BryanMaloney
Premium Member
Do we speak with two mouths regarding what is and is not "within Freemasonry"? We tell ourselves and the world, over and over, that Freemasonry consists entirely and exclusively of the three Blue Lodge degrees. Nothing else is Freemasonry.
Then we have books written by Masons for Masons that state "Within Freemasonry itself, in the fourth degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite..." (Hogan, T. 2009. The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in Freemasonry. T. Hogan, self-published?) This is only one of thousands of such quotes that could be amassed to this effect.
How can we snuffle on about how the "appendant" bodies do not define Freemasonry and are merely auxiliary to the truth of Freemasonry when we, ourselves, go around telling each other that the "appendant" bodies are "within" Freemasonry?
Flat-out, what is "within" Freemasonry? Are the teachings of the Scottish Rite "within" Freemasonry (and, thus, normative) or are they "appendant to" (and, thus, actually not to be seen as normative for) Freemasonry? The same could be asked of the York Rite and other degree-granting bodies.
I don't expect a straight answer, but I thought I'd ask.
Then we have books written by Masons for Masons that state "Within Freemasonry itself, in the fourth degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite..." (Hogan, T. 2009. The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in Freemasonry. T. Hogan, self-published?) This is only one of thousands of such quotes that could be amassed to this effect.
How can we snuffle on about how the "appendant" bodies do not define Freemasonry and are merely auxiliary to the truth of Freemasonry when we, ourselves, go around telling each other that the "appendant" bodies are "within" Freemasonry?
Flat-out, what is "within" Freemasonry? Are the teachings of the Scottish Rite "within" Freemasonry (and, thus, normative) or are they "appendant to" (and, thus, actually not to be seen as normative for) Freemasonry? The same could be asked of the York Rite and other degree-granting bodies.
I don't expect a straight answer, but I thought I'd ask.
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