Rite of Adoption: "Women's Lodge" in the Philippines

Above is one of the downloadable Square & Compasses designs courtesy of Nilad Lodge.

Reading the Nilad Lodge No 12 History, it is interesting to find the following:

"... Walana Lodge (It) founded the Triangle Vanguardia in Hongkong, and a little over a year after its constitution, it introduced the Rite of Adoption or women’s lodge.

The first Filipina who took the degrees of adoption was the famous Rosario Villaruel, daughter of Faustino Villaruel. She was only eighteen (18) years old at the time of her initiation, on July 18, 1893. Rosario was famous because of her beauty and her civic courage. She sponsored Masonic festivities and banquets. She was arrested and even humiliated and tortured on the charge of professing seditious ideas.

The Lodge of Adoption was composed, as follows, with two (2) of Rizal’s sisters forming part of it:
Purificacion Leyva (Ley) - Venerable Grand Mistress

Rosario Villaruel (Minerva) - Mistress Inspectress

Valeriana Legaspi (Diana) - Sister Eloquence

Trinidad Rizal (Sumibul) - Sister Secretary

Romualda Lanuza (Aurora) - Sister Conductress

Sixta Fajardo (Ester) - Sister Depository

Josefa Rizal (Sumikat) - Member"

In an article titled: "Freedom Fighter Eves: Women Behind Philippine Independence", published in The Kalayaan 2004 on the occasion of the 106th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence; the following information (pages 22-23, PDF pages 25-26) are of interest:

"Josefa Rizal... participated in masonry that espoused liberalism, like the Logia de Adopcion where she used the name "Sumikat." She joined the KKK's Women Chapter, and was elected President.

Trinidad Rizal... the sister of Jose Rizal to whom he handed his poem Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell). After the death of her brother, she became an activist and joined the Logia de Adapcion where she became the secretary.

Angelica Lopez Rizal... one of the first members of the Logia de Adapcion, and was tasked to be the courier of the revolutionary movement. Later, she was elected fiscal and served as sub-treasurer under General Aguinaldo.

Trinidad Tecson... was called "Mother of Biyak-na-Bato" and "Mother of the Philippine Red Cross" in Bulacan. A member of the Logia de Adopcion and at the same time of the Katipunan's Women Chapter. With three assistants, she ransacked a courthouse in Caloocan and carried away all the guns; she also raided the jail of San Isidro in Nueva Ecija, where she got seven firearms, this time five men went with her. She participated in different encounters like in San Miguel, Biyak-na-Bato, Galugod Baboy, San Jose, Zaragoza, etc., about 12 battles in all.

Rosario Villaruel... also known as the "Pallid Virgin" and "Pale Madonna" of the Philippine Revolution, was initiated as the first Filipino woman mason on 18 July 1893 and was given the name "Miverva."

Filipinas in native dresses at the turn of the century. (Photo courtesy of NYPLDigital Library).

Before the colonizers came, Filipino women were enjoying a position equal to men or in some point even more so. They were looked up to and given the highest respect in the community; the women priests called Babaylan is an example of this.

The situation reversed when the Spaniards came. They inculcated in the minds of the people that women did not have significant roles in society, that they were mere followers of men and born to take care of their husbands, children and family. The early Filipina easily accepted the role of "Maria Clara." They became submissive to men and good followers to the teaching of the Spaniards.

But they could not stand seeing their countrymen being maltreated by the Spaniards, and hearing them crying and shouting for freedom. These women and the unrecognized others, who put their lives at risk and some even gave their lives for the freedom of our country earned what they were fighting for on June 12, 1898... "

It is interesting to note of the existence of a Women's Lodge in the Philippines. Today there a number of Jurisdictions worldwide with Lodges just for women as well as Co-Masons, which are composed of both male and female Masons.

It would be doubly interesting to read the ritual of this Women's Lodge or further history of their rite of adoption.

Also, it is interesting to read the history of Nilad Lodge vis-a-vis history of Freemasonry in the Philippines. Click here to read full history of Nilad Lodge.

We Should Be On The Level By WBro Leo Tan

Brother Agapito Hinlo, circa 1924. See story behind the picture below.

This editorial first appeared in The Filmasons, the official Newsletter of the Filipino Freemasons Club (now Association) of New South Wales, Inc (Australia), on its frontpage September 1997 issue.

"Freemasonry is universal.

Rituals vary here and there. But it is all the same - "Brotherhood of men under the Fatherhood of God".

However, from time to time we hear some of our brethren comparing the Australian brand of the fraternity and that of the Philippines. Unwittingly, some Masons raised in the Philippines thought they are more committed to the ancient institution than his fellow brother who is raised a Mason here in Australia. Why?

Is it because those from the Philippines are veterans of the rough and rugged road? Does this experience make them better Freemasons? How many times were they admonished by the elders of the Lodge that such practice should not be tolerated. That the rituals should be emphasized on the words and the lessons of the Tragedy.

As we mature in Masonry, we may realize that to subject a Fellowcraft to such physical exercise is wrong. As Master Masons working on this sublime degree, we may be doing a disservice to the fraternity. We have not grown up!

What is important is the commitment of the individual Mason wherever he was raised. How many Filipino Freemasons do we know are true and dedicated to the Fraternity and its teachings. How many have drifted away and lost the plot? There is no distinction whether one is made a Mason back home or here in Australia, we have them both ways.

A committed and dedicated Mason is not made in the rough and rugged road but in one's heart.

It is therefore not healthy to compare; in this instance, Freemasonry from different constitutions. For there is nothing to compare in the first place with regards to commitment and dedication. No particular group of Masons can claim a monopoly of such.

We should learn to respect and treat a brother Mason without any label of Made in the Philippines or Made in Australia. We are all on the same path "seeking for that which was lost."

We are all on the level!"

