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Hypothesis versus theory. A hypothesis is a theory waiting for experimental or statistical evidence. According to the scientific method you come up with a hypothesis (idea) then figure out how to test the idea. Some ideas work well with the data. Many ideas don't and are falsified. All...

There are a similar number of mistakes in my California one published by the GL. Mine has corrections scribbled in it. It's a well worn old blue book long since tucked away. There are now two editions of the Illinois one. The most recent edition was supposed to correct the mistakes int he...

Has anyone been in a lodge where GL authorities told them this? We are told in the first degree lecture that a lodge is a number of brethren etc. A lodge is not a building. A building is "stuff", assets. And yet. And yet. I've been in a lodge whose building was in decline. We only rented...

To be cool with a fedora you need to be a traveling man like Indiana Jones with friends all over the world! Oh right, so there's nothing wrong with a fedora after all. Chuckle.

The reason the Shrine pulled the requirement in Arkansas is the GLofAR has been expelling brothers unMasonically without trials. Now GLofAR is going to expel brothers unMasonically for staying in an organization that has separated itself from GLofAR? "Self expelled"? What a mess. No wonder...

The positive side of this is the new generation is coming to our assemblies in numbers so large numerous lodges are overwhelmed at the number of degrees. As a fad in decor it will pass. Few know that we are offended because masonry is *earned*. Some won't care about offending. Some will...

As long as what we print is not included in what's secret, certainly. It's very easy to conclude that everything about Masonry is secret but that's never been the case. The exact range of what's secret varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but the square and compasses have never been...

On the Florida vote in May - The brothers at the grand secretary's office might not even realize that the vote changed any pre-existing policy about monotheism. Would any brother in Florida be interested in pointing that out to them? Their petition form really should be changed now that they...

I've gotten cards from brothers who are on GL committees and such. I've got a card from a brother who was Imperial Sciot - an order that only appears to be active in California and Illinois at the moment - that has the dirge song on it. Texas uses a different song. I'm getting to the point I...

It was read by the DDGM during the first of his Official Visits. I heard him read it during my visits to both Helotes and Victory lodges in district 39-A. In both cases he pulled out a sheet and read verbatim from it. So what the RW Bro Ron read in those OVs was a statement of policy or...

I wear a medal of religious devotion inside my shirt so it is on my heart visible to only me. I wear an apron of Masonry outside my clothing but inside a tiled lodge so it is visible to my brothers. I rather like how that is both a contrast of visible to me versus visible to others but also...

A lodge event other than a funeral on a Sunday?

Why should the sacred writings of one faith mention the deities of another faith? That's not good advertizing policy. Horus may appear in the Book of the Dead but there's no way he should appear in the Old Testament.

As long as the response translates to "In the divine" then the response works. I'd been through the weeks of pondering what "supreme" means and I had resolved the issue for myself. I had learned that sectarian religion is not to be discussed in lodge. Rather than a lengthy discussion of how...

First things first - The secrecy of the ballot is sacrosanct. No one may report how he voted or why. To do so is a chargeable offense that can get you put on a Masonic trial. No one may ask how any member voted or why. Same issue. As firm as I am about religious freedom and tolerance as a...

Not quite either. If a charter had been pulled over it that would have been extensively discussed here so that didn't happen. What happened is the GM issued an edict forbidding the use of CoR complete with an extensive explanation of what had been done. On the one hand news tends to get...

Doesn't your district already conduct ritual classes? Every district should do so.

That's a really good idea for presentations for the Masonic Moment/Education bullet on the agenda for Stated meetings. Could be everywhere from fascinating historical education to hilarious and everywhere in between all in the same presentation. Are there presentation like that already written...