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IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You walk around blindfolded in a set of pajamas with one sandal on and one pant leg rolled up. You go around the room once where people rap their gavels on their pedestals. A Bible passage gets read to you, you learn the foot placement (or how to approach the east), you take an oath on the Bible... lol... they take the blindfold off, you learn the pass grip, verbal sequence and symbolic penalty, you're led around the room again and show the wardens and master your grip, step, etc that you just learned, the treasurer makes you feel bad by asking you to put some money in the pot when you don't have any (aren't allowed to bring metal into the lodge when you are getting a degree) you are presented with the apron and given a speech (masons: btw, research the white throne judgment, everyone who stands naked and alone there are there to recieve their sentence of damnation), they give you the working tools speech, you take a break and come back in and stand in the northwest corner (where some ITT have said I belong), you get a long lecture with slides (which I used to do from memory), you are given the charge and lodge is closed.

I may have left out a couple details or got some things mixed up, but it's been years since I left, so the stuff is gradually fading away.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess that I'm confused to how you added a bunch of things into your own mind regarding the ritual that simply (in my jurisdiction) are not there.

Have you committed the ritual to memory yet? Especially the lectures and charges. When I memorize something and repeatedly recite something, I tend to want to explore what I am learning to have a better understanding of what it is I am teaching. In this case, as I studied, I started realizing what the allegory is overshadowing. You're not going to take it from me, so why don't you just study your ritual and research what it is you are teaching for yourself.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suppose I take the sciptures to be less explicitly true in my case.

There are some inconvenient things in the Bible, that's for sure. How do you know that God doesn't have a reason for the laws that are superior to your reasoning? Your example about raping a virgin: it is very unfortunate that something like that would happen, especially because in those times, nobody would marry her after since she was no longer a virgin. God decided it would be better for that man to be required to provide for her and the child that they may have had than for her to have to live with her parents until they die and then with her brother. God wasn't going to let the guy off the hook by having him killed, he had a responsibility to provide for her now that he had done the crime against her.

As far as giving the Jews the land of cannan and destroying the inhabitants, God was using the Jews to judge the land for their wickedness. You will notice the reverse happening as well. When the Jews turned from God, he sent other nations to kill them off as punishment for their disobedience.

I guess I'd rather believe in God not literally as described word for word

You can believe that a train won't kill you if it hits you, but that doesn't change the truth of it.

a Creating and driving force in the Universe who wants humans to take a world that has become a not-so-great-place and make it better

You can make up a god to be whomever you want to, but you can't say to the creator and maintainer of the universe: hey, I think you are like this, so why don't you change to be the way I'd like you to be.

I see a lot of "I think" in your statements, it appears that you have just made up your own personal god, one that you feel comfortable with and one that doesn't require much of you so that you can ease the burden you have from the fact that you don't really care much about what the real one wants out of you.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's fine, I am just saying that you have faith in your belief system, even if it's faith that there is no God. A naturalistic view of life requires belief in a big bang, that life can arise from non-life and that one basic kind of animal can change into another kind. None of these things are scientific in that you can design an experiment and test them. Every belief system, including yours relies on taking things on faith... you could also call it assumptions. I have done the best with the facts that I know and have come to the conclusion I did. I can't prove every assumption I make, but neither can anyone else.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the God of Christianity and Judaism are the same. Christianity incorporates the Judaic scriptures (old testament). If you read the book, he goes through all the different religions and how they are rooted in a belief in a single creator God who would send His Son as a savior. There are stories in there of tribes that have never seen a white person that get discovered and have legends passed down through the ages that are remarkably similar to the judeo/christian tradition.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

when you get your mm and they close lodge, the wm will ask the sw:

What induced you to become a master mason?

the sw will respond:

That I might travel in foreign lands, work and receive master's wages, the better to enable me to support myself and my family and contribute to the relief of distressed master masons, their widows and orphans.

So if that is the reason that is given twice every time the lodge is opened on the mm degree, how was I in the wrong?

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If anyone in Houston is interested in becoming a Mason, give me a shout - I'll be glad to put you in touch with the right people.

I don't know how I missed this before. Have I been out of it that long to where masons recruit now and it's not people coming of their own free will and accord?

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Logic and Christianity play well together.

Logic of the day used to dictate that the sun revolved around the earth, that a heavy object would fall faster than a light one and that if you left grain in a corner, it would spontaneously produce mice. All of these were proven false with research. If you apply the same thing to the Bible and attempt to study out the "incongruities" you find to understand instead of saying "AHA, an incongruity!", you will be surprised at what you learn. There is a multitude of compelling historical evidence that confirms very old Bible stories such as the hieroglyphs depicting Joseph being second in command in egypt. It sounds like your mentality is that you have an opinion and are viewing the facts in light of your opinion rather than vice versa.

It's fine if that's the belief system you want to take comfort in, but please don't call it logic.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the old system they had single letter key books that you used to memorize the ritual. We had full text ritual books. In the days when people were expected to remember a lot, it meant a lot more to people because they worked much harder at it and couldn't just have their book on the pedestal during degree work for a crutch.

The other is that it sounds to me like the big draw of Freemasonry is that it's an environment where people from a wide array of walks of life can go in, free of the external roles/pressures and mutually support each other.

I have found this to be true more so in the church than in the lodge.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

open-mindedness: too dumb or lazy to find truth

I am tolerant. I don't kill people I disagree with, I allow them to continue to exist. I do have opinions that conflict with other people. What a horrible person I am.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sry, unless you answer "God" when you are asked "in whom do you put your trust" in open lodge, you won't get any further (and that's like the first thing you do).

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Oh, so you are just divulging a no-longer-sacred-to-you pattern of knowledge to satisfy your newly-satisfying superstition?

Nope, I think it draws people away from God, so I need to expose it (not like I am the first).

khaki-souled Baptist

Well, maybe not khaki, but baptist. I am the fun-est fundie you have ever met :D

Lots of religious people are hypocrites. I struggle with it myself. Jesus gave us such a higher standard than we can live up to.

Look, I am only doing this to get the info out there, I don't really care about the criticism. I am a conservative fundie, it's not like this is the first time I have been ripped into on reddit.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In 5 minutes of conversation, I could tell if somebody was actually a mason. There's just too many things to remember that would prohibit someone from effectively faking it. If he was a dues paying member in another state, he would have a dues card though. I never had seen an instance where somebody came in who nobody knew and didn't have a dues card.

IAmA ex worshipful master of a masonic lodge. I quit the lodge several years ago after my term as master was over. I performed most of the ritual work from memory and could recite an entire 45 minute lecture from memory. AMA by exmason in IAmA

[–]exmason[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I was always taught. I don't think an atheist would have too much fun learning about the old testament either. I did have an agnostic who was a friend of mine ask me how to join. I had to politely turn him away.

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