Bro Agapito Hinlo: The Story Behind the Picture

The picture above is courtesy of WBro Vince Flores (Lodge Alpha, Blacktown NSW). It was given to him as a memento by Bro Hinlo's daughter, Clarita Hinlo Neroma. a Sydney resident. WBro Vince, in turn donated the picture to the Filipino Freemasons Club of NSW, Inc. as part of our growing Masonic Library. Most likely the picture was taken in 1924. The inscription on the picture reads:

"Agapito Hinlo
Fue Hecho Mazon Julio 9, 1921
Exaltado al Grado 14 Mayo 27, 1922
Exaltado al Grado 32 Abril 9, 1924"

While my Spanish is not the best (I managed to pass 12 units in College! I don't know how?). I believe it says: "Made a Mason in July 9, 1921", "Exalted 14th Degree May 27, 1922" and lastly, "Exalted 32nd Degree April 9, 1924." That is the reason I assumed the picture was taken sometime in April 1924 or thereabouts. That is after he was conferred the 32nd Degree, most likely in the Scottish Rites.

Based from what WBro Vince told me, the Hinlo's are from Negros Occidental and are landed and well-off. I hope we can get more detailed information regarding this Brother.

Brother Joseph Fort Newton and The Builders

The Builders is one of the very first Masonic books I have come to read. To this day it is the finest one I've come across so far and Brother Joseph Fort Newton is one of our finest Masonic scholars.

He was born on July 21, 1876 at Decatur, Texas; his father died six years later.

The copy I have is "loaned" to me by Bro Armin Santos (Lincoln Lodge #34 F & AM and Western Luzon Bodies, A & ASR) and was presented to him by WM Adrian Snider on the occasion of his raising at Lincoln Lodge #34 on 22nd of September 1979.

This edition was published by the Supreme Council, 33rd degree, for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America, through its Committee on Masonic Education for the primary purpose of making available "to our membership an excellent piece of reference and study media that covers the history, prophecy, interpretation and philosophy of our great Fraternity."

It continues: "It is hoped that each recipient of this volume will read and reread it and encourage members of his family, and particularly our young people, to read the book and thereby obtain a better understanding of what so many of us have come to appreciate over a long period of years.

"Our forefathers built well when they formed this organization. It is our duty to transmit it, unimpaired, to those who follow."

According to Ill Stanley F. Maxwel, 33rd degree, Sovereign Grand Commander, Supreme Council (A & ASR, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, USA), in his preface to this edition:

"Few men have delved so deeply into Masonic Philosophy as Newton. None has written about it more inspiringly. The reader of The Builders will be richly rewarded for the hours spent with it and will have found a friend to which he will return often for the sheer joy of losing himself for a time in an aura of its lofty idealism."

Ill Alphonse Cerza, 33rd degree, Valley of Chicago said, in the preface of the same edition:

"If it had not been for Freemasonry and its ideals of brotherhood the world would never have had a Joseph Fort Newton, the author of this book and one of the ablest and most popular clergyman of his day.

He was always proud to tell how his father, Lee Newton, a Confederate soldier, became a Mason in a military lodge and wore a red string in the lapel of his coat to indicate his membership in our gentle Craft.

The young soldier became a prisoner, at Arkansas Post, and was taken to Rock Island, Illinois. While in prison camp he became seriously ill; he made himself known as a fellow-Mason to one of the officers of the prison.

Taking compassion on the young man, the brother took the sick soldier home and nursed him back to health. When the war ended the officer loaned Lee Newton enough money to enable him to get back to Texas."

In his autobiography, "River of Years" (1946), Joseph Fort Newton said, "This experience of my father, when I learned about it, had a great influence upon my life."

At the age of fourteen, when his maternal grandfather died, for the first time he was exposed to deep personal sorrow. It has a great influence on his life because his religious faith supported him, and as he explained years later, "Suddenly all my trouble, all my fear, left me. Life itself seemed to speak to my spirit. God became very near, very real, not aweful, but gentle as a Friend."

One day he overheard his mother vocally praying and asking God's blessing on him. It was a deeply moving moment and he then decided to become a minister.

But it was while living in Dixon, Illinois that he joined Friendship Lodge No 7, on May 28, 1902. Later he was to state that what impressed him most about the Craft in those days was that at the lodge meetings he met men from all the churches except one.

Later on he was to say about these members, "In their churches they could not agree about the teachings of the Bible; in the Lodge they could not disagree, because each one was allowed to interpret it the way his heart liked best, and asked to allow others the same right; a secret almost too simple to be found out."

As a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason (crowned on October 20, 1933 by the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction), he said in his principal address at the cornerstone laying ceremony of the great new Masonic Temple, in Detroit, Michigan on September 18, 1922:

"As Craft Masonry deals with the making of individual character, so the Scottish Rite has to do with the development of society, the organization of personal righteousness into social ministry and world order. It dramatizes the ultimate truth, so far as man may know it, bringing parable, symbolism, and emblem to the service of that ineffable vision which gives growth and meaning to mortal life. For richness of suggestion, for beauty of poetic imagery, it is difficult to imagine anything more resplendent than the degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. It is the great temple where truth is divested of superstition, and men learn in fellowship what none may know alone." (Italics supplied. Mod.)

Brother Joseph Fort Newton laid down his working tools in this transitory life on January 24, 1950 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His written words and wisdom remain with us, including the following from his autobiography:

"Man was not meant to be a cringing being, eaten up by anxiety, shut up a prisoner in silent loneliness, living in blind cruelty. He was meant for great adventures, if he has the insight to see the laws of life and the key of kindness to unlock the doors; and in his quest for the best in others he will discover something in himself not guessed before. For each of us, through we may not be clever or commanding, but only average and unknown, life can be winged and wonderful, full of meaning and music, if we have the faith to trust the God who made us, and the wisdom to live, love, and learn."

My thanks to my Brother, Armin, for "perpetually loaning" this book to me when I was in the treshold of Masonry.

The Builders: What is Masonry? By Bro Joseph Fort Newton Part I

Part I - Our Purpose and Masonry Defined

"WHAT, then, is Masonry, and what is it trying to do in the world? According to one of the Old Charges, Masonry is declared to be an "ancient and honorable institution: ancient no doubt it is, as having subsisted from time immemorial; and honorable it must be acknowledged to be, as by natural tendency it conduces to make those so who are obedient to its precepts.

To so high an eminence has its credit been advanced that in every age Monarchs themselves have been promoters of the art, have not thought it derogatory from their dignity to exchange the scepter for the trowel, have patronized our mysteries and joined in our Assemblies."

