D. W. Brown

The following was posted by an Antient Freemason on his blog. Can someone break this down for me as to whether it is a true representation of the Antient version of Freemasonry.


------------ Orginial Post --------------

"Why I became (and proudly remain) an ' antient' Freemason"

Well, I see no reason I cannot make a Freemason themed post. Last evening I attended a third degree at Naphtali lodge. It was my candidate being raised, my friend William Bean. It was an incredible night, especially since we had 28 Master Masons present for the event which was held at the incredible Masonic Temple in midtown Saint Louis. My friends Right Worshipful Brother Chris Neubold, Russ Tinker, Densel Webb, and Fred Statler drove down all of the way from Wentzville and Troy; over an hour drive each way. I acted as the Senior Steward and Junior Deacon for the ceremony.

This was the largest gathering of Masons we have had in as long as anyone could remember for a degree. It is so very gratifying to see Naphtali growing and area members supporting the lodge. After the degree Jesse's wife Meryl provided a lovely dinner in the dining room where we shared fellowship and conversation.

All of this had me thinking. On the blogs of some of my internet brethren I have been reading some very harsh comments about the version of Freemasonry I am involved in. They refer to it as an old boys club, rife with political infighting, backstabbing, and an empty shell of what they believe Freemasony is ‘supposed to be’. I am always befuddled when I read this sort of thing and, to be quite honest, a part of me feels compelled to defend my institution.

I grant that blue lodges in other states and in other jurisdictions may be full of all of the negative things I have read. However, you simply must believe me that here in the State of Missouri we offer a very positive experience for our active members.

Now, this got me thinking about something else. Lately in many of my conversations with friends, when the topic of Freemasonry comes up (which it often does), I sound (at times) like a recruiter. This raises some difficult questions.

Why would I want to 'recruit' people into the institution? Well, it's rather simple. I belong to this club I really like. The club is struggling because older members are dying at a faster rate than new members are joining. If we cannot stem this flow then, in a not very distant time, my club will close down and that would be, as they kids say, 'lame'. So, it appears that I want new members simply to perpetuate the existance of the club itself. It's really not any more complicated than that. Like keeping the Olympic flame lit, we have to keep the ritual alive as well, if for no other reason, than as a tribute to the men who founded this country on such admirable principles.

Over the weekend I was on the boat with my friends the Solomons. The Solomons are all very devout Catholics. They send their children to Catholic schools, attend Mass regularily, and follow all of the customs. One of their sons, Joey, attended Saint Louis University where he received a degree in theology, was going to become a priest, and is a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. However, after graduation, Joey decided not to follow through with the priesthood and just a few weeks ago got married to his lovely wife Maggie. I attend charity fund raisers at their church whenever I can, and support my friends and their devotion to their faith.

As you might guess, it is hardly surprising that when we socialize we often talk about religion and philosophy. In fact, before we lost Steven Solomon last summer, he would constantly ask me about Freemasonry and was seriously considering joining the institution. I knew him to be a young man of excellent character and, no matter how many tattoos or piercings he may have had, I would have signed his petition without hesitation.

When Joey started talking about the DaVinci code on the boat we both agreed that not only is is ‘just a movie’ but also that even then it doesn’t actually say anything ‘bad’ about Jesus Christ. It does not question his divinity or ressurection. It merely says he got married and had a kid. This, in and of itself, is no great scandal since he was known to be a man at the time. We know very little about Christ’s life. Even from the gospels themselves only a very short period is documented in his life and the rest is completely open to speculation. This conversation eventually veered towards the topic of Freemasonry where I explained that ‘at the higher levels of Freemasonry’ it simply suggests that there is only one living and true God, the creator of the Universe, and that all organized religions are created by men and for men. Whether you might be a Hindu, Moslem, Christian, or in any other way identify with any paritcular religious dogma, you are doing litte more than putting your human prejudices on God and these predjucides do not affect the creator itself in any way. Freemasonry teaches us that the best way to understand God is through science, logic, reason, nature, rhetoric, and rational thought.

After waxing poetic on this topic one other young man on the boat, Evan, suddenly got very excited. “That’s exactly what I believe!” he exclaimed. “What do you have to do join?” he asked.

I tried to slow him down and suggested that perhaps he just come to a DeMolay meeting next week and, from there, decide if this is the sort of thing he would be interested in.

