re: Any Freemasons in here?

Not a Freemason. Different mystery school though

So, so, so much misinformation and falsehood in this thread.

There are not 32, or even 33, degrees of Masonry. There are 3. Later “degrees” are degrees in a specific rite, but not in Masonry itself.

True Masons will not hide the fact that they are such. Why else do you think they wear pins and rings and whatnot with the Great Seal all over it? They just aren’t going to walk up to you and say, “Hey, I’m Joe, and I’m a Mason.” But if you ask one, they will freely admit that they are.

Masonry is not a religion or a cult. It’s a club. Just like little boys like to make secret clubs and feel special because they are members, grown men are the same way. However, Masonry does have strong aspects of religion incorporated in it, because the central unifying tenet of Masonry is a belief in a higher power. That’s why Masons have their own names for God, and they teach using symbols that for the most part do not accord with any specific major religion: so that Masons from any background - Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc. - can meet and practice Masonry without feeling in any way excluded or infringed upon, and yet all feel that they are conducting themselves in a way that is reverent towards their particular idea of who God is. Masons believe strongly in meeting and dealing with others “on the level,” and this is a prime example of what that means.

Masonry does not exclude Catholics, and has no animosity towards the Catholic Church. The Church forbids its members from being Masons because Masonic leadership has always refused to submit their practices and teachings to the Church for its approval.

If you have any interest in Masonry, whether to join or just because you’re curious, find one. Ask him about his experience with the organization. I guarantee you he will say it affected him positively. Masons like to say, “We make good men better,” and that is true. It is, at heart, a group of likeminded men who get together to encourage one another in doing good. We don’t run the world, and we don’t have any interest in doing so. We do have a strong interest in leaving the world around us better than we found it.

I’ve met CEOs of large companies who were Masons, and I’ve met coal miners who were Masons. Inside the organization, those differences do not exist. We meet, as I said, “on the level.”

Incidentally, that is one of the reasons Freemasonry has been suppressed in times past. It was seen as a threat to the established order because members of all classes and religions could meet there and treat each other as equals.

So you are denying there is a 28th degree Knight of the Sun?

And the fact they make animal sacrifices at the secret alter with the Scottish Rite temples?

I’m not in the Scottish Rite. I can’t say what they do there. There are many degrees of that and the York rites, yes. Those rites are what one might call “extensions” of Masonry, but they are not Masonry itself. Freemasonry has only three degrees. Attaining the third degree of Freemasonry is a requirement to enter the extended rites, but entering them is not a requirement to be a Mason.

If you truly believe Masonry is some kind of pagan world-controlling cult, no answers I can give you are going to dissuade you. You, who are not a Mason, are obviously more informed by your hearsay than I, with only my own personal experience of the organization to guide me. I bow to your superior knowledge on this subject.

So do y'all have the Ark of the Covenant stashed away in a basement or a cave sonewhere or not?

I do believe that high ranking Freemasons are truly privy to some ancient knowledge that we “profane” people are not privy to. I would like to know some of that information I can’t deny it. The Freemasons that are low ranking “blue lodge” Masons don’t really know what’s truly going on. I tried to read Albert Pikes book “Morals And Dogma” but it is a very hard read.

quote:

---

You don't seek out to be a mason, someone will approach you.

---

Not my experience.
I considered it once. Asked a guy on the job I knew was a Mason how I could join, he replied, " you just took first step.." He said they cant approach anyone, the interested person has to inquire.

Don't they run around and parade in those funny little hats?

I worked with Freemasons in the building trades. I did some research on Albert Pike, who is held in high esteem among the masons. Not a very nice guy. If he is a shinning example of the masons, I made the right decision by totally avoiding that organization. There are plenty of clowns in that organization, and maybe a few good guys.