While that eulogy is more than justified by sober facts, it does not tell us what Masonry is, much less its mission and ministry to mankind. If now we turn to the old, oft-quoted definition, we learn that Masonry is "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." That is, in so far, true enough, but it is obviously inadequate, the more so when it uses the word "peculiar" as describing the morality of Masonry; and it gives no hint of a world-encircling fellowship and its far-ramifying influence.

Another definition has it that Masonry is "a science which is engaged in the search after divine truth;" 1 but that is vague, indefinite, and unsatisfactory, lacking any sense of the uniqueness of the Order, and as applicable to one science as to another. For surely all science, of whatever kind, is a search after divine truth, and a physical fact, as Agassiz said, is as sacred as a moral truth--every fact being the presence of God.

Still another writer defines Masonry as "Friendship, Love, and Integrity--Friendship which rises superior to the fictitious distinctions of society, the prejudices of religion, and the pecuniary conditions of life; Love which knows no limit, nor inequality, nor decay; Integrity which binds man to the eternal law of duty." 2

Such is indeed the very essence and spirit of Masonry, but Masonry has no monopoly of that spirit, and its uniqueness consists, rather, in the form in which it seeks to embody and express the gracious and benign spirit which is the genius of all the higher life of humanity. Masonry is not everything; it is a thing as distinctly featured as a statue by Phidias or a painting by Angelo. Definitions, like delays, may be dangerous, but perhaps we can do no better than to adopt the words of the German Handbuch 1 as the best description of it so far given:

Masonry is the activity of closely united men who, employing symbolical forms borrowed principally from the mason's trade and from architecture, work for the welfare of mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others, and thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind, which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small scale.

Civilization could hardly begin until man had learned to fashion for himself a settled habitation, and thus the earliest of all human arts and crafts, and perhaps also the noblest, is that of the builder. Religion took outward shape when men first reared an altar for their offerings, and surrounded it with a sanctuary of faith and awe, of pity and consolation, and piled a cairn to mark the graves where their dead lay asleep.

History is no older than architecture. How fitting, then, that the idea and art of building should be made the basis of a great order of men which has no other aim than the upbuilding of humanity in Faith, Freedom, and Friendship. Seeking to ennoble and beautify life, it finds in the common task and constant labor of man its sense of human unity, its vision of life as a temple "building and built upon," and its emblems of those truths which make for purity of character and the stability of society. Thus Masonry labors, linked with the constructive genius of mankind, and so long as it remains true to its Ideal no weapon formed against it can prosper.

One of the most impressive and touching things in human history is that certain ideal interests have been set apart as especially venerated among all peoples. Guilds have arisen to cultivate the interests embodied in art, science, philosophy, fraternity, and religion; to conserve the precious, hard-won inheritances of humanity; to train men in their service; to bring their power to bear upon the common life of mortals, and send through that common life the light and glory of the Ideal--as the sun shoots its transfiguring rays through a great dull cloud, evoking beauty from the brown earth.

Such is Masonry, which unites all these high interests and brings to their service a vast, world-wide fraternity of free and devout men, built upon a foundation of spiritual faith and moral idealism, whose mission it is to make men friends, to refine and exalt their lives, to deepen their faith and purify their dream, to turn them from the semblance of life to homage for truth, beauty, righteousness, and character. More than an institution, more than a tradition, more than a society, Masonry is one of the forms of the Divine Life upon earth. No one may ever hope to define a spirit so gracious, an order so benign, an influence so prophetic of the present and future up-building of the race.

There is a common notion that Masonry is a secret society, and this idea is based on the secret rites used in its initiations, and the signs and grips by which its members recognize each other. Thus it has come to pass that the main aims of the Order are assumed to be a secret policy or teaching, 1 whereas its one great secret is that it has no secret. Its principles are published abroad in its writings; its purposes and laws are known, and the times and places of its meetings.

Having come down from dark days of persecution, when all the finer things sought the protection of seclusion, if it still adheres to secret rites, it is not in order to hide the truth, but the better to teach it more impressively, to train men in its pure service, and to promote union and amity upon earth. Its signs and grips serve as a kind of universal language, and still more as a gracious cover for the practice of sweet charity--making it easier to help a fellow man in dire plight without hurting his self-respect. If a few are attracted to it by curiosity, all remain to pray, finding themselves members of a great historic fellowship of the seekers and finders of God. 1

It is old because it is true; had it been false it would have perished long ago. When all men practice its simple precepts, the innocent secrets of Masonry will be laid bare, its mission accomplished, and its labor done."

The Builders: What is Masonry? By Bro Joseph Fort Newton Part II

Part II - On Politics and Social Reforms

"Recalling the emphasis of the foregoing pages, it need hardly be added that Masonry is in no sense a political party, still less a society organized for social agitation. Indeed, because Masonry stands apart from partisan feud and particular plans of social reform, she has been held up to ridicule equally by the unthinking, the ambitious, and the impatient. Her critics on this side are of two kinds. There are those who hold that the humanitarian ideal is an error, maintaining that human nature has no moral aptitude, and can be saved only by submission to a definite system of dogma.

Then there are those who look for salvation solely in political action and social agitation, who live in the delusion that man can be made better by passing laws and counting votes, and to whom Masonry has nothing to offer because in its ranks it permits no politics, much less party rancor. Advocates of the first view have fought Masonry from the beginning with the sharpest weapons, while those who hold the second view regard it with contempt, as a thing useless and not worth fighting. 1

Neither adversary understands Masonry and its cult of the creative love for humanity, and of each man for his fellow, without which no dogma is of any worth; lacking which, the best laid plans of social seers "gang aft aglee." Let us look at things as they are. That we must press forward towards righteousness--that we must hunger and thirst after a social life that is true and pure, just and merciful--all will agree; but they are blind who do not see that the way is long and the process slow. What is it that so tragically delays the march of man to-ward the better and wiser social order whereof our prophets dream?

Our age, like the ages gone before, is full of schemes of every kind for the reform and betterment of mankind. Why do they not succeed? Some fail, perhaps, because they are imprudent and ill-considered, in that they expect too much of human nature and do not take into account the stubborn facts of life. But why does not the wisest and noblest plan do more than half what its advocates hope and pray and labor so heroically to bring about? Because there are not enough men fine enough of soul, large enough of sympathy, sweet enough of spirit, and noble enough of nature to make the dream come true!

