Originally posted by Fire_In_The_Minds_of_Men

Originally posted by JoshNorton
I agree the initial post could be interpreted that way,

Great. I knew I wasn't just imagining it.

As for the other posts I really couldn't care what it evolves into. The OP seems like he had an agenda, and if it was religion or, say, something like the cult of Scientology, the entire premise of the thread would not be allowed.

The Masons here love to proselytize and ATS has thus far given them free roam.

are you saying that you want more rights for scientology recruitment here?

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Originally posted by re22666
are you saying that you want more rights for scientology recruitment here?

No.

I'm saying we don't tolerate that type of preaching and proselyting when it comes to religions or cults like Scientology, so why does this forum bend over and tolerate the same type of (obviously) recruiting behavior from the masons?

Originally posted by Fire_In_The_Minds_of_Men

Originally posted by re22666
are you saying that you want more rights for scientology recruitment here?

No.

I'm saying we don't tolerate that type of preaching and proselyting when it comes to religions or cults like Scientology, so why does this forum bend over and tolerate the same type of (obviously) recruiting behavior from the masons?

i was kidding about scientology but i see sarcasm is lost here. ok so the original post just might be a little recruitment poster like in its text but its not colorful or pretty, its boring and long. it is not flashy and attractive. it is just there. so if it were not for the original post, would this thread be acceptible to you? I for one love the idea that there were ask a time traveller and alien threads before. and maybe we dont need ask a jew, catholic, mormon, but freemasons do kinda fit the theme here. or is it just me?

Originally posted by UFOpsychiczebra
1.Can anyone approach the Masons to join them? (as long as they adhere to the criteria above you stated)

There's an additional criteria I didn't see stated in the OP... One can't be a convicted felon. Otherwise, yes.

2. Is it true that you have to be invited by a Mason? That you can't just ask the Masons if you can join?

No, that's not true. It is generally frowned upon for Masons to recruit anyone. Part of the whole "of your own free will and accord" bit is that you come to Masons, not the other way around.

3. Are the higher scerets degrees really true?

You'd have to be more specific. Seems like everyone's got their own conspiracy theory about higher degrees, so it would be a disservice to address yours without specifically knowing what you're talking about. That said, the short answer? There's no higher Masonic degree than the 3rd degree. The slightly longer answer is there's no higher Scottish Rite degree than the 33rd degree, which is honorary, but that all Scottish Rite members are, by default, 32°. Or the highest York Rite degree is the 13th degree. But 32 is not greater than 3, nor greater than 13 just because it's a higher number. Once you're 3rd degree, you're equal to all other Masons.

4.What is the best thing about being a mason?

The chicken fried steak is pretty tasty. The camaraderie is good. Knowing that my wife and child would be taken care of if I died suddenly is a big load off my mind, personally. You'll get a different answer from anyone you'd ask, though.

I think the anti-Mason sentiment is doing a better job of recruiting for the Masons than the OP did (not that I think he was trying).

I've been a member of this site for only a short time now, but almost every other thread I've seen in the SS forum is an anti-Mason thread, where people just tee off against Masons. What's wrong with them getting an opportunity to answer specific questions about their organization?

I just want to say, as an ATS member and someone going through the motions to get into Freemasonry, (I just got my petition, met the local GM and another mason who agreed to sign for me), I've appreciated the masons here answering all the questions I've had. I thought the Taxil hoax was real, etc.

Being truly informed about my world is the reason I came to ATS.

When I first heard of the masons I was told they were a secret society. It couldn't be too secret when you see lodges all over this country. I have made a curious observation though. I have seen freemason emblems on cars and keychains. When I first noticed them I was in Army. I only saw them on the cars of fellow soldiers, every one of them were african american. That was eight years ago and to this day every time I see a freemason emblem on a car it is driven by an african american. I thought it could be simple demographics, but after traveling all over this country it just seems curious.

It just occured to me... The Masons have a reputation as a "secret society", but really just about any organization has its own layers of secrecy. So why should we judge them any more harshly than other organizations?

1) So were the founders of the Masons the Knights Templars? IT appears so given the relevance of July 4th.

