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What
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Freemasonry is the world's oldest and
largest Fraternity. While its traditions
look back to earliest history, Masonry in its current form appeared when its
public events were noticed by the residents of London, England in 1717.
Although Masonry - particularly in its earliest days - had some elements of
secrecy, the first 'exposure' of the supposedly highly-secret Masonic ritual
actually appeared in 1696! Since that time, there have been tens of thousands
of books published about this 'secret organization'. And for over three
hundred years, despite the good works done by its members, Freemasonry has
continually suffered the slings and arrows of those who seek to use it's
quiet nature against it. Freemasonry's singular purpose is to make
good men better and its bonds of
friendship, compassion and brotherly love have survived even the most
divisive political, military and religious conflicts through the centuries.
Freemasonry is neither a forum nor a place of worship. It is not a
religion nor does it teach a religious philosophy. For nearly three
hundred years it has attracted men of high moral character who support the
tenets of temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice. Today, the more than four million Freemasons
around the world come from virtually every occupation and profession. Within
the Fraternity, however, all meet as equals. In fact, one of the most fascinating aspects of Freemasonry (and
an obvious source of irritation for those who thrive on the seeds of
discontent) has always been: how so many men, from so many different walks of
life, can meet together in peace, ignoring political or religious debates, to
conduct their affairs in harmony and friendship and to call each other
"Brother!" Freemasons are taught to conform to the
moral laws of society and to abide by the
laws of the government under which they live. They are men of charity and
good works and they engage in charitable works which have made them
"the World's greatest philanthropy!" Their services to mankind represent an unparalleled example of
the humanitarian commitment and concern of this unique and honorable
Fraternity. |
Masonic Philanthropy
“To relieve the distressed is
a duty incumbent on all men, but particularly on Freemasons, who are linked
together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection. To soothe the unhappy,
to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and to
restore peace to their troubled minds, is the great aim we have in view. On
this basis we form our friendships and establish our connections”. Illustrations Masonry, p. 72 William
Preston, 1772.
Freemasons
support
more ways to help people than any other private organization. In the
beginning--the 1700's and early 1800's, Masonic charity was largely limited to
members, their widows and their orphans. Homes for the Aged and Orphanages were
established all over America. But
Masonic charity soon reached far beyond that fraternity, and now the great
majority of the $730 million
dollars given in America each year goes to those with no
connection to Masonry.
Perhaps the best known Masonic charity are the Shriners Hospitals for
Children, where the world's very best care for birth defects and orthopedic
problems is available completely free of charge. In recent years, the Shrine
has established Burn Centers where childhood victims of burns are treated, also
free of charge.
The Scottish Rite has established Childhood Language Disorders Centers
across America, where children with language problems (the most common problem
children experience) are treated. Another part of the program provides training
for teachers in a technique which is 87% effective in teaching children with
dyslexia how to read.
The York Rite Eye Foundation does important vision research, as well as
offering free eye surgery to children when the surgery is necessary to save
their vision. There are many other Masonic organizations which fund major
research efforts into:
Muscular Dystrophy, Childhood Neural Development, Diabetes,
Schizophrenia, Mental Retardation, Learning Disorders and many other areas. One
organization provides dental treatment for children with cerebral palsy,
muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis, conditions that require highly
specialized treatment.
Masons quietly
volunteer considerable time and money
to numerous Charities. Over $2 million is donated to charity on a daily basis.
Below is a sampling of the charities Masons support.
ALS Association (Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis; Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Knights Templar Eye
Foundation American Diabetes Association
Masonic Medical Research Laboratory
– (Utica, NY)
National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children
Muscular Dystrophy Association -
(Jerry's Kids)
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
& Research Institute
HIKE Fund (Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment Fund)
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
(JDRF) American
Cancer Society
American Heart Association Meals on Wheels
American Red Cross Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Big Brothers Big Sisters Boy Scouts of America
National 4-H Clubs Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Cerebral Palsy Research National Chid Identification Program
Girl Scouts of America National Chidhood Cancer Foundation
Shriners Hospitals Help for Kid's Speech
United Cerebral Palsey United Way International
Freemasonry Community
Projects
(not a complete list)
National Anthem Project
The Masonic Service Association
has been designated a "National
upporting Organization" for the National Anthem Project. This means
MSA will be the point of contact on behalf of Freemasons in the United States.
The National Anthem Project felt that with so many close
connections between the Flag,
the National Anthem, and Freemasonry we should be involved and be part of the
effort to revitalize the Spirit of America through our National Anthem - The
Star Spangled Banner.