There are no valid arguments against a great-spirited social justice but this--that men will not. Indolence, impurity, greed, injustice, meanness of spirit, the aggressiveness of authority, and above all jealousy--these are the real obstacles that thwart the nobler social aspiration of humanity. There are too many men like The Master-Builder who tried to build higher than any one else, without regard to others, all for his own selfish glory. Ibsen has shown us how The Pillars of Society, resting on rotten foundations, came crashing down, wounding the innocent in their wreck. Long ago it was said that "through wisdom is an house builded, and by under-standing it is established; and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with pleasant and precious riches." 1

Time has shown that the House of Wisdom must be founded upon righteousness, justice, purity, character, faith in God and love of man, else it will fall when the floods descend and the winds beat upon it. What we need to make our social dreams come true is not more laws, not more dogmas, not less liberty, but better men, cleaner minded, more faithful, with loftier ideals and more heroic integrity; men who love the right, honor the truth, worship purity, and prize liberty--upright men who meet all horizontals at a perfect angle, assuring the virtue and stability of the social order.

Therefore, when Masonry, instead of identifying itself with particular schemes of reform, and thus becoming involved in endless turmoil and dispute, estranging men whom she seeks to bless, devotes all her benign energy and influence to ennobling the souls of men, she is doing fundamental work in behalf of all high enterprises. By as much as she succeeds, every noble cause succeeds; by as much as she fails, everything fails! By its ministry to the individual man--drawing him into the circle of a great friendship, exalting his faith, refining his ideals, enlarging his sympathies, and setting his feet in the long white path--Masonry best serves society and the state. 1

While it is not a reformatory, it is a center of moral and spiritual power, and its power is used, not only to protect the widow and orphan, but also, and still more important, to remove the cause of their woe and need by making men just, gentle, and generous to all their fellow mortals. Who can measure such a silent, persistent, unresting labor; who can describe its worth in a world of feud, of bitterness, of sorrow!

No one needs to be told that we are on the eve, if not in the midst, of a most stupendous and bewildering revolution of social and industrial life. It shakes England today. It makes France tremble tomorrow. It alarms America next week. Men want shorter hours, higher wages, and better homes--of course they do--but they need, more than these things, to know and love each other; for the questions in dispute can never be settled in an air of hostility. If they are ever settled at all, and settled right, it must be in an atmosphere of mutual recognition and respect, such as Masonry seeks to create and make prevail.

Whether it be a conflict of nations, or a clash of class with class, appeal must be made to intelligence and the moral sense, as befits the dignity of man. Amidst bitterness and strife Masonry brings men of every rank and walk of life together as men, and nothing else, at an altar where they can talk and not fight, discuss and not dispute, and each may learn the point of view of his fellow. Other hope there is none save in this spirit of friendship and fairness, of democracy and the fellowship of man with man. Once this spirit has its way with mankind, it will bring those brave, large reconstructions, those profitable abnegations and brotherly feats of generosity that will yet turn human life into a glad, beautiful, and triumphant coöperation all round this sunlit world.

Surely the way of Masonry is wise. Instead of becoming only one more factor in a world of factional feud, it seeks to remove all hostility which may arise from social, national, or religious differences. It helps to heal the haughtiness of the rich and the envy of the poor, and tends to establish peace on earth by allaying all fanaticism and hatred on account of varieties of language, race, creed, and even color, while striving to make the wisdom of the past available for the culture of men in faith and purity. Not a party, not a sect, not a cult, it is a great order of men selected, initiated, sworn, and trained to make sweet reason and the will of God prevail!

Against the ancient enmities and inhumanities of the world it wages eternal war, without vengeance, without violence, but by softening the hearts of men and inducing a better spirit. Apparitions of a day, here for an hour and tomorrow gone, what is our puny warfare against evil and ignorance compared with the warfare which this venerable Order has been waging against them for ages, and will continue to wage after we have fallen into dust!"

The Builders: What is Masonry? By Bro Joseph Fort Newton Part III

Part III - Of The Church and Religion


"Masonry, as it is much more than a political party or a social cult, is also more than a church--unless we use the word church as Ruskin used it when he said: "There is a true church wherever one hand meets another helpfully, the only holy or mother church that ever was or ever shall be!"

It is true that Masonry is not a religion, but it is Religion, a worship in which all good men may unite, that each may share the faith of all. Often it has been objected that some men leave the Church and enter the Masonic Lodge, finding there a religious home. Even so, but that may be the fault, not of Masonry, but of the Church so long defamed by bigotry and distracted by sectarian feud, and which has too often made acceptance of abstract dogmas a test of its fellowship. 1

Naturally many fine minds have been estranged from the Church, not because they were irreligious, but because they were required to believe what it was impossible for them to believe; and, rather than sacrifice their integrity of soul, they have turned away from the last place from which a man should ever turn away. No part of the ministry of Masonry is more beautiful and wise than its appeal, not for tolerance, but for fraternity; not for uniformity, but for unity of spirit amidst varieties of outlook and opinion.

Instead of criticizing Masonry, let us thank God for one altar where no man is asked to surrender his liberty of thought and become an indistinguishable atom in a mass of sectarian agglomeration. What a witness to the worth of an Order that it brings together men of all creeds in behalf of those truths which are greater than all sects, deeper than all doctrines--the glory and the hope of man!

While Masonry is not a church, it has religiously preserved some things of highest importance to the Church--among them the right of each individual soul to its own religious faith. Holding aloof from separate sects and creeds, it has taught all of them how to respect and tolerate each other; asserting a principle broader than any of them--the sanctity of the soul and the duty of every man to revere, or at least to regard with charity, what is sacred to his fellows. It is like the crypts underneath the old cathedrals--a place where men of every creed who long for something deeper and truer, older and newer than they have hitherto known, meet and unite. Having put away childish things, they find themselves made one by a profound and childlike faith, each bringing down into that quiet crypt his own pearl of great price--

The Hindu his innate disbelief in this world, and his unhesitating belief in another world; the Buddhist his perception of an eternal law, his submission to it, his gentleness, his pity; the Mohammedan, if nothing else, his sobriety; the Jew his clinging, through good and evil days, to the one God who loveth righteousness, and whose name is "I AM;" the Christian, that which is better than all, if those who doubt it would try it--our love of God, call Him what you will, manifested in our love of man, our love of the living, our love of the dead, our living and undying love. Who knows but that the crypt of the past may become the church of the future? 1

Of no one age, Masonry belongs to all ages; of no one religion, it finds great truths in all religions. Indeed, it holds that truth which is common to all elevating and benign religions, and is the basis of each; that faith which underlies all sects and over-arches all creeds, like the sky above and the river bed below the flow of mortal years.

