John Wayne was a Mason...
Posted on 01/16/2009 9:54:17 AM PST by BGHater
President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in Tuesday will incorporate several elements out of America's Masonic past.
One-third of the signers of the Constitution, many of the Bill of Rights signers and America's first few presidents (except for Thomas Jefferson) were Freemasons, a fraternal organization that became public in early 18th-century England.
Although it became fabulously popular in America, at one time encompassing 10 percent of the population, Pope Clement XII condemned Freemasonry in 1738 as heretical. The latest pronouncement was issued in 1983 by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - who called Masonic practices "irreconcilable" with Catholic doctrine.
Still, as the first president, George Washington had to come up with appropriate rituals for the new country. He borrowed many of them from Masonic rites he knew as "worshipful leader" of a lodge in Alexandria.
His Masonic gavel is on display at the Capitol Visitor Center. Until this inauguration, Washington's Masonic Bible - on which he swore his obligations as a Freemason - was used for the presidential oath of office. President-elect Barack Obama will use Abraham Lincoln's Bible.
The worshipful master administered the Masonic oaths. This was adapted to the president vowing to serve his country in an oath administered by the top justice of the Supreme Court.
I learned all this from Garrison Courtney, a 30-something government worker who gives Masonic tours of the District in his spare time. He is worshipful master at the Cincinnatus Lodge in Georgetown. Contrary to public perceptions of Masons being older white guys, current local membership is a racially and religiously mixed group of Gen-X men, he says.
They have, he adds, gotten a bad rap as a secretive organization.
"If people have questions, we will tell them," he says. "We're pretty open as an organization."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
John Wayne was a Mason...
in my year as Master of our Lodge i held a child ID day, two blood drives, three charity breakfasts, five charity dinners and brought things for Masonic Vets and their ward mates at our local VA hospital. all of which i'm sure is fairly typical of the kinds things done all around the country.
That's why it is difficult to answer the question, what is Freemasonry? It would be like trying to describe a vacation before you took it, for it's a continual journey -- not just a one time trip to Disneyland. :)
LOL!
Hey, the forks are behind the knives...
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Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
"Rules for Radicals" begins with an unusual tribute: "From all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins – or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer."
http://www.tysknews.com/Articles/dnc_corruption.htm
3rd Degree i guess... i think the knifes should be hinged by the hilt like the forks are though
:)
May God bless you and yours.
Verrrrrry unlikely. Alinsky was far too busy hating and destroying all things American and civilized to engage in genuine fraternal activity. When Alinsky wanted to pose as “charitable”, he connived at creating government programs. When the Masons want to do good, they set up institutions like St. Jude’s Hospital and fully fund the care of desperately ill children, seeking their funding in the private sector.
Masons deny membership to those who simply state they believe in God through faith in Christ. On the other hand, they insist they welcome only those who believe in God. If the latter statement were indeed true, then the prior statement as a subset would be included, but those with faith through Christ are excluded. Go figure. To what 'god' do they actually base their devotion, when they disallow faith through Christ?
A: We can't tell you. It's a secret! LOL
Seriously, I know the K of C to be a fine organization. I know some of the fellows there, and they are fine, fine gentlemen.
I have often said on here that if it were not for the prohibition against Freemasonry, I would be a Roman Catholic (I am an Episcopalian now).
May God bless you and yours.
Continued blessings to you and yours as well.
This is incorrect. The petition for degrees simply asks: "Do you believe in a Supreme Being?"
All that is required is that the question be answered in the affirmative. No further inquiry is allowed.
The "haters" have arrived.
There’s plenty of stuff on the web about Mason’s not all of it true. Sort through some of the founders of Modern Freemasonry and quotes on their beliefs and then check out the authenticity for yourself - not all BBQ’s and Charity I am afraid.
My Uncle (a Policeman in Britain) had a fair bit of trouble with this boys club - he was the youngest ever inspector in his local Constabulary. Once he hit that level he was approached to join the Lodge. He didn’t and never rose above the position he had gained even after 25 years in the force. He took an active lead in trying to get others promoted who also would not join the Lodge with only very limited success. He retired about ten years ago.
I was talking with some of his colleagues when i was in England about 6 years ago and they all stated that you would not rise above a certain position if you didn’t join up. The British Legal system in particular seems to be rife with this sort of ‘networking’. It seems that fellow Freemasons back each other up and can be relied upon if things go a bit belly up in the job.
Mel
All Masons take irrational oaths which are anti-God and anti-Patriotic. They are bound by one thing: destruction of Roman Catholicism. They are the ‘anti-Church’.
My uncle was a 33rd degree Mason, and it seemed as though they had some pretty strange ideas about the after life. I mean, ideas that involved the physical body, not just the soul.
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