Disaster Relief
When a natural disaster occurs, the Grand Jurisdiction(s)
affected may request the MSANA to make an appeal for assistance to all U.S. and
Canadian Grand Lodges.
Funds donated to date: $6,354,030.20 (From 1923-2004)
Operation Phone Home
Operation Phone Home is a campaign designed with the goal of
providing prepaid international phone calling cards to as many military men and
women serving overseas as can be reached. It will be an ongoing effort as long
as American Military Personnel serve overseas, particularly in Iraq, Afghanistan
and the Balkans.
Funds Raised to Date
$140,000.00 (As of February 1,
2005)
Freemasonry & Women
Freemasonry, as in all other areas of life, women play an
important role. The opportunities for women to participate in Freemasonry are
widespread and meet a variety of needs, from social interaction in the Orders
for both men and women, to the unique needs met in the "women only"
Masonic organizations. The moral and ethical values that Freemasonry encourages
are universal and not gender-based.
In the middle 1800's, the fraternity took the then radical step of
creating organizations for women so that men and women could share Masonic
fraternalism. The Order of the Eastern Star (the largest of these
Masonic-related groups) was established in 1855, the Order of the Amaranth in
1873, and the White Shrine of Jerusalem in 1894. These groups are open to both
men and women.
Two
national Masonic-related youth organizations are for young women:
the International Order of Job's Daughters, founded 1920, and the International
Order of Rainbow for Girls, rounded in 1922. Rainbows and Job's Daughters are
involved with local charities, community services, and educational programs.
Three national Masonic-related organizations limited to women only
include the Daughters of the Nile, the Daughters of Mokanna, and the Social
Order of Beauceant. These Masonic-related organizations, like many
organizations in the United States, both social and professional, base their
membership on gender. For instance Junior League, P.E.O. National Association
of Female Executives, and even Girl Scouts, are organizations created
exclusively for women, established to fulfill their unique interests and
specific needs.
All
Masonic groups--for men, for women, and for both--are organized for fraternal,
educational, and charitable purposes. No Masonic organization allows its
members to use their membership to advance their business, social or religious
interests.
Responding to the
critics of Freemasonry
From
Northern Ireland to Iran, from the Middle East to the United States, religious
extremism[1] is a growing force throughout the world. Jarred by the rapid pace
of social and cultural change, especially the apparent disintegration of moral
values and the break-up of the family, some people within this movement have
sought refuge from the complexity of modern life by embracing absolute views
and rejecting tolerance of other beliefs.
Simple,
easy, seemingly stable answers bring comfort in a rapidly changing world. For
example, some churches have responded to the personal anguish of their members
by circling the wagons, that is, by strictly defining theological concepts and
insisting their members "purify" their fellowship by renouncing any
other beliefs.
The next
step, already taken by various churches, is to yield degrees of control within
their ranks to vocal factions espousing extremist views. These splinter groups
focus the congregation's generalized anxieties on specific targets. The
proffered cure-all is to destroy the supposed enemy. Freemasonry has become one
of these targets precisely because it encourages members to form their own
opinion on many important topics, including religion.
Thus some
churches have expressed concerns, even condemnations, of Freemasonry.
Generally, these actions are based on misunderstandings. A case in point is the
June 1993 report to the Southern Baptist Convention by the Convention's Home
Mission Board. This report defined eight alleged conflicts between the tenets
and teachings of the Masonic Fraternity and Southern Baptist theology. Let's
briefly look at those areas, as representative of the thinking of some
well-meaning but misinformed church members today, and see if the concerns are
real or simply a matter of misinformation or misunderstanding.
Most of the
issues really deal with language in one way or another. Almost every
organization has a special vocabulary of words which are understood by the
group. It's hardly appropriate for someone outside a group, and without the
special knowledge of the group, to object to the terms unless he or she fully
understands them and why they are used. If someone wants to read the Journal
of the American Medical Association. for example, that is his right---but he
doesn't have a right to complain if the articles use medical terms. A person
reading a cookbook had better know that terms like fold, cream the butter, or
soft ball have special meanings--or he'll make a mess instead of a cake. The
same is true of a non-Mason reading Masonic materials. As to the critique of
Freemasonry by the Southern Baptist Convention (which, incidentally, had
several positive things to say about Freemasonry), here is a brief explanatory
discussion of each point.
