Thread: Masonic Lodges

Originally Posted by harold

Sounds like a nice organisation. Too bad belgium doesn't seem to have such fraternities.

www.glb.be

Originally Posted by steve

This was my only point and I'm sorry if how I tried to make it was confusing. It is indeed the governments of countries that suppress masonry.

As to other cultures or ethnicities, I personally know of members who are black, buddhist, jewish, muslim, of chinese heritage, etc.. I also know that there are lodges in Japan, India, Korea, and Singapore. There is a saying that almost anywhere in the world a mason goes, if he finds another mason, he has found a friend. This is true regardless of culture, religion, ethnicity, political views, etc. The common and binding thread is the organization.

DMS has also provided a great summary of the Masonic fraternity. Thanks DMS!

I'm not as effective in explaining things as others so I apologize for leaving you with more questions than I tried to answer, Reflux.

I am rather late in joining this thread, but am pleased at the level of discussion. I as an elected officer for 2 years in mmilitary lodge in Germany. We shared lodge facilities with the local German lodge. I would try and attend the German brothers meetings whenever possible, if only to translate for other attending non-German speakers. One if the finest moments was when three German citizens joined the fraternity and in taking their oaths, knelt together, each holding the book sacred to him: the Christian held a Bible, the Jew - the Torah, and the Muslim - the Koran. Afterward, they were brothers, joined by a common desire for knowledge, peace, and to help others. A millennium of Masonic history was distilled into a single moment. I have sat in Lodge (Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite, York Rite) with Christians (all kinds), Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindi, Agnostics, Wiccans, as well as conservatives, liberals, apoliticals, millionaires, dirt-poor farmers, students, soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. One common thread - charity and brotherhood. However, as with any organization, a lodge is only as good as the people who join. Research and education are key factors...learn as much as you can before joining.

It is wonderful to see lodges returning to Eastern Europe since the fall of communism...they, along with the Nazis, were not big fans of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."

Greg

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Research and education are key factors...learn as much as you can before joining.

Sometime ago I did some research because the movie 'National Treasure' made me curious and I wanted to know what it's about.

But while I found the homepages of several lodges (for example the belgian grand lodge www.glb.be),those sites are very good at NOT telling you what masonry is about.
They talked about the history of masonry, what the ideal mason looks like etc but that's about it.

I wanted to find out what masons actually do, but I didn't succeed.
I never understood that an organization would expect someone to join before he knows what it does.

My father is a freemason and has been for quite some time. Back when I was around 18 or so he mentioned, in an off-hand kind of way, something called a "Lewis" which I could be if I wanted. Never took him up on it, but have often wondered about the organisation.

He's got aprons from his father and grandfather, which also piqued my curiosity. But he never really talks about it much at all. I might have to ask him now I'm older.

James.

A Lewis is an operative tool, Masonic symbol, or young man adopted by a Lodge.
A lewis is an instrument in operative masonry. It is a cramp iron which is inserted into a cavity prepared for that purpose in any large stone, so as to give attachment to a pulley and hook whereby the stone may be conveniently raised to any height and deposited in its proper position. The contrivance was known to the Romans, and several taken from old ruins are now in the Vatican. In addition, in the ruins of Whitby Abbey in England, which was founded by Oswy, King of Northumberland, in 685, large stones were discovered with the necessary excavation for the insertion of a lewis. The word is likely derived from the old French levis, any tool for lifting. The modern French call the instrument a louve.

In the English system of Masonry, the lewis is found on the tracing board of the Entered Apprentice, where it is used as a symbol of strength, because, by its assistance, the operative mason is enabled to lift the heaviest stones with a comparatively trifling exertion of physical power. It has not been adopted as a symbol by American Freemasons, except in Pennsylvania, where it receives the English interpretation.

The son of a Mason is, in England, called a Lewis, because it is his duty to support the sinking powers and aid the failing strength of his father. In the rituals of the middle of the last century he was called a louffton. From this the French derived their word louveteau, and call the daughter of a Mason a louvetine. Louveteau is probably derived directly from louve, the French name of the implement. In Browne?s Master Key, which is supposed to represent the Prestonian lecture, we have, in part, the following dialogue:

Q. What do we call the son of a Freemason?
A. A Lewis
Q. What does that denote?
A. Strength
Q. How is a Lewis depicted in a Freemason?s Lodge?
A. As a cramp of metal, by which, when fixed into a stone, great and ponderous weights are raised to a certain height and fixed upon their proper bases, without which Operative Masons could not so conveniently do.
Q. What is the duty of a Lewis, the son of a Mason, to his aged parents?
A. To bear the heavy burden in the heat of the day and help them in time of need, which, by reason of their great age, they ought to be exempted from, so as to render the close of their days happy and comfortable.
Q. His privilege for so doing?
A. To be made a Mason before any other person, however dignified by birth, rank, or riches, unless he, through complaisance, waives this privilege.

