Freemasonry"Masonry", "The Brotherhood", "The Lodge","The Craft":
A secret fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, spread by the British Empire, with actually 5 million members; 3 million in the USA, with 250,00 on the black "Prince Hall" Masonry (rejected by many white lodges). - Some Masons define it as "a beautiful system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols"... also as "the realization of God by the practice of Brotherhood": To reach God by doing good works to your neighbor... ... It has been described as "the biggest, richest, most secret and most powerful private force in the world"... and certainly, "the most deceptive", both for the general public, and for the first 3 degrees of "initiates": Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason (the basic "Blue Lodge")... These Initiates are purposely deceived!, in believing they know every thing, while they don't know anything about the true Masonry... in the words of Albert Pike, whose book "Morals and Dogma" is the standard monitor of Masonry, and copies are often presented to the members, "the first three degrees are but the outer court of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally mislead by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understand them... it is well enough for the mass of those called Masons to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degrees" ("Morals and Dogma", p.819). Masonry: (form the french "mason", "stone masons"), started in the 13th century as a "Union of Workers" of the cathedral builders to help each other; it was the "working" or "operative masonry", meeting in "lodges". Freemasonry: With the decline of cathedral building, some lodges of operative masons begun to accept honorary members to bolster their declining membership... and from here, "Freemasonry" was born, not to build "cathedrals", but to build "cathedrals of men", and "the cathedral of the whole world"... it is the "speculative masonry", adopting the rites and trappings of ancient religions, orders, sects, the occult, and chivalric brotherhoods. -Officially, Freemasonry was born in 1717, when 4 Craft Lodges gathered at the Apple Tree Tavern in London, and set up a constitution for Free and Accepted Masons, written by Anderson... but they claim their roots can be traced to Egypt, Syria, Babylon... and the stonecutters of the Solomon Temple, specially "Hiram Abiff" (1R.7, 2Cr.2,4), a celebrated figure because of his death-defying refusal to reveal trade secrets to intruders... the "Jesus Christ" for many Masons... though it is "an irony", because the Temple of Solomon was not built with stones, but with wood, brought by another "Hiram", the King of Tyre (1R.5,9).
Emblem - Compass and square forming the triangle of God, with the letter "G" in the center, or the "eye" of God... or on top of an open Bible. - They are the 3 indispensable jewels of a Lodge, representing "equality, liberty, and fraternity". - The "compass" is the male element, represents solidarity, by making a circle; the "square", the female element, represents righteousness. The 5 points of "fellowship": - "Foot to foot": To go to help your brother. - "Knee to knee": Pray for your brother. - "Breast to breast": Keep the secrets. - "Hand to back": Assist your fallen brother, and vindicate his character behind his back, as well as before his face. - "Mouth to ear": Whisper good council. ***
There are mainly "3 Rites", with up to 1,000 degrees, superimposed on the 3 major divisions, varying from country to country, with no central authority (Encyclopedia Britannica). -They meet in "Lodges", of at least 7 members; each Lodge is the basic unit of Masonry, like a "parish", and supposedly no one outranks the Master of his Lodge, not even the Grand Master. A "Grand Lodge" in each state, with at least 4 Lodges, is like the "diocese". A "Grand Master" supposedly outranks any 33-degree Mason. In most countries, Grand Lodges are national bodies, but that has failed in the USA. The basic "Blue Lodge": Blue Lodges are those in which the first 3 degrees are conferred: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. The 3 Degrees ware "blue" aprons, the official color of Freemasonry, and the only proper form to address the Master of the Lodge is "Worshipful Master". 1- The "Scottish Rite": It has 33 degrees, they can talk about politics and religion in the Lodge, and the Lodges have a general organization, to act as a whole. Atheists are not admitted, as they were not admitted blacks, women, children, and poor people. - Degree 18, of the "Rose Croix", is "anti-Christian: The candidate has to pass a cross without Christ, through Calvary, Ascension, and Hell, and the INRI of the cross means "the whole nature renewed by fire". - Only Christians can take degrees 18 to 33, and degree 30, "Knight of Kadosh" is the most anti-Catholic; "vengeance" is the motif of this degree. - The first 3 degrees ware "blue aprons"; 4 to 18 "red aprons"; 19 to 30 "black aprons"; and 31 to 33 "white aprons". - There are 2 Jurisdictions in the US: ... 1- The "Northern", north of Ohio, with headquarters in Lexington, Mass.; ... 2- The "Southern", with 35 states, and headquarters in Washington, D.C., the most openly anti-Catholic, founder of the Ku-Klux-Klan, and publisher of the "New Age" magazine. 2- The "York Rite" or "American Rite": With 10 degrees, here they are not allowed to talk about politics and religion in the Lodges. The atheists are not admitted, and refuses admission to any but Christian Masons... women, children, blacks, and poor people are not admitted. - In the 7th degree, the Royal Arch, the name of the God of the Masons is discovered: "Jah-Bul-On", which stands for "Yahweh", the God of the Bible; "Baal", the god of the Assyrians, the false god of the Bible; and "On", the sun-god of the Egyptians, Osiris. 