Posted on 01/16/2009 9:54:17 AM PST by BGHater
President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in Tuesday will incorporate several elements out of America's Masonic past.
One-third of the signers of the Constitution, many of the Bill of Rights signers and America's first few presidents (except for Thomas Jefferson) were Freemasons, a fraternal organization that became public in early 18th-century England.
Although it became fabulously popular in America, at one time encompassing 10 percent of the population, Pope Clement XII condemned Freemasonry in 1738 as heretical. The latest pronouncement was issued in 1983 by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - who called Masonic practices "irreconcilable" with Catholic doctrine.
Still, as the first president, George Washington had to come up with appropriate rituals for the new country. He borrowed many of them from Masonic rites he knew as "worshipful leader" of a lodge in Alexandria.
His Masonic gavel is on display at the Capitol Visitor Center. Until this inauguration, Washington's Masonic Bible - on which he swore his obligations as a Freemason - was used for the presidential oath of office. President-elect Barack Obama will use Abraham Lincoln's Bible.
The worshipful master administered the Masonic oaths. This was adapted to the president vowing to serve his country in an oath administered by the top justice of the Supreme Court.
I learned all this from Garrison Courtney, a 30-something government worker who gives Masonic tours of the District in his spare time. He is worshipful master at the Cincinnatus Lodge in Georgetown. Contrary to public perceptions of Masons being older white guys, current local membership is a racially and religiously mixed group of Gen-X men, he says.
They have, he adds, gotten a bad rap as a secretive organization.
"If people have questions, we will tell them," he says. "We're pretty open as an organization."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I do not understand this well enough to comment
All the people I know, however, who are Masons
are faithful, kind, and generous
That's just what they want you to believe!
It's all a part of their grand scheme
to take over the world
Perhaps
But I am generally a good judge of character
And have not had a reason to believe that
those I know are not acting in good faith,
with a gentle heart
and in kindness
What does it mean to be a Mason? Why do people want to join? Once you’re a Mason, what do you do as a Mason?
Masonic ping, Brother!
There used to be some real battles over Masonry on FR, kind of like the recent name-calling over Mormonism. Personally, I could do without the vitriol. I’m not a Mason, but I don’t think they’re in league with the devil, either. Apparently, some “Christians” think anybody who isn’t a member of their particular sect is a tool of Satan.
"Mason" is shorthand for "Freemason", which is a fraternal organization for men.
Why do people want to join?
Men come to Freemasonry for a variety of reasons, but primarily to build fraternal relationships that are based on friendship, morality, and Brotherly love.
Once you’re a Mason, what do you do as a Mason?
I'm having a little trouble understanding this question. Could you be a little more specific about what you want to know? I'll be glad to help.
I mean are there some sort of duties that freemasons have to perform, such as community help, or just among the organization itself?
OK, gotchya.
Actually, among a Freemason's duties to mankind, charity is especially important. A Mason is reminded that ALL men, not just fellow Masons, are his brothers.
A Mason also has obligations to his Brother Masons, that include respect for his Brother's private conversations with him, respect for the chastity of his Brother's wife, mother, sisters, and daughters, and a duty to never cheat, steal from, or defraud a Brother Mason. A Mason is also obligated to care for the widows and orphans of his deceased Brothers.
Some of Freemasonry's detractors have a problem with it for religious reasons. Freemasonry only requires that a man believe in a Supreme Being... "God", if you will. Beyond that, a man's perception of God, and how he is led to worship is between the individual Mason and his God. Some people feel that Freemasonry is anti-Christian because the fraternity does not require the belief in, and worship of Jesus Christ. We do not disagree (as Masons) with one another over matters of religion or politics, because the discussion of those two subjects is forbidden in the Lodge.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Ping.
It depends on your lodge, really.
We do a lot with local schools.
Thank you. Master Mason here. And very proud of it.
Careful,
Pride goeth before a fall
Gratitude or Humility would be a better choice
"The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is that of Yahveh reversed; for Satan is not a black god... Lucifer, the Light Bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light...Doubt it not!"
No Christian can be a Freemason.
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Thanks for the PING PalmettoMason!
Eat! Have fun-raisers for scholarhips and charities, eat, attend business meetings, eat, learn to pretend that you're not planning to take over the world; eat, drive funny little cars . . . oh, wait! That's the Shriners; eat, do the dishes, . . .
Why do people want to join? So you can attend the annual BBQ, of course!
Seriously, though, people want to be Masons so they can learn the secrets of building better temples.
Great answer!
I know that some actually have a good enough understanding to initially petition the Lodge for that very reason, but many others only learn it as a part of the instruction that they receive during their journey through the degrees.
I have witnessed a lot of men joining because of their desire to simply belong to a fraternity, and discover the TRUE meaning along the way.
Yeah, LOL, I have gone back and read some of those threads. I would hope that most of us are above "taking the bait" these days. In my Grand Jurisdiction, we are actually instructed to avoid arguments with others over matters concerning the craft. It is part of the instructions given at the First Degree.
Most of us have learned to recognize the difference between an honest question that is asked out of actual curiosity, and someone setting up for an argument... one side of which they know very little or nothing about.
Apparently, some “Christians” think anybody who isn’t a member of their particular sect is a tool of Satan.
You said this so well that it deserved repeating, which is why Freemasonry forbids the discussion of religious doctrine in the Lodge.
Now, someone mentioned eating, which reminds me that it is time for me to go enjoy my regular Saturday morning breakfast with my Brothers!
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