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Freemasons

john titor

Captain
Are there any masons which haunt these boards? Would you like to give out all your secrets to us? I know its not a "secret society" but you certainly have some incredible information which I know you'd love to share with us!
 
What would you like to know?

Not much of what's in Masonry is secret other than the grips, signs, words and other modes of recognition. I swore an oath not to reveal those things - more out of tradition than anything else - but just about all other aspects are fairly "in the clear". There are a lot of websites out there that have a pretty good grasp on it all, and there are others which are way off the mark. As long as this doesn't turn into a Masonic flame-fest, I'm cool with trying to answer any questions you might have.
 
man you guy infiltrate everything, for a club numbering 5 million globally. Lets see...what rank are you? What have you planned for 2012, were the masons involved with the georgia guidestones, what involvement have you with nasa and the neil mc kinnock case, does your organization liase with aliens, have you purposefully shaped the development of westerns societies by favouring particular economic systems over others in conjunction with the social patterns of behaviour, through associations, the brokering of deals, related to but not within masonry, why are so many US presidents Masons, how far back do the masonic symoblisms go, have you ever been infiltrated, was Aleister Crowley working for the MI5?
 
What would you like to know?

Where did you guys hide the National Treasure??

Heh...if I knew, I would be retired by now. I'm still waiting for my free Cadillac and a small tract of land in Australia. :)

On a serious note, many have looked for it and none have found it that I am aware of. There was the story of the Templar armada that disappeared after the purging in 1307 (Friday, October 13, BTW - the reason it's a "bad luck day" in western civilization) that supposedly had everything they collected from the Holy Land and other regions, but to this day, nobody knows where it is. My bet is on Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, but I think it's still either privately owned or a part of their "National Trust" and will never be excavated. :(

As long as this doesn't turn into a Masonic flame-fest, I'm cool with trying to answer any questions you might have.

Question:


What's the point of it all?

Well, it came out of the Renaissance, during a time of philosophical exploration and self-enlightenment. The "working tools" of operative stone masons somewhere along the line had philosophical and moral meanings attached to them - the level, equality; the square, virtuous spirit; the plumb, rectitude of life, etc. Some believe that the Templars had a profound influence over the stonemason's guilds during the middle ages and these stone cutters (yes, I've seen the Simpson's ep - I love it!) evolved into what we consider today as the Freemasons.

Unfortunately, Masonry is sometimes so steeped in this tradition (a double-edged sword) it has become something of a living anachronism. It saw its "hay day" back in the early 50's after the soldiers returned from the war and started looking for social outlets. They found the Masons, something which was never supposed to be used as a social club like the Lions, Elks, Rotarians, etc., all of which also realized booming numbers during this time.

I personally enjoy it as most of us try to live our lives by the ideals established hundreds of years ago. As imperfect humans, we don't always succeed, but it is a learning experience, without any doubt. I used to be a horrible public speaker, incessantly afraid to get in front of people. Masonry helped me learn do overcome that. Masonry actually helped me "learn how to learn" and make me a better person overall.
 
man you guy infiltrate everything, for a club numbering 5 million globally. Lets see...what rank are you? What have you planned for 2012, were the masons involved with the georgia guidestones, what involvement have you with nasa and the neil mc kinnock case, does your organization liase with aliens, have you purposefully shaped the development of westerns societies by favouring particular economic systems over others in conjunction with the social patterns of behaviour, through associations, the brokering of deals, related to but not within masonry, why are so many US presidents Masons, how far back do the masonic symoblisms go, have you ever been infiltrated, was Aleister Crowley working for the MI5?

Why did you sign up? Why do so many of those world leaders give the evil eye?

Dude...are you serious? :rolleyes:

See my note above.

And here, I thought that you were 100% right about everything.

