Relevance of Bloodlines

[electra]

*I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this topic (please move if not right)...

Since freemasonry seems to place a great deal of importance in equality, it seems unlikely that bloodlines would be relevant. Some of the other literature on the web seems to indicate a correlation between bloodline the ability to comprehend the teachings/progress to higher degrees. Is there truth to this? If not, what are the key metrics for progress?

Thanks!

~ electra

[Tamrin]

As Thomas Paine observed, "The idea of hereditary legislators is as inconsistent as that of hereditary judges or hereditary juries; and as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man; and as ridiculous as an hereditary poet-laureate."

In respect to the effective transmission of esoteric tradition, this appears to be a memetic rather than a genetic function. So, while the immediate descendants of a great teacher may well benefit from having been raised in close proximity to one living in conformity with the tradition, the benefit to subsequent generations may quickly erode, with adherence to bloodlines becoming a stumbling block for that school.