(A long post follows) I love reading the lectures. To respond directly to Bruno's question:

All Masons are involved in charitable works, being good citizens, trying to set a good example for others, spreading brotherhood, peace, knowledge.

Who can be a Mason?

A male, of legal age and of good character, who expresses a belief in a Supreme Being (meaning you cannot be an atheist).

If you wait to be asked to join a Lodge, you have a long wait - you must ask to join a Lodge (you "petition" to join). The members then schedule a time to meet you, your family and to ask questions as to why you want to become a Mason. It must be your decision - you should not be under any duress to join. I was a DeMolay (think Masonic Boy Scouts) and almost all the men in my mom's family were Masons.
Each person will have their own reasons. Of course, research ahead of time will only serve to make your decision a more thoughtful one.

The members who have met with you will return a report to the lodge and the membership will vote on your candidacy. The members who met you may have also asked around regarding your character, or if someone in the lodge knows you, they would talk to them as well. They aren't running a criminal background check.....

Once your petition is voted on and approved, they contact you to schedule the initiation. This is a solemn ceremony and is in no way to be taken lightly. There is no hazing; when I was an elected officer in my Lodge in Germany, I discouraged even joking about it....it is disrespectful and amateurish. A good Lodge will have members who have given a great deal of time to the ceremonies, memorizing them and presenting them as a "play." Once you have gone through your initiation (1st Degree, you can then proceed to the next degrees. All the degrees teach lessons about life - a philosophy for living - lessons which are common to all cultures around the world.

The works the Masons involve themselves in vary from Lodge to Lodge, but all are charitable. Local Lodges will select a local charity, say a school for the disabled or an orphanage. In my Lodge in Germany, one year we raised money to outfit the local children's hospital with new toys, as the ones they had were worn out. Many times, Lodges will donate to charities or person anonymously. One year, a local woman lost her husband in an accident, very close to Christmas. The Lodge donated several Deutsche Marks to her by placing them in an envelope and leaving them in her mailbox.

Each U.S. state has a Grand Lodge and they each have their own charities. Larger Masonic organizations have national charities.

The Shriners run some of the hospitals for crippled children and burn treatment centers in the world - and they are no cost to the family. If the family wants to donate, they can, but no one will send them a bill, regardless of the cost of treatment and housing. There are Masons who are also pilots and fly patients needing various kinds of treatments across the country for free.

The Scottish Rite in the US (Northern Jurisdiction) provides fellowships to researchers in the field of schizophrenia or other related fields. They also run learning centers for treating children with dyslexia - for free. The also offer scholarships to college students who are members of Masonic youth groups or are the family members of Masons.

The Scottish Rite in the US (Southern Jurisdiction) provides treatment for childhood language and learning disorders (incl. aphasia) and some adult literacy programs, again, free for children and in some cases for adults. They also sponsor ROTC in some High Schools and Universities, offer scholarship for study in the US and some specifically for George Washington University. They offer inernships for students in the Washington, D.C. area interested interested in non-profit, museum, philanthropic, fraternal, and historic organizations. Since 1919, they have also provided disaster relief, both in the US and abroad, with 100% of donated funds going to relief - operating costs for the relief are absorbed by the Scottish Rite organization.

York Rite - Has various charities, one of the main ones being Eye treatment centers, offering eye surgery, eye banks (organ donations) and offering free prescription glasses to those in need.

Other Masonic charities, sponsored by one or more of the organizations listed above or by other Masonic organizations:

Auditory Disorders, birth defects, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, orthopedic, neuralgic, and child development services, diabetes, dental care for handicapped children, geriatric research, retirement homes for retired Masons, cancer research and treatment, blood substitutes research, clothing for the homeless, low-cost education loans, as well as grants and scholarships, SPecial Olympics, libraries and history museums.

As for what Masons believe or stand for, the Scottish Rite creed could well represent all Mason around the world:

Human progress is our cause,liberty of thought our supreme wish,freedom of conscience our mission,and the guarantee of equal rightsto all people everywhere our ultimate goal.If these tenets sound familiar, many of the Founding Fathers , incl. George Washington and Ben Franklin, were Freemasons. Some scholars have referred to the U.S. as a "Masonic republic," meaning it was founded on the principles of the Age of Enlightenment, which were rooted in Freemasonry.

