MasonicMinute.com
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Posted at: 6:23 pm Wasting time sucks. Driving forever to get to your Lodge can be a problem. Although there are many many issues surrounding this idea…I just wanted to do a little unscientific survey. Tell your friends, and please VOTE BEFORE VIEWING THE RESPONSES OR YOU WON’T BE ALBE TO VOTE!!! Thanks. n
How much time does it take you to get to your Lodge?
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August 24, 2007
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Posted at: 10:11 am Masons have stood for religious freedoms in America forever (well, forever for the US…which is about 232 years). We have always preached that ‘preaching’ (in Lodge) is bad Mojo. We don’t disrespect anybody’s choices regarding how or to whom they pray. It’s the Masons’ way to promote free religious worship and expression. A disturbing incident occurred recently in the US Congress. More disturbing, though, is the reaction to the incident and the distorting our history…OUR Masonic History! We are proud to have among our ranks many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and countless other Men who fought to create this country. The First Amendment to our Constitution, ratified many years after the Declaration was signed, signals the ideas of a secular government insofar as “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Masons were right there in the thick of it, and the principle stated above is one of our Craft’s founding principles as well. In fact, it would be just as correct to say that, “The Grand Lodge shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Right? Of course! That’s what Masonry is all about!! So here’s the set-up. Not too long ago, a Hindu holy man (I don’t know his title, but I know it’s not Preacher or Rabbi) tried to give the opening prayer on the floor of the US Senate. He was interrupted by some very rude fundamentalist wackos (it doesn’t matter what religion they are from…they were rude and stupid to interrupt him) because they didn’t believe in his Way. Can you imagine the outrage of the Senators involved? Neither can I…because there was none. The politicians nearby did nothing to shut-up the wackos and give this guy the respect that each one of us would have given him. But that’s not the point of this blog. It doesn’t matter that nobody reacted to the mistreatment of an honored guest opening the session with a prayer…as sessions have been opened for over two hundred years! What matters is what some of our representatives are saying in response to that prayer… Before I go on, let me make one thing clear. This is not a political blog (I mean, like party-politics…it is inherently political, of course, because it has to do with Congress). This blog is a call to Masons, in order to wake us to the incredibly anti-Masonic sentiment that is overwhelming our country! The Nampa Press Tribune did a story where Representative Bill Sali of Idaho (party affiliation is unimportant), in decrying the prayer (he was speaking against what he called multiculturalism…thinly veiled religious intolerance is what it really was) given by the Hindu holy guy…well, you read the quote: “Sali said the United States was founded on principles derived primarily from the Scriptures. And he said drifting away from those principles could put the country in danger.” Did you catch that? ‘Principles derived primarily from Scriptures.’ Ok Rep. Sali…as a Mason, I’d like to know which scriptures you are talking about? The Vedas? The Koran? The Satanic Bible? How about the Book of Mormon? You see, dear reader…the assumptions and arrogance of Rep. Sali permeate our own biases because we all know what ‘Scripture’ he is talking about. Our nation’s founders, many of whom were Masons, were quick to diminish the ties between the church and the State. They did believe in the S.A.O.T.U., to be sure. I seriously doubt that any of them were anti-religious or atheists. But to claim that our founders based this country on religious principles is nonesense and anti-American. It is revisionist history to put religion at the core of America’s founding…when it was religious freedom that attracted the original colonists in the first place. What’s worse, to claim that a bunch of Masons chose a specific religious text upon which to found the United States is plainly Anti-Masonic. But (you ask) how can it be that promoting the same VSL as a guide to our nations founding, which is the same book on the altar at my Lodge, is anti-Masonic? Masons are taught to follow the rule from that very same book, are we not? Our lectures and ritual are replete with references and reverence for the Holy Bible! AEdifico (I hear you asking) have you lost your mind? By being Masons, our founding fathers HAD to have followed the principles out of that very same scripture…right? Wrong. Here’s why; Masons and other founders lived in a time when the religion and the State acted hand-in-hand. The founders were sons of the enlightenment who knew the dangers of promoting and preserving close ties between government and religious leadership. Many of our founding fathers (and even some of the Masonic ones) were not even Christians! They knew the value of religion to the individual, and honored it. They were spiritual men who understood the value of worship and the importance that our faith holds to each one of us. But insofar as public institutions were concerned, they felt and recognized that religion, regardless of the sect or creed, was dangerous when combined with the forces of government. Otherwise…why did they make the first words of the first ammendment so clear? But the worst thing is not the distortion and implication that our founders were religious dopes who had not an original thought in their heads, and that they had to draw our government’s principles out of scripture (by the way, which sermon was it where Jesus mentioned a tripartite government?). It is bad enough that this politician from Idaho has never read his history, but after he re-writes one of Masonry’s proudest achievements, he makes his version of events a REASON TO FEAR! After falsely framing our nation’s founding