I met a mason and he said to me...what does it mean?

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom

What strikes me as odd is that I often cruise pawn shops looking for good deals on gold and I see quite a few Mason rings. I can't see why a Mason would give up their ring. Any insight here?

Well, you can only charge them so many times, then they don't work any more.

There's a Master Plumb-bob you have to stand in front of, present the ring, and give your oath.

It's where Green Lantern came from, donchaknow.

"With biggest grin,
or deepest scowl,
no evil shall escape my trowel!
Let those who contract evil's job,
beware my power,
my big plumb-bob!"

Or something like that, you got to make up your own when you join.

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


Masonic Rings end up in pawn shops for various reasons .

A Mason passes on and the family ends up pawning it .

Like what happened to one of my lodge brothers , someone breaks into his home and steals it along with other valuables and then pawns it (he found his at a pawn shop just a block from me) .

A Mason lands on hard times and has to pawn his ring to help pay his bills .

A former Mason who has quit Masonry and just wishes to unload his ring so he takes it to a pawn shop .

Someone finds a ring that a Mason has lost and pawns it .

To name a few reasons .

As for the rest of your post . I do not know what goes on in other jurisdictions or with other Masons , but many non-Masons think we go around giving Masonic handshakes to one another at every opportunity . I and most in my area do not do this . I have never given any Masonic grip outside of a lodge setting and/or in public . There is just no need for it . I do not have to prove to anyone I am a Mason when in public , and no one has to prove to me they are Masons when in public . I give Masons the same handshake I give everyone else , a regular handshake . Nor do we ask one another "secret" questions all the time . If I am curious if someone is a Mason I just ask them point blank "Are you a Mason?" , but for the most part I do not even ask because I do not care . I do not go around looking for Masonic rings , shirts , hats etc; etc; as I can throw a rock and hit a Mason in my town .

It's exactly as others have stated but there can only be ONE:


1. He used a taught key phrase to test if your a brother or kin to one.

2. He's messing with you

3. You failed the test. Be sure to check under your bed anymore before laying down.


Probably number 1 though. It's not uncommon at all for fraternal/secret societies to have key words or phrases to identify and distinguish actual members from those who pose or would like to impose (ahem) as "members". Speaking from experience as a member of a fraternal organization, we too use key phrases to identify fellow brethren who are in uniform or sporting a so called "ring" or other garment whilst in public be it in my hometown or anywhere in the USA. Not only do we use phrases but also voice inflected chants and/or phrases with similar yet reversed replies. *HINT*

Hope this helps.

~The Doc

Originally posted by bintim

Originally posted by network dude

Originally posted by dc4lifeskater
so rather then ask him something important like why are the masons taking over everything and why do they enslave us you just ask him.. "are you a mason" why else would he wear the ring guy?...

BWahahahahahahahah!

Why not ask him how many babies he eats every month?

Some folks have Waaaaaay too much time on their hands.

Now hurry up and mop that floor slave.

How many babies do Masons eat a month?

depends on the month, but 14 is a good number. Usually with gravy, but not always.
Thanks for asking.

A few european mason have told me that it is considered tacky to wear masonic regalia outside of the lodge setting. Now the USa may be different because masons are a lot more open than in Europe.

Rgds

Tiger5

No secrets till you get to the 33 level that is...then if they tell you, they have to kill you

reply to post by whenandwhere


Thanks for the reply. And thanks for yours, Bedlam, had to star that

I thought of most of the reasons you mentioned, except for losing one and the falling on hard times. I don't lose gold rings, and anyone I've known to be a Mason has been pretty well off, like my friend. And I didn't think that many people would quit Freemansonry after buying a ring, but I don't know.

I guess that maybe reason I seem to see so many in pawn shops is that they just aren't bought there that often, so they just stay on display. If you're not a Mason, why buy a Mason ring? If I saw a Mason ring in a pawn shop that I thought was a great deal, I might buy it, but I wouldn't wear it. If you are a Mason, there are other places to buy, and you can get it the way you want.

As for the handshake, I can't say for certain there was anything special about it. Like I said, when they shook, the one guy put his left hand over the handshake so I couldn't see what was happening. But I strongly suspect there was something about it that identified themselves to each other as Masons.

reply to post by babybowrain


The reply is "There is no time"

reply to post by bintim


I sometimes eat 30 but depends if there are to many orange ones in the pack I eat less.

reply to post by Jamjar


Don't knock the orange ones.

cooked in butter and onions, they fry up quite tasty. I'll send you a recipe.

Originally posted by network dude
reply to post by Jamjar

 

Don't knock the orange ones.

cooked in butter and onions, they fry up quite tasty. I'll send you a recipe.

Only if its that special 'secret' recipe.

Originally posted by Jamjar
I sometimes eat 30 but depends if there are to many orange ones in the pack I eat less.

I am not discriminant when it comes to infant consumption, they are all pink and delicious on the inside.

Network, please FedEx me your avatar.

reply to post by AugustusMasonicus


too late. He is in my belly. That's why he was crying. Kept saying something about "don't eat me, don't eat me" or some such nonsense. I had him with a nice Chianti.

I wish the Masons weren't Lucifer worshippers, I'd probably really dig a secret club...

I don't want to go to hell for eternity just to be part of a cliquey club whilst I'm alive tho

Originally posted by Beavers
I wish the Masons weren't Lucifer worshippers...

Who is Lucifer and why would Masons worship them?

reply to post by Tiger5
During my travels to Europe I have seen Masons who proudly wear pins and rings as we do here in the USA, but I also know Brethren who hide their membership to avoid prejudice in the society in which they live. It is a personal choice whether to wear them, to be public about membership or not.

Being a disciple of Christ and being a mason directly contradict each other.

Matthew 5:34-37
New King James Version (NKJV)
34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Originally posted by iSHRED
Being a disciple of Christ and being a mason directly contradict each other.

By that logic, being a disciple of Christ and being married directly contradict each other. Vow == obligation == oath == promise == affirmation == testimony

So not only is gay marriage against the Bible, ALL marriage is against the Bible.

reply to post by UberL33t

There's never just one question and you'd have to know if the answer was right.

reply to post by Mandrakerealmz

There's nothing wrong with secrets. Everyone has secrets.

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
What strikes me as odd is that I often cruise pawn shops looking for good deals on gold and I see quite a few Mason rings. I can't see why a Mason would give up their ring. Any insight here?

Often when a Mason passes on the family pawns the ring or they have fallen on hard times financially.

reply to post by Tiger5

That is somewhat true. Many Masons don't show any sign of their affiliation very often, although when I was in Italy they gave me a ring to wear in public. Also, unless you know where the Italian Lodge are, you won't know they are.

reply to post by iSHRED

Your misinterpretations of Christianity is what is the contradiction. In reality, there is no contradiction.

Plus when I took my oaths, vows, and obligations I didn't swear to any of those things. My oaths are between God and I.

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus
Who is Lucifer and why would Masons worship them?

Lucifer is, even if you claim it's a misinterpretation, another name for Satan.

"LUCIFER, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable, blinds feeble, sensual or selfish souls? Doubt it not!" Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, 1871, p. 321.

"When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his Craft. The seething, surging energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward he must prove his ability to properly apply energy." Manley P. Hall, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, 1924, p. 76.