Letters to the Editor - Freemasonry Curse

I once asked my mother why my uncle was a Freemason, and why one should contemplate becoming one.

The answer I received was that it was an organisation that provided a counter to Catholic teamster efforts. Freemasons helped each other in the business world, and you could get a good job if you were one of them.

In earlier times Catholics employed Catholics, and Freemasons in management positions gave jobs to Freemasons. It guessed it was an old Australian thing going back to the last two centuries. I know in the police service their were two factions; ie the grippers and the kneelers. (Grippers = Masons, Kneelers = Catholics) The two factions didn’t help the opposition in career advancement.

I was once asked by workmate, who was a Grand Poopah on the north shore, to become a Freemason. I thought the concept of a mens secret club was outdated. I also thought that being a Christian was first and foremost in my life. I declined.

The ideas of Freemasonry were to me worldly, and contrary to the peaceful Christian life.
I asked my wife what she thought about me joining, and she said that it was a place that men went to, to talk, and complain about their wives.

I asked a fellow churchman of mine, very knowledgable in Christian matters, and a rich man, whether Freemasonry was a good thing. His reply was that it was full of ritual, and not at all good for a Christian to belong to.
This man was a member of Synod at the time.

I would say that if one is a Christian, why do they need other organisations to belong to, which are likely to dominate ones life. Surely Christ is all, and to cling to Freemasonry beliefs, to me is a sign of unfaithlessness. Exodus 20:7

I can see that it may have been useful to counter the Fabians etc, and other popish organisations in the past, but is it useful in todays world?
Are Catholics such a threat today?

Ken

Re: Letters to the Editor - Freemasonry Curse

[quote author="Ken Austin"]who was a Grand Poopah

Lord.Have.Mercy.

Is that the true title?  Grand Poopah?  I’d salute if I could drag myself off the floor from laughter! ;-)

Letters to the Editor - Freemasonry Curse

Sorry Ian, it was a typo - I meant to say Grand Poobah, which is a send up of the real title for a leader in the masonry cult. (Grand Master is the real title.)

Ken

Hi Ken
The tenets that Freemasonry promotes are benevolent and virtuous.
If the tenets that YOUR church promotes are contrary, please advise which Church that you attend and I will know never to attend it.
Maybe your rich Christian friend goes to the same Church.
Freemasonry does not have a view on any Religion, however I believe that there was a Pope in the 1800’s that issued an encyclical against Freemasonry and advised Catholics not to join. This is what set up all of the rivalry and jokes that you mention. I think most of that stuff is dead and buried now. I know over four Grand Masters in the UK have been Catholics.
Many Anglicans and Catholics do not agree with you and your wife on Clubs for Men. I am surprised you have not been invited to join the “knights of the Southern Cross” or the “Knights of Columbus” or The Anglican Mens Society or Rotary etc As for complaining about wives- Freemasonry certainly does not promote this.
I have not heard the one about the “Grippers and the Kneelers"- quite a funny one that !!
Have a good one....
Russell Dobson
Blacktown NSW

Letters to the Editor - Freemasonry Curse

Hi Russell, you said:

I know over four Grand Masters in the UK have been Catholics.

I remember in my conversations with my workmate, who I irreverently referred to as the Grand Poobah (he was an ex-Grand Master).

I asked him if a Catholic could become a Freemason, and he said anyone who had a “mind of his own” could become a Mason.

From this I deduced that someone who had strong allegiance to the dictates of the clergy of Rome would not have a mind of his own. They would not be free in their thoughts, as required by Freemasonry.

Am I correct in this deduction, brother?

I am making no great point here but remembering facts in discussions I have previously had with people on the topic of Freemasonry. I hope I have not offended.

God bless
Ken

Catholics are not supposed to be Freemasons, but I understand there are some who are involved in it.

Hi Ken,
I am not entirely certain, however I do not think the Catholics have a problem with Freemasonry anymore.
The Lodge that I am a member of in Blacktown has plenty of practicing Catholics.
Cheers
Russ

Letters to the Editor - Freemasonry Curse

I found the following material from a reliable source:

Freemasonry: the teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, the largest worldwide secret society. Spread by the advance of the British Empire, Freemasonry remains most popular in the British Isles and in other countries originally within the empire.
Freemasonry evolved from the guilds of stonemasons and cathedral builders of the Middle Ages. With the decline of cathedral building, some lodges of operative (working) masons began to accept honorary members to bolster their declining membership. From a few of these lodges developed modern symbolic or speculative Freemasonry, which particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, adopted the rites and trappings of ancient religious orders and of chivalric brotherhoods. In 1717 the first Grand Lodge, an association of lodges, was founded in England.
Freemasonry has, almost from its inception, encountered considerable opposition from organized religion, especially from the Roman Catholic Church, and from various states.
Though often mistaken for such, Freemasonry is not a Christian institution. Freemasonry contains many of the elements of a religion; its teachings enjoin morality, charity, and obedience to the law of the land. For admission the applicant is required to be an adult male believing in the existence of a Supreme Being and in the immortality of the soul. In practice, some lodges have been charged with prejudice against Jews, Catholics, and nonwhites. Generally, Freemasonry in Latin countries has attracted freethinkers and anticlericals, whereas in the Anglo-Saxon countries, the membership is drawn largely from among white Protestants.
In most lodges in most countries, Freemasons are divided into three major degrees--entered apprentice, fellow of the craft, and master mason. In many lodges there are numerous degrees--sometimes as many as a thousand--superimposed on the three major divisions; these organizational features are not uniform from country to country.
In addition to the main body of Freemasonry derived from the British tradition, there are now a number of appendant groups that are primarily social or fun organizations, which have no official standing in Freemasonry but which draw their membership from the higher degrees of Freemasonry. They are especially prevalent in the United States. Among those known for their charitable work are the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the “Shriners"). Female relatives of Master Masons may join the Order of the Eastern Star; boys, the Order of DeMolay and the Order of Builders; and girls, the Order of Job’s Daughters and the Order of Rainbow. English Masons are forbidden to affiliate with any of the fun organizations or quasi-Masonic societies, on pain of suspension.

Ken

Re: Letters to the Editor - Freemasonry Curse

[quote author="Ken Austin"]I found the following material from a reliable source:

Hey Ken,

One of the BIG problems I have with masonry is the lask of any sources. 

Given this, could you post the address (or reference) of the document you quoted to help us judge it’s reliability?

I would agree with about 80% of this Ken. Freemasonry is definately NOT predjudiced against Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus or Non Whites for that matter- 100%false that one. The contrary is true that members come from all of these persuasions.
There are many Catholics involved in Freemasonry. A few years ago I visited the Grand Lodge in the Philippines. Freemasonry is huge up there and the Phils is 90%Catholic.
Definately not a Religion, although granted the similarities mentioned on this post are true i.e. promotes Charity etc
The secret society aspect of it all is over played. It probably was once, however today Lodges are far more open about it all.
Have a good one,
Russ