Agnostics and Freemasonry

by RmOlano
Sequoia Council No. 228 (AMD)
16May06

The following commentary is a reaction to a brother's question whether a decent and honorable man can continue to be a Mason if he became agnostic.

A question that deserves a worthy answer, my Brother and my hope is that my ramblings will somehow ease the burden of your journey to discover what you are trying to define. A Brother once claimed that he is already a Mason even before he was made a Mason. A pretty aggressive declaration but that was his opinion and nobody knows himself better than the speaker. On the surface, one could wonder how could that statement can be true if the Brother have not even stepped inside the tyled Lodge? How in the world he could identify himself to “one Brother to another, in the darkness as well as in the light” without going through the initiation, passing and raising process? My thought was that he defines a Mason not as a member of the Craft but one who practices the Lessons of Freemasonry. Those handgrips, tokens and passwords are not that important to him, it’s the deeds that count. A true Mason is a good man but a good man does not have to be a Mason. I disagree on the technicalities but agree on the substance.

Technicalities and substance might be something to consider in contemplating the contradiction of the notion the question posed. Our Craft never asked the Name of the candidate's Deity --- technical question, but as you already know that a belief in a Supreme Being is a requirement --- substance. Because in our geographical area is dominated by Christians therefore, the Volume of Sacred Law is always the Christian’s Holy Bible---technicalities as compared to essence of the concept of having a visible “rule and guide of our Faith” and again substance.

Man since time immemorial struggled to understand and seeks explanation of a notion that comes in multitude of forms, names, and adjectives. Savage wars were fought for the belief of the same Idea with different Names. Throughout the past, technicalities are often the cause of pains and miseries of human history. Despite of the trials and tribulations bisected with hardship, despite the long and winding rugged roads we mortals traveled, there is always a constant companion within us, a cane to help us, a light that beacon the wary travelers of time to take one more step to a place where we can rest. A place to unload our earthly baggage and be at peace at last.

My brother, without Faith is like sailing without rudder, without destination. Without Faith, the Search For That Which Was Lost is only an empty axiom, without meaning, without purpose. Our daily struggle to keep our badge of a Mason, the lamb skin apron to be spotless, is not for our Brethren or for the world to see, it is to be presented as a record of our life to the One with so many names and forms and for nobody else --- to the Absolute Truth, to the object of our journey.

...

Tulare Mason Lodge turns 125

BY LUIS HERNANDEZ
• lhernand@visalia.gannett.com
• April 11, 2008

As they celebrate the lodge's 125 year, members are seeking to increase membership, driving it back to where it was in the 1950s when there were an estimated 350 members. Currently, there are 97 members.
And as far as Lodge Master Jack Hodge is concerned, there is no reason not to belong to his organization.
"I guarantee you: I'll give more reasons to become a Mason than you can give me not to be a Mason," he said. "We take good men and make better men out of them."
To join the local mason lodge, members must:
Be adult men.
Believe in a supreme being.
Have strong moral values.
"If you're interested in Tulare, Tulare history, the antique nature of the building [on West Tulare Avenue], it makes a very nice organization to be a part of," said Steve Presant, a 22-year lodge member.

Similar to other service clubs, the Mason's lodge seeks to contribute to the community, Hodge said.
"We promote friendship, brotherly love, relief and the truth," he said.
Among other civic-oriented project, the lodge:
Hosts as annual essay writing event promoting local education and honoring students.
Sponsors a child registration program for safety purposes.
"We're a proud organization," Hodge said. "We're proud of our heritage. We're proud of the fact we go back to the time when the temple of King Solomon was built. We have carried masonry through the ages."
And what's not to be proud about an organization that has been around for three centuries and past membership includes some prominent early Tulare
residents?
"It tells us that the things we stand for, and stood for, are good," he said. "We have weathered the storm of time and we're still in existence. There must be something that we're doing right."
Presant agreed.
"It's a good way to get involved with some good men who meet on a regular basis," Presant said.
While there is plenty to accomplish while being lodge master, Hodge said near the top of the list is membership increase.
"We are always working on membership," he said. "We would like to see new members come and take the reigns."

The Mason lodge has met uninterrupted at the Masonic Temple, 135 West Tulare Ave., for more than eight decades.

Presant, also President of Tulare Cultural Arts Foundation, said the temple, also known as the Pratt Building, is the city's oldest commercial building.
And while it previously was a rooming house and an armory and some renovations have been made, the temple is a historic building, Presant said. A large room for lodge meetings was added, but some of the original rooms still remain. The brick front is an attractive look for the two-story building.

Hanging on a second floor wall, there is a frame containing photos of former members. Reading the names and their involvement in early Tulare is like taking a trip back in time, Presant said.
"There is a lot of history here," he said.

Copyright ©2008 Visalia Times-Delta Tulare Advance-Register
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*** from article emailed/forwarded by Comp Allan Miller.

*** Tulare Masonic Temple--- Home of Sequoia Council No. 228 (AMD)

Message to a New Master Mason

Well Done my Brother, “I congratulate you upon becoming a Master Mason and such commend you to the kind care, love and protection of all Master Masons whether dispersed, the eyes of the Fraternity are now upon you…..”

Path of a Master Mason

In your journey through the three degrees of Symbolic Masonry and as you have learned the proficiency lecture for each degree, no doubt many questions have arise concerning the meaning of the ritualistic ceremonies, the historical implication and the "why" of the legends of Freemasonry.

Many believe the Sublime Degree of Master Mason to be the ultimate degree of Freemasonry and that all others are added and explanatory. However, most students of Freemasonry agree that the story of the Craft as presented in the three degrees is incomplete.

On the union of the Grand Lodges in 1813, a part of the compact of the union read, "Ancient Craft Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, namely, those of the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason including the Holy Royal Arch."

We trust that as a newly made Master Mason you have been intrigued by the lessons and mysteries of Freemasonry which you have thus far received and that you will in due time investigate those available in the York Rite of Freemasonry in order to complete your Masonic knowledge.

--adapted from Information for Master Masons, Educational Bureau, General Grand Chapter, R.A.M

I encourage you my Brother, to continue your travel, to take advantage of what is being offered, to improve yourself and seek further light in Freemasonry which unfortunately not a popular path taken by most of the Brethren once they received the “Sublime Degree of Master Mason.” There are so many questions to ask and waiting answers to be found… too few grains of sand within the hourglass to really know what we really …in search of…

...

RmOlano

08Apr08