I hate that term..."mystery school" theres a nut job church in my home town that has one of them....they call it "school of supernatural ministry"...
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I ware mine 24/7 sometimes I even forget to take it off when I shower and sleepExcuse me if this is a repeated question, I rarely get on here.
First of all, brethren, I am Bro. Chris Hill and I hail from Killeen Lodge 1125 AF&AM, in Killeen, TX. I am also a new member of Manitou Lodge 68 AF&AM, Colorado Springs, CO.
My question comes from observing many other Mason's during my short year and half as a mason- and one thing I've noticed, which I'm sure I am not the only one, is that there are many brothers who do not wear a ring, nor anything identifying themselves as a mason.
I personally do not know why a brother would not want to at least wear a ring, after all, we all should be very proud to be seen as a mason. I have asked a few brothers why they do not wear a ring or some sort of light, and the general answer is, they just don't feel the need to.
Although I understand that there are many Mason's out there who will flaunt their light, some in a very overkill manner, I personally believe that we all should wear the light, that way when someone in the darkness is seeking the light, they have an opportunity to ask.
When I was in the dark, I had no clue about freemasonry because I never knew one, I didnt even remember seeing the light until an old army buddy of mine wore his light and I finally saw and asked about it. That is when I first remember seeing our symbol and becoming very interested in it. If it wasn't for him, I might have never known, nor ever became a mason.
What are your thoughts?
I dont hate those that use the term.While there are some strange groups out there today that call themselves mystery schools, the term itself need not be pejorative. The earliest mystery schools were in the Greco-Roman world and were religious associations where participation was restricted to members who had been initiated into the "mysteries" of that particular organization and were forbidden from revealing the rituals to the public. Sound familiar?
Many esteemed Masonic authors such as Hall and Mackey have connected Freemasonry as an unbroken line to the ancient mystery schools. It is an often debated and contested lineage. Here is a short paper that may give some insight.
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry-western-mystery-tradition.html
While the church you mention may indeed be one of the "nut job" varieties, it is also possible that they are just a group of people who have found a non-orthodox way to make their own connection with the divine. Far be it from me to judge! Do some research into the ancient mystery schools Brother, before hating the term and anyone that uses it.
I'm sure you dont, Brother. I don't believe the tone came through my hasty post as I was heading out the door to work. But I do encourage you to read up on ancient and modern mystery schools if only to dispell any misconceptions you have regarding the term.
Wow....sounds kind of interesting.I hate that term..."mystery school" theres a nut job church in my home town that has one of them....they call it "school of supernatural ministry"...
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google "Bethel church redding ca"Wow....sounds kind of interesting.
Quick search returns a lot of articles about this group. Skimmed a few. They have some odd (to me) practices but they seem pretty harmless. Several articles mention them as controversial, but it's not like they're Heaven's Gate or Branch Davidian.google "Bethel church redding ca"
Not yet, they already have some ranking members of the city council as members. Their "students" will aggressively follow you in shopping places asking to lay their hands on you and pray for you. these "students" are taking thousands of jobs and housing from actual citizens of Redding. This group is out there like past pluto out there. they have "healing" rooms where people come and pay them money to "prey" over them using goat horn horns and all sorts of stuff and claim to have cured people cancer and other ailments with no real data to back it up. this "church" wants to expand and start allowing over 2000 more students come to their "school" a buddy of mine is a waiter and this group of 20 or so bethelites comes in right before closing and orders all waters and the free chips and dip, one person ordered an appetizer so they could be considered "paying customers" they stayed till after closing, which they were allowed to as the restaurant thought they were gonna tip......NOT A SINGLE PENNY LEFT as a tip. this is just one of many similar stories all over town. the City council allows them to stay as they "bring in money".Branch Davidian.
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I would put them in the same realm as Scientology.They still don't sound that bad. I live in Clearwater, home of Scientology. Group has to be pretty far out there before they register on my meter. lol
google "Bethel church redding ca"
They still don't sound that bad. I live in Clearwater, home of Scientology. Group has to be pretty far out there before they register on my meter. lol
Do you ever visit local Lodges? I grew up in that area.
Back in the 70's and 80's there was a group called the Unification Church, the adherents called "Moonies", which used similar tactics as you describe. They were everywhere, you couldn't hardly avoid them.Not yet, they already have some ranking members of the city council as members. Their "students" will aggressively follow you in shopping places asking to lay their hands on you and pray for you. these "students" are taking thousands of jobs and housing from actual citizens of Redding. This group is out there like past pluto out there. they have "healing" rooms where people come and pay them money to "prey" over them using goat horn horns and all sorts of stuff and claim to have cured people cancer and other ailments with no real data to back it up. this "church" wants to expand and start allowing over 2000 more students come to their "school" a buddy of mine is a waiter and this group of 20 or so bethelites comes in right before closing and orders all waters and the free chips and dip, one person ordered an appetizer so they could be considered "paying customers" they stayed till after closing, which they were allowed to as the restaurant thought they were gonna tip......NOT A SINGLE PENNY LEFT as a tip. this is just one of many similar stories all over town. the City council allows them to stay as they "bring in money".