2) It just seems to me that secrecy is destroying us. The everythings classified Gov't/military....to the elites, secret societies. If the founding fathers were Masons, why didnt they install such great moral teachings in school. The elite evil secret socieites well know the power of changing the masses thru teaching. The shamans start with the kids - so all they know is the search for awareness. Apparently, they don't have any important secrets that would be beneficial to teach publicly. Why did the masons not realize the light (public) is the only way to fight the dark (secrecy)?
(whether they are a 'secret' society, most dont know of them or just a bit)

3) The search for truth doesnt depend on knowledge from books, but ones ability to move their assemblage point and learn from witnessing the countless worlds or countless descriptions of this world. Do the masons know this ? Do they have techniques for altering their perception? I can tell you for sure that the Bad guy elite secret socieities know damn well about the astral plane and are interacting with it. Im guessing they are getting adviceo n how to proceed from some dirty fools from those realms.

This may seem a little weird but here it goes! Have you ever seen supernatural happen inside the lodge; such as levitation or spirt contact?

A) Can you name any companies or movies or anything else controlled by the masons? Im curious to their power/influence. However, it seems they got owned by the "Dark Side"

B) Do the Masons have alot of money as a group? They have to have some pretty rich and influential members. Why dont these guys (so unselfish and serving of society) fund some of these free energy inventors or anything else to help cripple the Cabal? Dr. Greer needs only 2.5 million dollars. It seems he has the connections to protect the technology and get it out there.

C) Can you name any hero Masons who have been murdered trying to do good thru out history? What do they teach you thru out the years at the lodge? History? Esoteric info? How much of these things are given to the members and how much hoarded for the top dudes as usual.

Originally posted by onlyhurtsu
1) So were the founders of the Masons the Knights Templars? IT appears so given the relevance of July 4th.

Though there has been copious speculation of a link between the mediaeval Knights Templar and speculative Masonry, no conclusive proof has ever been found.

There are chivalric degrees in both York Rite and Scottish Rite masonry, but my personal opinion is that they were designed as such at a time (early to mid 1800's) when it was romantic to harken back to such times. (Likewise the appearance of Egyptology in some of the Scottish Rite degrees... the finds in archaeological digs in Egypt were quite the rage in upper-class British society for a number of years.

2) It just seems to me that secrecy is destroying us. The everythings classified Gov't/military....to the elites, secret societies. If the founding fathers were Masons, why didnt they install such great moral teachings in school. The elite evil secret socieites well know the power of changing the masses thru teaching. The shamans start with the kids - so all they know is the search for awareness. Apparently, they don't have any important secrets that would be beneficial to teach publicly. Why did the masons not realize the light (public) is the only way to fight the dark (secrecy)?
(whether they are a 'secret' society, most dont know of them or just a bit)

I don't see how the founders of our country had anything to do with the education system, as systemized as it might or might not have been, at the time. Kinda had their hands full winning a war and starting a country, I'd wager. I will say that the ability to keep a secret was considered a virtue. Secrecy hasn't always been the dirty word that it is today. Even at its core, I don't think secrecy is an issue, so much as direct lying by public figures to cover things up.

3) The search for truth doesnt depend on knowledge from books, but ones ability to move their assemblage point and learn from witnessing the countless worlds or countless descriptions of this world. Do the masons know this ? Do they have techniques for altering their perception? I can tell you for sure that the Bad guy elite secret socieities know damn well about the astral plane and are interacting with it. Im guessing they are getting adviceo n how to proceed from some dirty fools from those realms.

There's not a systematic method for perception altering proscribed by Masonry. There are, in some lodges, meditation rooms. The Scottish Rite teaches the bare basics of Kabbalism along with symbology of the Tree of Life, geometry which mirrors the chakras, etc. but there's no outright or obligatory esotericism being forced down anyone's throat. (Not to say one couldn't study that on their own... just that it's not institutionalized.)