"Offensive Titles"
1. Because they do not
see specific words in their historic context, some critics complain of the
prevalent use in Freemasonry of offensive titles and terms such as Worshipful
Master for the leader of a Lodge. The leader of a Masonic Lodge is called the
Master of the Lodge for the same reason the head of a Boy Scout troop is called
a Scoutmaster, an orchestra's leader is termed the Concert Master, or a
highly-skilled electrician is called a Master Electrician. The term arose in
the guilds of the Middle Ages when the most skillful workman was called the
Master. Much Masonic vocabulary dates from that period. Worshipful in
Worshipful Master has nothing to do with worship in any religious sense.
masonically, Worshipful is a term of honor and, in this sense, it is a term
still used in England and Canada today-- to refer to such officials as mayors
of cities. Worshipful John Doe means exactly the same thing as the Honorable
John Doe. In the same vein, the Mayor of London is addressed as the Worshipful
Lord Mayor. Certainly there is nothing irreligious here in the use of Worshipful
or Lord. Such terms are a matter of history and tradition, not religion.
"Bloody Oaths"
2. Some critics of
Freemasonry object to what they term archaic and offensive rituals or so-called
bloody oaths in Freemasonry. There is nothing offensive in the rituals to
anyone who understands them. They are ancient, not archaic, since many of them
are so old their origins are lost in history. But there is nothing bad in that.
The Declaration of Independence is about the same age as the Master Mason
Degree, but few complain it is "archaic."
The alleged
bloody oaths refer to the penalties associated with the Masonic obligations.
They originated in the medieval legal system of England and were actual
punishments inflicted by the state on persons convicted of opposing political
or religious tyranny. Freemasonry's obligations do not contain any promise ever
to inflict any of the penalties or to participate in the execution of them. In
Freemasonry, they are entirely symbolic and refer exclusively to the shame a good
man should feel at the thought he had broken a promise.
"Paganism"
3. Certain critics
claim the recommended readings for the Degrees of Freemasonry are
"pagan" in origin. "Pagan"[2], as they are using the term,
simply means "pre-Christian." The major purpose of Freemasonry is the
study of man's intellectual and moral history for the purpose of developing
ourselves morally and intellectually. Such a study has to start with the
concepts of man and God as held by early cultures and evidenced in their mythologies.
The Greeks and Romans, as well as earlier peoples, had much of importance to
say, on many topics. including religion. The idea that a physician must act in
the best interests of his patient comes from the pagan Hippocrates, and the
concept that the government cannot break into your house and take what it wants
on a whim comes from the pagan Aristotle. None of us would want to live in a
world without these ideas.
In almost
every field—law, government, music, philosophy, mathematics, etc.—it is necessary
to review the work of early writers and thinkers. Freemasonry is no exception.
But to study the work of ancient cultures is not the same thing as to do what
they did or believe what they believed. And no Mason is ever told what he
should believe in matters of faith. That is not the task of a fraternity. nor a
public library. nor the government. That is the duty of a person's revealed
religion and is appropriately expressed through his or her church.
The Bible as "Furniture"
4. Ironically. some
people complain about the Bible used in lodge being referred to as the
"furniture" of the lodge. No disrespect is intended. Indeed, just the
opposite is true. Freemasons use the word "furniture" in its original
meaning of essential equipment. Since no lodge can meet without an open Volume
of Sacred Law, (Which in North America is almost always the Bible) the Bible is
essential and given a special place of honour as the "furniture" for
every regular lodge.
"The Meaning of 'Light'"
5. The Masonic use of
the term "light' is often misunderstood by non-Masons. This confusion may
lead some to think Masons are speaking of salvation rather than knowledge or
truth. Nowhere in Masonic ritual is "light" implied to mean anything
other than knowledge. Light was a symbol of knowledge long before it was a
symbol of salvation. The lamp of learning appears on almost every graduation
card and college diploma. Freemasonry uses light as a symbol of the search for
truth and knowledge. It's very unlikely that any Freemason would think that
light represents salvation.
"Salvation by Works"
6. Freemasonry does not
imply salvation may be attained by one's good works. Freemasonry does not teach
any path to salvation. That is the duty of a Church, not a Fraternity. The
closest Freemasonry comes to this issue is to point to the open Bible, and tell
the freemason to search there for the path to eternal life. Freemasonry does
believe in the importance of good works. but as a matter of gratitude to God
for His many great gifts and as a matter of individual moral and social
responsibility. The path to salvation is found in each Mason's house of
worship, not in his Lodge.
"Universalism"
7. Various critics
accuse Masonic writers of teaching the "heresy of universalism."
Universalism is the doctrine that all men and women are ultimately saved.
Freemasonry does not teach universalism or any other doctrine of salvation.
