An Open Letter To Freemasons

To the Glory of the Grand Architect of the Universe
Strength, Wisdom, Fortitude
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
Salutations on all Points of the Triangle
Greetings and Health

Dear Brethren,

Recently, it has come to our attention that this forum, through which we have had Fellowship with each other, as well as with others who are not Freemasons, but nevertheless are of our own Household in their hearts, has been invaded by two or three infamous individuals whose purpose is to malign the character of the Antient and Honorable Craft of Free Masonry, its adherents, its enlightened Teachings, as well as its Friends and Neighbors, who, although not Masons themselves, have extended the hand of Friendship. Even such as these have been maligned by the vicious.

After a careful reading of the material offered by both the Brethren and the detractors, I have reached several conclusions. The arguments made against our Antient and Honorable Craft, as well as against us personally, have been logically refuted ad infinitum. Ceaselessly have the Brethren offered Facts, confirmed by documented Evidence, against the fictions of the offenders who, like Pharisees and vipers, constantly rail against the principles of Truth. No sooner has an opponent of Freemasonry been utterly defeated in logic in a discussion thread, that he or she begins a new thread, using the same allegations that have been defeated continuously in the past.

Those who post in this forum who have no opinion of the Subject have not been duped by the vicious and the impostors who have carried out the attacks on our Order and on ourselves personally. Indeed, the vast majority of the people on this forum are at least of average intelligence, with many being above average; they will not be easily duped by the Liars and Accusers, whose arguments against us produce much more ridicule upon themselves than upon us, as the logical structure of these arguments contain only fallacies, and lack evidence of any kind.

It is my suggestion that the Brethren continue to politely answer the curious, as well as those who are honestly opposed to Freemasonry, whether for theological or philosophical purposes. But it seems redundant for us to continue being trapped by the circular arguments of the Vicious, whose fairy tales are so absurd that no one is in danger of falling prey to their belief.

No one likes to be called demonolatrists, and it is no wonder that such ridiculous accusations arouse such passion in the Brethren in an effort to defend themselves from such slander. Yet, remember, these childish accusations come not from scholars or students who have well studied the Subject; instead, they come from anonymous individuals who were programmed in their viciousness not from real life, but from the reading of websites who propagate hate for commercial advantage. I have no doubt that, after reading some of our Accusers, they are little more than children, having been influenced by the lies and distortions of conspiracy theorists, who exist loudly and boldly when anonymous on the Internet, but quietly in the World. This is because, were they to speak so boldly in the World, they would be forced to account for their lies through Due Process of law, which protects the Innocent from slander and libel.

Therefore, while the Accusers will continue spreading their lies under the cloak and shadows of anonymity, it is unnecessary for us to legitimize their fictions with endless responses. By doing so, we enable them to exercise their only hope to spread their message of hate, viz., by bringing us down to their level of discontent and pettiness. Let us remember and be true to the Principles of our Profession, which are above the principles of our Accusers; lastly, as the Most Wise Master hath said, let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your Good Works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Virtus junxit mors non separabit.

You have voted Masonic Light for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have two more votes this month.

Here, here, and all sans committee; well done ML! Your sage advice will be tough to adhere to, but Men of Faith, Hope, & Charity have faced far greater travails. I for one has tired of the endless �New Members� who have the same questions (read agendas) as the previously refuted (or in some instances, banned) members. We shall see how your plea for decorum will be received by all parties, I for one support it.

I concur with this...Im no Freemason, but some people's constant bashing is quite rude and uncalled for. Serious debate about philosophical issues with Masonry are fine, and should be a part of the forum, so that each party can become more intelligent and learn to have proof and debate about what they know.

Personally, I would never become a mason, but I still fail to see what some have against it. As far as I have ever seen its an organization for people to gather, talk, drink, etc. and sometimes people get overinflated egos along with it. However, I do not understand why people are so adament to try and destroy Freemasonry People have the free will to join any organization that they want with no fear of persecution, and to those people I say fine....its none of my business.

Good topic by the way.

[edit on 8-5-2005 by intrepid]

Masonic Light speaks for me as well in this regard.

I've been a bit overzealous when it has come to refuting the unfounded arguments and allegations that littler these threads. I've tried to keep things clean, though. I think persistence pays.

It seems to me that with a bit of detailed, polite, persistent questioning, most of those who spread hate in these froums can be exposed and silenced. They'll lose interest.

The behaviour of the Masons has been exemplary. People of lesser tact and pateince would have spouted off and lowered themselves to the levels of their accusers a long time ago. If patience, learning, and understanding is what Masonry is all about, then I can't wait to join.

A brilliantly writen letter, by the way.

That's a nice, thoughtful letter and all. But what exactly is the point of posting this here?

[edit on 17-8-2004 by Jamuhn]

Dear Bro. Masonic Light,

I am shamed by your reason. It has been the tradition of our order since time immemorial that we do not reply to attacks. The question we must ask ourselves is if the outside world has changed sufficiently to justify a change in this ages-old tradition. We have always had our detractors, both our Taxils and our Nesta Websters... the new hatred is the same as the old hatred, and is often in similar packages. For this reason, I am making a change to my policy. Here are the articles of my new policy:

i) Any question asked in innocence and without intention to harm will be answered to the best of my ability, respecting my obligations.

ii) "Loaded" questions or questions asked of hatred will not be answered.

iii) All unreasoning attacks will be replied to with the following message:

It is the tradition of our order not to reply to slander and attack.