principles, Rep. Sali tells us that, “drifting away from those principles could put the country in danger.” Danger?!? What danger? How is my country in danger by drifting away from principles that you just used historical revisionism to invent? Am I that big of an idiot to think that your new history is going to make me less-safe? Rep. Sali…please tell me that you are not creating new domestic enemies by dividing our nation on religious lines! That’s the most anti-American thing a sitting Congressman could do! Re-writing history in order to divide people?!? And doing it in a way that tramples the memory and work of our Masonic founding? Is this guy nuts? Does he think that we are all that stupid to fall victim to his rhetorical stunts? Sadly, there are probably lots of Masons that think the United States is a Christian nation. To be sure, a majority of Americans are Christian of one form or another, so statistically speaking we are a Christian nation. But statistically speaking, most Americans are female also, so does that make us a Women’s nation? A more accurate description (if we are focusing on the principles that framed our nation’s founding) is that we are a Masonic nation. The United States of America was founded during the age of Voliaire and Franklin, Diderot and Russeau. The United States of America, from a historical perspective, is a Nation founded by Enlightenment philosophers and their adherents…not by Christians. They may have been mostly Christian…but those ideas were kept to the individual. The ideas of the Enlightenment, one-man-one-vote, representative government, clearly defined powers and checks-and-balances, budgets and accountability, trial by jury, free expression, clear and respectful debate, the rule of law over all men…none of these are religious principles, they were Masonic in context at the time, and from them our nation was founded. Again, I am certain that many (if not most) of our founders were Christian. But what denomination? Did they follow the Pope in Rome? Anglicans? Lutherans? Puritains? Probably many others as well. But it was not the holy book that bound them together to form this political union…it was political ideas based in Freemasonry! Of course religion was a big part of all of their lives, but they were smart enough to keep it at arms distance when establishing a nation of (all) the people, by (all) the people and for (all) the people. Masonic America should condemn the idea that scripture created America. Men created America. Thinking men who respected differences and united themselves around political principles that allowed each of them to worship as they saw fit…these are the men who created America. These men used (even though some of them may not have known it) Masonic principles to establish the greatest nation that this earth has ever seen! Why would we let our Masonic legacy fall to religious competition or the immature and sophomoric platitudes of the guy who would claim “My God can kick your God’s ASS!!”?!? Why would we ignore the Anti-Masonic (and frankly, Anti-American) sentiment of those who would elevate one religion over the other where politics is concerned? Have we forgotten our obligations? Do we have no courage to decry the idiocy that is permeating our national discourse? No Jew, Muslim or Buddhist is ever less of an American than I am simply because I am a Christian. On the contrary, anybody who claims to be more American because of their faith is anti-American, and anti-Masonic. Our nation was based in reason and our founders thoroughly considered the role that religion should play in politics - a minimal one. We have opening prayers at the beginning of Congressional sessions because no man should ever embark upon any great or noble undertaking without first invoking the blessings of God. This is an appropriate expression of Masonic thought and teachings. We added “under God” to our pledge AFTER we survived a Civil War, WWI, the Great Depression and WWII. And even then, we only added those words to distinguish us from the Atheist Communists - Not to establish this as a religious or Christian nation! Again, Masonry permeates all aspects of American government, and American government is designed to prevent religion from permeating the same. But to distort history, and to de-Masonify this country, in a way that calls people to have inappropriate and unfounded fear of others because of their beliefs, is just plain bad. It’s anti-Masonic, anti-American…and when you think about it…it’s even anti-religious! This blog is going to upset some of our brothers. But what would we expect from mixing religion, politics and Masonry! I just hope that, by pointing-out the rhetorical trick used by that politician to subversively undermine our nation’s Masonic history, I have helped at least one Mason stand for our Craft’s proud history. My goal with this is not to change anybody’s mind, but to help identify why knowing our history and knowing our Craft makes it easier to see past the bull-crap. Religious freedom and free religious expression are under seige in America. Masons should stand-up and, at the very least, take notice. When all is said and done, it is our principles, expressed and executed by thinking members of our Craft, that will save this fraternity, and save this nation. May the S.A.O.T.U bless the U.S.A.! |
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Posted at: 10:02 am It was suggested by a Fellowcraft in my Lodge that we hold the Initiation of our next candidate at midnight. Now, I know that most of you are getting your beauty sleep at that point…but wouldn’t that be a hoot? Imagine getting a letter that says you have to appear at the Lodge on so-and-so Friday night at 11:30 p.m. in business casual attire. You arrive, and everyone there is in a tuxedo or a suit. The whole place looks totally different than the other times you have visited because it is entirely lit by candle light. Even the semi-familiar fellowship hall you were just getting used to has a mysterious glow about it. You are directed to a person whom you already know…the guy that’s going to be your coach…and he says very little to you. At about ten minutes till midnight, the entire group, minus you, goes into the Lodge room. After some time, two men appear carrying long rods and……. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but this seems like a great idea. Keeping Freemasonry fresh and exciting is one of the best ways to energize and motivate the Craft. The problem is, trying to get a big-enough group of men together to arrive at that hour. I know the younger guys would probably get a kick out of it, but what about the others? - Quick Hit #1 is brought to you by brothers who don’t want to read very much, but still like to sit and chat about all things Masonic. - |
