Posted on 09/10/2006 9:16:53 PM PDT by boromeo
"cannot be Freemasons because of the basically deist philosophy that it teaches."
Oh come on, if you are a mason, you know that masons are not "deist"
A deist believes that God in uninvolved in human affairs.
Every mason is taught, before embarking in any undertaking to give thanks and pray to God --- a practice completely incompatable with being a deist.
(Note, I know nothing about the Scottish Rite, only the blue lodge and York Rite.)
My apologies, but the silliness and total inaccuracy of the article in question seems to bring that out of me. I know not why some in here deem in necessary to publish such tripe, (Is that word acceptible?), but they do and I guess they feel better for it. So be it.....
Gnostics believe in "hidden knowledge."
"The real secret of freemasonry is that there are no secrets." (Ben Franklin quote)
"Tripe" is fine - the others were removed for the younger and more easily offended readers.
I'm sure that's true. I also know a few Mormons and Christian Scientists whom I like and respect, but that doesn't mean I would become a Mormon or a Christian Scientist. I think Mary Baker Eddy was a silly woman, but some of her followers are very decent and intelligent people.
As a Catholic, I would never become a Mason. That doesn't mean that I think all Masons are evil, or are anti-Catholic. Most are well intentioned. But the Masons have a regretable history of anti-Catholicism in certain times and in certain places even today (that lodge in Italy, for instance). Some of our greatest founding fathers were Masons, but I don't think it was their membership in the organization that made them great.
I don't believe any of the popes have been Masons. Since Vatican II the Church has been a little too eager to approach any and every group, and maybe some Church leaders were too tolerant of Masonic membership for Catholics, just as our great Pope John Paul II was perhaps too tolerant of Islam. But that doesn't mean he thought that Catholics should become Muslims.
Yes, all men of good will have a natural tendency to want to freely associate. It falls under the right of self-determination -- a common right shared by the founders of our country and chiseled into our founding documents.
Live with it.
And read Clement's 'bull' (signed ex cathedra) and let us know what the specific charges were that were leveled against free associations, other than the fact that they were free associations, Freemasons or otherwise.
Guess what? Free Republic is a free association. You signed your screen name as a member. Doesn't that put you in jeopardy?
There's more intrigue and excitement going around here than you will ever find in a Lodge. Welcome to the real world, 'brother.'
;>
Unfortunately, I never saw it until now.
I actually prefer the Knights over the Masons anyway. The focus is substantially different between the two groups of organizations. I stopped attending lodge two moves ago, but I am now going through the chairs in my new Council once again (just elected Deputy Grand Knight).
Vivat Jesus.
Worthy Deputy Grand Knight MarkBsnr,
Vivat Jesus!
"The focus is substantially different between the two groups of organizations."
I'd be interested in any elaboration you might provide.
Thanks,
DGK sitetest, PGK
(we're an environmentally-friendly Council - we recycle our Grand Knights)
I'm against free masonry, too. I think masons should get paid for their brickwork, if they do it right.
And I'm not even Catholic!
Andrea Doria was among the heroes of Lepanto, as you say. The more you look into the history of that period, the more amazed you are. Christendom was engaged in civil war, of which the rise of Protestantism was only one aspect, and the Battle of Vienna and the Battle of Lepanto were won by ragtag bunches of troops from different cities and states who came together by what looks like a miracle.
The leader at Lepanto, Don John of Austria as Chesterton calls him, was an imperial bastard. His tomb is in Spain, in a room separate from the rest of his family. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, was two damned busy fighting off the French to be bothered to show up at Vienna with his armies when the Turks invested the city.
The Battle of Lepanto was won by a combination of Genoese and Venetians, although those two cities spent most of their time fighting each other, in trade and war. Most of the Dorias hated Venice and supported rival candidates for the Kingdom of Naples.
Meantime, the French kings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were more often allied with the Sultan than anyone else. What else but a miracle could have defeated the Turks?
I wouldn't become one because the hats look silly. But I look at it this way: If the gates of Hades can't prevail against the Church, then the gates of freemasonry will hardly be much more of a threat.
You can probably wlak out of there with a whole outfit for less than 30 bucks. Spend a few more dollars for tailoring and you're ready to go.
Pardon my interruption.
About the Sikhs.
We have several largish communities of Sikhs here in California. An interesting "issue" came up with them several years ago.
When the mandatory helmet law for motorcycles came into being, the Sikhs protested VEHEMENTLY because the men could NOT wear their turbans with a motorcycle helmet.
Harhar, you can IMAGINE the jokes and cartoons that came out with THAT.
The Sikhs insisted that their turbans were more important than helmets and they based their premise, of course, on "freedom of religion."
Safety won over "freedom of religion.
Later on, these same Sikhs had a problem with their knife-carrying religious law. Their children were disallowed wearing them to school.
I can't remember exactly HOW that was settled. I think it came down to enormous nitpicking about the size if the knife. I THINK that a 2" knife was jewelry and something larger was a weapon.
We can all laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny then to the Sikhs or anyone else.
Caveat emptor regarding Hindus and Sikhs.
After the Christians (2 billion), the Hindus (1 billion) and the Muslims (1 billion), the Sikhs are next as the world largest religion with 40 million.
I thank you and others for defending the craft against such as those who would attack it on this forum. The level of ignorance concerning the Masonic craft never ceases to amaze.
Me too. :-)
RICARDI: Yes, but, you see - Mister Eldridge is an Andrea Doria survivor. And, in light of the terrible suffering that he's already been through, we've decided to give it to him.
GEORGE: (Depressed) Well,.. the Andrea Doria.. that was quite a fire. (Moves to the door, leaving)
RICARDI: (Correcting) Shipwreck.
GEORGE: I remember..
Dear uglybiker,
That sounds like a good option, too!
sitetest
Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite and York Rite.
Wikipedia says that:
"Classical Deism (i.e. Deism as it was generally expounded in the 17th and 18th centuries) was defined by:
* the rejection of revealed religion — In general, this included the rejection of all religions based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God. Specifically, this meant a rejection of Christianity, and in particular a rejection of the claim that the Bible is the revealed word of God.
* belief that rational consideration of features of the natural world leads us to some basic religious truths — The small set of basic deistic religious truths generally included:
o God exists and created the universe.
o God wants human beings to behave morally.
o Human beings have souls that survive death, i.e. there is an afterlife.
o In the afterlife, God will reward moral behavior and punish immoral behavior.
For a rational basis for belief in the existence of God, Deists appealed to the cosmological argument (first cause argument), the teleological argument (argument from design), and other aspects of what was called natural religion. Deists were some of the first freethinkers as they were among many during the Enlightenment they utilized reason and applied it to the theological.
The modern revival of deism is a broad umbrella since it is a category of belief and it covers a wide variety of individual beliefs. Most modern deists agree in the rejection of revelation/miracles/holy books and in the acceptance of a higher power but there is a wide variety of opinions on other issues."
The lodges I attended always had a Bible (rather than other religious text) opened during the ceremony, the prayers are to the Architect of the Universe.
But the the Muslim Mason is to worship and serve Allah; the Hindu Mason to worship and serve Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; the Buddhist Mason to worship Buddha and various Buddhist deities; the Mormon Mason to worship Mormonism's own gods; and the pagan Mason to worship any variety of additional gods.
Funny, I never looked at it that way before. The Supreme Architect of the Universe is whatever god you want. That's pretty anti Christian right there.
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