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Originally posted by KSigMason
reply to post by artistpoet
We have several deists in my Lodge.
Originally posted by network dude
reply to post by artistpoet
I'd say you have a better understanding of our order than a lot of it's members.
It's very refreshing to see logical thought displayed like this.
Originally posted by artistpoet
By open mind I mean to set aside aside one's own pre-set beliefs in the light of considering new information.
Originally posted by LeonoraTenen
Why do black men have to join PHA then?
How is it that masons don't practice segregation when PHA is for black men only?
Originally posted by HardToStarboard
Up until last week I was a 32nd degree Scottish Rite (SJ) Freemason.
...racism. The problem is rampant in many lodges; in some it is blatant and in others it's subtle. And being that there is no overall governing body for all lodges nationwide the problem will likely linger for many generations to come just as it has for many generations passed. It bothered me from the beginning and finally I could no longer personally ignore it. Certainly there are many organizations that have racist motives, but freemasonry espouses that all men are equal while allowing lodges to remain open that spit on this very ideal. Rationalize all you want, but I could no longer do that in good conscience.
"It was up until recently (?) a "whites only" organization. Some people get bent out of shape when they read this, namely, Freemasons, who don't want this fact mentioned, and sympathetic non-Freemasons, who are unaware of this fact. I recently emailed Scottish rite HQ in Washington D.C. and asked them the exact date blacks were allowed to join. THEY STILL HAVEN'T EMAILED ME BACK. Nor do i expect them to. Apparently a few token blacks here and there are admitted in a handful of lodges, but it's more common to find lodges with zero blacks. Even Masons who favor integration of lodges admit it's going very poorly.
If you don't believe me, just ask a Freemason. They will probably say, "Well, they have their own lodges". They mean African Americans have a separate branch of Freemasonry known as "Albert Hall" Masonry. Albert Hall is not connected to Scottish Rite or York Rite Masonry. If a white Freemason visited one of these Prince Albert lodges, and his lodge found out about it, they would risk being expelled from the Scottish or York Rite!
In the 1970's, the U.S. government threatened the Freemasons with the loss of their tax exempt status if they did not begin to admit blacks. So guess what? THE FREEMASONS GAVE UP THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS! They obviously don't want black people in the lodges. This is called "racism". SOURCE
Originally posted by Murgatroid
If a white Freemason visited one of these Prince Albert lodges...
Originally posted by KSigMason
Albert Hall?! Prince Albert?!
Originally posted by NAMTERCES
Freemasons are not FREE.
Originally posted by NAMTERCES
A Freeman enters the lodge and takes "oaths" that "bind him", immediately eliminating his previous "Freedoms".
Originally posted by NAMTERCES
A Freeman enters the lodge and takes "oaths" that "bind him", immediately eliminating his previous "Freedoms".