# Freemasonry ?



## Red942 (Apr 20, 2014)

Hello, my name is David. I am 24 years old. I have finished my high school only.
I work as a bartender in a club. I am not rich nor I have a business or a rank in a company or something.
Just regular men. I love history, I read and watch a lot of history books and documentaries.

First of all I love the idea of Freemasons.
BUT my only knowledge of freemasonry  is from documentaries and from what I heard.
And you all know that people and media only talk crap about freemasonry.

So I am here to ask some question about Freemasons, and hope you guys can help me out to become one.

1. What is freemasonry ? Can I join even with my condition uneducated ( only high school ) ?

2. Does freemasonry include any outlaw rituals or action from the first degree till the last ?

3. Everyone here heard about Illuminati, and a lot of proofs show the relations with freemasonry. How true is that ?

4. In the first degree ritual, i saw that they out a finger on his chest, and say it means torture if he reveal any of Freemasonry secrets.
   My question is this true ? And can someone leave Freemasonry like nothing happened ?

5. In Freemasonry, there is a lot of Christian symbols. Are they related anyway to the religion ?

6. What is the view of the Vatican on Freemasons ?

7. Why is the history of Freemason is bad ? Why people hate you guys ?

Regards.


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## rpbrown (Apr 20, 2014)

I will answer what I can.
1) (a) it is a fraternity of men that is to make good men better. (b) Yes. Nothing says you have to be a scholar. 
2) No "outlaw" rituals. Not sure what you me by action from first to last but there is some memory work
3) Not true that I know of.
4) (a) mostly not true. What is true is purely ritual (b) Yes, you can leave anytime 
5) We are not a religion. However, you are required to have faith in Deity of some sort.
6) I am not Catholic so I cannot answer that.
7) There are a lot of rumors out there and with the internet, there is a lot of garbage about Freemasonry. People fear the unknown.

In short, people say we are a secret society which is not true. We are a fraternity of men with secrets (mostly ritualistic). Most organizations have some secrets as to the membership, financials, rituals, and etc.

If we were a secret society, why do a lot of Masons wear rings, pins, or have the masonic emblem on their vehicle?


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## MarkR (Apr 21, 2014)

1. It's hard to describe Freemasonry. It is the world's oldest fraternity, and is different things to different brothers.  Some participate for the philosophical pursuit of improvement of the mind and person.  Some for the charitable aspect.  Some strictly for the fellowship and brotherhood.

Absolutely you can.  We meet on the level.  President Harry Truman often celebrated the fact that his gardener was the Worshipful Master of his Masonic Lodge.

2. There is nothing in our rituals that will embarrass or degrade you (no hazing should ever go on in a Masonic Lodge) or turn you away from your religious beliefs.

3. The Illuminati haven't existed for well over 200 years.  The founder, Adam Weishaupt, did recruit from among Freemasons in Bavaria, but there was never an actual connection between Freemasonry and the Illuminati.  The group was destroyed by the Bavarian government, and all rumors of their continued existence are just that, rumors.  People today who claim to be Illuminati are full of crap.

4. All penalties connected with our initiations are strictly symbolic.  No one will ever harm you if you should decide to leave Freemasonry.

5. Freemasonry developed in Christian countries (Scotland, England, Ireland) and as such certainly uses symbolism that would be comfortable for 17th and 18th century Christians.  However, there is no religious requirement beyond a belief in God.

6. This is a complex question.  Officially, the Roman Catholic church says Freemasonry is incompatible with Catholicism and any Catholic who is a Freemason is in a state of grave sin.  In practice, we have many Catholics in Freemasonry, their priests are aware of their membership, and there has been no problem.  However, if that is a concern to you, I strongly encourage you to discuss your interest in Freemasonry with your parish priest to see where he stands on it.

7. The history of Freemasonry is NOT bad.  Virtually all of the negative things said about Freemasonry have been proven false (a lot of them are the result of a hoax; research the Leo Taxil hoax.  He gleefully admitted his writings were all a hoax, yet they still get repeated.)  Many great, great men have been Freemasons, and didn't find anything in our rituals or practices that offended them.  As was stated, there are always people who fear the unknown, and assume that since we keep some things private we are "up to no good."


