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Jibo posted:Aw poo poo, I never new there was a Mason thread. How? It was almost five years old and constantly on the first two pages.
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Dec 19, 2012 00:07
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The Cleaner posted:I hope to someday join a Free Mason lodge. They seem like a great way to better myself and the world around me. However, a little about myself.. Intolerance, yes. But let's focus on the actual reasons you might not be allowed to join. You are half black - this is *not* a problem in any jurisdiction (but as with anything race-related, YMMV). You say you were born to slave owners - if your parents owned slaves, then (while deplorable) this wouldn't prevent you from meeting the requirements. If your parents *were* slaves, and the terms of their slavery included that you were born as the property of their owners, then that would prevent it. You identify as male, but born transgender? I'm not sure what it means to be born transgender, as that's not something I've been exposed to. I know that at the very least, my state (Florida) requires a candidate to have been born physically male, to physically still be male, and to dress and act as a male while at any masonic event or meeting. Do you fit those requirements? Your choice of religion, while uncommon, probably wouldn't prevent you from joining. You may not want to mention it though, as the being you vilify as the creator is seen by most western religions as the opponent to G-d. I think the major issues you'd face are the gender issue and the freeborn issue, but primarily the gender one. It can be argued that "all people are born free".
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Dec 23, 2012 16:10
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SimonChris posted:It's like that in the UK as well. I'm not sure about other countries. My father is 32º Scottish Rite, as is my uncle, and as were my grandfather and his two brothers. I'm not, but it's something I'd like to look into, maybe in this coming year. My grandfather and his brothers were raised in Harmonia Lodge in West Palm Beach, and my father and his brother in Palm Lodge (now Palmwood Lodge) in Lake Worth, and I was raised in Boca-Delray Lodge. All in Palm Beach County, Florida. (We're Jewish, in case you missed that.)
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Dec 25, 2012 17:53
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Coolguye posted:I have followed the last thread with casual interest, and there is one thing about the Masons I am having a hard time grasping; how does the order "make good men better"? Like is there an example or two you can give? Sure. My lodge hosts blood drives, an annual fundraiser for a local after-school student center, and supports the Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, FL, as well as several Masonic charities like the Masonic Home in St. Augustine, a retirement home for Masons and their immediate families. We're also taught via Masonic teachings to always revere the Supreme Being, be kind to others, give assistance to a brother when he needs it, even if he doesn't ask for it or you don't expect to receive it back, and give back to the community in whatever way is appropriate. We're also taught the important trait of keeping our mouths shut - our ritual and methods of recognizing one another are of course secret, but also we're not supposed to speak badly about another person (Mason or not) and if a brother comes to us in confidentiality, we have to keep that confidentiality to the level he'd want us to (obviously, criminal or harmful acts notwithstanding).
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Dec 27, 2012 18:29
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I am standing about eight feet from the Grand Master of Florida. I know there's some discord with regard to some recent decisions that would affect some of my goon brothers... would anyone like me to ask him any questions that won't get me expelled?
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Jan 4, 2013 00:27
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FreshFeesh posted:Honestly I'm happy to let the collective GMs discuss it amongst themselves, and among the constituent Lodges from their states. Play it cool, man. Even if he's made a bad decision or two, he's still the Grand Master, and that's a true honor. I'm glad you say so. We're already quite friendly, I don't want to ruin anything.