Since time immemorial, it has been the tradition of Freemasonry and Freemasons not to reply to slander and attack. It is felt that nothing can be gained from striving with the hateful. Although his philosophy is foreign to the order, we must recall the words of Nietzsche :

"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster,
and if you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes also into you."

If a man is to improve himself, he must take practical steps to do so, and for this reason I will not reply to this attack. Please do not take my silence for assent... it is merely an indication that the argument presented is self-evidently false and baseless.

Those with serious questions about Masonry or my experiences therein are invited to contact me by U2U or through a message in the "Secret Societies" forum.

I am with you both, MM and ML.

ML,

Excellent post. I do find it hard to be silent (especially when called a "pathalogical liar") but in the end it's really best. Freemasonry has been attacked since it's existed in one form or another. ...but it's still here and I'm still proud to be a Freemason.

Many thanks my Brother.

Since you all seem open to honest questions I have a few.
Let me begin by saying that I know nothing of freemasonary, and have no opnions of it either ill or good. I do however have a curious nature.
So what is a freemason? what do you all do? what is the purpose of your club? (is club the right word?) what does it mean to be a freemason? what is the history behind freemasonry?
Basically i am looking for a "idiots guide to fremasonry" If there is a website that will awnser my questions, without tireing out your typing fingers feel free to point me in that direction.
and thanks.

The last e-mail I read before ML's post was a confirmation from my proposer that my 'Raising' will be held in London in February '05. Both pieces of (cyber) paper got me thinking, and you're totally correct ML in saying we should rise above the inane prattlings of a few 'antis.'

Now on to far more important things.... how about that new UGLE tie huh....

HTMB

Originally posted by mwm1331
Since you all seem open to honest questions I have a few.
Let me begin by saying that I know nothing of freemasonary, and have no opnions of it either ill or good. I do however have a curious nature.
So what is a freemason? what do you all do? what is the purpose of your club? (is club the right word?) what does it mean to be a freemason? what is the history behind freemasonry?
Basically i am looking for a "idiots guide to fremasonry" If there is a website that will awnser my questions, without tireing out your typing fingers feel free to point me in that direction.
and thanks.

Thanks for your interest in the Fraternity of Freemasonry, the archives of ATS will provide an excellent place to expand your knowledge on the subject. Before perusing the bounty of ATS offerings, I would suggest visiting this site and getting a primer of the Craft.

Freemasonry

Alex:

A good resolution. I have a bit of a dilemma here, though. I'm usually tempted to defend masons (mostly the ones on these boards who seem to be good, decent people.) So, should I follow your lead and not respond? I believe, personally, that a few polite, persistent, thoughtful questions directed at masons' detractors can calm the seas a bit. I don't mean outright arguing, I just mean asking questions, being persistent abot proof, evidence, and employing some common sense.

Is this still a wise policy, or is it just an exercise in futility? Should I be engaging in it? What do you think?

Originally posted by Masonic Light
Therefore, while the Accusers will continue spreading their lies under the cloak and shadows of anonymity, it is unnecessary for us to legitimize their fictions with endless responses. By doing so, we enable them to exercise their only hope to spread their message of hate, viz., by bringing us down to their level of discontent and pettiness. Let us remember and be true to the Principles of our Profession, which are above the principles of our Accusers; lastly, as the Most Wise Master hath said, let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your Good Works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

ML, thanks for posting this. I ran out of votes this month, but you deserve many votes for this. Ignoring the trolls does sound like the best way to get rid of them.
By not responding to their ignorance and ugliness, we take fuel from the fire.
As I pro-Masonic poster, I will make every effort to go along and ignore these detractors.

BRAVO!!!!

Eloquently put, ML. *applause*

I have to agree with DTOM and the other non-Mason posters who seem to rally for the Masons. I will do my best to refrain from engaging in the kind of banter we have been seeing recently... I haven't been posting much lately but I have been trying to at least keep up with the board. Indeed it seems no matter how much the Masons are defended and prove their point the same lame arguments keep coming up, and what's worse it's from the SAME PEOPLE! Argh! I'm not even a Mason and it makes me mad!

But I digress... ML that was a terrific post and I commend you. Every day you guys make my desire to become a Mason a little stronger by setting an example I would be proud to emulate. You all have my respect and admiration.

Indeedly Brother Lucien, yet so ribald and naughty.


Just wanted to share the mental image I get from this pagentry.

And I'm not even a troll. But were anyone trying to lay troll bait, this would definitely work.

I have given a lot of thought to this issue, and here is the conclusion that I have reached regarding these folks:

Historically, it is true that we have ignored our few detractors as being beneath notice, and unworthy of the dignity of a reply, HOWEVER, if the only voice the general public hears respecting freemasons is that of the hatemonger, the ignorant and the uninformed, THAT is what they will believe.

It is therefore incumbent upon us to, in a reasoned manner, to respond to those few detractors that raise their heads, not to correct them, chide them, or inform them of the truth, but to correct the record for the casual reader, the person that knows nothing of freemasonry, and to the seeker that is truly looking for correct information.

We cannot, my brothers, allow the uninformed, the know-nothings, the trolls, to define us. In this day of media saturation, a message must be loud and repetitive, repetitive, repetitive to sink in. I am NOT writing about advertising, but, rather, a reasoned, measured We are the fratertity of Free and Accepted Masons, serving our communities and making good men better men for five hundred years... type of message.

A man cannot form a good opinion of the good and honorable fraternity if he does not know who we are, so in my opinion it is not only our responsibility to respond to our critics with the facts, in a straightforward, honorable, honest manner, but it is our DUTY...

Just my reasoned opinion.