Posted on 01/30/2005 7:07:08 PM PST by AncientAirs
Of course you aren't barred from calling what you think is a spade a spade. You can even say you think it's objective and everyone who disagrees is wrong.
But then we can consider the source. Like I said, it looks like the Masons are in good company if you hold the Pope, and now it looks like George Bush, as "objectively evil" as well.
And no, I don't think all Catholics are like that at all.
People in the Vatican had JFK killed?
Some Answers About FreemasonryWho founded Freemasonry?
Freemasonry was a professional guild of Operative Masons (practical builders), or in simple words, kind of construction craftsmen union. For many generations, the apprentices inherited from their master craftsmen many building practices and professional traditions, which are universal, and not the product of any one people or time. Freemasonry is the result of growth and development, in which many Freemasons had a part, and it has taken to itself many teachings, philosophies, systems of knowledge, and symbols.
Why Free Masons?
The craftsmen of the guild of Operative Masons were legally free to travel in foreign countries and work in various construction sites, as their profession required. Usually, they were not subject to the laws, rules, and taxes of any one country, king, or prince, who needed their practical professional skill, knowledge, and abilities.
How old is Freemasonry?
According to the oldest Masonic document available, the Regius Poem, there is evidence that some form of organization of builders existed as early as 926 CE, chartered by Athelstan, the legendary King of England. The first modern (Speculative) Grand Lodge came into existence in 1717, in England.
Why Speculative?
Speculative Freemasonry is a descendant of the Operative Freemasonry. Speculative Freemasonry began with the practice of admitting to membership in Operative Lodges men who were not necessarily builders, but were interested in the moral, ethical, and philosophical teachings of the Masonic Fraternity. The Freemasonry of today does not involve practical construction of edifices, but it is a pursuit of moral knowledge.
What are the Ancient Landmarks?
Different Grand Lodges around the world have various lists of Ancient Landmarks and thus have given the tenets in the list the force of law in those Grand Lodges. Conceptually, Landmarks are fundamental laws, which no Grand Lodge can make or unmake, adopt or repeal. The Landmarks are unalterable by any individual or group. Every Freemason should ascertain what his own Grand Lodge has adopted (or not adopted) as Landmarks and govern himself accordingly.
Most Grand Lodges will agree that at least seven Masonic fundamentals are considered Landmarks:
(1) Belief in G-d (monotheism) is the sole dogma of Freemasonry.
(2) Immortality of the soul is the ultimate lesson of Masonic philosophy.
(3) The Volume of the Sacred Law (Tanach, Bible, and/or Koran) is indispensable on the altar of a Lodge.
(4) The legend of Hiram, involved in the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem (the first edifice built for G-d by Solomon, King of Israel).
(5) The modes of recognition of the Fraternity.
(6) Symbolism of the operative art by way of the professional construction tools.
(7) A Freemason must be a freeborn male adult.
I keep telling you.....wave any old tinfoil at her and she'll swallow it whole!
So, what is the point of these arguments?
You ignore me,because you are incapable of responding to what I say,in any cogent way.And when you do manage to reply to a post of mine,you obfuscate,insult,lie,and post snippy,unclever nonsense which you and only you find witty.
Pot and no kettle,when it comes to bombast and the Red Queen. Honestly,your projection problem has gotten seriously worse,over the past few years.Shouldn't you do something about that?
As to keeping "focused",could someone here,other than ASkel,please find something she's written that proves that she is focused on anything other than her own biased,illogical,spurious hatreds and moronic conspiracy theories?
I've never called the Pope or George Bush "evil".
I've said the Pope is a liberal. That's a fact. May make him "evil" where some on this board are concerned but I certainly don't think so. In fact, among all his actions, I think his "fleshing out" the Rosary with the Luminous mysteries was truly inspired. I'd always wondered why the Transfiguration, for example, was not a part of the Rosary since the mysteries all center on Christ -- beginning with his conception by which he was united to his mother and ending with her assumption and coronation in Heaven by which they were reunited.
