Masonry is it a lifestyle or an Organization?

[youngblood2002]

I just finished my EA Q and A session....afterwards I had the opportunity to talk with a PWM .His advice to me as I continue my journey is to approach Masonry as a "Lifestyle" as opposed to an "Organization". What are your thoughts on this???:confused1:

 

[HKTidwell]

I happen to agree with your PM. It is not just an organization like Kiwannas, rotary etc.. It should be much more then a group that has ritual work and pays their bills. It is applying the lessons of Masonry to your daily life, supporting your brothers, helping them, supporting your neighbors and community, applying your faith to your daily life, and so much more. It is the little things like at a gas station you see a lady struggling to fill a gas container you go over and ask if you can help. This is just my opinion.

 

[chrmc]

I could not have said it much better than the brother above myself. However the more interesting question for me is whether we actually treat is at a lifestyle or not? I think many brethren at good at "talking the talk," but do not always see them "walking the walk."
There can be many reason for this, but not sure that we in teachers in lodges are always good enough to impart the lessons and morals when we impart the work. To often I've heard stories of a new brother that could recite everything perfect, but couldn't tell you what it meant. Does anyone have good experiences they can share on how we live masonry as a lifestyle?

 

[youngblood2002]

Interestingly after the meeting a number of brothers were in the parking lot talking about what we had just experienced.One of the brothers announced that he had lost his job and needed $ and also said he is determined to complete the process. Of all the brothers present only 2 of them reached in their pockets and gave $ to him....is this good or bad?

 

[MarkR]

Interestingly after the meeting a number of brothers were in the parking lot talking about what we had just experienced.One of the brothers announced that he had lost his job and needed $ and also said he is determined to complete the process. Of all the brothers present only 2 of them reached in their pockets and gave $ to him....is this good or bad?

I can't say without knowing the financial condition of the brothers who didn't reach into their pockets. We are expected to contribute to the relief of a distressed brother to the extent that it doesn't cause an undue hardship to ourselves. The best thing to do is not to judge them, because you don't know.

 

[relaxmax57]

I thinks It is the little things like at a gas station you see a lady struggling to fill a gas container you go over and ask if you can help.
:54::54:

 

[jvarnell]

Of all the brothers present only 2 of them reached in their pockets and gave $ to him...

I don't carry cash when I cam not carrying a CH and I don't do that to the lodge. I hope that that would not be judged that I was not a true brother.

 

[jvarnell]

This Forum has been a God send to me to make it a lifestyle. I am turnning in the last 2 parts of the EA tonight and after finding the MOT I can hear the overall Texas views of what my mintor teaching me. I like other did a lot of reasurch before starting my jurney and this forum has reinforced my beliefs.

 

[youngblood2002]

I would never judge a brother according to who gave and did not give in helping a brother in distress. I have learned that the length of a brother's C T is an individual matter and should be understood and respected...

 

[Frater Cliff Porter]

Masonry is a lot of things. An organization, a philosophy, a lifestyle for some (certainly the philosophies should be), and even a religion for some.

 

[rmcgehee]

I think I would describe Masonry more as a Family than a Lifestyle.
You would help your Family out before a stranger,not that you would not help a stranger but...
Masonry is like minded individuals who have a common bond of ritualistic experience.
As this Masonic Family grows they are able to impart their knowledge onto other members of the Masonic Family.
Your thoughts?