DO more research - you will find intriguing history, postives, negatives, paradoxes...much as you would with any organization of similar age and global presence. Each man must udge for himself whether or not he will join and once he has, what benefit can he bring to the organization.

I hope I have answered your questions.

Greg

Originally Posted by WireBeard

(A long post follows) I love reading the lectures. To respond directly to Bruno's question:
...

...

I hope I have answered your questions.

Greg

Thank you. This answered a lot.
I hope you don't mind me asking (I don't know if that is private or not) but how does religion tie into this?

I doesn't, save for the fact that no atheist can join a lodge...other than that, Masons respect all the sacred books, leaving the meaning and interpretation "as each shall therein find it." That is one aspect of Masonry that has always appealed to me....there ia no room for persons seeking to do wrong in their Deity's name. There are Masonic organizations which cater to specifically Christian Masons, but there is no condemnation or condescension, these organizations are merely building on having like-minded members with similar interests in culture and histroy, albeit from a Christian point of reference. There are other organization which address the Masonic learning with regard to almost all the world's religions, as well as philosophies and cultural doctrines. There really is something for everyone.

Masons have never had any problem with religions; on the contrary, there are many organized religions who have had problems with Masonry. They cite Masonry having being a secret society...which is a laugh, as most Masonic buildings are blatantly named as such. Masonry does not have secrets as much as it has "mysteries" in the ancient traditions of Egypt, Greece, etc., where a candidate, having been found worthy, receives knowledge, learning which has been deemed reserved for those who are members. What started as guiding principles and controls for Operative Masons (i.e. builders of the great Cathedrals) was adopted for modern Masonry to preserve tradition, develop unity among the members, and provide forms of recognition globally. Masonry has a long history of persecution at the hands of both organized religions and extremist governments. In the end, the governments have ceased to exist and the condemning religions have either realized the error of their condemnation or have been relegated to the fringe of society. For example, while the Roman Catholic church does not condemn Masonry or punish Catholic Masons with excommunication, they also don't run ads supporting it. The Knight's of Columbus in the US was the Catholic response to the popularity of Masonry in the 19th century. Search the web for information about the various Grand Lodges in the US...you will find a lot of history there. However, do not go in with misconceptions - Masonry is made up of men - frail humans with all their weaknesses, but also all their strengths - like any other organization.

Please feel free to ask me any other questions you may have, I will answer as best I can.

Greg

It's interesting to read all this about the Masonry and the way you depict it as being a good and honest organization. Of course, the Masonry is made of people... and if the institutions are generaly good, the people in it can be bad. I'm just saying this because I don't believe in excessive goodness, I mean... If something is THAT good, why not expose it and make it work in a broader scenario?! Pardon my coment but all this intrigues me... I've heard about ploitical conections and active corruption and trafic of influences among the freemasonry. At least, here in Portugal, the Masonry is regarded as a private club of buddies who help themselves to greatly paid political jobs... it's a white-collared, apron-wearing Mafia in these parts. And it's not secret nor it has secrets: it might have existed once to fight for peace and equality; today it fights for equality among themselves... meaning the equality of sums gathered from active corruption, dealing in blood-diamonds, placing incompetent polititians at the head of some of our previous governments and, of course, getting away with it.
I'm certainly very glad that you anglo-saxon gentlemen have a masonry that is greatly in touch with the ideals of the french revolution: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. In Portugal it's more like this: Liberté, Égalité, Jet Privé!!!

I'm sorry if my soft ranting may offend any of you. It's not my style to stir up confusion and conflict... This was intended to show you that Masonry is not always regarded as being a good thing nor is it always a good thing. And mind me, I am not a papal-catholic... I'm as agnostic as they get! And I am always ranting at the Roman Church...

Sorry to hear of your bad experience with Freemasonry, FP. Isn't it true though that every organization has it's faults as well it's bad apples?? How about the church, or every government, or any corporation, or anyone in history who has held power?? Do we condemn all people because of the few who choose to operate without decency??

Hmmmm, maybe we shouldn't lump everyone in the same narrow minded point of view. I am also a Mason, and I take great pride in my charitable works as well as an active interest in my community. I am sure that others here do as well.

I have never once regretted joining a Masonic Lodge or its appellate bodies, rather I consider it one of the best and most honorable things I have ever done with my life. I have met so many good and life-long friends there. I would recommend it to any man who lives his life with morality and respect for his fellowman. I am proud of the mostly positve "light" freemasonry is represented in here at SRP.

Of course it's just MHO.

Proud Freemason and straight razor user,