It does not under-take to explain or dogmatically to settle those questions or solve those dark mysteries which out-top human knowledge. Beyond the facts of faith it does not go. With the subtleties of speculation concerning those truths, and the unworldly envies growing out of them, it has not to do. There divisions begin, and Masonry was not made to divide men, but to unite them, leaving each man free to think his own thought and fashion his own system of ultimate truth. All its emphasis rests upon two extremely simple and profound principles--love of God and love of man. Therefore, all through the ages it has been, and is today, a meeting place of differing minds, and a prophecy of the final union of all reverent and devout souls.

Time was when one man framed a dogma and declared it to be the eternal truth. Another man did the same thing, with a different dogma; then the two began to hate each other with an unholy hatred, each seeking to impose his dogma upon the other--and that is an epitome of some of the blackest pages of history. Against those old sectarians who substituted intolerance for charity, persecution for friendship, and did not love God because they hated their neighbors, Masonry made eloquent protest, putting their bigotry to shame by its simple insight, and the dignity of its golden voice. A vast change of heart is now taking place in the religious world, by reason of an exchange of thought and courtesy, and a closer personal touch, and the various sects, so long estranged, are learning to unite upon the things most worth while and the least open to debate. That is to say, they are moving toward the Masonic position, and when they arrive Masonry will witness a scene which she has prophesied for ages.

At last, in the not distant future, the old feuds of the sects will come to an end, forgotten in the discovery that the just, the brave, the true-hearted are everywhere of one religion, and that when the masks of misunderstanding are taken off they know and love one another. Our little dogmas will have their day and cease to be, lost in the vision of a truth so great that all men are one in their littleness; one also in their assurance of the divinity of the soul and "the kindness of the veiled Father of men." Then men of every name will ask, when they meet:

Not what is your creed?But what is your need?

High above all dogmas that divide, all bigotries that blind, all bitterness that beclouds, will be written the simple words of the one eternal religion--the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, the moral law, the golden rule, and the hope of a life everlasting!"

Which is the best one?

Below is an excerpt of a question and answer passage regarding which English Bible version or translation is the best. But more importantly, a better question needs to be answered; whether we are reading from the Bible, The Holy Quran or Koran, The Torah or any of the numerous Volume of Sacred Laws: how will we respond and apply the wisdom in our own everyday lives?

To read the full article please click the main title. Also visit the English Version Translation Comparision Chart for more detailed information.

"Would you believe that there are literally hundreds of different translations of the Bible into English? For many people this huge variety is totally confusing and they just don't know which Bible to choose. How did we get into this situation anyway?

At the heart of the problem are two views as to what a translation should be. On one side are those who feel a translation should stick just as closely as possible to every word of the original Hebrew and Greek. They want the translation to be a literal transfer, word for word, of the original words into English. They feel this will provide the greatest accuracy possible and, after all, this is the aim, isn't it?

Each translation has the power to transform your life. Though the cadence and the terminology may differ, the voice of God can speak to you through each one. Then the question remains: how will you respond to God's voice as He speaks to you from the pages of this life-changing book?"

Italic bold supplied. Mod.

Eyesight and Light by Gadicke

"He who has been temporarily deprived of his sight is reduced to the condition of a new-born babe, or of one of those unfortunate individuals whose natural infirmity renders the presence of a conductor indispensably necessary; but when there are no outward objects to distract his attention, it is then that with the eye of reflection he probes into the deepest and darkest recesses of his own heart, and discovers his natural imperfections and impurities much more readily than he could possibly have done had he not been deprived of his sight.

This short deprivation of sight has kindled in his heart a spark of the brightest and purest flame. We must further admit, that those who have been deprived of their sight, and who have hopes of being restored to it, strive most industriously and diligently to obtain it; that they have no greater desire, and that they will most readily pledge themselves to do all that can be required of them, in order to obtain that inestimable blessing.

A man who has been deprived of his sight may be introduced into places where he is surrounded by the strangest and the rarest objects, without a possibility of his becoming a traitor. At the same time, those who are in possession of their sight cannot feel the care of their guides so much as those who are hoodwinked, and who feel that without the constant attention of their conductors they would be much more helpless than they now are; but, however many proofs of attention and care they may receive, there is still something left to wish for; and to the question, What is your chief desire? the answer will ever assuredly be, "Light.""

Johann Christian Gadicke or Gaedicke, the German masonic lexicographer, author of German Lexicon of Freemasonry. p267.

GAEDICKE, JOHANN CHRISTIAN

"A bookseller of Berlin, born on the 14th of December, 1763, and initiated into Freemasonry in 1804. He took much interest in the Order, and was the author of several works. The most valuable and best known of which is the Freimaurer-Lexicon, or Freemasons Lexicon, published in 1818. Which, although far inferior to that of Lenning; which appeared four years afterward, is, as a pioneer work, very creditable to its author. The Lexicon was translated into English and published in the London Freemasons Magazine."

Is There No Help For The Poor Widow's Son by Bro Fahim A. Knight - Part 2

This is the second and concluding part to the article by Bro Fahim A. Knight. As before, the external links was supplied by the moderator as an added information. In no way the links are the only relevant information on the net as to Bro Knight's article; they are supplied as a starting point for your further Masonic Education. It is up to you to search and dig deeper; to search your "Light".

Part II

"Sherrod N. Gresham in his book titled, “Prominent Prince Hall Masons on the Philatelic Materials: Stamps, First Day Covers, and Post Cards” stated, “On March 2, 1784, African Lodge #1 petitioned the Grand Lodge of England, the Premier or Mother Grand Lodge of the world, for a warrant (or charter), to organize a regular Masonic lodge, with all the rights and privileges thereunto prescribed. The Grand Lodge of England issued a charter on September 29, 1784, to African Lodge # 459, the first lodge of blacks in America.”

