folks become better people, using the symbolism of the old stone mason profession. It is too bad your father hasn’t talked with you much about Masonry. There is very little about Masonry that he can’t tell you. Your friend is wrong in his beliefs about the social powers of Masons. We are not allowed to discuss social, religious, or political matters in the Lodge. That is not what we are about. You can ask questions of just about any Master Mason you know. He will answer you honestly.
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Name : Jim B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 45, City : Columbus, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Senior Pastor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I have a friend who became upset and even doubtful when I told him my father was a 33rd-degree Mason. He had several crazy ideas about the social power of Masons. He practically compared it to the mafia. My father is a kind and gentle man, of unpresuming income and social status. He is a 33rd-degree Mason. But he will not reveal anything to me about it. He says it is not for non-Masons. Can anyone give me some information on Masons that is not from some paranoid fantasy?
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Name : Jason B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 26, City : Silvis, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Salesman, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Check the internet. There are sites that show the layouts of their meeting rooms. They are a religious organization, but not necessarily Christian. Yes, old. Perhaps politically powerful. I think they may also be dedicated to networking to fulfill one’s potential, almost like a 12-step sort of program. I cann’t rule out anything sinister though. And of course, no women may be members. I’ve also seen books on them in alternative religion stores (where you’d find Wicca, Tarot, etc).
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Name : Linda22939, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Atheist, Age : 30, City : East Haddam, State : CT, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I just went to the Masonic temple in Gutherie, Oklahoma for a self tour and saw a dieing organization. I was the only person in that Temple under the age of 60 thus making me a strict member of a minority. A 70 year old woman asked me to leave stating the building is under closed sessions. I just looked at that beautiful building, shook my head, and drove off. I will just tour the building after all the Masons pass away 🙂
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Name : Christopher-Davis, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : Arlington, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,As I understand modern Masonry, being a non-Mason myself, theirs is a mainly a social fraternal order with esoteric beginnings. As to the power of masons, many of the US founding fathers were Freemasons, and much of the symbology of our currency (the floating eye above a pyramid on the dolar bill, for example) are Masonic images. I’d suggest searching the net for more info, it is out there!
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Name : Doug25620, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age, Age : 36, City : Phoenix, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : Administration, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Although I don’t condemn Masons, my family has been affected by their organization. My great grand father was an engineer and responsible for bringing electrical power to major areas of France. Unforunately, he was being embezzled by a Mason and lost a large portion of his wealth in court. In Europe, especially, Masons have a great political and economic influence. The Masonic brotherhood actually came from a group of alchemists in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe. This was one of the supposed first reportings of Masonic influence. Alchemists, if you didn’t know already, were practioners of a pseudoscience that attempted to transmute low quality ores into finer metals. How Mason gained influence in the west is unknown to me. However, it has been said in books on Masons that such figures as Goerge Washington and Roosevelt were Masons. In fact, a predominately Masonic symbol can be found on the US 1 dollar bill: the mind’s eye. Since, Masons were orginally somewhat paganistic in their beliefs (which came from their slavic origins), I find it difficult to understand why so many western Masons are Christian. Mason, I know, have no Christian roots; nor could they, since they essentially predate Christianity. For additional information, I suggest you read books on Masons, as there is a wealth of material to be found.
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Name : Patrick-Wood19913, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 19, City : Toronto, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Research Assistant, Social class : Upper middle class,Freemasonry is a society which teaches a type of moral development done through ritual and symbolism. Because the symbols and ritual is powerful at the subconscious level, it is better for candidates to experience it without knowing about it all beforehand. Moral values are central within Freemasonry, so Masons are not usually inclined to spill the beans and break their oaths. Because of the secrecy, a lot of rubbish is talked about Freemasons [and just about every other so-called ‘secret’ society.] These days, many Grand Lodges are a little more open than in the past and it is possible to find out quite a good deal about Freemasonry, particularly the large amount of charitable work that is done for the community through the Craft. In my lodge, all we keep secret are our passwords and ‘signs and tokens’.
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Name : Ben S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 35, City : Melbourne, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : corrections officer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,the masons are a fraternity to promote honesty, truth and brotherly love and to make the person a better individual the masons give to the charitable world 10 million dollars a day for charity part of masonry is the shriners which help burn victims and crippled children
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Name : Brian, City : hgtn, State : IN, Country : United States,Masons, also called Freemasons, Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepts Masons have existed by some accounts as far back as King Solomon’s Temple, though the earliest accounts of masons are from a record during the reign of King Athelstan in what is now the UK, c900ad. Masons are a fraternity of good men that strive to make themselves better men through the study of morality and through service to each other and their communities. There are three requirements for joining: That the candidate be a man, that he be of good character, and that he believes in god and the immortality of the soul, regardless of HOW he knows god. Masonry does not ask, and as it is not a religion, but a fraternity of good and honorable men, it only requires that you have SOME kind of faith in the deity. Masons do not recruit members, but rather, for the most part, wait until a man asks to join, of his own free will and accord. Masonry has a long and distinguished history. The United States was, in large part, formed on masonic principles by masons. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere and many others were freemasons. Other famous masons are, in part: Gen Black Jack Pershing, Gen Douglas MacArthur, Gen George S. Patton, Neil Armstrong, John Wayne, Gerald R. Ford, Harry S. Truman, Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Johnson, (in total, 17 of the 44 presidents of the United States have been freemasons), Red Skelton, L. Souza, Audie Murphy and many many more. The list is offered to show the diversity of the members, AND to show the contributions these men have made to the country and their community. Freemasonry teaches morality by the use of allegorical tales, illustrated by symbols, and seeks to have our members act in a moral and upright manner. Our moral lessons are taught using the symbols of the masons trade, Trowel, Level, Plumb, Square, Guage etc. Masons exist in every free country, and in some not so free countries underground, in the world. In fact, when the Socialist government in the former Soviet Union fell, over 187,000 freemasons stepped into the light of day and publicly joined their worldwide brethren. If you want more information on Freemasons, see: http://www.masonicinfo.com
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Name : Theron Dunn, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 47, City : Riverside, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Real Estate Agent, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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