It is becoming clear that Freemasonry faces a major opportunity now as well as over the next few years. Once Dan Brown’s next novel, “The Solomon Key” comes out and as his other books are turned into movies, the average American is going to be saturated with documentaries and articles about the fraternity. What are we going to do with this? How can we let people know this is an institution they can actually join? And, most imporantly, how can we explain *why* they should join?

While I was driving to work this morning the thought hit me. Instead of listing the reasons why you should join, why not list the reasons why not? Why not indeed?

The Top Ten Reasons *NOT* to become a Freemason.

(1) You have too many friends.

Let’s face it, you have so many friends you can’t imagine trying to juggle any more. Half of the time these so called ‘friends’ are more trouble than they are worth; constantly inviting you to social events, inquiring about the health of your family and personal life, and offering their wisdom and guidance. Sometimes a man just needs to be alone.


(2) You like to lie, cheat, and steal.

The reality of the situation is that you are good at what you do. You know how to tell people what they want to hear and have never found a situation where a lie, or half-truth, wouldn’t offer you some advantage. The thought of joining an institution that requires you to be ‘square’ and honest in all of your dealings with your fellow man is fundamentally contrary to your character.


(3) You are a nonconformist.

You hate every fad, trend, or anything that anyone else is doing in the world. You are so much of a non-conformist that that your are literally a conformist to the non-conformist lifestyle. How could you be a ‘joiner’ of a club and follow their rules? Even if you consider that these are rules you completely agree with, you would still be ‘joining’ something and conforming to a particular code of ethics. This action would be so contrary to your personal identity that you could never join a group that limits its membership to men of good character and encourages them to live their lives by the highest standards of morality.


(4) You are a stingy bastard.

The fact of the matter is that you worked hard for your money and see absolutely no reason to spend one penny of it to help anyone else. Senior Citizens, burn victims, children with birth defects, widows, orphans, youth, all deadbeats. Not only do they not deserve any support or help, there is nothing you would get out of either. In fact, even if all they want from you is some of your time, who has that any more either?


(5) You are a religious fundamentalist and believe the dogma of your faith is the only one true path to salvation.

You believe that your only duty in this world is to convert other human beings to your faith, or **** them to hell if you fail. You have no room for 'so called' religious tolerance, and this idiotic ideal of ‘freedom of religion’ is a liberal commie plot by those pot-spoking hippies in the American Revolution.


(6) You are a material reductionist.

You believe that there is no such thing as God. Not Spinoza’s God and not any one definition will suffice. You believe that anyone stupid enough to believe in a God is a damnable idiot. You believe that the Universe is a Netwonian tick-tock world of billiard ball atoms and molecules, that there was no big-bang, and that human consciousness is a random glitch in the random process of selfish-gene evolution. You believe that life itself is meaningless and serves no higher purpose beyond self-gratification.


(7) You hate the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.

You think the American Revolution, and the Enlightment in general, was a scam. You believe the world ran better when men were uneducated, lived in fear of religious persecution, under Monarchies, dictatorships, and that free thought was a concept reserved for dreaming kittens, not the working class of a society. You do not believe all men are created equal, nor do they have the right to pursue happiness. You do not believe in justice, liberty, equality, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or any form of representative government. Since these are all of the core tenets of Freemasonry, established by Freemasons in the American Revolution, there can be no doubt that this institution would disagee with you most heartedly.


(8) You are too busy.

Once again, let’s face it. You have too much TV to watch. You have a two hour commute every day. You have soccer practice, swim-team, World of Warcraft, XBOX, Playstation, and many other critical demands on your time. In fact, it is completely outside of your power to change your schedule and priorties to engage in social interaction with your community. You don’t know who the people are in your community and have no reason to become involved. It is literally impossible for you to ‘make time’, ‘shift priorities’, or re-evaluate for yourself just what really is important in life. You have a job to go to, you have a video game to play, and Netflix and Tivo to get caught up on. How in the world could you attend five, six, ten meetings a year? How could you go to a charity fund raiser or support a youth group? This is all simply crazy talk at this point.


(9) You hate tradition and history.