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Posted at: 11:24 pm I like to hear people freak-out trying to figure-out why Masonry is not a religion. It’s usually somebody that has a strong desire to find flaws or faults in other people so they can feel better about themselves. What a hoot! As a Christian, I take great umbrage at those ideas. But as a Christian, and as a Mason, I recognize that there are great lessons in the VSL that sits on my personal Altar. So, I decided to go to the little Giddeon Bible that sits at my bedside. For years, I have read through it and once in a while a passage catches my eye. Tonight, I will share some of my favorite quotes and passages out of the Bible…specifically quoting from the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. (As a side note, this is the bible that I got at the MEPS station the day I shipped-out to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego for Boot Camp. It has been at my side ever since.) Here’s the small print (I’m putting it at the front so nobody can get their panties in a wad about me hiding it!). I DO NOT SPEAK FOR FREEMASONRY!!! I’m just a regular guy who drinks beer and tequila, smokes cigars, glances at hot women (while hoping not to insult my wife), and living the American Dream. I am NOT better or smarter than any of the rest of you, nor am I a prophet, holy-man, seer, diviner, wizard, or any other type who claims to have insight greater than the average person. I am a regular guy who owns a book. So all you fundamentalists, atheists, conspiracy-mongers, bible-thumpers and Jesus freaks can just chill-out. My interpretations below came from my head, not from some robe-wearing holier-than-thou preacher trying to force HIS interpretation down my throat. The way I see it, God gave this brain to me…so I’m gonna use it. And if you disagree with me for religious purposes, fine. This is, after all, America. (so why did I take all that time to qualify my statements?). Jesus tells us in Luke 8:17, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” I like this one for two reasons…first it teaches me patience. Second, it acknowledges that secrets and hidden things exist, without making any judgments about them. So, my read is that, secrets are like ketchup…they make you wait. Here’s a good one, also from Luke (18:10-14). It describes the very nature of hypocricy and public desire for admiration. In the last verse, Jesus speaks to the one who ‘exhalts’ himself instead of ‘humbling’ himself. Guess which one “will be exhalted.”? Of course, that’s a no-brainer. This is an idea I alluded to in a previous blog about “Public Service….” Take that - Skeeter. At one point during Boot Camp, I found the beginning of Psalm 7 to be especially comforting, it reads, “O Lord my God, in You I put my trust, save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me.” I don’t know why it gave me comfort, but I remember reading it alot…it’s one of my favorites. Along the same lines is Psalm 56 (among others). I have a note in the margin that says “Protect me from my enemies.” I don’t remember why I wrote it, or what I needed protection from at that time. It was either an ex-girlfriend, a cop or Saddam Hussein. The one passage that is by far my favorite comes at the beginning of Proverbs at 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” I just love how Masonic that is! It appears to me that what is written as “fear of the Lord” would be a natural reaction to coming in contact with something we do not understand. All humans have a tendency to fear the unknown. Our ‘fear’ (belief in awesome power?) is where we must begin (both our spiritual and Masonic journeys begin with belief in, and acknowledgement of the S.A.O.T.U.)…and only an idiot would leave it at that. So, only a fool would NOT want to know more, and thereby get closer to God. Now, Proverbs is just full of great little passages. I’ll give you a list of the ones I like (you know…if you care to look them up, do it…I’m not going to spoon-feed you.) I like Prov.1:24-29, 2:10-11, 3:11-14, 4:7, 12:1 is fantastic (my version says, “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.”), 12:15, 14:15, 15:32, and others. So, in the very narrow category of passages I have quoted above, a sermon could be built around the idea that only an idiot wants to remain an idiot. Or something like, God wants you to know more…look…He told you so! But in any event, I don’t think that matters. What matters is that you take the time to look into your own VSL. Not because Masonry tells you that you should, but because most of the VSL’s out there tell you it’s a good idea. Masonry is not a religion…and I would renounce my membership if it ever tried to become one. People looking for religio-masonic connections usually claim to be totally right but they only use small snippits of the book to justify their positions (like I did above). But don’t take my word for it, check-out the great stories that your church probably never talks about. Don’t just find out what that great book has in store for you…but find-out for yourself. |
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Posted at: 12:52 am This is interesting, but this site takes no position regarding the truth of this video. Additionally, nobody here at MasonicMinute.com has verified anything this guy says. Watch the whole thing… |
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Posted at: 11:43 pm Emeraldi’s “G” blog got a lot of responses. Let’s see what you all think about this… Vote here…
n
Should the letter "G" be removed from the S&C?