A man who stakes his campaign on being "pro-life" and who states during that campaign that he believes life begins at conception may not himself be "evil" but clearly is weak, troubled and in the service of evil where he condones and funds the farming of Potential People for human parts of use to the "living".
Again, ignorance is invincible. And I think we must leave moral judgments of others to their Maker who alone understands the relative formation (or deformation) of their conscience.
Folks advocating "free thought" and "freedom of conscience" are not particularly suited to this sort of endeavor and quite naturally recoil from anything like actual moral judgment.
I think this is largely due to Calvinism's concept of elect and non-elect and the protestant notion that anyone failing to accept the Christ (on their terms, anyway) is somehow condemned. That's not how Catholics operate. It's not for us to judge the man but, by the same token, it's remiss of us not to point out error in thought or the evil of certain acts.
FWIW,THE SONS OF THE DESSERT, the Laurel and Hardy fan club,does NOT allow female members,though women ARE allowed in,after the meeting,to watch that night's film.And NO male nonmember is allowed to attend the meetings either.Even the last Mrs. Laurel,who would open the meetings sometimes,was then packed off to the "green room",where she would sit and chat with me and Margaret Hamilton and any other women who happened to be there.
And Opus Dei,which does have females as members,won't allow me to sit in on their meetings;heck,you can't either.
No,Askel,`only YOU think that YOU are superior and oh so much more moral than everyone else. To answer yet another load and pathetically stupid query of yours about Masons.
Wow ... two major cities in all of "Catholic" Spain have the Latin Mass. Clearly Opus Dei's been slacking. Would that all Catholic organizations were so "ineffectual."
(Thanks for the good news, btw ... can you give me a link to same. I'm having trouble finding the two of which you spoke. )
Tell me,what do you want President Bush to do...throw an INQUISITION and torture and burn every woman who has had an abortion and every doctor who has caused one and everyone who even knows what an abortion is,at the stake?
So,you think that the president is "weak",do you>? Do you have any idea at all,how the government of this nation actually runs and what a president can and can not do? WELL,DO YOU?
Come on,ST.Askel,tell us all yet again,just how pure and holy and better than everyone else you are.LOL
"An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest."
It's a cult. Granted, the connotation is usually religious in nature and (the engravings I quoted from DC's House of the Temple notwithstanding), "cult" yet describes any society steeped in rituals and rites, venerations and common pursuits.
cult, ritual observances involved in worship of, or communication with, the supernatural or its symbolic representations. A cult includes the totality of ideas, activities, and practices associated with a given divinity or social group. It includes not only ritual activities but also the beliefs and myths centering on the rites. The objects of the cult are often things associated with the daily life of the celebrants. The English scholar Jane Harrison pointed out the importance of the cult in the development of religion. Sacred persons may have their own cults. The cult may be associated with a single person, place, or object or may have much broader associations. There may be officials entrusted with the rites, or anyone who belongs may be allowed to take part in them.
I thought I was the Emily Litella of the board. Get a grip on yourself, nopardons, and quit making me underscore how specious are your outbursts.
The great psychologist Carl Jung coined the term, "the Shadow," to refer to those parts of each person's psyche and personality that they are ashamed of or embarrassed by. Those things in the Shadow are not necessarily bad - they may just be under-developed or unaccepted parts of our beings. 1 But most of us prefer to push them into the Shadow so that we don't have to think about them. And we usually hope that by keeping them out of sight and mind, others will ignore them too.
But you know, the Shadow is a funny thing. Sometimes those parts of ourselves that we've tried so hard to ignore are glaringly obvious to our friends - or our enemies. They end up being those things that our friends tease us about unmercifully.