Seriously...try again, please.
 
man you guy infiltrate everything, for a club numbering 5 million globally. Lets see...what rank are you? What have you planned for 2012, were the masons involved with the georgia guidestones, what involvement have you with nasa and the neil mc kinnock case, does your organization liase with aliens, have you purposefully shaped the development of westerns societies by favouring particular economic systems over others in conjunction with the social patterns of behaviour, through associations, the brokering of deals, related to but not within masonry, why are so many US presidents Masons, how far back do the masonic symoblisms go, have you ever been infiltrated, was Aleister Crowley working for the MI5?

Why did you sign up? Why do so many of those world leaders give the evil eye?

Dude...are you serious? :rolleyes:

See my note above.

And here, I thought that you were 100% right about everything.

Seriously...try again, please.

Ah so it is a sign, I knew this already, your answer just further validated it. Thank you. Ok how about answering the other questions, they have nothing to do with signs, apart from how far back the symbols go.
 
Well, it came out of the Renaissance, during a time of philosophical exploration and self-enlightenment. The "working tools" of operative stone masons somewhere along the line had philosophical and moral meanings attached to them - the level, equality; the square, virtuous spirit; the plumb, rectitude of life, etc. Some believe that the Templars had a profound influence over the stonemason's guilds during the middle ages and these stone cutters (yes, I've seen the Simpson's ep - I love it!) evolved into what we consider today as the Freemasons.

Unfortunately, Masonry is sometimes so steeped in this tradition (a double-edged sword) it has become something of a living anachronism. It saw its "hay day" back in the early 50's after the soldiers returned from the war and started looking for social outlets. They found the Masons, something which was never supposed to be used as a social club like the Lions, Elks, Rotarians, etc., all of which also realized booming numbers during this time.

I personally enjoy it as most of us try to live our lives by the ideals established hundreds of years ago. As imperfect humans, we don't always succeed, but it is a learning experience, without any doubt. I used to be a horrible public speaker, incessantly afraid to get in front of people. Masonry helped me learn do overcome that. Masonry actually helped me "learn how to learn" and make me a better person overall.

Thanks for your answer. :)

Questions:

How often do you meet up?
What types of things do you do at gatherings?
 
I'm curious to know what the masons think of all the outrageous assumptions and misconceptions people have. Do you try to refute them, or do you think it's funny etc? :D
 
I think people are getting confused with the different Freemason groups. There's the ones who hold large positions of power and then there are the ones that comprise of more ordinary folk like Police officers for example.
 
Just out of curiosity: how do you join? Do you have to be invited, vetted, ... or can you just walk into a lodge and declare your intentions to join?
 
Well, it came out of the Renaissance, during a time of philosophical exploration and self-enlightenment. The "working tools" of operative stone masons somewhere along the line had philosophical and moral meanings attached to them - the level, equality; the square, virtuous spirit; the plumb, rectitude of life, etc. Some believe that the Templars had a profound influence over the stonemason's guilds during the middle ages and these stone cutters (yes, I've seen the Simpson's ep - I love it!) evolved into what we consider today as the Freemasons.

Unfortunately, Masonry is sometimes so steeped in this tradition (a double-edged sword) it has become something of a living anachronism. It saw its "hay day" back in the early 50's after the soldiers returned from the war and started looking for social outlets. They found the Masons, something which was never supposed to be used as a social club like the Lions, Elks, Rotarians, etc., all of which also realized booming numbers during this time.

I personally enjoy it as most of us try to live our lives by the ideals established hundreds of years ago. As imperfect humans, we don't always succeed, but it is a learning experience, without any doubt. I used to be a horrible public speaker, incessantly afraid to get in front of people. Masonry helped me learn do overcome that. Masonry actually helped me "learn how to learn" and make me a better person overall.

Thanks for your answer. :)

Questions:

How often do you meet up?
What types of things do you do at gatherings?