Originally posted by onlyhurtsu
A) Can you name any companies or movies or anything else controlled by the masons? Im curious to their power/influence. However, it seems they got owned by the "Dark Side"

Today? No, can't think of any that I'm aware of. You have to keep in mind that Masonry is not nearly as popular today as it has been in the past. Numbers were at their peak shortly after WWII, but have been declining steadily since. In particular the hippies of the 60's really didn't want to have much to do with Masons. There's been a bit of an increase in the last few years, of Gen X and younger showing interest, but it's not pervasive.

In the past? The founders of Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, and Ziegfeld's Follies were Masons. Disney was not. Dow and Maytag, yes, along with Dave Thomas of Wendy's. (You'll note most if not all such luminaries are now dead...)

B) Do the Masons have alot of money as a group? They have to have some pretty rich and influential members. Why dont these guys (so unselfish and serving of society) fund some of these free energy inventors or anything else to help cripple the Cabal? Dr. Greer needs only 2.5 million dollars. It seems he has the connections to protect the technology and get it out there.

The Scottish Rite and the Shriners both fund numerous hospitals... children with any illness or injury, burn victims, eye diseases, spinal deformities, dyslexia and a number of other medical issues are being treated and researched with Masonic funding. Masonic hospitals have no billing department, and those treated in the hospitals do not have to be relatives of Masons or have any other Masonic affiliation to receive free treatment. Current estimates are that Masons contribute approximately two million dollars per day to charity. I guess you could argue that an impending energy crisis would be something they'd want to help avoid, but everyone has to choose their battles. Masons seem to have, for the most part, chosen medicine.

C) Can you name any hero Masons who have been murdered trying to do good thru out history? What do they teach you thru out the years at the lodge? History? Esoteric info? How much of these things are given to the members and how much hoarded for the top dudes as usual.

Nothing's hoarded. But nothing of that nature is taught, either. Most lodges have libraries. Some people are interested in esoteric info, some couldn't care less. If an individual wants to pursue that course of knowledge, they're on their own, though it isn't discouraged.

Do you find the fact that Freemasons have been put under allot of fire; especially lately with Dan Browns novel being put out annoying?

What are your views on lodge :99?

Also I've noticed many alchemical symbols that appear in Freemasonry and some of the idea's in it similar (ie spiritual finding, turning oneself from "lead to gold" etc). Is there a possibility that they could be intertwined with each other?

[edit on 13-7-2008 by JamesRam]

[edit on 13-7-2008 by JamesRam]

Josh is on the ball...he already answered, so heres another perspective I had already typed out, LOL:

Originally posted by onlyhurtsu
A) Can you name any companies or movies or anything else controlled by the masons? Im curious to their power/influence. However, it seems they got owned by the "Dark Side"

None. I know a few masons who own small businesses, which they owned before they joined a lodge - thats about as far as I've found "companies controlled by masons."

Originally posted by onlyhurtsu
B) Do the Masons have alot of money as a group? They have to have some pretty rich and influential members. Why dont these guys (so unselfish and serving of society) fund some of these free energy inventors or anything else to help cripple the Cabal? Dr. Greer needs only 2.5 million dollars. It seems he has the connections to protect the technology and get it out there.

As masonry is not centralized, there is not 1 large pool of money that members contribute to. A significant amount of money is spent on charity, but its done at a more local level. I really don't think its up to anyone to direct how charitable organizations should spend their money. Who is to say that spending money on a children's home (what my lodge spends most of its charity money on) somehow is less worthy than alternative energy?

Originally posted by onlyhurtsu
C) Can you name any hero Masons who have been murdered trying to do good thru out history? What do they teach you thru out the years at the lodge? History? Esoteric info? How much of these things are given to the members and how much hoarded for the top dudes as usual.

Masons are not masons first. They are husbands, fathers, church or temple members of various religious organizations, etc. There are lots of famous men in history that happen to be masons who did good things - Washington will come to mind for most American masons, but there are many more - just google "famous masons."

The lodge teaches the degrees. All of the degrees are available to all members. As everyone is on the level as a master mason, nothing is "hoarded" for the "top dudes" because there are no "top dudes" in masonry.

[edit on 13-7-2008 by ALightinDarkness]