tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post8833542025914246179..comments2024-03-26T12:05:58.591-04:00Comments on Freemasons For Dummies: "Knock, Knock. We're Not In."Christopher Hodapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-86294701293424400892019-09-02T22:21:24.598-04:002019-09-02T22:21:24.598-04:00Curious. You said, We are a reflection of society ...Curious. You said, <i>We are a reflection of society not a Lightbearer to help guide or stabilize the same."</i><br /><br />Pray tell, why should we NOT be a guiding, stabilizing influence on society today? We were once. Freemasonry's role in the colonial days of Britain and France, or in the early pioneering days of Western expansion in the U.S. was to do exactly that. Freemasonry was deliberately expanded and used by "elite" members of frontier and colonial society to civilize rough and rugged populations of men who needed to acquire skills of self-government, self-control, honor, trust, self-sacrifice, charity, and tolerance. <br /><br />If those qualities are sorely lacking and receding today (and they demonstrably are), should that not be the mission of Masonic lodges once again? Or am I reaching too high?Christopher Hodapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-10480333972310214372017-12-22T08:31:02.767-05:002017-12-22T08:31:02.767-05:00Interesting, I watched that episode and the series...Interesting, I watched that episode and the series. To take the speech out of the context of the full story is dangerous. We have often quoted text and scripture and neglected the context in which it is prescribed. I agree we need to more properly apply the tools of the Craft upon the members of the craft in order to craft better men. That being said, we must become wary of turning Freemasonry into Elitist Craftsmen. Humility is to be a part of us always, and if we use tools of humiliation to obtain such we have sorely missed our target and harmed the Craft more than we have aided in its edification.<br /><br />Membership was always going to decline, because we only ever believed we were being accepting or tolerant. The actions within the lodges have over time proven this to simply not be the case. We are a reflection of society not a Lightbearer to help guide or stabilize the same. Old men and old foibles cling to authority and power instead of instilling the same in their following generations. We give the trappings of Leadership to our members, but we do not fully empower our developing Caftsmen into Leaders to further enrich us.<br /><br />We must not ever close the West Gate, but we must remember to ever guard the same as well remind others that like Hiram before us, we too should pass out the East Gate sometimes and allowing the ones whom have earned the right to enter by it as well.J. Keith Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13633203229378694558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-14599810514576338342017-12-18T17:13:52.030-05:002017-12-18T17:13:52.030-05:00We definitely need to consider this seriously. We...We definitely need to consider this seriously. We are not a Lions club or a VFW post or Little League boosters club, good as all that may be for the community. There is very little in the present fraternity of the Enlightenment, knowledge of metaphors and symbolism, and intellectual dialogue. We have largely lost the members who could contribute to that serious side. A major problem are the present grand masters, who is general use their meetings together to avoid the major challenges we face and the serious disagreements between jurisdictions.Bro. Paul Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435030965629467739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-53288677586650011002017-12-18T09:24:25.262-05:002017-12-18T09:24:25.262-05:00Excellent points and for me it all comes down in f...Excellent points and for me it all comes down in failing to observe our Craft seriously in both form and fucntion. Some don't want Masonic education in their lodges and if they do, no more than 3 to 5 minutes as the Brethren can only take brief sound bites. So a fraternity that is based on ancient mystery school and guild initiation and ritual gets reduced to mundane meetings with men sitting around checking their phones. Out of hundreds of members, 20 or 30 show up for the meetings. Why? Because it's not that special and it only gets special when the Craft is observed as it should be and it all starts with each of us to include holding the West Gate. On a side note, the Young Pope was an excellent mini-series and reportedly the most lavish and expensive series to come out of Italy.DesmoLighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03940305493712204470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-88756308540910920912017-12-18T07:51:15.035-05:002017-12-18T07:51:15.035-05:00I agree that we need to be careful who we accept i...I agree that we need to be careful who we accept into the fraternity. But I do think that by proper examination of a candidate we can find out if they truly are worthy. I know several Grand Lodges (Michigan included) have initiated a six step program prior to the petition being submitted. However, it still comes down to the individual lodges to make sure that the man will make a good Mason.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16105424000851163958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-35253066542504160042017-12-18T05:30:01.381-05:002017-12-18T05:30:01.381-05:00What a powerful message. It already has me dreamin...What a powerful message. It already has me dreaming of a Masonic educational system that contains the MPAT (Masonic Philosophy Aptitude Test) for potential Masons, a 2 yr undergrad program (EA), a 2 year internship (FC), a 2 yr grad program (MM). The MM study includes the research and presentation of a doctoral thesis. After successful completion of this course of study, the man would be considered a Master Mason with the continual obligation to "publish or perish." However, in the case of the fraternity, one can only dream. Mike Clevengerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06144751621432364230noreply@blogger.com