Masonry is comprised of different sub-divisions we call "appendant bodies", such as the Scottish Rite, the York Rite (which includes Royal Arch, Cryptic Masons and Knights Templar). There's also the Shrine, Sciots, National Sojourners and a plethora of others. Each body has its own meeting times, like first Monday of each month, or every second and fourth Thursday, etc. Appendant Bodies in any given region try to work out times and dates so they don't step on each other. I used to be EXTREMELY active - out 3-4 times a week. This is not usual, nor is it healthy. I have considerably cut back on my responsibilities as I enter into a new phase of my life.

As for what types of things, the agenda usually goes like this:
Open
Pledge of Allegiance
Welcome brethren
Reading of correspondence by Secretary, including petitions for memberships, reports of deaths, sick or in distress, edicts or executive orders from the Grand Lodge, etc.
Treasurer's report on the state of the Lodge's financial affairs
Any other new business
Masonic Birthdays (the month in which any member was Raised to the Degree of Master Mason)
Introductions of visitors and dignitaries
Program - usually involves some kind of scholarly research paper on some esoteric aspect of Masonry.
Final announcements
Close

I'm curious to know what the masons think of all the outrageous assumptions and misconceptions people have. Do you try to refute them, or do you think it's funny etc? :D

>sigh<

Here's the irony. Back when I first started in 1997, I was actually a staunch anti-Mason. I heard all the stuff on short-wave by Bill Cooper and Brother Stare, knew all the accusations about New World Order and all that - I collected conspiracies like some people collect baseball cards. I joined to see if it was real or bullshit. Well, 22 years later, like I said earlier, I'm still waiting for my Cadillac and piece of Australia. I actually really started enjoying meeting new people and I've met some pretty decent guys whom I am now proud to call "friend and brother". I would get really angry when someone attacked us. Now that I'm much older (almost 40) and -hopefully- a little wiser, I just sit back and laugh. I tell those people that they should do what I did. Join and learn for yourself. Because there is absolutely zero - nothing I can say to change their mind, as the answer would always be, "Well, I guess I would expect you to say that, wouldn't I?"

I think people are getting confused with the different Freemason groups. There's the ones who hold large positions of power and then there are the ones that comprise of more ordinary folk like Police officers for example.

There are different groups out there. Some which we call "regular", who derive their charter from one or more established Grand Lodges that trace their lineage all the way back to the United Grand Lodge of England in 1717.

Then there is "irregular", who seem to have a valid charter, but not all Grand Lodges have done the "background check" to research the charter to see if it's valid, but others have. Some are recognized, the others are not. This is the gray area that some Grand Lodges operate in, and are considered irregular.

Then there is "clandestine". These are the ones that created their own charter, operate by their own rules and do their own thing. These are the ones that are more apt to be involved in bad stuff. These are also not always Masonic groups. Ordo Templi Orientis, Rosicrucians, Golden Dawn are all considered "clandestine", and if you're a regular Mason you cannot be a member of these organizations.

Just out of curiosity: how do you join? Do you have to be invited, vetted, ... or can you just walk into a lodge and declare your intentions to join?

One of our highest laws is that someone must ask to be made a Mason of his own free will and accord. We are not allowed to recruit. Many men go through life wondering if they'll ever be asked and they won't. Now, if they know someone who's a Mason and that Mason thinks the other guy would be a good member, he should point that out, like "you have to ask me". Ideally, the two people in question should know each other for at least a year so he can vouch for his good character. Many states require for 2 Masons to sign the petition.

Did you orchestrate this economic crisis?

No, this one was me, actually. Sorry about all the fuss.

Damn. Steal my thunder, why dontcha? ;)
 
Did you orchestrate this economic crisis?

No, this one was me, actually. Sorry about all the fuss.

Damn. Steal my thunder, why dontcha? ;)

Sorry, couldn't help myself on that one. :p

Seriously, I figure most conspiracy theories are complete bullshit, and the idea of the Freemasons being some sort of all-powerful world controlling group is just silly. I mean, for one thing, if there was an all-powerful world controlling group, does anyone honestly think we'd know their name?:rolleyes: :lol:
 
I believe a conspiracy theory writer, who had published several books and has his own website was exposed as a mason.
 
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