Black Masonry, for the most part, has accepted the racist practices of white masons in a passive manner. But black Freemasonry as an institution, will be called upon to be more vocal outwardly in the black community and move away from a tradition of apolitical and a non-engagement stance while the social issues are mounting in the black community and in reality there is no room for silence.

Prince Hall, a free black man of Boston, Massachusetts was initiated and raised as a master mason by a traveling British Military lodge in 1775 along with fifteen other free black men. In addition, Prince Hall received an official and legitimate Masonic Charter from the Grand Lodge of England on September 29, 1784, which led to the establishing of African lodge Number 459. The United States Supreme Court on June 23, 1929 handed down a decision, which guaranteed that Prince Hall Masons and Shriners had all the rights as a fraternity to appear in public, and in private to practice the time honored traditions of Masonry.

The “News Quarterly”, which is the official publication of the United Supreme Council 33 Degree Prince Hall Affiliated, its Editor-in-Chief Joseph Walkes stated, “prior to 1914 and even up to 1918, both white and black fraternities had established local lodges and local Shrine Temples in several cities and states. In some instances they were established in the same cities, namely Dallas, El-Paso, and Houston. In 1914, White Masons in five Southern States; Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, attempted to stop the practice of masonry by Prince Hall Masons and Prince Hall Shriners, as legitimate fraternal bodies in the United States. The White group appeared in a Texas court and entered a lawsuit against blacks, charging that they had no legitimate right to display Masonic or Shrine emblems in private or public, or call themselves Prince Hall Masons, Shriners, or anything else”.

The above historical facts should serve as evidence which to dismantle the question of whether or not Prince Hall Freemasonry should be designated and viewed by white Masons as “irregular”; thus, there is enough historical documentation that suggest that these African-American Masons did received a legitimate and authentic charter from the Grand Lodge of England.

Now! I am quite sure this argument has been presented over and over again, to the white Grand Lodges of the United States, but to little or no avail. Racism is a mindset that considers black people as a group as being inferior to whites because of physical (‘genotypical’ and ‘phenotypical’) traits. The racist further believes that these physical traits are detriments of social behavior and moral or intellectual qualities, and ultimately presumes that this inferiority is a legitimate basis for inferior social treatment of black people in society.

Prince Hall has some distinguish and prominent members such as: Thurgood Marshall (Former Supreme Court Justice), A. Phillip Randolph, Booker T. Washington, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, W. C. Handy, Eubie Blake, Whitney Young, Jesse Jackson, Elijah Muhammad, Al Sharpton, Mathew Henson, Charles Barkley, Alex Haley, Andrew Young, Sugar Ray Robinson, Charles Rangel, Louis Stokes, John H. Johnson, Lionel Hampton, Scottie Pippen, Benjamin Mays, Benjamin Hooks, Thomas Bradley, Richard Allen, etc. But many of these prominent African American Masons were not able to desegregate one of the last standing symbols that represent the values, culture, folkway, mores, etc., of a nation divided on racial lines which is the collective institution of Freemasonry.

The entire system of Masonry is a dying one because individuals who sought it out were not serious about what the craft offered. They got stuck at the first three symbolic degrees (Blue Lodge) and failed to captivate the moral lessons in which the Order was pointing. The traveling journey is a continuation of lessons and directions that are valuable to up-lifting humanity.

The Plessy versus Ferguson decision, which the United States Supreme Court in 1896, ruled and passed legislation declaring "separate but equal" as being constitutional and the law of the land. This legal decision ushered in segregation, institutionalize racism, and pervasive Jim Crow laws that lasted over fifty-eight years. Jim Crow Laws and segregation became to exemplify a nation divided on the lines of race. It was eventually overturned with the 1954 Brown versus Board of Education decision of Topeka, Kansas, which the United States Supreme Court declared "separate but equal" as being unconstitutional and it would be this high court's rendering that marshaled in the modern day Civil Rights era. (Reference: Andrew Hacker “Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal).

This legal decision stood for fifth-eight (58) years and represented a turbulent era in United States History. Blacks began to socially and politically agitate the United States Government in their demand and quest for justice and inclusion that led to Civil Rights Movement.

Blacks in the United States led the fight for Civil Rights in the 1950’s and the 1960’s WHICH TO ERADICATE INSTITUTIONALIZE RACISM. Many Blacks lost their lives in this fight for freedom, justice and equality. Their social protest and agitation led to a sizable amount of public accommodation legislation being passed. For example, the passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, two huge pieces of legislation gained by the unswerving demand for total equality.

Blacks in the 1960’s fought (Bull Connors, Governor George Wallace, Senator Strum Thurmond, Senator Jesse Helms, etc., symbols of white manifest destiny) for inclusion and brought an end to racist segregation that had unjustly discriminated against blacks for so long. This writer wonders, where were the white Masons when the United States Supreme Court in 1954 with Brown versus Board of Education decision Topeka, Kansas, which overturned Plessy versus Ferguson (1896) and declared “separate but equal” as being un-Constitutional? (Reference: John Hope Franklin, “From Slavery Too Freedom: Since 1865).

Black Freemasonry historians for the most part are passive parrots who offer no real dialogue to Freemasonry as a philosophy. Joseph Walkes is considered a Masonic Scholar Emeritus in the body of Prince Hall intellectualism; he authored one the most definitive books on Prince Hall Freemasonry titled “200 Years of Prince Hall Freemasonry Black Compass and Square”. But after reading Walkes work it was evident that he had some serious problems with how white Masons have historically treated Prince Hall and the black Masonic craft in general.

But like most African American historians they shy away from tempered discussions and Walkes was no different---intellectual cowardice is the best way this writer can describe those who take the easy way out and remain silent to injustices in order to appear non-emotional and scholarly based on the rules the dominant culture has set-up for them to follow.

The majority of the Prince Hall writers do not provide the readers with substantive information other than dates and events. If they truly believe that there is no secret to Freemasonry, then why do they not offer light (truth) because only truth can rescue a collapsing social order?

Walkes stated, “In my diary is a notation and reminder to myself, not to be too critical of Caucasian Masonry.” He attempted to justify his silence in the name of observing empirical research methods. He was not ignorant to the racist and social contradictions being advocated by white Masons in the name of Masonry. Joseph Walkes, the Prince Hall Historian should not have be an apologists for a racist institution they call 'regular' Freemasonry, but many of them do not have the courage nor the heart to challenge and condemn their white brethren.