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Posted at: 11:14 pm In his post below (see “…NOT a Corporation.”) Emeraldi hits on an important theme that deserves deeper exploration. Emeraldi writes, “Depends on who you ask, but if you want to put yourself out there DO NOT do it in the name of Freemasonry or your lodge, do it in the name of your community and do it because your community needs it, not because your lodge does.” Now, I would have said it slightly differently, but the spirit is the same. By promoting ourselves, we are selling ourselves. This should offend our basic views of the Craft. Does the little catch-phrase, “We do not recruit…” have a qualifier that states “…directly.”? I have seen and heard too many lawyers (trust me on this one) qualify some pretty solid statements…just so they can weasel their way past the commitment they may have made. Here are some of the things you have probably heard at your Lodge; “We have to ‘get out’ into the community.” “Nobody will know who we are unless they know we’re here.” “The public doesn’t even recognize us anymore.” “How are we going to get new members if nobody knows we exist?” …and so on and so forth. The problem with every single one of these statements is this…they all base themselves on the single premise that we need more members. Our fraternity, and each member in it, should not care what the outside world thinks. We should do good because it is right, not because it is popular. Our basic motivation for public service should come out of our love for the people in our world…those brothers and sisters in our sphere who share our communities, or stories, our places…our lives. Neighbors, clergy, police, teachers, clerks…and even assistant managers at Walgreens…they each deserve our best. We know they do because we are Masons. But when we ask for recognition in return, we betray the spirit of our Craft. When we are motivated to ‘get out’ in the community with our baseball caps and lettermen jackets…we are no better than any politician or snake-oil salesman…selling, selling, selling. Masons should serve the public. We should show-up in force at the local Heart-Fund Ball, the annual Police Fish-Fry, the County Book Fair. We should volunteer and be important men in our community. We should live-up to the promises that we make…and we should do it with the quiet resolve and dignity worthy of our Craft. Unlike my friend Emeraldi, I like the phrase “Making good men better.” However, we should not be shoving it into the public eye in an indirect effort to recruit new members. “Well then Mr. Smarty-Pants…” (I can hear them saying) “What are we supposed to do when our numbers are suffering and the old guys just can’t support the Lodge? Should we just close our doors?!?” Yup. Harsh, I know. But when men do not fulfill their mission for generations, and when those men allow our Lodges to diminish in internal luster to the point of near extinction…their legacy is a closed Lodge. Plain and simple. Many Lodges are flourishing today. They are not those who are raising half a dozen men at an altar made out of a pic-nic table. The flourishing Lodges are taking each one of their candidates very seriously, and they are investing time and energy into each man. Teaching him, listening to him, becoming real friends to that new brother. Flourishing Lodges are taking a one-man-at-a-time approach to the craft. Great Lodges are RETAINING members at high rates. The two concepts work well together. Increase the quality of the men in the Lodge…and their friends and neighbors will want to be around them. Once they become close enough to that brother (who, by the way, is the greatest neighbor on the block) THEY will ask HIM…”So, Bob, what is it that you do every Wednesday night…you’re not at home…where is it that you go?” Character is the best recruiter. Character has been defined as, ‘what you do when nobody is looking.’ Insofar as that is concerned…the anonymity facet of this definition should apply to our membership in the Craft. What do Masons do when nobody is looking? They feed the homeless (on Thanksgiving…standing shoulder to shoulder with others), they visit Veterans and shut-ins (while accompanied by a friend from church or temple), they help build a home (on a hot weekend, standing next to the police chief and a second grade teacher)…and they are just men when they do it…not Masons (at least to the public eye). Advocating for secrecy is not sinister. Advocating for privacy is not evil. Advocating for righteous motivations - that’s Masonic. When we act like better men, we become better men. When we do it for recognition, then we are not better…we’re average. Pandering for public recognition is…well…pandering! MY Craft does not compete with football. MY Craft does not compete with YouTube (although, it is a nice distraction - don’t tell my boss). MY Craft is unaware of any impact that other organizations have upon it. WE are the masters of our own destiny. WE decide what is worthwhile. OUR Craft deserves to be elevated to the high rank that it once held in society…but it will never be so while we stoop to compete with “The Simpsons.” So go ahead and take-out your ad in the local paper. Go ahead and wear your caps and your jackets. Cheapen the square and compass by floating it down the street in some vulgar display of pride. Do what we have been doing for years with so much success! ‘Get out’ into the community! It has worked so well for years…right? Or…you can just be better men all the time. And when other men finally decide that your reputation is worth emulating…they will knock at your door. And when you let them in…the work has just begun. |