 

[towerbuilder7]

Youngblood, IN MY EYES, what makes "this thing of ours" so beautiful is that Masonry is all of the above-----a Fraternal ORGANIZATION (ORDER), a LIFESTYLE (try to APPLY what you read to your life), a PHILOSOPHY(based on the tenets and doctrines in our Order), a BROTHERHOOD, and, for our worthy, distressed Brethren, Widows, and Orphans, it SHOULD BE a SUPPORT SYSTEM. The Brothers are correct in that this is NO PERFECT CRAFT by any means; there are Brethren who choose NOT to apply the tenets and doctrines to their daily lives, but, for those if us who try our best, the Craft has done wonders. I can attest to my own personal struggle with alcohol abuse. I have absolutely NO shame about being open with this, as I am on a Forum with my Brothers. I have been sober every day now since April, and I attribute this in part to what I have read, studied, and applied about Masonry and its "charges and obligations" to my life. Masonry has helped ME focus in on what's really important in life-----the obligations I have to GOD, my family, my fitness, my career, and the Lodge. Being involved on this Forum has helped me maintain proper focus as well, as it motivates me
to read and study as I read and share with the Brothers I've met across the Country here online.

You will not find a PERFECT Brother in this Craft; if he SAYS he is, stay away from him........what you WILL find, however, is a group of GOOD Men who are (OR SHOULD BE) striving to become BETTER MEN. So, part of the beauty of this Craft is that no matter what you call it, you will get the return on it exactly what you CHOOSE TO INVEST. For some, all they desire is affiliation---write that check, claim their affiliation, that's plenty. For others, all they desire is community involvement, and they find a Lodge that best suits that interest. For still yet others, they desire to practice Masonry in its purest form-----from Ritual, to Business, down to the Esoteric Teaching found in Lectures from the Brotherhood.

You make the conscious decision to become the Mason that YOU CHOOSE, and make that investment in your Lodge. The Brothers will see from the start what you can offer, and where your heart is. And, don't place so much emphasis on ONE incident of which you spoke in which Brothers didn't reach in their pockets to assist that Brother. Now, if a Brother in your Lodge is WORTHY and is ever is DISTRESS, THAT is the time when the Lodge should come together and provide that safety net for the Brother and his family.

Keep your eyes, ears, and heart open as you continue your travels................

Bro. Vincent C. Jones, Sr., Lodge Chaplain, Bayou City Lodge #228
Prince Hall Affiliation, Free and Accepted Masonry, Houston, Texas
Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas

 

[Ratchet]

Brethren, by the unique character of Free Masonry, we are taught lessons in the degree work and admonished by the Charges to a way of life that no other organization can offer. So yes, we should approach Masonry more as a lifestyle than just as an organization.

 

[DWSCHULZ]

As everyone's Masonic experience is a little bit different, I'd say a Past Master, familiar with the EA, who offers his advice is usually right in his assessment.

However, some EAs can feel intimidated by the memory work, or by the tight friendships shared by older brothers and can despair at the thought of the potential time the EA must assume advancement will require. So, to be told by a Past Master that its a "lifestyle" could compound an EAs fears of substantial commitment.

Although I'm not a Past Master, I've counseled several men who taken this idea of lifestyle to the point where they would resent some of the less-then-fun aspects of Masonry that, the same same men continually volunteer for with the frustration that if they didn't do the task nobody would. Freemasonry, like anything else in life, should be taken in moderation, its supposed to take time. If you have a time conflict with work, family or church, be sure to take care of your real life obligations first.

Always be sure to call to cancel if you over commit, but moderation and a healthy life balance is the mark of a truly wise man.

 

[SeeKer.mm]

Masonry is a lot of things. An organization, a philosophy, a lifestyle for some (certainly the philosophies should be), and even a religion for some.

I am sure you knew someone chime in the religion thing :001_cool:. We are taught that Masonry is NOT religion...so if you would please, I am interested in your thoughts on the subject.

 

[Colby K]

I think I would describe Masonry more as a Family than a Lifestyle.

I agree that it a family for sure, but in order to make a good man better it should also be a lifestyle.

 

[Michael Hatley]

In one of the entry level philosophy classes I took many moons ago, the prof asked everyone to write down their definition of philosophy on the first day. Then we all mixed em up and read them out. When I took another one back a few years back, the prof used the same little exercise.

The idea being, of course, that there were many ideas of what it was, and pretty much none of them were wrong.

