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Post by Tamrin on Dec 8, 2012 18:49:20 GMT 10
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Post by Torence on Dec 8, 2012 23:44:57 GMT 10
A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine. But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of the country or nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves; that is, to be good men and true, or men of honor and honesty, by whatever denominations or persuasions they may be distinguished; whereby Masonry becomes the center of union, and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance.
Torence Evans Ake Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois Chaplain - Triluminar Lodge No. 767 - Lansing, Illinois MIGS - Illinois Lodge of Research PM - Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois City and Country Steward
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Post by Tamrin on Dec 9, 2012 8:04:54 GMT 10
A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine. But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of the country or nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves; that is, to be good men and true, or men of honor and honesty, by whatever denominations or persuasions they may be distinguished; whereby Masonry becomes the center of union, and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance. Ironically, this, the first of the so-called “Ancient Charges,” clearly and explicitly admits itself to be an expedient innovation where it says, “But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of the country or nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient...” Thankfully, many such expedient innovations were wrought by the premier grand lodge, including the reorganisation of the first two degrees and the creation of the third, with its Solomonic context and Hiramic legend (we would have trouble recognizing, let alone being inspired by, the rudimentary system that went before). On the one hand, there is the question of Anderson’s intention in framing the First Charge as he did. Arguably, it needs to be seen in the context of the time and Anderson went as far as he could in the direction of laïcité, opening the Craft to all “good men and true,” “leaving their particular opinions to themselves.” For more on this possibility, I recommend W.Bro. J.M. David’s “ The Spirit of Secularism in Freemasonry.” On the other hand, I have been told of lodges in the US where prayers are already being offered “in the name of Jesus Christ.” It is such cases of introducing particular religious elements to the work of the lodges where a Grand Lodge needs to intervene (and if not, its sister GLs need to consider issues of regularity and recognition). The emphasis needs to be on making Freemasonry as accommodating to private beliefs as is possible. Being a "center of union" rather than entrenching a "perpetual distance." Certainly, many of our most esteemed predecessors would have failed the Florida test.
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Post by Torence on Dec 9, 2012 22:11:42 GMT 10
In Illinois, we used to have as many as three recommended prayers for opening. They can be read in any copy of Ronaynes Handbook. In 1914, Illinois Grand Master Delmar Darrah consolidated the opening leaving us with only one prayer currently in use. This was a departure from the Wisdom of the Time. Before that innovation Grand Master's, who were mostly Illinois Politicians and Military Men did not have the authority in this jurisdiction to instruct the Lodges on the details of prayer. They could only mandate a prayer. So, three variant prayers were offered so that the Chaplain could use at least one of these recommended prayers, or introduce one of his own, to mark any Masonic occasion. This is one feature of the old style Masonry performed before World War I which made for a different show each time you visited one Lodge or another.
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Post by Tamrin on Dec 10, 2012 5:40:56 GMT 10
Presumably the Grand Master's ruling was subsequently ratified by the Grand Lodge. Was there any debate?
Were there elements of any particular religion in any of the original prayers? Or was the change simply for the dumb and corrosive purpose of uniformity?
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Post by Torence on Dec 10, 2012 23:49:11 GMT 10
No, this is a decision of the current Grand Mater. I do not believe that the condition carries any further weight then this Grand Master's term unless the policy is then written into Code and accepted by the their Masonic Congress and / or the condition is extended as the future Grand Master's policy by his successors.
I wonder what sort of religion the Grand Master ascribes to which would demand an unquestioned sort of faith upon the penalty of social outcastry and coercion? A ban on Paganism could be construed to exclude Masons whoa re practicing Hindus. I wonder what they would make of his decision over in Janpath.
Torence Evans Ake Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois Chaplain - Triluminar Lodge No. 767 - Lansing, Illinois MIGS - Illinois Lodge of Research PM - Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois
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Post by Tamrin on Dec 11, 2012 5:42:20 GMT 10
I wonder what sort of religion the Grand Master ascribes to which would demand an unquestioned sort of faith upon the penalty of social outcastry and coercion? A ban on Paganism could be construed to exclude Masons whoa re practicing Hindus. I wonder what they would make of his decision over in Janpath. Excellent point. The GM seems to be fishing for the small fry. How ironic, given our roots, that Freemasonry so carelessly applies the label of heretic. Most so-called polytheistic religions, upon careful examination, have a supreme being at the core (however devotees often consider it impious to refer to that which is beyond human comprehension, thus they will ordinarily speak only of subordinate beings). Among Hindus drawing upon their sacred texts, advocates of the priestly tradition of Vedanta make this clear.
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Post by edwmax on Dec 26, 2012 22:59:19 GMT 10
A Mason is obliged, by his tenure, to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine. But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of the country or nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves; that is, to be good men and true, or men of honor and honesty, by whatever denominations or persuasions they may be distinguished; whereby Masonry becomes the center of union, and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance. Torence Evans Ake Secretary - Auburn Park Lodge No. 789 - Crete, Illinois Chaplain - Triluminar Lodge No. 767 - Lansing, Illinois MIGS - Illinois Lodge of Research PM - Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 - Lansing, Illinois City and Country Steward Nice quote from Reverend James Anderson, but why not use the quote from the 1738 edition of the Constitutions where a belief in a specific God is clearly indicated.
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Post by Tamrin on Dec 27, 2012 7:18:32 GMT 10
Nice quote from Reverend James Anderson, but why not use the quote from the 1738 edition of the Constitutions where a belief in a specific God is clearly indicated. Rather than indicating a belief in a specific God, the Noachide reference serves to further stress the universality of the Order. "Noachide" means "son of Noah" and encompasses all mankind (as does "son of Adam"), as according to tradition, all mankind descends from Noah (other peoples being said to have perished in the Biblical flood). This is in contrast to "son of Abraham" (i.e., a devotee of one of the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam).
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Post by edwmax on Dec 27, 2012 9:24:47 GMT 10
Nice quote from Reverend James Anderson, but why not use the quote from the 1738 edition of the Constitutions where a belief in a specific God is clearly indicated. Rather than indicating a belief in a specific God, the Noachide reference serves to further stress the universality of the Order. "Noachide" means "son of Noah" and encompasses all mankind (as does "son of Adam"), as according to tradition, all mankind descends from Noah (other peoples being said to have perished in the Biblical flood). This is in contrast to "son of Abraham" (i.e., a devotee of one of the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Correct ... but it also defines 'religion in which all men agree' as being that of Noah and the God of Noah; ... pre-Abrahamic and the divisions of Faith; ... and the same God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. So it does define a specific God.
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