Originally posted by Circle
However, the Mason who is privy to the teachings and secrets of the Appendant Orders is obviously, more powerfully furnished with masonic knowledge,
than the person who just stays within the Craft. That's just common sense.
Yes, but similarly, a Mason who has joined the Mark Side order will have much more masonic knowledge than a 33° Mason
in that field of
study.
This is exactly the point that we are trying to get across. The Scottish rite is a side degree for Masons who are interested
in that particular
aspect of Masonic Knowledge.
A 33° who joins the Mark, or the Cryptic degrees, or any other side order, would start at the very bottom in those degrees, and has no influence or
power over any other Mason in those degrees.
In terms of Masonry globally, a high ranking master mason (third degree) in terms of office has more power that any 33° mason who does not hold
office. In fact even within the Scottish order, a 4° degree Scottish Rite Mason who holds an office holds more power in the Scottish order than a
33° Mason who does not hold office.
An analogy:
It is like saying all Masons are Mathematicians.
A particular Mason decides to do post-grad studies in Linear Algebra (Scottish Rite). He does his honours (4°), Masters (18°) and Doctorate in
Linear Algebra (33°).
Another Mason decides to do a post-Grad in Calculus. He does his doctorate in Calculus (Secret Monitor).
Now, they both join a university, and the head of department is a mathematician, with authority over both of them. Yes, they both hold specialized
knowledge, but it would be totally incorrect to say that the Doctor of Linear algebra is higher in any way than a mathematician in any other field of
study.
