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Originally posted by seridium
I want to join and the reason is I enjoy helping people and I also would like to learn more about me as a person and I am quite sure many of their teachings help oneself find oneself in a certain sense, it also opens up another part of your brain that has never been used very often am by this I mean the mock ceremonies and ritual magick practiced in some rites, so yeah if you don't mind posting why you joined and what you have learned so far that isnt a big secret please elborate so some of these ranters can get with reality.
by the waym WHY is this "society" so secretive? What's there to hide? To quote JFK, "The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society"
Originally posted by The_Zomar
Why would you want to join an organization that came up with something like C.H.I.P anyways? For those who don't know what C.H.I.P is, its about masons convincing parents to chip their kids like dogs for "safety reasons".
[edit on 26-8-2010 by The_Zomar]
Originally posted by getreadyalready
Originally posted by frozenspark
Tell me, are you 33rd degree mason? Was your grandfather a 33rd degree mason? Becoming a mason is not that hard you know, and even climbing up the rank is also not too difficult, so obviously they would guard their "secret" from some schmuck who just decided to join.
I'm not saying that Masons are Luciferian, but if they were, YOU or your grandpa sure as hell wouldn't know.
[edit on 26-8-2010 by frozenspark]
Are you a Mason?
How would you know how difficult it is or isn't to become one and move up the ranks? First of all, there is no such thing as a 33rd Degree Mason. There are only 3 degrees in Masonry. Everything after that is part of the appendent bodies, such as Scottish Rite. You can become the Grand Master of the state without ever having more than 3 degrees of Masonry!
Also, Masons police themselves. We have "Masonic Charges" that can be brought against any member acting inappropriately, and they can be barred from the fraternity.
Also, Masons undergo background checks and interviews even before being allowed to take the first step into Masonry. At each subsequent step along the way, they are questioned about their intentions and obligations.
So......yes it is fairly difficult to become a Mason. You have to have a clean record, believe in one ever-living God, and you have to be personally vouched for by 3 Masons on your application, and then 3 more on your interview committee. Then you have to get a unanimous vote from the Lodge to allow you to proceed through the degree work. Then you have to complete all 3 degrees with obligations.
The Masonic Fraternity....."Making Good Men......Better!"
Originally posted by JR MacBeth
First, allow me to encourage the OP, I think that anyone who has chosen to pursue personal growth has already chosen wisely, regardless of where they may turn, as they set out on that noble path.
But, there are some issues that will probably continue to follow you down that path, if you choose Masonry, as you can already see.
For example, I think the famous speech JFK gave back in 1963, before the National Press Club, 6 months before he was assassinated, needs to be confronted, head-on by Masonry today.
Can we clear the air?
Since that time, the steam continues to build, with a relatively recent Oli Stone movie, "JFK", thrown in for added emphasis. And yeah, he pretty much made some insinuations, which helped perpetuate the common notion, that Masons / Masonry, were behind the assassination.
People can find that Kennedy speech on YouTube, etc., but if someone knows what I'm referring to, JFK specifically called out "secret societies" in that speech. I believe many at the time were shocked quite frankly, that he would say such things publicly, but the upshot was that he was then on record for it.
And then he was killed.
THEN, a massive cover-up, by all appearances, that suggested involvement, and / or accomplices, at the very highest levels.
I'm not trying to derail this thread by opening up the JFK assassination, really I'm not. But the fact remains that the public today is virtually "unanimous" that the JFK assassination involved conspiracy, and probably a pretty high percentage continues to believe that the Masons were right smack in the middle of it (if not behind it).
I'm not sure "how" Masonry can be exonerated, maybe it never will be, but I can easily see why people continue to connect Masonry to "bad" things, like killing presidents.
"Should" Masons expect a pass on this one, because the Masons they happened to know, are nice old grandpas, decent family men, Christians, etc.?
Maybe not. Which is why people are going to say that "of course" they're not at a high-enough level! Well, compared to the good ole' boys club on the Warren Commission, maybe we can concede a small point here?
Anyway, regardless of where one stands on this matter, I think Masons would be doing themselves a big favor if they stopped just immediately "laughing" at the poor common man, who after all, may have some "real" reasons to think the way they do, after all the water under the bridge.
No doubt many Masons have dealt with this issue already, many times before, and probably did so with patience, and civility. But until this elephant in the living room goes away, I think that a fair amount of patience is going to be the better approach.
Think for a minute: The average bear out there, is going to see some of the "masonic" avatars, read a snide comment or two, and just go away feeling that their notions have been confirmed, yet again! No, it's not "reasonable" perhaps, but totally understandable.
JR