Are most Masons out of the loop?, page 1

Originally posted by an3rkist

I also have heard the term "degree" used in reference to certain Masons, referring to their...rank I guess. Here's my question, and although it's directed toward any Masons who may read this, I'm interested in non-Masons thoughts also: Have you Masons ever considered that perhaps there are degrees ABOVE that which you know about, that are, in fact, perpetrators of NWO plans or whatnot? Perhaps the members of the degrees above you know more than they tell you?

There are many different systems of Masonry that are technically called "Rites". Each Rite has a certain number of degrees that are controlled by its government, and these degrees are listed in the Masonic Constitutions (and, as Leveller mentioned, they have nothing to do with rank).

For example, in the 18th century, there was a popular Masonic Rite in France called the Rite of Perfection, which consisted of 25 degrees. This Rite was brought to America, where a group of York Rite Masons added 8 additional degrees from several other European Rites, ending with a new Rite of 33 degrees that they called "Scottish Rite". When they formed a Supreme Council to govern the new Rite, they drafted a Constitution to proclaim that the Rite would consist of 33 degrees. Because this is included in the Constitution, the Supreme Council cannot legally recognize any degree higher than the 33�.

Other Rites have the same laws concerning their own degrees. If the government of a Rite wished to add or subtract the number of degrees in its system, they would first have to amend their Constitutions, which would require the approval of their membership through majority ballot.

But it's also necessary to explain why the higher degrees are irrelevant in regard to rank. A 33� Mason is not "higher up" than a 3� Mason for the following reason:

All Masonic instruction is contained in the first three degrees. Once a man receives the degree of Master Mason (3�) he is a full member of the Fraternity, and is eligible to vote on any subject, hold Masonic offices, and introduce motions and Masonic legislation. The First Degree symbolizes youth, the Second Degree symbolizes manhood and intellectual knowledge, and the Third Degree symbolizes old age, death, and eternal life which follows. Thus, the entire cycle of life is captured in the symbolism of the first three degrees.

All of the degrees above the third are simply elaborations on the first three, being especially elaborations on the Second Degree. Early on, it was seen that the intellectual and philosophical teachings of the Second Degree were too generalized; they were by necessity, because it is impossible to communicate the entire bodies of philosophical and scientific knowledge in one ceremony. Therefore, the "higher degrees" were written to explain in more depth the teachings of the original three degrees. This is what we mean we say that the higher degrees cannot make a man more of a Mason than he already is, but they can make him a better Mason.

It's also important to note that these "higher degrees" are available to any Master Mason who wants to receive them. All he has to do is apply for them.

I have heard that there comes a time once you've been a Mason for long enough where you're faced with some kind of a test, where there's not really a right or wrong answer. But if you choose one, you advance to the "inner loop", and the other choice you advance to the "outer loop". (I'm sure these aren't the official names for these groups.) One of the loops is for "normal" Masons, the other is for those who are privied to information that all these conspiracy theorists think EVERY Mason knows about. Maybe the outer loop is for those of you who don't know what's going on, and the inner loop is for the Masons that are pulling the strings and controlling the world from the shadows. I mean, these are just ideas, but have any of you Masons ever considered this?

I'd read all the conspiracy theories about Masonry before I became a Mason, and found most of them sort of silly, but nevertheless entertaining.

In Masonry, the leadership is elected by popular vote. Every member has a voice in who becomes a Masonic official. Every year, Lodges elect new officers. In turn, these officers attend Grand Lodge meetings and elect Grand Officers, where they act as the Lodge's representatives.

"Secrecy" has been extremely exaggerated by opponents of Masonry. The only thing in Masonry that is secret are certain portions of our initiation ceremonies, where we communicate our traditional passwords and handshakes, probably derived from the guild secrets of the middle ages. The actual content of our meetings are not secret; for example, practically all Grand Lodges publish their minutes following their annual sessions, and anyone who's curious can read them. Likewise, individual Lodges keep written minutes. Reading the minutes of a Masonic meeting is no different than reading minutes to any civic organization: the presiding officer opens the Lodge, the chaplain gives an opening prayer, minutes to the last meeting are read for confirmation, bills for the month are read, unfinished business is considered, new business is considered, the presiding officer closes the meeting, the chaplain delivers the closing prayer, and the Brethren retire to the dining room for dinner. This is practically the universal order for a Masonic meeting.