My personal take on Freemasonry, why i didn't join.

Originally posted by excelents
Do I believe in a Supreme Being, Stellar Force ? Great Architect ? Well I believe that we are all part of something universal whatever the name given to that force but will only find that out when I pass over.

Originally posted by Masonic Light

Originally posted by excelents
Do I believe in a Supreme Being, Stellar Force ? Great Architect ? Well I believe that we are all part of something universal whatever the name given to that force but will only find that out when I pass over.

In whom do you put your trust?

Originally posted by Saurus
reply to post by excelents

 

Excelents, although from your other posts, I was fairly certain that you are a Mason, I have to say that I am rather puzzled at your answer to the question posted by Masonic Light above.

I'm not suggesting anything - I'm just saying that since you are a Mason, I am surprised by your answer...

edit on 21/10/2010 by Saurus because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by excelents

 

Maybe you are the WM, but I doubt it is a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. I even doubt that it is a Prince Hall Lodge. There are some online versions, and the International Masons and some other clandestine operations. I suspect your lodge is one of those entities. I have been to many lodges in many states and I have never heard the question or the answer that you supplied.

Originally posted by CrimsonSetyr

I live in a small town in Wisconsin, only about 10,000 people, small college town, 30-40 minutes from the Twin Cities in Minesota, alot of old buildings, but I never really paid to much attention to them. Then one day only this past 3 months, I noticed this building that was being renovated, and what cought my attention was the Freemasonry Insignia on it!

Who'd of thought here in this town there was a lodge. I checked the large stone above the door and it said "Freemasonry Temple" or something along those lines, I'll have to check again. The wierd thing is, I dont remember what it said before that, I dont ever remember those words being there, or those insignia's, but of course I could of just been blissfully unaware since it is my home town, and you tend to not notice as much in areas your comfortable.

One was Kennedy (I think). The other I dont quite remember. Both I think were "supposedly" part of the Freemasonry though were they not? (I could be mistaken). President Bush also rolled through here (why would he stop in this small town, I caught myself thinking again). Thats 3 presidents who stopped here.

I dont know MAYBE it has something to do with the fact there is a Freemasonry temple?

edit on 22-10-2010 by CrimsonSetyr because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by excelents


"Mr A.B, In all cases of difficulty and danger in whom do you place your trust" the answer to that given by the Candidate which is usually whispered to him via the J.D is that of "God".

edit on 21-10-2010 by excelents because: (no reason given)

edit on 21-10-2010 by excelents because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by network dude

Originally posted by excelents


"Mr A.B, In all cases of difficulty and danger in whom do you place your trust" the answer to that given by the Candidate which is usually whispered to him via the J.D is that of "God".

edit on 21-10-2010 by excelents because: (no reason given)

edit on 21-10-2010 by excelents because: (no reason given)

are you sure you are a member of an F& AM or AF& AM lodge? first off, it would be the SD standing beside the initiate, and secondly, that answer is never given, it must come from the heart or there is no need to go any further. I will not discount you just yet, but your answers are a bit rusty if nothing else.

Originally posted by getreadyalready

His answer was intentionally vague, because you have to experience the ceremony first hand. It is against our obligation to tell it to you in advance.

Originally posted by Alethea
When you find that the terms and conditions are inside the box after you have already purchased the product, legally, those T & C are void.

Any contract which you enter into unknowingly is not valid.

I agree with your reasons, and personally didn’t join because of similar values. I believe that the majority of Masons really don’t even know what their symbolism means beyond what they are told by the organization, and for most its nothing more then a social club so they never dig any deeper.

You will get all kinds of reasons, from masons, explaining how it’s all very innocent, and there is no hidden meaning behind of their symbols other then in minds of anti-Masonic fanatics, religious loons, and crazy people.

Yet…I know there are some masons, including at least one right in this thread, who know that there is more to masonry then the majority of normal members themselves understand.

However, they will never admit to there being even the remotest possibility of anything sinister about masonry, because in their books it’s not sinister.

Its not anything a Christian in the traditional sense should be engaging in, but as most of these “in the know” masons are not traditional Christians anyway, they see nothing wrong with it.

At the Muezzin's call for prayer
The kneeling faithful thronged the square;
Amid a monastery's weeds,
An old Franciscan told his beads,

While on Pushkara's lofty height
A dark priest chanted Brahma's might,
While to the synagogue there came
A Jew, to praise Jehovah's Name.

The One Great God looked down and smiled
And counted each His loving child;
For Turk and Brahmin, monk and Jew
Has reached Him through the gods they knew.

[Author Unknown]

As I stated above, the overall Christian/Masonic majority have not studied religion or paganism in enough depth to understand there are meanings beyond what their secret coded Masonic handbook tells them they mean.

I have even been present in a lodge when a member ended a Prayer in “Christ’s Name”, a major no-no, as not all Masons believe in Christ, but as it was a Christian dominated lodge not even an eyebrow was raised. So what I am saying, is there are Christians in Masonry simply because they don’t know any better, and in such numbers in the US that they actually consider many of their lodges to be Christian.

It has been admitted, and I can dig up the sources here if need be, that Freemasonry is actually related to both Kabala and Gnosticism.

While there are such things as Gnostic Christians, I think that most Christians would find the differences between Gnostic Christianity and actual Christianity to be extreme to say the least. For example, Gnostics believe that Yahweh is what is referred to as the Demiurge, in some Gnostic beliefs an evil god and the opposite of what a Christian should believe. They also believe that Jesus was at best an example of what a true Gnostic can become, and at worst a false messiah, but they all deny that he was Christ.

Anyway, I could go into much more, but I will just leave it by saying that I believe you made the correct choice for a proper Christian to make under those circumstances.