Lol....good one.I was told not to let anyone ride him, so I left him at home.
If you don't want anyone to ask questions I suggest that you not wear items that particularly/purposely attract attention, my opinion, if I was not reasonably sure a person was a mason I would not invite him or them to lodge.
Hello brethren
My name is Scott, I am a MM from the province of Cheshire, An (my opinion) is I think now and again we should (friendly) challenge any men or women, I've personally seen people saying they are masons to try get work for free or cheap from brothers they know are masons which is not practised or encouraged in my province or any for that matter in Britain, but on seeing this and knowing they wasn't, I challenged him which he gave a blank look then I out right asked them to which he admitted he was not, he tried to use are motto of brotherly love for his self gain but was ousted, the only reason someone would wear let's say a Masonic ring who is not is only after 1 thing self gain, which if he try's to a person who is anti Masonic then that gives them the fuel they need to burn is.
That is another matter. The challenges I have a problem with involve physical force and taking another man's property which is against the law (assault & theft) and rather unmasonic.
I wouldn't have a problem with calling out a fraud, cowan, or whatever.
on my opinion we don't need to challenge because with just one friendly grip we could know another in the dark as well as in the light... with all my travels i've met a lot of brothers from different jurisdictions and none challenged me because of that token
Agreed, and this was my point in replying to this thread. If someone were to try to take my personal property from me they would have a real problem. Has anyone else been in this situation or know someone who was?The challenges I have a problem with involve physical force and taking another man's property which is against the law (assault & theft) and rather unmasonic.
Depending on the jurisdictionNo one has the authority to legally question a brother outside of lodge unless it is the grand lodge. If someone wants to wear anything masonic, that is not anyone's else business. You can't stop clandestine brothers from doing so, you sure shouldn't be able to stop a real brother. Thankfully, this is not practiced in my jurisdiction so I don't worry about it.
Depending on the jurisdiction
The authority to question.Please elaborate. What part depends on the jurisdiction?
This is the way that I see it.No mason has the right to lawfully try another mason on the street. You nor the other person can prove without a doubt that you are a Mason without sitting in Lodge together.
Exactly!The challenges I have a problem with involve physical force and taking another man's property which is against the law (assault & theft) and rather unmasonic.
This is good, the way that these interactions should be.Have even been asked if I were going to be in town for the night as it was lodge night and they would come and pick me up if I wanted to go. I have never been challenged publicly though.
I have often seen brothers on this forum speaking of being challenged whenever a brother seeing them wearing the masonic S&C ask a question on the subject of masonry . I have news for you brothers ,that is not being challenged , that is simply one man trying to discreetly see if another is the same as he . I wouldn't consider it a challenge if I was walking around a mall wearing a Miami Heat jersey and a stranger stop me and ask if I knew the score of the game last night , he probably assumed I was a fan and was not trying to test my allegiance , now this same man trying to tell me I shouldn't wear my jersey is his opinion , the same man trying to remove the Jersey of my person is now challenging my manhood I guess the point I'm trying to make is being asked a question is not being challenged it's someone trying to be informed on who you are , one thinking another's masonry is less or inferior to another when both taking the same obligation to the same God is a being challenged , I guess the SW of every legally constituted Lodge feels challenged after every stated meeting I hope this has helped someone today Often, Never ,& ,Willing to be tried again Not Challenged ....Sincerely & Fraternally
Bro.Pierce
In these forums and others I have heard of these on the street "challenges" getting to the point that the challenging person states that they will confiscate (i.e. steal) your Masonic ring, pin, etc., if they are not satisfied that you are a Mason.
No one has the authority to legally question a brother outside of lodge unless it is the grand lodge. If someone wants to wear anything masonic, that is not anyone's else business. You can't stop clandestine brothers from doing so, you sure shouldn't be able to stop a real brother. Thankfully, this is not practiced in my jurisdiction so I don't worry about it.