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## BryanMaloney (Apr 21, 2014)

Red942 said:


> 1. What is freemasonry ? Can I join even with my condition uneducated ( only high school ) ?



Everybody else has chimed in, I'll throw in my two cents, which is costing you nothing, so it's worth every penny you paid for it. Freemasonry is the world's biggest and oldest extant fraternal organization. It's so big that it's almost impossible to make universally valid statements about it. However, it's a rather law-abiding organization, if nothing else. There are no formal educational requirements. The only requirements in the USA are that you be a man at least 18 or 21 years of age (depending on the state), not convicted of a felony or other crime indicating "moral turpitude", express belief in "a Supreme Being", and make your petition of your own free will and accord. This is pretty much similar world-wide.



> 2. Does freemasonry include any outlaw rituals or action from the first degree till the last?



Nothing about Freemasonry is "outlaw", certainly not in the USA. There are and have been countries in which Freemasonry is illegal. These tend to be dictatorships or theocratic states.



> 3. Everyone here heard about Illuminati, and a lot of proofs show the relations with freemasonry. How true is that?



The Bavarian Illuminati was an organization founded in 18th-century Germany. It was forward-thinking in that it opposed state support of religion, advocated democratic institutions, etc. It went extinct in the 18th century, too. No major Masonic connection.



> 4. In the first degree ritual, i saw that they out a finger on his chest, and say it means torture if he reveal any of Freemasonry secrets.
> My question is this true ? And can someone leave Freemasonry like nothing happened?



Do not believe anything you read about Masonic rituals. Nearly all of it is made up by people who have never seen one.



> 5. In Freemasonry, there is a lot of Christian symbols. Are they related anyway to the religion?



There are far more Old Testament symbols. There are also a lot of symbols that aren't Jewish or Christian. Freemasonry is open to all men of faith.



> 6. What is the view of the Vatican on Freemasons?



The official view is that Freemasonry is a rival religious organization devoted to the destruction of Christianity. In the early 1980s, it looked like this attitude might be easing up, but that was soon corrected in 1983 to explicitly state that Catholics in Freemasonry were "in a state of grave sin" and would be denied communion. As recently as 2007, it was stated that Freemasonry is forbidden to Catholics by their Church. The origins of this hostility are not nearly as cut-and-dried as either side would have us believe, though. For centuries, Freemasonry was identified with England, which became a serious rival against Catholic France and Spain. Likewise, within Catholic countries (particularly France, Spain, Italy, Austria, and southern Germany), Freemasons were often involved in democratic activism against hereditary absolutism. This placed them in opposition against the primary protectors of the Catholic Church in those countries.



> 7. Why is the history of Freemason is bad ? Why people hate you guys?



"The history... is bad" is a very good way to put it. A great deal of badly-written and badly-research history has been created about Freemasonry. Most people don't hate Freemasons. Most people are barely aware Masonry exists and think it's pretty much irrelevant, not worth caring about one way or another. However, the hate-mongers are loud. Why the hatred? There's a lot of blahblahblahblahblah about how Freemasons represent freedom and enlightenment, and the forces of oppression thus target the Masons. That's not the case in the present day, whatever the past might have been. These days, Freemasons are just a convenient target who use a lot of odd symbols and are just different enough to make for easy pot-shots.


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## vangoedenaam (Apr 21, 2014)

Which is the same in my country, the Netherlands. 


Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App


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## rpbrown (Apr 21, 2014)

It appears that you have questions that remain unanswered. Although most here do not mind answering what we can, you might find it more informative if you find a local lodge, contact them to find out when they meet and let them know that you would like to visit and are interested in learning more about Masonry. I am sure that any lodge would love to have you come and visit, show you around, and answer what questions that they can.

If you are in the Dallas area, I am with George B. Dealey lodge # 1312 and we have a practice session every Wednesday night. Doors open at 6:00, dinner at 6:30-7:30. Would love to have you visit.


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## Red942 (Apr 21, 2014)

First of all thank you all for your replies, it was very helpful to me.




rpbrown said:


> It appears that you have questions that remain unanswered. Although most here do not mind answering what we can, you might find it more informative if you find a local lodge, contact them to find out when they meet and let them know that you would like to visit and are interested in learning more about Masonry. I am sure that any lodge would love to have you come and visit, show you around, and answer what questions that they can.
> 
> If you are in the Dallas area, I am with George B. Dealey lodge # 1312 and we have a practice session every Wednesday night. Doors open at 6:00, dinner at 6:30-7:30. Would love to have you visit.