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Posted at: 1:25 am The title of this blog should be self-explanatory, but to those who do not know what I’m talking about, let me explain. There are at least six states (that I know of) that have implemented “programs” to improve the current conditions of the fraternity in one way or another. Now, there are probably more jurisdictions doing the same type of thing and if they are then reflect on the following sentiments and consider whether or not they are what is really needed. Now, I do not have any problem with people coming up with new, innovative ideas to improve the fraternity. The problem I have is when these ideas are based on corporate models, inspired by books of a business nature or implemented in a corporate manner. There are fundamental problems with trying to take a business approach to our fraternity. One is that we consider ourselves a non-profit organization, meaning that making money is not our goal. Okay, fine with me, but how in the world can you apply corporate models (who are out to sell a product, make money and improve capital) to an organization that works completely differently? I will not read “Jack, Straight From The Gut” and then try to apply Jack’s business models in my lodge. Also, I was appalled to hear that a Masonic organization in my state hired an advertising firm to critique the fraternity. WHAT?!!! What were they thinking?!?! To no surprise I heard that their first recommendation was to get rid of the square and compasses as our prominemt symbol for whatever reasons, but the audacity to hire (pay for) a non-masonic, corporate advertising firm to critique the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world was distgustng in my opinion. We don’t need advertisments! We are not selling a product! We don’t need to recruit! We don’t need mission statements! The phrase “Making Good Men Better” is no different than “Like A Rock” in my opinion. Come on guys, let’s get a little more creative here. That is the laziest answer to “what do you guys do?” that I can think of. I will NEVER say that Freemasonry, this fraternity that I love and live by everyday and will cherish for the rest of my life, is as simple as “Making Good Men Better”. I read Aedificos’s blog about badges and I loved it. Badges play into this a little as well. I personally think that they are tacky and make us look like assistant managers at the local Walgreens. If you see a man in your lodge that you don’t know, go and talk to them. How simple is that? Now, back to business. If trustee members want to apply investment programs that are the fad of the time, then that’s appropriate. Trustees need to know how to work with money and stay ahead of the game with investments. But, as far as the membership goes our concerns should not be presented or addressed in such a manner as they would with Pepsi Co. This one program was being pitched to me and this Brother had all these bar graphs, charts and statistics regarding membership decline and all this other stuff and I truly had to keep my passions within due bounds after it was done. I will tell you what I told him. I do not live Freemasonry by pie charts and bar graphs. I don’t care about a so-called declining membership nor do I think that it is a problem. All I can focus on is my duty to my Brethren and those around me. When I first joined I worked for a bank and the last thing I wanted to do after my days work was to go to the lodge and get fed the same corporate structure building crap that I listened to everyday. So, what is my final summation? It is this; ask yourself, your lodge, your Grand Lodge, WHAT IS OUR GOAL? Do we need more money? Fine, get rid of the whole non-profit thing and stop denying that lodges need to make money on a regualr basis. Do we need more members? NO! Enough said about that. Do we need a higher member retention? YES! But I think taking retention cues from occupational giants is a mistake because employees have a little thing called “necessity” that lodge members don’t have to deal with. Do we need a stronger community presence? Depends on who you ask, but if you want to put yourself out there DO NOT do it in the name of Freemasonry or your lodge, do it in the name of your community and do it because your community needs it, not because your lodge does. Now, I am not trying to disrespect any Brother who has suggested a corporate-model program. I KNOW their hearts are in the right places, but I believe that the only way to improve the conditions of the fraternity as it is now is to first establish a goal (whatever it may be, whether it is retention, community service, education, etc), then look internally to the guys you see every week at the lodge and improve from the inside out. As any architect will tell you, superstructures are built from the ground up, not the top down. LEARN, THINK, AND DON’T STOP. |