Carl Jung was of the opinion that we'd be a lot less neurotic and self-defeating if we brought our Shadows into the light of consciousness and acknowledged them. Sometimes, in fact, we'd find that our Shadows were like missing pieces of a puzzle - that once they found their proper places, we'd be rewarded with a sense of wholeness and completion that had been previously lacking.
How might this apply to Freemasonry? Human organizations often function like a collective personality or a group psyche with its own Shadow - which consists of those things that we seldom discuss, whether out of embarrassment or confusion or discomfort.
But since our rituals remind us that we seek "more light," I'd like to propose that we shine some light on one aspect of Masonry's Shadow - its Love/Hate relationship to esoteric traditions. This conflicted relationship dates back to the beginnings of Speculative Masonry, but it also has a contemporary impact on how others see Masonry and how we see ourselves.
"Esoteric," like the term "occult," has a common meaning of something hidden or obscure. It is often used to refer to knowledge or teachings that are restricted to a special circle of initiates. Thus Masonry sometimes refers to the "esoteric" portions of its rituals, which means the signs, tokens, and words that are not supposed to be written down, even in a cipher book.
However, "esoteric" can also refer to an inner meaning or the essence of a religion or a body of wisdom. This can be something as simple as when Jesus talked about "the spirit of the Law," in contrast to "the letter of the Law." Or it can be something as complex as a system of mystical practices that promises to help one draw closer to God.
For instance, the mystical system of Kabbalah is sometimes called esoteric Judaism, just as the mystical teachings of Sufism are sometimes called esoteric Islam. Similarly, Yoga is sometimes considered esoteric Hinduism, and so forth.
The "esoteric traditions," with which Masonry has had its conflicted Love/Hate relationship, include:
Unfortunately, we don't have space in this paper to delve into the specifics of these rather arcane traditions. 2 Instead, I will focus the discussion on how the esoteric traditions came to be associated, in the minds of some Masons, with Masonry itself; and whether this is a blessing or a curse.
Interesting read. Echoes many of the comments herein on the troubles of cultivating new members, ironically enough, in the 60s when youth were seeking "spirituality" but speculative masonry had lost its taste for the more mystical aspects of the craft and become a more pedestrian organization along the lines of Rotary.
You never were in the Junior League,now were you. :-)
I've made "specious outbursts"? REALLY? Then what,pray tell,shall we call the vile posts and spewing you've made here? The sanctimonious,hyperbolic ravings of the perpetually delusional seems to fit rather nicely.
Don't confuse by repeating her own words to her...she has NO idea at all what she has written.
Don't confuse her by repeating her own words to her...she has NO idea at all what she has written.
Why are you afraid of the Masons?
=== suggested he was the reason the Pope before him was murdered.
I seriously doubt it would have taken eight votes to appoint him were he "the reason" John Paul was murdered.
The fact remains that -- for all his incredible writings and popularity, particularly with the youth -- he has neglected his duties as shepherd of the Church and been personally responsible for appointing some of the worst wolves of AmChurch to positions of power.
Again, his liberal bias and his own experiences come into play. It's not for me to judge the Pope as "evil." Supposedly, he made his mark at Vatican II arguing against "anti-semitism". I know nothing more about his involvement than that. The abject evil of which I spoke is that of those who argued for contraception, substantive changes to the liturgy and rites of Catholicism and who evidenced by their unruly and ugly behavior -- including radical Whoreowitz type stunts here at home by fellow-traveler priests and theologians -- the hatred they harbored in their hearts for the likes of Cardinal Ottaviani and other genuine heroes of the Church and servants of God.
And I've yet to "condemn" Masons in the process of criticizing the Masonic model. AGAIN, ignorance is invincible and the vast majority of Masons are not privy to the organization's totality.
Take a page from the Catholics around here and rise above whatever purely sentimental attachment you have for this human organization. I don't get bent out of shape when I'm told I worship some Whore of Babylon or that the road to hell is paved with Catholics. Surely you can stomach a little criticism of an organization even you don't believe in.
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