Again, that's the province of the church, not a fraternity. You have to look
rather hard to find Masonic writers who "teach universalism." Even if
you could find one, it's important to remember that any Masonic author writes
for himself alone, not as an official of the fraternity. Freemasonry simply
does not have a position, official or otherwise on salvation. Since men of all
faiths are welcome in the Fraternity, Freemasons are careful not to offend the
faith of any. Possibly this in itself may seem to be universalism to some
critics. Freemasons call it common courtesy.
Racial Exclusion
8. Some critics, less
eager to put their own houses in order than to find fault with others, contend
most lodges refuse to admit African Americans as members. Freemasonry today is
not a whites only organization as the hundreds of thousands of Black, Native
American. Hispanic and Oriental Freemasons can testify. Petitions for
membership do not ask the race of the petitioner, and it would be considered
completely wrong to do so. At the same time it must be said that Freemasonry,
like American society and churches in general, has not lived up entirely to its
high ideal of brotherhood in dealing with African-American and other
minorities. This is a situation which most Freemasons;
like most
Americans. are trying to overcome. There is a schism in Freemasonry dating back
over 200 years to when "Prince Hall" Masons, who are
African-Americans, declared themselves independent. This schism is similar to
the division of the United Methodist Church from the A.M.E. C.M.E. and United
Methodist Church from the A.M.E., S.M.E. and A.M.E. Zion churches or the National
Baptists from the American and Southern Baptists.
In each of
these three examples. the organizations are working to repair the damages of
centuries of segregation. For each, complete reunification remains an elusive
goal hindered by social resistance on both sides, but not by organizational
ideals. In the case of Freemasonry mutual recognition between "black"
and "white" Grand Lodges has proceeded at a steady pace for nearly
ten years, while African-American members are increasingly common in formerly
"white" Lodges.
For
instance, at the international celebration of the 275th anniversary of the
United Grand Lodge of England in 1992 (the most recent Masonic gathering of
about the same size as the Southern Baptist Convention), there were far more
Blacks present than there were at the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston in
1993. Freemasonry's movement regarding racial matters affirms Freemasonry's
genuine evolution with the rest of American society and churches toward genuine
brotherhood among all races.
In summary,
looking over the concerns raised in the report, none are tenets and teachings
as the report claims. Four of the concerns are merely misunderstandings of
Masonic vocabulary by non-masons. The complaint that some of the writers whose
work Freemasonry studies are pre-Christian could be raised against any study of
man, government or philosophy. Almost all areas of study start with the ancient
(pagan) Greeks. All members of the Fraternity know that Freemasonry does not
invade the area of the church to teach any doctrine of salvation, neither
universalism, salvation by works, nor any other. And the objection that
Freemasonry is some sort of whites-only club is refuted by the myriad of men of
colour wearing the square and compasses.
Freemasonry
is simply a Fraternity—an organization of men, banded together to further
develop themselves ethically and morally, and to benefit the community at
large!
Reprinted
from a brochure published by the
Masonic Service Association of North America.
Footnotes:
Excerpt [religious extremism 1]: The hypothesis of this paper is that with the exception of
the Roman Catholic Church, a particular kind of theology called dispensational
fundamentalism is the driving force behind the current effort by a small number
of very vocal people pushing their conservative churches and denominations to
condemn the Masonic fraternity as a false, or even Satanic, religion. Most of
the current criticisms against Freemasonry are coming, not from members of the
Southern Baptist Convention, but from members belonging to independent churches
and other denominations. For the full text lookup:
“The fundamental reason for The
current criticism of Freemasonry” Presented
at the Vancouver Grand Masonic Day, October 16, 1999 by Bro. Gary Leazer, Masonic Information Center, Silver Spring,
Maryland
Is Freemasonry compatible with
Christianity and other religions?
Freemasonry is compatible with
religion. It may be incompatible, however, with the way a few narrowly focused
people see religion. Of course, most of them feel that only they have the truth
and that even many members of their own congregations are not as pure as they
should be. Freemasonry stands, as it has always stood, with open arms, saying,”
Believe as your conscience dictates."
Excerpt [Pagan 2]: Some critics of Freemasonry claim the recommended readings
for some of the degrees of Freemasonry are "pagan." Pagan, as they
are using the term, simply means pre-Christian. The study of man's moral and
intellectual history allows the achievement of Freemasonry's major purpose, the
enhancement of an individual's moral and intellectual development. Such a study
has to start with the concepts of man and God as held by early cultures and
evidenced in their mythologies. The ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as
earlier peoples, had much of importance to say on many topics, including
religion. The idea that a physician must act in the best interests of his
patient comes from the pagan Hypocrates, and the concept that a government
cannot break into your house and take what it wants on a whim comes from the
pagan Aristotle. None of us would want to live in a world
without
these ideas.