If that is the case stand back and allow me to speak TRUTH TO POWER. True Freemasonry must be rescued from the gamut of lies, misconceptions, racism, hypocrisy, duality, etc.The white Freemasons in the United States are still practicing racism and discrimination in 2007 against Black Masons, this is not only shameful, it is reprehensible.

In the State of North Carolina, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge is located in city where this writer resides--- Durham, North Carolina and this writer has had the pleasure to meet and talk with the black Most Worshipful Grand Master Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina Jurisdictions. His name is Milton “Toby” Fitch; thus, he was a former State Representative of North Carolina and now holds a seat on the North Carolina Superior Court. The Grand Master struck me to be highly educated and equally intelligent, and wore the highest Masonic honor--- the title Grand Master.

But with all his academic learning and Masonic decorations and accolades he would not be accepted into the white Ancient Free and Accepted Masonic (AF&AM) family in North Carolina because of his skin color. Grand Master Finch even at the annual Prince Hall Grand Lodge sessions in September 2003 in Winston Salem, North Carolina; (Finch) invited the white Ancient Free and Accepted Grand Master Leonard Y. Safrit, Jr., (AF&AM) and put a resolution on the Masonic floor recognizing and accepting AF&AM, as well as extending full Prince Hall Masonic brotherhood to its white counterparts. But only to witness the white AF&AM not return the favor and voted to continue their racist and segregated practice against their Black Masonic Brothers of Prince Hall Masonry.

This writer applauds Grand Master Fitch’s humanity, but questions his motives to integrate; perhaps subconsciously they question their own legitimacy by still seeking to compromise their independence and sovereignty, by always being in quest of the organizational approval of their white brethren.

This writer knows throughout both orders' histories, there have been appeals to resolve the social antagonism between black and white Masons with little positive results. Black Freemasonry claims a philanthropic posture throughout the Black community and this is undeniable. However, the majority of the Black communities throughout the United States know very little about what Prince Hall Masonry truly stands for. This is why the social and political struggles of the order has fallen on deaf ears, as far as receiving assistance from the non-Masonic Black population who has not been raised by lodge ritualism.Joseph Walkes Prince Hall Historian should not have be an apologists for a racist institution they call 'regular' Freemasonry. True Freemasonry must be rescued from the gamut of lies and ritual justification of such lies.

Naim Akbar in his book titled “Chains and Images of Psychological Slavery” stated, “ Slavery was legally ended in excess of 100 years ago, but the brutality and the unnaturalness constituted a sever psychological and social shock to the minds of African Americans. This shock was so destructive to the natural life processes that the current generation of African Americans though we are 5-6 generations removed from the actual experience of slavery, still carry the scars in both our social and mental lives”.

Freemasonry in general gives the impression of representing the highest aspirations of universalism and yet right here in America, white Mason and black Mason brothers have little dialogue because they can not see further than race and skin color. What happen to the biblical lesson of the 133 Psalms represented in the Entered Apprentice, the first Degree and the foundation of Masonry? “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

Lastly, there is no doubt in my mind that Prince Hall Masonry will survive the onslaught of negative propaganda coming from their so-called white Masonic brothers. But will it be an effective institution in the Black community, as we slowly move further into the 21st Century? I am also equally disappointed that Prince Hall Masonry who has millions of black members throughout the United States and world, but are still seeking the fraternal recognition from white Masonic Grand Lodges, as opposed to cherishing their independence and sovereignty and continue to declare themselves legitimate, with or without the approval of their white Masonic brothers.

We have found that true masonry is an expression of justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude and at the basis of these virtues lay friendship and brotherly love. We who believe in social justice must challenge white Masons in the United States to abolish their racist and segregationist views about black Masonry and to subdue their passions and improve themselves in Masonry. Let God shine his light on us all."

Fahim A. Knight Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of good will of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolisms and reinterpret the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlighten world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.

STAY AWAKE UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, Fahim A. Knight

Note from the Moderator: I took the liberty of changing the paragraphs of Bro Fahim's article. The main reason is readability to suit the blog format. Shorter paragraphs hopefully will make the article easier to read and understand. As always your comments andsuggstios are welcome.

Is There No Help For The Poor Widow's Son by Bro Fahim A. Knight - Part 1

The article below was written as a "comment" by Bro Fahim A. Knight, a member of Doric Lodge #28 PHA, Durham, NC, United States of America to a post here in this blog, entitled: Freemasonry: A Religion or Not. Bro Knight is also the Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, North Carolina.

According to his email: "Our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of good will of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolisms and reinterpret the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlighten world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power."

In a very similar post this was entitled "LET THERE BE LIGHT: THERE IS NO BROTHERLY LOVE BETWEEN BLACK MASONS AND WHITE MASONS"

Also of the author: "W.E.B DUBOIS AND BOOKER T. WASHINGTON: THE GREAT DEBATE"

Bro Fahim A. Knight can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.

Part 1: Is There No Help For The Poor Widow's Son

"There is still no brotherhood amongst black Freemasons and white Freemasons in the United States of America.

The majority of the “Old South” Confederate States; twelve to be exact (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia , Tennessee, Arkansas. Kentucky, Florida, etc) have not saw fit to end two hundred--thirty-four years (234) of segregation and racism within the Masonic Order. There are perhaps thirty-eight (38) states with white Grand Lodges that have extended formal fraternal recognition to African-American Masons, as a gesture of being polite and perhaps out of being politically correct, but beneath the so-called olive branch still lays suspicion and racism that is cloaked in white American style elitism and institutionalize white supremacy.

It was even more insulting when this writer discovered that white Masons referred to the black Masonic Order of Prince Hall as "clandestine" and "irregular". This is interpreted to mean that the black Masonic Order of Prince Hall is not considered an official and recognized body of Freemasons under the white Masonic umbrella. (Reference: Paul M. Bessel and Alton G. Roundtree, “Out of the Shadows: The Emergency of Prince Hall Freemasonry in America).

