[sitetest]

Dear MarkBsnr,

Thanks for the info.

Indeed, the focus of any active Council will mostly be outward. I've always marveled at the way that the Order has shaped the activities at the Council level through the entire Surge for Service structure.

"I don't want to be attacking them or implying that there is a great anti Catholic conspiracy to bring down the Vatican that is being perpetrated by these good folks."

That's a good thing, I think. Although I'm interested in your experiences, and the differences that you perceive, I know good folks, too, who are Masons, and have no desire to trash all these good folks.

However, historically, it is true that Europeans Lodges have been anti-Catholic, and it's also true that some Masonic organizations in the United States have at times engaged in anti-Catholic action. See, "Blaine Amendments" and related topics.

The question is whether that adds up to a world-wide conspiracy against the Catholic Church. Maybe. But not proved.

I think that part of the problem is how we Catholics see things. When we see an organization or a human institution, we think "hierarchical," we think "head guy at top," we think in terms of authoritative magisterium.

But as I've gotten to know a little bit about Masonry, I've decided that there really isn't much of an authoritative magisterium to Masonry (I may be wrong on this, it's just my impression). I've known Masons who just laugh at the mention of Pike. They no more accept him as an authoritative Masonic source than they accept the pope as one.

This was at first a little bewildering to me as a Catholic.

However, as I researched, I found that unlike, for instance, the Knights of Columbus, there really isn't all that much discipline about what's done or said in the name of Freemasonry. So, you describe praying to the Great Architect of the Universe, others describe praying to a more explicitly-Christian God.

I've seen the degree ceremonials of different rites, and found that even within the same rite, there are often significant differences between ceremonials of the various degrees from one source to another.

Thus, although I think it's wrong for Catholics to become or remain Masons, and I think it's right to say that at many times and places, Masonic organizations acted against Catholics and the Catholic Church, I can't ascribe to these folks a secret world-wide conspiracy.

"Oh, and I've been Sir Knight for about 5 years now... :)"

Congratulations, Worthy Sir!


sitetest

[MeanWestTexan]

"Great Architect of the Universe"

That prhase was actually first coined by John Calvin, who can hardly be called anti-Christian.

Lots of state consitutions refer to God as "the Great Legislature of the Universe."

Such "other names" for the God of Abraham are quite common in the Bible and in Jewish custom and tend to related to what is being accomplished at the time --- for example, on the mezuzah placed on my door is the first letter of one of God's names "Shaddai" --- short for Shomer Daltot Yisrael (literally "Guardian of the Doorways of Israel").

Even in the Shema (the scroll inside the mezuzah -- Deteronmy portion "Love the Lord thy God with all they heart -- you presumably know the rest), the Hebrew name for God used was "King of the Universe."

So, long and short, is a reference to the one and only God, same one that made a promise to Abraham.

In English (and Latin), all these various Hebrew names for God tended to become just "God" (or Jehovah), which is the source of the claim that there is something amiss here.