3- The "Grand Orient of France": Here, the Atheists are admitted. It started when Napoleon tried to unite and control the different Lodges and Rites through his brother Joseph. He failed, but a brand new Rite was born to accommodate the Positivists and Atheists. - The "Blacks", were not allowed into Masonry, but later the "Prince Hall" for blacks was created, with 250,000 members. But even now U.S. Lodges reject the legitimacy of Black Masonic Lodges (Encyclopedia Britannica). - "Allied organizations", also were created to take care of the female relatives of Master Masons in the "Order of the Eastern Star"; for boys, the "Order of DeMolay" and the "Order of Builders". For girls, the "Order of the Job's Daughters" and the "Order of Rainbow"... plus the "Shriners", known for their charitable work... *** Most Christian and Muslim leaders forbid Freemasonry... because it is a most deceptive secret society, as we shall see next: -"Catholics": Freemasons have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church by 8 Popes: In 1738 by Clement XII "In Eminenti", the first of 20 bulls against Freemasonry. Pius IX issued 6 bulls attacking Masonry. Leo XIII, in 1884, in "Humanum Genus", and endorsed the view that the Freemasons' "real supreme aim" is "to persecute Christianity with untamed hatred, and they will never rest until they see cast to the ground all religious institutions established by the Pope"... and the last one, John Paul II in 1983... you can not be a Catholic and a Mason!... if you want to be a Mason, you are automatically out of the Catholic Church, excommunicated!... these are the words issued by Cardinal Ratzinger, approved and ordered by John Paul II in Nov. 1983: "The Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic associations remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. Catholics who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. Local Ecclesiastical authorities do not have the faculty to pronounce a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which may include a diminution of the above-mentioned judgment". - "Baptist" leaders, have referred to it as "an ungodly brotherhood of satanic darkness"; "there is an inherent incompatibility between Masonry and the Christian faith"; "there is a great danger that the Christian Mason may find himself compromising his allegiance to Jesus" (The Baptist Union of Scotland, 1965). -"Lutherans", say "Masonry amounts to idolatry" (Missouri Synod, 1959). -"Presbyterians": "Masonry is a religious institution and as such is definitely anti-Christian (General Assembly, Rochester, 1942). -"The Church of England": "A number of very fundamental reasons to question the compatibility of Freemasonry with Christianity (General Synod, London, 1987... and several members of the committee were Masons!). -"Russian Orthodox Church": "Any Orthodox who joins Masonry losses all the right and privileges of his membership in the Church (Acker, "Strange Altars", pag.60). "Methodists": "There is a great danger that the Christian who becomes a Freemason will find himself comprising his Christian beliefs. Methodists should not become Masons (General Assembly, London, 1985). ... However, most Masons are white Protestants, and some Catholics and Orthodox!. *** BEAUTIFUL "TENETS"... "DECEPTION": The apparent "tenets" of Masonry are beautiful, and many Masons are good, honest people, deceived in the surface of Brotherhood, specially the first three degrees Masons, most of them!... who, in the words of Pike, already quoted, "they are intentionally misled by false interpretations" (p.129) - To be accepted as a Mason, you have to believe in "the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of men, and the immortality of the soul"... and this is beautiful, but like a chocolate with deadly poison inside, because it will end up robbing your Christian or Muslim or Jewish believes... - The "3 tenets" of Masonry
are: ... this 3 tenets, plus "trust in God" are just beautiful... but many high degree Masons are guided by greed and self-interest, either social, political, or economic, making Masonry nothing less than the England's Mafia, in the words of Knight and Short ("The Brotherhood", "Inside the Brotherhood). The "4 perfect points of entrance" are: "Gutta" (throat), "pectora" (chest), "manus" (hand), and "pedes" (feet), to teach care and circumspection of what you eat and drink, what you say and think in your heart, what you do, and where you go... beautiful!... but while many lodges are like clubs of brothers dedicated to do charity, some big high degree members are obstinate in destroying religions and entire economical and social structures of even entire nations... The "4 cardinal virtues", are also beautiful: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, and Justice"... but while many lodges breathe a spirit of general philanthropy, some high degree Masons have fed up the public, and the Grand Lodge biggest task today is to convince an increasingly cynic public that the Craft is neither a standing conspiracy nor a secret society, nor even a "society with secrets", but a harmless private club which benefits the entire community by inculcating lofty moral and spiritual values in its members"... but it is not that!... because Freemasonry can spiritually enrich a lifetime, but it can rob you of your Christian values... it can be conservative, but also a reactionaary force in politics, religion, or economics, a cover for a revolution, from left or right.
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