My friend I am from Lebanon, middle east. I know there is some lodges in here.
But before I go to any lodge, I need to have a basic idea about it.

Everything I have discover in my days in here are very nice, and made me want more to become a freemason.
But the truth is I don't know enough about it.
Anyone knows some sources online where I can learn about the history and everything ?

Everything on YouTube and Google about freemasons are crap, and talk about conspiracies....

Regards


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## MRichard (Apr 21, 2014)

Red942 said:


> My friend I am from Lebanon, middle east. I know there is some lodges in here.
> But before I go to any lodge, I need to have a basic idea about it.
> 
> Everything I have discover in my days in here are very nice, and made me want more to become a freemason.
> ...



This website has a lot of info and if you look at the grand lodge of the jurisdiction you are in, that will help as well. There is only so much you can learn online. If you really want to be a freemason, go visit a local lodge. You might not find one that is a good fit initially but try again if it is in your heart. The first lodge I visited didn't seem a good fit so I kept looking and the next lodge I visited was exactly what I was looking for. 

I recently went through the process. It was definitely worth it.


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## Terbak (Apr 22, 2014)

I am also a 24 year old "millennial" seeking light. Good man looking to be better. I've attended more than a few dinners in Glendale AZ thanks in part to connections formed on here. I began to love the Lodge and looked forward to those weekly dinners for more then just the food, & I couldn't even stay for after dinner activities most the time! I was and am still very interested in being raised. 

Since then I've relocated to Scottsdale & lost the job I had down here. I'm looking for another and trying to get something substantial while making ends meet but like David I don't have much more the the equivalent of that high school diploma. Basically I'm worried that in the more upscale area my unemployed status would be looked at unfavorably, and the fear has kind of kept me out of Scottsdale's lodge.

Is there anyone that can give me some guidance on this either from the area or maybe personal experience? Thanks again! 

Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App


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## dfreybur (Apr 22, 2014)

Terbak said:


> Since then I've relocated to Scottsdale & lost the job I had down here. I'm looking for another and trying to get something substantial while making ends meet but like David I don't have much more the the equivalent of that high school diploma. Basically I'm worried that in the more upscale area my unemployed status would be looked at unfavorably, and the fear has kind of kept me out of Scottsdale's lodge.



Masonry comes from a time when a high school diploma was a rare accomplishment.  Our lessons tell us that a man should continue his learning during his entire life but other than the formal proficiencies to progress from degree to degree there is no expectation of formal education.  As long as you can read and write and are open to reading for self betterment you're fine.

It is very common for lodges to require that a candidate be gainfully employed before petitioning.  Definitely keep looking for work but don't let that stop you from introducing yourself to the locals and explaining your situation.  Tough times don't let tough people do.  This too shall pass.  A suggestion - When you are at the pre-meeting social ask around for brothers who are self employed.  Ask them how they started and if they have advice for how you might do so yourself.  If there are no jobs to be found working for someone else try working for yourself looking for clients.  It turns the order of looking/working around but when you work for the face in the mirror, only the face in the mirror can lay you off.


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## Bill Lins (Apr 23, 2014)

Red942 said:


> I am from Lebanon, middle east. I know there is some lodges in here.


From Wikipedia:

"In October 2010, the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia chartered their first lodge in Lebanon, Lodge Phoenix 1001 in Al Fanar, Beirut, raising the number of regular Masonic Lodges in Lebanon to 19 Lodges divided among three Grand Lodges: The Grand Lodge of NY (12 Lodges) Grand Lodge of Scotland (6 Lodges) and Grand Lodge of DC (1 Lodge). There exists a combination of more than 50 grand lodges in Lebanon classified as irregular and unrecognized."

If you go to Lodges to check them out, find out under which Grand Lodge they are chartered. Only those chartered by the Grand Lodges of New York, the District of Columbia, and Scotland are regular and recognized. Those are the ones you would want to join. If you'll tell us in what town/city you live, I can check to see if a regular Lodge exists there.


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## Warrior1256 (Aug 27, 2014)

The best of luck and good fortune to you my friend.


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