I like the defintion of "the study of wisdom" for philosophy. It doesn't really cover it, but it isn't a bad. A fair rule of thumb. Maybe the "search for wisdom" fits it better for me. It asks more questions than it answers after all.

If I was writing one of those doohickeys for masonry, I might write "the practice of being an exceptionally good man".

The brotherhood aspect of it happens because all the regular and serious members take that practice seriously, and exceptional men bond together as if by gravity, because when you get right down to it, they are an endangered species. Ergo, family.

The ceremony and whatnot I dig too, but its like how I dig it in the army. Its nice, and I enjoy it - but if thats all I dug the army for then I'd have just learned ball room dancing - if you catch my drift.

 

[MarkR]

I am sure you knew someone chime in the religion thing :001_cool:. We are taught that Masonry is NOT religion...so if you would please, I am interested in your thoughts on the subject.

I won't presume to speak for Brother Cliff, but while Masonry doesn't meet the definition of a religion (no dogma, no path to salvation, etc.) for many brothers, myself included, Masonry fills that part of their life that religion does for many others. It gets me in touch with spiritual philosophies, makes me think about my relationship with my creator (without telling me WHAT to think about it) and provides the fellowship that a church does. When Illustrious Ernest Borgnine created a small stir by saying that Freemasonry was all the religion he needed, I knew just what he was saying.

 

[T.N. Sampson]

All GL's claim that Masonry is not a religion, but a few Masons draw a different conclusion. H.W. Coil put it this way:

Freemasonry is not a science, and, if it is progressive, then a large segment of the Craft is mistaken in supposing that it is fixed and unalterable. Freemasonry is undoubtedly religion; it has a dogma; and it practices rites, though the religion is simple and creedless and the dogma is mild. "Religion's handmaid" possibly means that Masonry is an aid to religion, but why religion should need assistance is not apparent. (Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, 1961, pg. 158)

Definition of Freemasonry in its broadest sense: Freemasonry, in its broadest and most comprehensive sense, is a system of morality and social ethics, a primitive religion, and a philosophy of life, all of simple and fundamental character, incorporating a broad humanitarianism and, though treating life as a practical experience, subordinates the material to the spiritual; it is a religion without a creed, being of no sect but finding truth in all; it is moral but not pharisaic; it demands sanity rather than sanctity; it is tolerant but not supine; it seeks truth but does not define truth; it urges it votaries to think but does not tell them what to think; it despises ignorance but does not proscribe the ignorant; it fosters education but proposes no curriculum; it espouses political liberty and the dignity of man but has no platform or propaganda; it believes in the nobility and usefulness of life; it is modest and not militant; it is moderate, universal, and so liberal as to permit each individual to form and express his own opinion, even as to what Freemasonry is or ought to be, and invites him to improve it if he can. (Ibid., pg. 159)

FYI, the reissue of that book, done by a team headed up by Allen E. Roberts, cleansed such comments out of the text for reasons that are easy to discern. The second edition was very poorly done.

I would say that current arguments discern between 'religion' and 'a religion.' My view is that 'a religion' must meet the definition of the term to be described as one; thus, one need only find a definition one likes, and Masonic self-descriptions can be examined to see if the definition is met. Moreover, the spiritual aspects of Freemasonry, such as those described by the CA GL Masonic Formation concept, claim a spiritual influence acting upon those who enter the Craft, and lead to the questions: what religion does not claim to exercise a spiritual influence, and do such claims make you one? By what authority such claims are made and by what process they act upon the Mason are pretty much left unsaid. Cordially, Skip.

 

[jvarnell]

I am sure you knew someone chime in the religion thing :001_cool:. We are taught that Masonry is NOT religion...so if you would please, I am interested in your thoughts on the subject.

For some people they think that Sports are a religion look at what is said in the expedia commercial Expedia Find Yours Anthem - YouTube . I have a frind that believes in the SAOTU but nothing else that is why he is a Mason.