Can someone explain

Hi to all. Can someone explain me the important questions about freemasonry?
1 What is freemasonry and in what do you believe, is it a single religion or it is up to you (I mean you can believe what you want), do you have religious books?

2 Do you have a master mason or one that is on top of all and he gives you
tasks that you must complete?

3 When you are in the lounges are there forbidden topics that you should not
talk about, it there are could you tell me what are they?

4 What are the membership fees? Do they get higher as you advance through the levels,
or the levels can not be advanced. Are the levels given to represent your social status?

5 Do you have fixed meetings or they can vary, and is the presence on them a must?

6 What are the benefits of being a freemason and is there a masonic lounge in Macedonia.

7 What are the requirements to be a mason?

To set things clear Im just curious there arent other intentions. Im neutral.


[edit on 17-1-2009 by defiler]

Hi defiler,

I'll take a stab at it.

Originally posted by defiler
Hi to all. Can someone explain me the important questions about freemasonry?

1 What is freemasonry and in what do you believe, is it a single religion or it is up to you (I mean you can believe what you want), do you have religious books?

"A beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols". That is to say, it's a moral adjunct to one's religion that uses parables and examples to demonstrate the underlying truths and symbols as avatars for the same. Freemasonry is NOT a religion (despite what you might read elsewhere) and is meant as an addition to one's own religion. In my Lodge, our membership includes Catholic, Sikh, Jewish and a number of flavours of Protestant, all working together.

Originally posted by defiler
2 Do you have a master mason or one that is on top of all and he gives you
tasks that you must complete?

Most Masons are Master Masons so I assume what you're actually referring to is 'Is there a Master of the Lodge?' to which the answer is yes. The Master of the Lodge is elected for a one-year stint and spends almost seven years in preparation for that stint.

There is Grand Lodge which is the governing body for a particular jurisdiction, in my case, the Province of Ontario. Grand Lodge oversees Freemasonry in their jurisdiction and ensures that Lodges under its purview conform to certain requirements so as to be considered "regular" vs "irregular" Masonic Lodges.

Originally posted by defiler
3 When you are in the lounges are there forbidden topics that you should not talk about, it there are could you tell me what are they?

Yup. Religion and politics. All else is fair game. Makes sense when you consider that most (if not all) wars in mankind's history have been started battling over one or the other of these topics.

BTW, they're called Lodges not lounges.

Originally posted by defiler
4 What are the membership fees? Do they get higher as you advance through the levels, or the levels can not be advanced. Are the levels given to represent your social status?

How long's a piece of string? It depends. Every Lodge's needs are different and are set by that particular Lodge. In our Lodge, there's an initiation fee and then the yearly dues are the same for everyone whether and Entered Apprentice or a Master Mason. Some members are granted honourary lifetime memberships for having contributed of themselves and their time above and beyond the call. But my understanding is that these members often end up donating what would have been their membership dues anyway in support of the various charities that our Lodge supports.

The levels have no relation to one's social status outside the Lodge. A Mason who's an auto mechanic has the same status in-Lodge as a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. It's called "meeting on the level".

Originally posted by defiler
5 Do you have fixed meetings or they can vary, and is the presence on them a must?

Fixed like second Thursday or first Monday or what have you. Presence isn't a must per sé but like any other association, you get out of it what you put in.

Originally posted by defiler
6 What are the benefits of being a freemason and is there a masonic lounge in Macedonia.

None unique to Freemasonry. It's a fraternity and like any gathering of guys, has its social outlet which is probably its most notable benefit.

As for the second, this link appears to lead to the Grand Lodge of Macedonia site and I would think that you'd be able to get more detailed information there.

Originally posted by defiler
7 What are the requirements to be a mason?

A belief in a Supreme Being, having sound morals and being over the age of 21. That's it.

HTH
Fitz

Now when I saw the symbol. Can you explain to me what it means.

To which symbol are you referring

In my lodge there is a $75 fee to join and then it's $50 per year.

We meet twice a month for about an hour and then we do charity events, dinners, etc.

You don't have to be any specific religion, just believe in a single Supreme Being.

The symbols all have different meanings to different masons. That's the beauty of it. Masonry doesn't tell you what to believe, it just gives you tools that you apply to your own life as you see fit.

Originally posted by defiler
Now when I saw the symbol. Can you explain to me what it means.

Assuming you mean the Sqaure and Compasses, I referred in my previous post to avatars. Well, the Square and Compasses are Masonic avatars.

Compasses are used to draw circles and are emblematic of the Creator. The circle defines the limit of good and evil and our respective adherence thereto is part of the account of our lives and actions that we'll have to render when Judgement is cast.

The Square is emblematic of the brotherhood of man. Squares are used to define the accuracy and fidelity of corners in buildings and are used to remind us all to act in good faith and "on the square" with all men.

HTH
Fitz

reply to post by Fitzgibbon


Should be noted the age varies, it was recently moved down to 18 here in Florida.
And since you didn't point this at FreeMasons only...
1. Each Mason's religion is up to him.

2. Depends on how you mean it. There is not one person in charge of all Masonry, howver each Lodge does have what's called a Worshipful Master.
Despite the name, Worshipful is intended by it's old meaning in old English., as a show of respect.

3. Religion and politics, chiefly. Both of those can lead to a intense discussion and a clash over viewpoints.
Speaking as someone who almost got into a fist fight with some friends at a karate class on our differing ideas on religion and politics... I can understand that viewpoint.

4. My understanding is it'll be relavent to the Lodge, but usually not much more than around 50 dollars in dues.
Each degree system has a certain amount of fees associated with it, though.
To compare it to a karate class, you still have to pay for your own stuff.

5. Meetings of each Lodge are fixed, but it is not required to attend all of them. Usually Lodge's'll meet twice a month.

6. Benefits would be the people you meet, and the return from what you put into it. What I mean by return is, You help people a lot, they tend to want to help you.
A lot of th€ benefits would be personal to you, however, and entirely up to you ass to whether they are benefits are not.
For some people, it's being part of the organization, others it's getting out and having fun.
As for one being in Macedonia:
eng.mason.org.tr...

7. Direct quote from my Local lodge here:

The absolute requirements for becoming a Mason are:

*
Be a man, at least 18 years old.
*
Have belief in a Supreme Being (of any faith. No particular religion or faith is required or excluded. All are welcome.)

Also:

* You should be someone who does, or want to learn to, enjoy the company of other men from all different social classes, faiths, backgrounds, races, countries, etc. Masonry is universal in its ideals.
* If you are a family man, Masonry considers that your family obligations come FIRST, so you must be sure that:
o You have the time to participate (usually two or three evenings/month at first for meetings and instruction, and then at least one evening per month for meetings from then on -- often more if you get involved in lodge activities.)
o you can afford the initiation fees and the annual dues without hardship to yourself or your family.
* You should be coming to Masonry "of your own free will and accord", to learn to improve yourself and to enjoy the company of other good people, not because someone keeps pestering you to join or because you think it will help you "get ahead" in business.

[edit on 18-1-2009 by RuneSpider]