Tradition is stupid. History is stupid. We are in the modern world now. There is nothing worth preserving. Not buildings and, certainly not, oral traditions. Does it matter that a tradition has been around in human civilization for hundreds (if not thousands) of years? Not one bit! Let it die! Remember when people used to try to only speak Latin in the Latin quarter in Paris? What fools! Remember when your Grandfather, Uncles, and other relatives were involved in Masonry? What a bunch of old doddering fools. Why would you want to sustain and support an anachronistic, outdated, and pointless ritualistic ceremony that has long since outlived its purpose? In today’s society there is no point in carying on a tradition such as this, or any other.


(10) You have no intention of ‘improving’ yourself.

You are perfect just the way you are, in every way possible. There is nothing you could do to improve your social skills in public speaking, mentoring youth, charitable service, making conversation, or keeping your mind sharp. Your character is impeccable and there is nothing you could do to make it any better than it is today. Were you to join Freemasonry you would merely have to teach others the great skills you already posses, thus making the entire exercise pointless.

__________________
Dale Brown, 3°
TBL Staff
__________________

Must Reads for Every Mason:

A Peculiar System of Morality | Laudable Pursuit | The Ancient Landmarks
The Truth About the Antients and the Moderns | It's About Time
__________________

Must Visit Links for Masons:

Grand Orient de France | Grand Orient of the United States of America
The Burning Taper | Halcyon Lodge | The Philalethes Society

David Herman

First, I don't agree with the recent generalized use of the terms ' antient' and 'modern' to define what most masons I know of refer to as 'mainstream' and 'splinter/clandestine' systems.

Next, frankly, yes. The opinions of the original poster very closely reflect my own, and his reported conversations echo similar conversations I've had with friends and brethren.

My lodge has members from varying backgrounds.

Religiously, we have members who are Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Jewish, non-denominational, and I think we even a closet pagan or two... plus the majority who haven't made theirs known. No known Islamic brethren in my lodge, but I know of several in other Atlanta lodges in our jurisdiction. We each understand that the lodge is non-denominational, and that each brother's understanding of God is his own business. We honor and respect God at our meetings; we worship at home, church, synagogue, etc.

Economically, we have members who are employed in building trades, information technology, trucking, law, law enforcement, etc., and retired members who were formerly employed in factory work, postal work, military service, education, medicine, etc. We each understand that it is, indeed, the inner qualities of a man that make him a good mason, and not his station in life.

Masonry has exposed me to a much wider cross section of society than I expect I would have come in contact with otherwise, and I believe that I am the better for it. And so it is my earnest desire to preserve the craft, so that the men coming after me can have at least as much opportunity to better themselves through masonry as I have had. Which is not to say that my personal improvement is done... far from it!
__________

EDIT: Let me add a thought, for the benefit of people who have met what they perceive as 'bad masons'...

We're not without flaws as human beings. Some men are rigid and unyeilding; some have prejudices that they are trying to overcome, or trying to recognize and deal with. Freemasonry isn't a club for perfect men; it's a place for good men to try and become better men, helped by the examples and support of the brethren.

Take any group of people, from your SWAT team to your tennis team. Are they all (within their teams) equal? No. Some are more skilled or more accomplished than others. So there is an average level of (whatever you are measuring). And so, naturally, some will be above that average, and some will be below. This is where those who are more adept can help those who are less adept. Freemasonry is like this. We each want to (or appear to want to) become better children of God and members of society, but we are each at a different point on our individual paths towards that goal.

__________________
http://morelight.org

antoninus9

"First, I don't agree with the recent generalized use of the terms ' antient' and 'modern' to define what most masons I know of refer to as 'mainstream' and 'splinter/clandestine' systems." - David

Most Masons you know are probably ignorant of Masonic history. You're "mainstream" Masonry was founded by a bunch of drunk Irishmen who the rightful Grand Lodge of London refused to admit to their lodges. The ' Antients' are as clandestine today as they were in 1751. It is you who are the clandestine Mason, not the ' Moderns'.

D. W. Brown

Ok.. be nice to each other we can debate without shooting across each others bows.

__________________
Dale Brown, 3°
TBL Staff
__________________

Must Reads for Every Mason:

A Peculiar System of Morality | Laudable Pursuit | The Ancient Landmarks
The Truth About the Antients and the Moderns | It's About Time
__________________

Must Visit Links for Masons:

Grand Orient de France | Grand Orient of the United States of America
The Burning Taper | Halcyon Lodge | The Philalethes Society

AlabamaFreeMason

Darn! and I was bringing artillry guns to the hill.........