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Posted at: 6:28 pm It is often lamented among the purist brothers that our fraternity has devolved into something less than the Masonry that once reigned. We sometimes hear of Lodges that have two, three or even six hundred brothers. What? How can you know and love six hundred men as your brother? So the lament centers around the saying, “If you need name badges in your Lodge, your Lodge is too big.” While I don’t disagree with that sentiment, I also think that many of our brothers would not be willing to pay the higher dues required to support a smaller Lodge. So, sadly, we will have to live with the problem of NEEDING to have more members, and thereby needing to have name badges. I guess I could go on and on about badges, familiarity with our brothers, time spent knowing each other, dues and all manner of other things. But for now, I will leave you with this thought: |
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Posted at: 10:30 am All three of this blog’s readers, and a few others, probably read with interest Emeraldi’s post regarding the letter “G” (scroll down and catch it!). I also read it, and actually sat down with him over a sausage calzone to discuss the issue (not to mislead…he had two slices of peperoni). It occurred to me that Emeraldi was a living breathing example of the Great Masonic Irony…Emeraldi’s Irony…to coin a phrase. What is Emeraldi’s Irony? Please let me explain. While learning about the hidden mysteries and doing the work required to reveal to ones-self the same, the Mason (let’s call him “Emeraldi”, for the purpose of this blog) is frustrated by the fact that we don’t just “do it the right way”. In this case, Emeraldi’s point is that the letter “G” is not the symbol that ought to be used. Other experiences have shown other “Emeraldi” that perhaps certain lectures make more sense when delivered in a “reverse” manner (more on that later). Some “Emeraldis” even try to out-think the Masonic Myth (see the similarly titled post below). These are all examples of Masons who see what and how we do things now, and are frustrated at the last few generations who perpetuated what may be described as non-original or ill-conceived changes in our ritual or symbols or stories. The beautiful “Emeraldi’s Irony” is that Emeraldi himself is living the Masonic life, working the Mason’s work and thinking as all Masons should. Instead of advocating for the “simplification” of symbol, or the “return to the original” item, Emeraldi has blindly walked past his own work AS he is WORKING. To come to the conclusion that Emeraldi has (as I read it…that the “G” ought to be replaced by the Delta), he had to work. He read and researched. He looked-into the history of Masonic symbols and then cross-referenced that with general sources regarding the Delta, what it meant to various peoples and why it might be an appropriate replacement for the “G”. Emeraldi did the work, and now he wants us to go-back to the way things were. But, (and I direct these comments to Emeraldi himself) wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? If the symbol you saw was a Delta, you would have had the same response that you indicate others do now to the letter “G”. In other words…you seem to be advocating for the replacement of one symbol for another with no real reason…except for the fact that you would rather have a Greek letter than an English one! Emeraldi, your curiosity and drive have taken you on a ”Craft Journey” that has expanded your understanding in a number of areas. You have read about history, other cultures, languages and symbolism. You have studied Masonry in a way that is not required, but desired. You have taken the initiative to do the work of a Mason…and yet after all is said and done, you want to deprive others of that same journey?! Emeraldi has advocated, often and loudly, that Masons need to read, study, think and learn. He has just done all that himself. But the premise of his “G” posting below seems to reveal that he does not think that others should have to do that. Emeraldi’s Irony is this: Emeraldi does the work of a Mason, then riles against the changes of his predecessors, lamenting the fact that current brethren are being misled and/or lied to…and his exploration and discovery is exactly what those same predecessors may well have intended for him. Each time we look to the recent past in Masonic history - lamenting the loss of the distant past - we look back and attempt to tie ourselves closer to our history and our brethren in that Celestial Lodge. We cringe when we see changes (Scottish Rite Masons can relate to this by looking to the apron changes for the Ninth and Tenth Degree) that seem to demystify our Craft. But the exploration necessary to achieve a greater understanding of former truths brings us closer to them. Brother Emeraldi is himself an example of what Masons ought to strive for…curiosity backed by drive. It is Emeraldi’s Irony that he cannot see in himself that which he desires for our whole Craft. |
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