There's fewer Masons here on P-F than I thought, or they just aren't checking in. Some of the younger men have a similar story. They have a father or other relative who is a Mason, but they just never joined themselves.
There's fewer Masons here on P-F than I thought, or they just aren't checking in. Some of the younger men have a similar story. They have a father or other relative who is a Mason, but they just never joined themselves.
"Rich," the Old Man said dreamily, "is a little whiskey to drink and some food to eat and a roof over your head and a fish pole and a boat and a gun and a dollar for a box of shells." Robert Ruark
What's the deal with secrecy in the Masons? When I was a kid I remember they weren't even supposed to publicly acknowledge it, but now it seems tolerated or even encouraged.
A bunch of my friends from my EMS career were Masons and we even attended the wedding ceremony for one at the Masonic Temple in Trenton, NJ....which was a pretty cool place.
My wife and I participate in charities but joining a "secret" society has never been something on my radar. Something about pledging to something that I don't know what it is/entails isn't something that sits well with me.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
I found out recently that my late grandfather was a mason, and was pretty into it. My father is/was (?) also but less into it. I feel dumb for asking, but what is it? Some people tell me it's a secret society that deals with the occult (I read a Dan Brown book once that corroborates this); Wikipedia tells me it's a charity. Also is mason the same as freemason? Also what does an illumanti have to do with it? It'd be great if somebody could break it down for me Barney style
"Customer is very particular" -- SIG Sauer
I didn't know that you could go to a lodge and request to join. I thought you had to know someone who was a Mason who could recommend you personally.Originally Posted by Chance
It’s not so much the KoC as the Catholic Church.
The Militia Immaculata is another alternative to Freemasonry that Catholics can consider.
Ignore Alien Orders
Both methods are accepted; there are some differences in the various lodges and also regional custom. Either way, you will be vetted and interviewed, and it certainly helps to have an active freemason in the family.
"If I ever needed to hunt in a tuxedo, then this would be the rifle I'd take." - okie john
"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself." - Michel De Montaigne
I'm a Catholic Mason, may look into KoC next year but there are some personalities I don't like.
I understand that the Church's position is that freemasonry is incompatible with the faith and grounds for excommunication. Do you understand differently?
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13human.htm
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/co...ticolo_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/co...asonic_en.html
No disrespect intended to Masons in general, but:
Around here Masons are all about peddling of influence in the political and judiciary, and any other power/money circle they can infiltrate, and generally despised for that reason. This has been exarcebated in the last 15-20 years.
To some extent, pretty similar in other south american countries.
That is interesting, TF. It used to be rumored to be very much the same in the US, and might still be considered such in some regions here. There may be some truth in some cases, but it is certainly not there on a national level. I don't know many Masons from that part of the world- since there is a Papal encyclical against freemasonry, I'd think the fraternity wouldn't be strong in primarily Catholic nations, anyway. Sounds to me like they've replaced the *other global cabal* in the minds of conspiracy theorists.
There was a strong anti-Masonic movement in the northeastern US by the 1850s- it coincided with a lot of other schisms in political and social circles that were percolating at the time. Masonry became much more private in the US then.
You will note that there are a lot of Masonic symbols in US governmental imagery. Practically *all* of the prominent political and military figures in the early US were Masons.
I can recommend a book entitled Revolutionary Brotherhood that goes into some fascinating detail on the US evolution of freemasonry from the 1730s to the 1840s.
"If I ever needed to hunt in a tuxedo, then this would be the rifle I'd take." - okie john
"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself." - Michel De Montaigne
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