D. W. Brown

In an effort to understand that all Freemasons interpret meanings differently, as has been obvious over the years since our inception. I thought it might be a good idea to bring up terms from past writings of our forefathers for us to discuss and see if we can come to a "true" understanding of their meanings.

Given all the controversy brewing today in our craft I thought a quote from Anderson's Constitution would be an appropriate one to start with.

"A Mason is oblig'd by his tenure, to obey the moral Law; and if he rightly understands the Art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious Libertine*."

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Dale Brown, 3°
TBL Staff
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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
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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

gingerman

Interestingly, I have recently been rereading a classical work on this subject: [i]De Rerum Natura[i] by Lucretius. It is a poetic exposition of the philosophical school of Epicureanism. I realize that Masons have often been accused of being Epicureans, but this, like so many other claims just ain't true. Or, perhaps more true than most believe.

Epicureans are the folks that made the orgy popular in ancient Rome. This too was a misreading of the material. Epicureans were encouraged to maximize pleasure in life. The reason for this is that there was thought to be no after life. No punishment, and no reward. This physical existance was thought to be all there is. The book explains why this is, and I'm not going to go into the details here. If anyone is interested, I'll talk about it, but it ain't the point just now.

The point is that being irreligious doesn't necessarilly lead to libertinism. The true believers in Epicureanism realized that there is a price to pay in this world for our actions. If you drink too much, you get a hangover, and the hangover negates the pleasure of the drinking. If you over indulge in sexual adventures, you catch diseases and there's always the shotgun (or point of the spear) wedding as a possibility.

So, a true Epicurean believed in moderation in all things. Not because of pie in the sky or a pitchforkin' to come in the afterlife, but because it maximized the pleasure available in this life. A practical philosophy, grounded in science, that, without the trappings of religion, lead not to libertinism, but to moderation.

Steve, M.M.
in Maryland

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Steve,
In Maryland

David Herman

I've given no small amount of thought to this over the years, and I've satisfied myself that athiesm generally equates with being areligious, and being irreligious generally equates with agnosticicm. But I am certainly open to other interpretations.

WyndellF

I hate to 'necro' an old thread but here goes...

Atheism to me is the believe that there is no supreme being
and
irreligious Libertine is one that has no bounds or restrictions on their conduct. I think the explanation in the EA explains the reasons...