Immortality of the Soul

[TCShelton]

My point was just to put some of our principles in cultural context, I think it is important to understand that they (the British fellows at least) were likely in a culture where Christianity was predominant.

Ah, true enough. Not being a "Christian" myslef, your reason above is why you won't catch me complaining about the Holy Bible being on the altar for everything.

 

[master-m73]

............?

 

[master-m73]

I agree with you for some people "SOUL" could be whatever

 

[A7V]

I agree with you for some people "SOUL" could be whatever

I think that is how you have to look at it.

Supreme Being is what ever higher power you feel is yours. It could be the Christian God or Nature or really anything.

I think soul might have to be interpreted in the same way...

 

[master-m73]

That is up to the peronal believe of each person some people believe that they might be a bull next life I believe that we are missing on of the main porpuse of masonery TOLERANCE

 

[Wingnut]

I'm going back to the beer thread...

The Shelton

 

[rhitland]

Is the soul/spirit not just a form of energy and science tells us that energy can niether be created nor destroyed it goes on forever throughout the eons of time, this is just a basic fact Masonry has known for much longer than main stream science and also knowing one of the secrects of Masonry and life is that perception is reality and this being the case then of course we should believe and percieve ourselves living forever b/c death becomes nothing more than a name.

 

[Nate Riley]

Good points Nate, but how come the only reference that comes to mind to Christianty in the Blue Lodge that the Holy Bible is on the altar? The rest is purely old testament, and not Christian at all, but seemingly Hebrew. There is no mention of Christ whatsoever in any of the three degrees.

I am just going to throw this out there, because it came to mind as I was reading through some of yesterday's posts (lots of good religious talk). It in no is to diminish my previously stated opinion that Masonry is NOT a Christian order.

Christ was/is referred to as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah".

 

[Zack]

In the EA lecture in my jurisdiction, "Christianity" is referenced.

 

[A7V]

I am just going to throw this out there, because it came to mind as I was reading through some of yesterday's posts (lots of good religious talk). It in no is to diminish my previously stated opinion that Masonry is NOT a Christian order.

Christ was/is referred to as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah".

Yes, and there seems to be very little disagreement on if the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is actually Christ or if it means Solomon.

Both men held the title and Solomon plays a larger role in our fraternity than does Christ.

I personally believe that it is referring to Christ and the resurrection.

There was a well known story in the middle ages about a lion cub that lay dead for three days and was brought to life by the breath of its father. That sounds pretty much like an allegory for what happened to Christ.

It would be pretty hard to argue against the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah"
as being Christ.

Also, I have been looking into if this is actually another allegory and refers to the WM as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah". The Lion is the symbol for Leo and it is believed that the 12 tribes of Isreal correspond to the 12 signs of the Zodiac and Leo falls to Judah. Leo is in the East!! The WM sits in the East! The path of the WM in our degree work and his rising in the ranks can be an allegory for the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah".

Even Albert Pike mentions the signs of the Zodiac in his discussion of the 25th Scottish Rite degree of "Knight of the Brazen Serpent"

"There is no more striking proof of the universal adoration paid the stars and constellations, than the arrangement of the Hebrew camp in the Desert, and the allegory in regard to the twelve Tribes of Israel, ascribed in the Hebrew legends to Jacob. The Hebrew camp was a quadrilateral, in sixteen divisions, of which the central four were occupied by images of the four elements. The four divisions at the four angles of the quadrilateral exhibited the four signs that the astrologers call fixed, and which they regard as subject to the influence of the four great Royal Stars, Regulus in Leo, Aldebaran in Taurus, Antares in Scorpio, and Fomalhaut in the mouth of Pisces, on which falls the water poured out by Aquarius; of which constellations the Scorpion was represented in the Hebrew blazonry by the Celestial Vulture or Eagle, that rises at the same time with it and is its paranatellon. The other signs were arranged on the four faces of the quadrilateral, and in the parallel and interior divisions.

"The Lion (Leo) is the device of Judah; and Jacob compares him to that animal, whose constellation in the Heavens is the domicile of the Sun; the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; by whose grip, when that of apprentice and that of fellow-craft,--of Aquarius at the Winter Solstice and of Cancer at the Vernal Equinox, --had not succeeded in raising him, Khurum was lifted out of the grave.

WHO LIFTS US UP OUT OF THE GRAVE!!!!


(Please note that I am not a member of the SR but this degree information is easily available to all)


This is only a cursory look into this for me and I really need to research it more and get more input from others.

 

[owls84]

Seems that everyone has posted or read. I think that any other discussion can be spun off into another thread.

I am ok with reopening it. I just wanted to see if we could spawn other discussion on this. Maybe make a thread on the meaning of the Lion of the tribe of Judah and so forth.

 

[rhitland]

I always thought "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah" was a term synonymous with wisdom and light b/c to carry the name "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" took much wisdom and light and in our degree it is refrecing no paticualr person as many have carried this title not just Solomon and Christ, IMHO. It is just the grip and merits of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah we refrence in our degrees anyhow.