My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum
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To... equality?
Mind, I am not taking the "let's open mainstream Masonry to women" stance, but I see a rather important distinction between a candidate's beliefs re. Deity and whether or not said candidate is sporting certain anatomy. I will likely never sit in Lodge with two of the finest...
We find it "acceptable" because to do otherwise would be fundamentally un-Masonic. Our catechism makes it clear that we are to pursue the teachings of our own VoSL with vigor. It says absolutely nothing about compelling, or even expecting, a Brother to study and live by that same Volume. As...
One of the first college courses I took was titled (something like) "Philosophy 102: Introduction to Symbolic Logic". A requirement for the journalism major I was pursuing at the time, it was not something I would have elected. It turned out to be the single most valuable course I ever took. It...
I submit that, as Masons, we would better serve the interests of our nation and it's citizens, by renewing our institution's commitment to education. A thorough understanding of the U.S. Constitution requires more than just being able to read the words. Mastery of several of the "seven liberal...
Every single member of the uniformed services is taught that they are subordinate to to the chain of command, which ends with the Commander in Chief. By extension, that command serves at the pleasure of the electorate. Some members have clearly forgotten the oath they swore.
We agree completely, Brother. Bigger is fine, if that's what it takes to accommodate. I am always inspired by the grand Masonic venues of the early twentieth century. At the same time, I am depressed when I attend some function in one and see it 80% empty. And I am frustrated by men who seem to...
Membership is not a "problem". We don't "need" more members. We need good Masons, first and foremost. Not enough dues-paying members to support the Lodge building that was built when membership was higher? Raise the dues, move to a less expensive venue, merge, whatever. Just don't think that...
Several years ago, a next door neighbor was an Episcopal priest. While initially (and visibly) taken aback by the spiritual practices going on next door, she rose to the challenge admirably and we (she, my wife and I) quickly found ourselves with far more in common than not. Somewhere over the...
Bryan's observation is most astute, but I was really looking at your implicit notion that any particular deity, especially one spelled with an upper case "G", has "a place" in Masonry, as if the fraternity itself recognized such a thing and that our labors are somehow liturgical in nature. If...
There isn't one, as your question frames the definition of "God". Freemasonry gives great importance to a belief in Deity, but offers no opinion (for lack of a better term) on the nature of that Deity, nor on any given collection of dogma purporting to reveal such nature.
So the better question...
Yep. I once delivered a paper to my lodge during the GM's visit on this very subject, the similarities between certain Masonic principals and those of various chivalric orders, including Sufism. "The Way of Sufi Chivalry", by Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami, is an interesting read. For the Sufi, the...