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Jan 4, 2013 02:48
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7thBatallion posted:A GM is just a man, goddamn the consequences , you and I both know that once the harmony of the institution, our strength is compromised, all of Masonry is at risk. What one state does forces others into a discussion that would otherwise never, and should never, happen. Now in Washington and almost every other Grand Lodge, people in Masonry are letting their politics and religious beliefs take over, and even those hyper-religious among us that think of Masonry as a 'Christian' institution are given a voice on a grand stage. I am not a Christian, I don't accept Jesus as my lord and savior, and I am most certainly a religious person in my own religion. I also happen to look extremely Jewish. The GM of Florida hasn't thrown me out for not being Christian, nor did he throw out the more than half of my lodge who showed up tonight for not being Christian. (On an interesting note - he was the installing officer tonight, which is, I'm told, pretty rare. He closed the lodge tonight, not in form or in due form, but in "ample form". It was kinda cool.) Lovable Luciferian posted:I'm not disagreeing with you brother; there will be consequences for his actions. That said, there is a time and a place to bring up these matters and I feel the Grand Masters conference is probably the best place for this to be handled. I don't think there will be consequences for his actions with respect to whether or not he'll retain his status as a Mason or anything, but this will most likely be overturned. At the very least, he'll receive strong feedback, one way or the other, at the conference. To avoid the risk of causing trouble for myself, I've chosen not to bring it up to him, as he does definitely know me (greeted me by name tonight, I didn't even know he was showing up).
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Jan 4, 2013 08:26
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Long as we're talking about it - why isn't there a Grand Lodge of the United States? I remember reading something in a history book that they wanted to create one, but some events happened and the dice fell that now we have a Grand Lodge for each state (plus DC and I think one for each territory). It would make things quite a lot easier with regard to internal politics, if a bit harder to manage.
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Jan 7, 2013 02:04
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Paramemetic posted:A Mason who violates his Masonic obligations is no more a Mason than you are, at the moment he does so. I challenge any Mason in this thread to say that he has never once broken his obligations or violated the charges given to him.
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Jan 25, 2013 07:14
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Paramemetic posted:Florida has had some controversy, but none of it really risks excluding brothers who can answer those points firmly. The problem with Florida's GM declaration was that it grouped some otherwise qualified religious groups in with otherwise disqualified religious groups (agnostics) by name, and then justified this decision based on one man's interpretation of those other religions. Essentially a man took it upon himself to interpret the rules in a way that is far too narrow and risks excluding people who are qualified and, worse, expelling brothers who are otherwise in good standing. I was under the impression that they do *not* ask you what religion you practice. In the several years I've been a Mason and regularly attending lodge, meeting new people who are interested in joining, not once has that ever been asked. And I live in Florida. While the guys are getting to know you, they might play a little social geography: "What church do you go to? Oh, do you know so-and-so? That's my wife's cousin" or some such. But they'll never ask you specifically any question about your religion besides if you believe in a Supreme Being (and in Florida, the immortality of the soul and the resurrection thereof to a future life), unless of course you yourself bring it up in natural conversation. A ILL BREAKFAST: By all means, if you want to join the craft, go for it. I'd love to have you as a brother.
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Mar 1, 2013 01:10
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QPZIL posted:It's not "hard" per se, but the time table varies by district. I was able to be initiated, learn my catechism in 2 weeks (meeting with my coach every day), was passed, another 2 weeks or catechism learning, and then was raised. There was some ebb and flow in that schedule, and it was around Christmas so things got delayed a bit, but I was initiated in October of '10 and was raised to the sublime degree of master mason in January of '11. For the record, that's lightning fast. I'm examining a class of EAs Thursday night - they were initiated mid-summer 2012. Granted, my lodge went dark for a couple of months, but I also had to work around the schedules of two of the guys in my class who are police officers, and they were busy for two months preparing for one of the presidential debates which was held here in October, plus everybody else's work schedule, etc. But you're right - with a bit of effort, it's not hard. Everyone does it the same way - learning one line of the ritual at a time.
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Mar 4, 2013 17:45
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QPZIL posted:I wrote a bit on the symbolism of the B&J pillars. Switch the accented syllables on both. The B pillar is accented on the first syllable, and the J pillar is accented on the second syllable. The source for this is that I speak, read, and write Hebrew. 
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Mar 17, 2013 06:43
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Angela Christine posted:Add a P pillar and everything will become clear to you. I'm really not sure what this means. Is this something from one of the non-blue degrees? I don't recognize it from anything up through Master Mason.
