Masons here at ATS say the Mason belief has no religion?

a reply to: butcherguy

Eating children is not exclusively for Shriners'.

We dined on sautéed children the night I was raised!

The meals got better when I joined the York right. We had bacon wrapped babies when I was knighted as a Sir Knight!

originally posted by: Sahabi
New International Reader's Version
Begins on page 6

I have three of those lined up in a row. It just seemed more, how do I say it, 'symmetrical' that way.

originally posted by: KawRider9
a reply to: butcherguy

Eating children is not exclusively for Shriners'.

We dined on sautéed children the night I was raised!

The meals got better when I joined the York right. We had bacon wrapped babies when I was knighted as a Sir Knight!

They steam them with the clams at the Pote's picnics here. The bacon idea sounds much better.

The difference is usually semantic. The don't have a religion they have a system or institution, they don;t have a church, they have a "Lodge", they don't attend service, they have "meetings".

By any other name, still just another cult

a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Woodcarver
Do you think i shouldn't have been admitted?

Are you in a Regular Grand Lodge?

Mount Moriah, lodge #18 over 450 members. At least a quarter of us are atheists. Although not all of us are regular attendees. We don't turn our backs on good people.

I was introduced to masonry through DeMolay when i was initiated at 13. They asked me then if i believed in a higher power. I said "no, i am an atheist. " they commended me for my honesty and a few of the guys in the convo admitted that they were also atheist and that it would not be a problem. There are definitely atheists in your lodge. It's all about whether they feel comfortable being open about it. Many theists are violently opposed to atheism. I hope your lodge is open minded.

Thanks OP and participants for this thread. It isn't easy to make me laugh this time of the morning. Please don't tell anyone, it will ruin me.

BTW, my uncles Masonic bible was one of those HUGE things that was big enough to beat you over the head with.

a reply to: Woodcarver

Open minded or not, it is a violation of the Ancient Landmarks and in New Jersey you would be asked to demit, it has already happened.

It's just a book. One version out of many, at that. I've seen Masonic bibles without all the extra stuff shown in the video.

One can be a Freemason so long as they believe in a higher power supreme being (doesn't have to adhere to Christianity), and are of a good moral character.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Freemason.

Edit: Thanks for the clarification on the supreme being part, AugustusMasonicus.

a reply to: daaskapital

Quick correction. In my jurisdiction it is belief in a Supreme Being.

Thank god the masonic devil bible is in safely in the hands of the scholar in the video.

Whew, crisis adverted.


and we all know

Beef Supreme, reigns SUPREME.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: daaskapital

Quick correction. In my jurisdiction it is belief in a Supreme Being.

That is what I was to profess, belief in a Supreme being.
They didn't take eunichs either.

Another reason for haters to hate them.... A post surgical Bruce Jenner would be turned away.

lol just nvm nvm

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: daaskapital

Quick correction. In my jurisdiction it is belief in a Supreme Being.

Cheers.

Sorry for messing that up, lol.

a reply to: DeathSlayer

If you look at the "masonic Bible", you notice it a KJV Bible, with some extra pages containing masonic stuff. If you read the masonic stuff, you quickly notice that there are no mentions of Lucifer, Baal, Balphomet, Satan, of any other evil entity. So the Bible, for those intelligent enough to read it, is a pointless thing to bring up. To the mason who received it, it's an amazing reminder of his entrance into freemasonry.

I'd be curious to see the Pike works you think are "delusional". (most of the time, the reader isn't mentally capable of comprehending what Pike was trying to convey, or they were really lazy and just accepted what they were told on some fundie hate site)

Freemasonry is not a religion, but it is religious in nature. The stories we use to convey the lessons, come from the KJV Bible. We say a prayer at the beginning and end of each meeting. In regular masonry, we give thanks to the Great Architect of the Universe. We use that term as a name for God, but leave it as it is, to not exclude anyone who may call God by another name.

Since you started this thread, and at least on the surface, pretend to be interested in discussion, could you please tell us what you think is evil or wrong with a group of like minded men, meeting as equals to try to better themselves and their community?

originally posted by: network dude
Since you started this thread, and at least on the surface, pretend to be interested in discussion, could you please tell us what you think is evil or wrong with a group of like minded men, meeting as equals to try to better themselves and their community?

Satan.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: Woodcarver

Open minded or not, it is a violation of the Ancient Landmarks and in New Jersey you would be asked to demit, it has already happened.

It used to happen. Do you really think that out of the 1.2 million members, that none of them are open atheists?

Membership peaked in the 50's from almost 4 million to what we have now.

Most people today could care less about another person's religion. Masonry has nothing to do with religion. It is about morals, virtue, and community strength. These concepts are not the soul property of the religious minded. Masons are a diverse group of people. The individuals who make up the group, dictate the direction it travels. I have yet to find any one who would ask me to leave.

Would you ask me to leave?

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: network dude
Since you started this thread, and at least on the surface, pretend to be interested in discussion, could you please tell us what you think is evil or wrong with a group of like minded men, meeting as equals to try to better themselves and their community?

Satan.

I am more of a Balphomet guy. I'm a sucker for a nice rack.

originally posted by: Woodcarver
Do you really think that out of the 1.2 million members, that none of them are open atheists?

There very well may be but I am not personally aware of any. The application we use in New Jersey has a line which asks quite clearly if you believe in a Supreme Being. Not sure what anyone would get out of lying and to be honest I do not think I would want to be in a lodge with someone who felt it necessary to lie to gain admission.

a reply to: Woodcarver

Serious question from someone who just wants to know. I'm not picking on you, I promise.

When you gave your oath, swore on the Bible, what did that mean to you?

a reply to: Woodcarver

Is your lodge a regular masonic lodge under the UGLE?

I'm not against anyone being a mason, but I do wonder, if you practice the same ritual as we do, an Atheist would simply not be able to do it without being dishonest.

When the Entered Apprentice is led into the lodge for the fist time, he is first asked a question, and it's the basis for everything that happens after that question. Should he answer as you would, he would be led out of the lodge and asked to leave.

If you are part of co-masonry, or another non-regular entity, then I assume your ritual is adjusted for the allowance of Atheists and women. And please, don't take anything I have said as me looking down on you or your choices. I don't believe anyone can make any definitive statement about the afterlife unless they have been there. So none of us know who is right and who is wrong.