D. W. Brown

David,

Would you please clarify what you meant by this quote for everyone?

__________________
Dale Brown, 3°
TBL Staff
__________________

Must Reads for Every Mason:

A Peculiar System of Morality | Laudable Pursuit | The Ancient Landmarks
The Truth About the Antients and the Moderns | It's About Time
__________________

Must Visit Links for Masons:

Grand Orient de France | Grand Orient of the United States of America
The Burning Taper | Halcyon Lodge | The Philalethes Society

David Herman

Surely.

I'm sorry if you (or anyone) take offense to those terms, but that is my honest observation - which I believe is what was asked for.

In actual point of fact, any group calling themselves masons (regardless of the actual practice and history of the group) which my GL does not recognize, must be considered clandestine to any mason made by a lodge chartered by my GL. That is not up for debate.

As much as I may empathize with this recent group, I may not recognize them as regular masons - nor can I (or any member of a lodge under my GL) recognize any group as masons unless they enjoy fraternal relations with my GL.

I am obligated to stand by that, and stand by that I will.
__________________

But perhaps I answered the wrong question - your post was very long. As to your question:

No. I feel that freemasonry allows an individual to hold that opinion, or to believe that only his particular concept of diety is correct - provided he allows others to believe that only their particular concept is correct. Freemasonry, as I have come to know it, leaves the particulars of understanding, worshiping, and following the will of Diety up to the individual. I have seen education about (and fine examples from) several faiths explained in the Scottish Rite; yet these were provided for education only.

Each brother is encouraged to follow his own path, while allowing others to do the same. Nowhere is there a teaching about the appropriateness of any faith.

__________________
http://morelight.org

D. W. Brown

Thanks David.. I hope that one day everyone will be able to sit together and discuss their different beliefs in harmony. Actually, there is nothing, at least from what I remember of my obligation, that says you cannot discuss freemasonry with anyone your Grang Lodge considers clandestine, except for the "Secrets of Freemasonry". An Alabama Freemason cannot sit in a clandestine lodge or discuss the "secrets" of Freemasonry with a clandestinely made mason.

I know you are not saying you cannot talk with them in your post, I was just making a point.

__________________
Dale Brown, 3°
TBL Staff
__________________

Must Reads for Every Mason:

A Peculiar System of Morality | Laudable Pursuit | The Ancient Landmarks
The Truth About the Antients and the Moderns | It's About Time
__________________

Must Visit Links for Masons:

Grand Orient de France | Grand Orient of the United States of America
The Burning Taper | Halcyon Lodge | The Philalethes Society

David Herman

Right. Anything not 'masonic converse' - our private rituals or modes of recognition - anything that is published can be discussed with friends, family, strangers, whomever.

__________________
http://morelight.org

antoninus9

So... Bro. David, if I understand you correctly your Grand Lodge seeks to control its members and what they choose to do in their free time by deciding what is or is not "Masonic"? That sounds very elitist and condescending towards others. Since you don't recognize Prince Hall Freemasons as Masons nor your predecessors, the ' Moderns', then how does your organization ever hope to help bring about the spirit of tolerance that it supposedly holds so dear? It sounds to me like the Grand Lodge of Georgia is based on conflicting ideas. Wasn't it Jesus who said that a house divided against itself cannot stand? Hmmmm?

I admit that I have no respect for your Grand Lodge, its officers or its concept of Freemasonry. It's all based on a big lie. They claim Oglethorpe founded Masonry in Georgia and that all Georgia Masonry can be traced back to him. When it was pointed out by the United Grand Lodge of England that Oglethorpe was not himself a Mason they simply swept that under the carpet like they do with so many things. Further, had Oglethorpe have been a Mason and actually founded a lodge in Geogia in or around 1735 he would have been a 'Modern' and not an ' Antient' because the ' Antients' did not exist until no earlier than 1751. Since Solomon's No. 1 in Savannah claims to be an ' Antient' lodge it could not have been founded in 1735 as your Grand Lodge claims. Lies lies and more lies. Upon what foundation does your Masonic authority rest?