Brian.2.0
Registered User
I am not yet a Mason though I was given an application for degrees by the local Master Mason in the county. I am contemplating whether to submit it because I still don't know what Masonry is about. I also don't want to do my own investigation because, for one, it is extremely rare that I believe anything I read or hear unless it comes directly from a Mason.
I wonder what the metaphor involved in craft refers to. Metaphors have a domain and range, and the domain of the metaphor I often see on Masonry involves using various tools to enact, i.e. craft, the designs of the architect.
Yet I am unsure of the range, i.e., what these words are actually referring to.
The Master Mason explained that the only secrets involved how Masons ritualistically prove to one another that they are Masons, meaning in part that they have paid their dues to the Lodge. Would you agree?
I just have a lot of distrust joining a group with that much secrecy. Despite the long history and age of Masonry, I am paranoid of something some might consider to be cult-like operations. With the secrecy, I am not sure what I would be getting into.
But if what craft, tools, stones, plans, etc., refer to are secrets, that might help me decide to submit my application for degrees.
I often sense that some Masonic notions go beyond ritual and have a mystical, transcendental power. Is there more to Masonry than fellowship and rituals, and, if not secret, what can be made public about what lies behind the fellowship and rituals?
I wonder what the metaphor involved in craft refers to. Metaphors have a domain and range, and the domain of the metaphor I often see on Masonry involves using various tools to enact, i.e. craft, the designs of the architect.
Yet I am unsure of the range, i.e., what these words are actually referring to.
The Master Mason explained that the only secrets involved how Masons ritualistically prove to one another that they are Masons, meaning in part that they have paid their dues to the Lodge. Would you agree?
I just have a lot of distrust joining a group with that much secrecy. Despite the long history and age of Masonry, I am paranoid of something some might consider to be cult-like operations. With the secrecy, I am not sure what I would be getting into.
But if what craft, tools, stones, plans, etc., refer to are secrets, that might help me decide to submit my application for degrees.
I often sense that some Masonic notions go beyond ritual and have a mystical, transcendental power. Is there more to Masonry than fellowship and rituals, and, if not secret, what can be made public about what lies behind the fellowship and rituals?