an interesting thread
Posted on: July 4, 2010 - 6:50pm
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an interesting thread
http://staffs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=General&action=display&thread=5021&page=1
Well I thought it was interesting anyway considering my family has a history with them.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
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I'm still trying to wrap my head around why anyone would want to be a mason. It is just the same as scientology. Some guy made the whole works up. They hadn't found the Rosetta stone yet, so he couldn't translate the Egyptian hieroglyphics, so he just "guessed" what it must mean. If you want to join a gang, there are others that would let you in that don't care about your religious beliefs.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Or,
I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.
Groucho Marx
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
But cj, don't you want one of those cool aprons they get to wear ?
lol, I figure it's just a silly club with little rules and handsigns and stuff, kinda like the kind of club you wanted to be in as a kid maybe. Well I didn't but I suppose some kids did.
Initiations, meetings and shared secrets, yea sounds like a kids club or a college frat at best to me.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
And the independence of an entire Nation to boot...
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
No, thanks. I think my gender rules me out as a member - unless I want to an auxiliary. Double yuck - have you ever sat around a hen party? I can't think of anything more boring or inane.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Here you go, it's a brochure they hand out -
http://www.rsmasons.org/what.html
I belong to Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honorary fraternity. They had a house on campus, for those that like that sort of stuff. And they don't limit their membership to only men. There was a bunch of stuff getting pledged in - but no hazing. And there was something I was supposed to memorize and they had us swallow the little slip of paper it was on. I couldn't remember what was on the paper as I was chewing. Membership never has given me an in to a job which was why I thought I might as well join. And meetings and stuff after college? None that I know of. But what would you expect from a bunch of geeks?
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
The big deal wasn't masonry, it was secular humanism. The idea that you could rise above your "station" is secular humanism. (Bill Clinton, love him or hate him, is the classic example.) The idea that all men are created equal is secular humanism. Remember, at that time, if you were born a peasant, it was because you were meant to be a dirt farmer. You weren't expected to nor could you better your situation in most countries. That was a stand out big deal for the time.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Which is why all the other apron-wearers made certain that the remaining authors of the constitution became Masons as well.
Rrriiiiiiggggghhhhhttttt......
Love them or hate them, they are the biggest reason that we didn't remain a part of Britain until after WWII. (when most of the UK's other colonial assets also broke off from the main country, none the least of which is India)
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)
I still think it's a silly club that thinks it has a secret agenda. I would consider joining one out of curiosity if it were not too much trouble but it is so I wont.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Btw A family story goes something like: this guy was a drunk so my grandfather and several other masons got together, went to his house and beat the shit out of him. They beat the shit out of him weekly untill he stopped drinking. This is touted as a good thing, I'm sure it could be worse but should we beat the shit out of everyone who we think is doing something wrong? It's certainly not a peaceful religion.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Are there any deeper roots of Freemasonry?
The early “speculative” Freemasons seem to have been interested in a variety of yet earlier forms of thought, especially the symbolic interpretation of pictures and of geometry and what is sometimes called the “perennial philosophy.” Such interests connect Freemasonry thematically with a number of movements from antiquity through the Middle Ages and later: the Greek and Near Eastern Mysteries, the Pythagorean School, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, the Knights Templar, the Kabbalah, and the Rosicrucians, to name only some.
The key word here is "perennial philosophy", a.k.a. ageless wisdom teaching. That thing is very old and traces of it can be found in all greater religions and philosophies, for example some millenia back B. C. in India. Everything in religions is either made up, historical or taken over from this perennial philosophy. When you know it, by amout of it you can judge how much a religion or philosophy is valid. AFAIK, scientology isn't based on it, it's made up.
As a member of occult group myself, I consider the above mentioned people like Rosicrucians or Freemasons as my colleagues who also have a degree of esoteric understanding, so there is a degree of mutual understanding. Freemasons in particular are esoteric group with deep roots, therefore with some formal and ideological debris gathered along the way. (some groups not admitting women, men, or atheists, for example) My group understands them as organization focused on the principle of ceremonial order, so-called 7th ray organization. They're very fond of structure, organized order, codex, and in broader sense, of building, buildings and stones. Those of us esotericists that are also inclined in such direction, would probably benefit in a Freemasonic order, just like the devoted and idealistic types thrive in more religious organizations. My group in particular is highly informal, laid-back and dependent on initiative of it's members. We work because we want, there are no leaders to prod us. So we naturally have very high demands on people. Despite of that, I'd love to check out a freemasonic group in practice and it's well possible I'd find friends there.
Beings who deserve worship don't demand it. Beings who demand worship don't deserve it.
The real question is, whether your grandfather and his gang knew that difference, or they paid well-meant neighbourhood visits for too short skirts and fast driving.
Beings who deserve worship don't demand it. Beings who demand worship don't deserve it.
Their agenda isn't so much of a secret now that they've disclosed it publicly: spread the ideals of freedom, and lay the foundations of liberty elsewhere in the world. Also...
Free Masonry is a social unit (or "club".) that thrives off of negative PR and general boohooing of their innate nature and philosophy -they certainly don't mind it if it keeps the riff-raff away and scares the remaining fools from trying to get access to their inner circles.
Before atheism became popular, it was "consorting with harlots and lepers". Then before that, it's "Witches and evil sorcerors"... and during the middle ages, (when it was simply known as "Knights Templar".) it's "making deals with the devil while stealing your daughter's virginity".
One of my Scandinavian friends on facebook suggested that Free Masons were also Satanists (lol), to which I responded "Nope. One (Satanismus) came out of the other (Masonry), but not vice versa."
edit; damn messageboard software
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)