I admit I had anti-freemason fever. And basically the reasons for my anti-mason passion was a direct result of my insecurities about my religion. I read too much into secret societies and tried to look into scripture extensively. Where I went wrong was that I actually looked into scripture so much that I was making it more complicated than it actually is. For example, I read too much into the Roman involvement in the beginning of early christianity. I started attacking the Bible through arguments against things such as the sun stopping in the sky, or the validity of the Gospel of John etc... Basically I felt that I had been betrayed and mislead all my life into believing that Jesus was God etc... I guess I got sucked in to think that the same people who formed the cannon law had the same power of some higher level freemasons such as Albert Pike.

I talked to a priest because my head was hurting so much that I did not know what to believe. Do you know what he told me? He told me that your actions in life are more important than you believing that the Gospel of John is legitimate or how old the earth is or whether or not you believe in the Trinity. So basically, people who do not believe that Jesus is God but live their life according to Jesus are more righteous than people who just believe in the Trinity.

I know this has a lot of religious references, but I think it is very important in the Secret Society forums.

If you read the Gospel of matthew and listen to what he said Jesus said, you will be alright. If a freemason does this: If a man is poor in spirit and shows no will to live, it would be good to help them and make them feel happy. For those who are unhappy, we should help lift up their spirits. If someone mourns, we should comfort them and tell them everything is going to be alright. If someone does not have much to their name as far as money or education or resources coming into their life, then it would be good for us to help them out. If someone is hungry or thirsty, we should give them something to eat and drink. We are to respect those of us who have a pure heart and love one another. We are to show mercy to those of us who have shown mercy. We are to make peace with those of us who make peace. We should come to the aid of those who are being persecuted. We are to believe in the message of Jesus no matter what anyone else says. The messages of Jesus make a lot of sense.

Now you don't Have to believe in Jesus as a God to follow these things. And I know that not all Masons are christian, so as long as they follow these general rules they are ok in my mind

Also another thing I noticed is that the teachings of Jesus is more of a way of life than a religion. So that also helped me understand freemasonry more. It is a way of life rather than religion.

Oh yeah and some advice for freemasons: It would be a lot more helpful and less confusing if you don't call people names or insults when we are confused, It just makes the problem worse.

[edit on 4-9-2004 by DetectivePerez]

Don't worry about it DP. I had some of Mom's chicken soup and antibiotics. No Anti Mason Fever here.

You know, the funniest thing is that all this debating and searching for the truth etc.... has just brought me full circle around to where I started before I got lost lol.

Good stuff, Perez. I'm happy that you finally have some closure on these issues.

What impresses me most is that you actually got up out of your chair and went out into the world and TALKED TO PEOPLE - conducted some real research, asking real questions, and taking an obective perspective.

That's more than can be said for alot of people around here.

Take care.

Hey ZZZ, do you think you can lock some of my older threads so they don't get bumped up since I don't want people confused towards what I believe now rather than before?

Hey, DP, good on ya, man!

I admire anyone that actually gets out and does the research, no matter what conclusion you come to, the search for knowledge is key. Unlike some who like to wallow in their own ignorance... a certain fly comes to mind, you actually went out and sought information and truth!

Good on you!

And it certainly took some huevos to post what you did, I really admire that.