Why masonry is bad

Despite efforts to recruit younger men, particularly undergraduates, masons are also predominantly middle-aged or elderly. Candidates were traditionally recruited by word of mouth, but in the digital age men can apply online. Some of the rumours about the ancient initiation ceremony are true. The candidate must roll up one trouser leg to show that he is healthy and unshackled, a free man.

He must expose his left breast to show that he is not a woman. A rope noose known as a cable tow is placed around his neck. This represents either an umbilical cord or ties to fellow masons. It is open to interpretation. He is then led blindfolded into the lodge meeting room, where he is introduced to the secret signs of recognition — a word, a handshake, a symbol — and expected to deliver oaths of loyalty and secrecy.

The blindfold is removed and he is shown the light. At this point, he is an entered apprentice. Further initiation ceremonies are required before he can be accepted as a fellow craft mason and then a master mason.

With each stage, known as a degree, comes a different ceremonial apron. There are other regalia — collars and white gloves and badges — and a plethora of ranks, with titles such as assistant grand pursuivant and grand sword bearer.

You can share your stories here via our encrypted form. They will help our journalists have a more complete picture and we will use some of them in our reporting. During this period he is expected to acquire detailed knowledge of the rituals at the heart of Freemasonry. Masons are expected to learn and deliver long passages of texts, often in archaic language, and to help each other to do so. The rituals are intended to deliver messages about rebirth as a mason, passage through life and preparation for death.

From a distance this latter action is most bothersome — the wall changes from a uniform to a mottled appearance. A brick wall that has deteriorated to the point that it has become unsightly has probably received a treatment that caused the loss of the wearing surface of the brick.

Often that treatment was an abrasive cleaning method such as sandblasting. The blasting operation causes the loss of the outer, hard surface of the brick, exposing the softer core.

Water, the most destructive force on historic masonry surfaces, can then wick into the brick cores, and if in a northern climate where winter freezes are prevalent, will cause the brick to deteriorate from freeze-thaw action.

Waterproofing the brick either with chemicals sold for this purpose, or by painting with non-permeable paint or other coatings will accelerate the decay by trapping moisture behind the new coating. If it is absolutely necessary to coat a brick wall, a water-permeable coating will work best, but if a wall is this deteriorated and has not been abrasively cleaned, a closer assessment of its deterioration is warranted. Originally published in "Exceptional Places" Vol.

Written by Mark Chavez. You Might Also Like. Loading results Tags: midwestnps mwr exceptional places success stories brick. Related Articles Go! Related People Loading results Related Places Loading results Last updated: June 29, The origins of Freemasonry are obscure, and the subject is rife with myth and speculation. One of the more fanciful claims is that the Freemasons are descended from the builders of Solomon's Temple also known as the First Temple in Jerusalem, according to Jacob.

Others have argued that the Freemasons began as an offshoot of the Knights Templars, a Catholic military order dating to medieval times. And the famous American revolutionary Thomas Paine attempted to trace the origins of the order to the ancient Egyptians and Celtic Druids.

There has also been a longstanding rumor that Freemasons are the same as the Illuminati , an 18th-century secret society that began in Germany, Jacob wrote. Most of these theories have been debunked, though some people continue to believe them. These guilds, especially active during the 14th century, were responsible for constructing some of the finest architecture in Europe, such as the ornate Gothic cathedrals of Notre Dame in Paris and Westminster Abbey in London.

Like many artisan craft guilds of that time, its members jealously guarded their secrets and were selective about who they chose as apprentices. Initiation for new members required a long period of training, during which they learned the craft and were often taught advanced mathematics and architecture. Their skills were in such high demand that experienced Freemasons were frequently sought out by monarchs or high-ranking church officials, Jacob said.

The guilds provided members not only with wage protection and quality control over the work performed but also important social connections, she added.

Members gathered in lodges, which served as the headquarters and focal points where the Masons socialized, partook in meals and gathered to discuss the events and issues of the day.

However, with the rise of capitalism and the market economy during the 16th and 17th centuries, the old guild system broke down, Jacob wrote. But the Masonic lodges survived. In order to bolster membership and raise funds, the stonemason guilds began to recruit non-masons. At first, the new recruits were often relatives of existing members, but they increasingly included wealthy individuals and men of high social status. Many of these new members were "learned gentlemen" who were interested in the philosophical and intellectual trends that were transforming the European intellectual landscape at the time, such as rationalism, the scientific method and Newtonian physics.

The men were equally interested in questions of morality — especially how to build moral character. Out of this new focus grew "speculative Freemasonry," which began in the 17th century. This modernized form of Masonry deemphasized stone working and the lodges became meeting places for men dedicated to and associated with liberal Western values, Jacob said. A major turning point in Freemason history occurred in , when the members of four separate London lodges gathered together to form what became known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England.

This Grand Lodge became the focal point of British Masonry and helped to spread and popularize the organization.

Freemasonry spread rapidly across the continent; soon there were Masonic lodges scattered throughout Europe, from Spain and Portugal in the west to Russia in the east.

It was also established in the North American colonies during the first half of the 18th century. By the late 18th century, at the height of the Enlightenment, Freemasonry carried considerable social cachet. Freemasonry wasn't always welcomed, however. In the United States in the s, for example, a political party known as the Anti-Masonic Party formed, the Washington Post reported.

It was the nation's original third political party and its members were dedicated to countering what they believed was Freemasonry's undue political influence. It is the wrapping, and not what it contains, that is key. Secrecy is a way of enveloping bonds of fellowship in solemnity and sacredness. Born during the Enlightenment, when the grip of religious orthodoxy on private and public life was beginning to be relaxed, Freemasonry offered a passage to a more secular world.

It was a half-way house: its secrecy made it like a religion, without containing any dangerous theological ideas. The first Freemasons could hardly have predicted the global shaggy dog story of success and notoriety that they would generate. The lesson of their fascinating history is simple: make yourself misunderstood. Contact us at letters time. Freemasons, with signs for the various lodges, c By John Dickie. Related Stories.

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