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Mar 17, 2013 15:54
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Sockington posted:it's all the same in the end. Ain't that the truth, fellas?
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Mar 21, 2013 22:46
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QPZIL posted:This thread is quiet lately. You're right. I should give an update as well! My group of 3 EAs are all just about ready to be passed - one hasn't had the chance yet to present his EA catechism due to work travelling, but he's ready to do it. The other two will be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft tonight, and I'm really looking forward to the degree, because they were initiated almost a year ago.
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Apr 4, 2013 15:18
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Carbolic posted:- I don't believe all organizations, events, clubs, or societies should be gender-integrated. Sometimes there's a perfectly valid reason to do so. However, I don't think "the organization defines itself as being only for men" is, in and of itself, a good reason. That's why I've been trying to find out what attributes about Masonry (apart from it defining itself as excluding women) require it to be men's-only. Well, like folks have said, part of the degree ritual requires partial top-half nudity. Most women aren't comfortable with that. Also, it's in the oath we take to not be present at the making of a woman a Mason, even if a Grand Master would make a woman a Mason on sight, which he's within his rights to do technically, even if it goes against the landmarks (he'd probably be thrown out when the next GM comes along, and the Grand Lodge he operates would be immediately de-recognized by the other GLs). But additionally, and I think most importantly - men and women are fundamentally different. I talk to my Masonic brothers in a certain friendly and brotherly way, knowing that I can divulge absolutely anything to them and know that they'll not only keep my secrets, but usually also be able to see things from my perspective. When I speak to women, because I try to be a Southern Gentleman, it's in a different tone and with different points of view, out of politeness. I can't treat a woman the same way I'd treat my brothers, because at the very least in my own faith, women are on a totally different spiritual and emotional level and command a certain respect and dignity. A woman deserves more than the bro code. One who would be worthy of being a Mason on a personal level, if she was a guy, is *more* than worthy of being a Mason, and likely would not fit in. We can't really exercise the operations of our fraternity in our own way if they're members. Besides, in our lodge, the EAs and FCs are the ones who, under direction of the JW, prepare and clean up from dinner, and then while lodge is open in MM, prepare dessert. How would that look to the feminists if the girls joined up and we immediately sent them to the kitchen?
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Apr 14, 2013 16:10
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QPZIL posted:If the investigating committee is made up of decent guys, they won't ask you anything about your religion at all. You will be asked in whom you place your trust, to which you'll have to answer "god". Whatever your definition of that god is, that's totally your business. If it's Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Vishnu, The Green Man, whatever... as long as there's a force greater than yourself that you believe punishes evil and rewards good, that's what matters. There's no discussion of politics or religion in the lodge. Unless, of course, you live in Florida.
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May 12, 2013 06:42
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Pope on fire posted:Question is, do you think many Freemasons are actually non religious and just pretend otherwise to stay in the order? I can't speak for anyone but myself, so I'll speak for myself. That does not apply to me. You don't have to be religious to be a Freemason, just have a belief in a Supreme Being. That said, frankly if you didn't believe, our ritual would be very boring, so there would be no reason to stay.
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May 12, 2013 13:56
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TemetNosceXVIcubus posted:I was told that I was supposed to build the Third Temple in my heart. I'm a Florida Mason. I'm also an orthodox Jew. I wonder if perhaps you could go into any sort of detail as to at what point you were instructed to build it "in your heart". In Florida, focus is not necessarily on rebuilding the Temple, but more on the ethical/moral stuff, fitting our minds as L Ss for the S B, the H N M W Hs, E I T Hs. This is on a more metaphorical level. I ask because as a Jew, we are taught that by performing G-d's commandments, avoiding sin, and doing teshuvah, we are working towards filling the world's quota of requirements to bring the Messiah who will commence the building of the Third Temple in a very literal sense. This fits well with Masonic teachings that I've heard. Ari fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Jun 3, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 18:10
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