The subject of Freemasonry evokes many different emotions and there exist various opinions and schools of thoughts on this vast subject of complexity. Thus, some make claim that Freemasonry is anti-Christian, devil worship, cult, secret society, anarchist, etc. This writer researched the volumes of literature and the writings on the subject of Freemasonry, exploring the views of its apologist and its pundits in order to determine what was true and what was false.

The Masonic scholars defined Freemasonry as a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols and at the basis of the Masonic philosophy are brotherly love, relief and truth.

The majority of white Masons in the United States classify themselves as Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (AF&AM) and/or some derivative; moreover, the system of Speculative Masonry (philosophical Masonry), developed from Operative Masonry (Stone Masons and Guild workers) which was completed when four lodges of London assembled in St. Paul Church yard June 24, 1717 and organized the first Grand Lodge of England. Nevertheless, one should not mistake the date of 1717, as being the historical origin of Masonry; it has been proven that black people in ancient Egypt, Africa had developed a sophiscated system of initiation called the Egyptian Mystery System. (Reference: Fahim A. Knight article titled, “Freemasonry and Islam: What do They Share?”

It is also believed that Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras, the philosophical fathers of masonry were educated in astronomy, music, geometry, arithmetic, logic, rhetoric and grammar in Egypt at the helm of African wise men. It is a hypocritical and contradictory for white Masons to deny black Masons their right to legitimacy and at the same time have borrowed their own Masonic rituals, philosophy and regalia from black Egyptian and Arabic culture. (Reference: George G.M. James, “Stolen Legacy”).

Some Freemasons outside of the United States will perhaps find this appalling, shocking, insulting and very much un-Masonic conduct and most inconsistent with the tenets of Freemasonry because it stands as a contradiction to the principles of Freemasonry, which according to my study as stated above are rooted in “Morality, Friendship and Brotherly Love”.

William H. Grimshaw (who) authored the book titled, “Official History of Freemasonry Among the Colored People in North America”. Some would consider Grinshaw's work which was originally published in 1902 as one of the first scholarly recordings written by a black scholar on Prince Hall Masonry.

He Stated, “The Study of Masonry leads man to the correct knowledge of God; the correct knowledge of God leads to true worship of Him, and the true worship of Him places man in harmony with all that is true and good, enlarging his powers for usefulness in every vocation, station, position, or condition in life, thereby fitting him for citizenship, in whom we find a true neighbor, a generous friend, and a clear-cut and well defined power of circumscribing his desires and keeping passions in due bounds.”

Albert Pike is considered one of the greatest Masonic scholars of all times, he authored the book titled, “Morals and Dogma” and in a chapter titled, “The Master”, he stated, “Hypocrisy is the homage the vice and wrong pay to virtue and justice. It is Satan attempting to clothe himself in the angelic vesture of light. It is equally detestable in morals, politics, and religion; in the man and in the nation. To do injustice under the pretence of equity and fairness; to reprove vice in public and commit it in private; to pretend to charitable opinion and censoriously condemn; to profess the principles of Masonic beneficence, and close the ear to the wail of distress and cry of suffering; to eulogize the intelligence of the of the people, and plot to deceive and betray them by means of their ignorance”.

This writer pulled out a copy of the “Journal of Negro History” (a scholarly journal originally founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History Week which is now Black History Month) Fall issue of 1982, it was given to me by one of my college professors named Dr. Earlie Thorpe and mentor over twenty-five years ago, but this writer remembered there was an article written by Samuel Banks titled, “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Remembered the Fractured Dream” and Banks quoted King’s most famous “I Have a Dream” Speech”.

This writer found the quote fitting for this article on black and white Freemasonry; Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One Hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later the Negro still languishes in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. . . I have a dream one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

Masons take obligations (they are not comfortable with those vows being characterized and described as oaths) for the most part in the United States on the Bible, but in other nations the holy book on the altar could vary. For example, in Islamic countries, it would probably be the Holy Quran on the altar representing the “GREAT LIGHT”. In the United States, the Holy Bible in Masonic liturgy is considered the GREAT LIGHT, “it is given to you as the rule and guide of our faith and practice, the square and the compass to circumscribe our desires and keep our desires in due bounds with all mankind, especially the brethren,”.

(And) On every Masonic Lodge altar there (it) the Holy Bible sits, as the Masonic Compass and Square and guide, which to serve as the utmost Geometric tool that has been tried and tested for generations. But the wisdom contained within is rooted in ethical and moral lessons for those who entered into Speculative Freemasonry. Thus, after going through elaborate rituals and receiving the sublime degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason) and hearing lectures of ancient wisdom that centered on character building and self improvement. How could one walk away being intolerant and ignore the pledges impressed in these so-called sublime degrees?

The TROWEL is an instrument made use by Operative Masons to spread the cement which unites a building INTO ONE COMMON MASS; but we as free and accepted Masons are taught to make use of it for the more noble and glorious purpose of spreading the cement of brotherly love and affection; that cement which unites us into one sacred band or society of friends and brothers, among no contention should ever exist, emulation, of who best can work and best agree (Reference: Duncan Rituals of Freemasonry). Yet, white Masons have negated all the moral and ethical insight espoused in Masonic teachings and is outright hypocritical to still be practicing discrimination and bigotry.

Allen Roberts; perhaps is one of best modern day Freemasonry scholars and Masonic intellectual who authored the book entitled, “The Craft and its Symbols: Opening the Door of Masonic Symbolism” stated, “In actuality, you have also told your brethren that they can count on you to stretch forth your hand to keep them from falling. You have offered them your strength, your ability, your knowledge when they need it. There are no reservations. It matters not whether the aid they need is mental, physical, or monetary. Your promise contains no ‘buts’. When a brother is in danger of any kind, it is your duty to advise him of his impending peril. In doing so, you must remember that it is not your ‘plumb line’ that judge him, but by his. And it is his Square and his Level, not yours, by which you are to determine his actions. His opinions may differ from yours politically and religiously, but they are his tools, not yours. WHEN HE GOES ASTRAY FROM THE PRINICPLES, THEN AND THEN ONLY, SHOULD YOU QUITELY REMIND THAT HE IS IN ERROR. THEN SHOULD ASSIST HIM TO FIND THE RIGHT TRACK FOR HIM TO FOLLOW.”

White Freemasonry has not only gone astray, it is in violation of the principled language that defines brotherhood. Webster’s Dictionary defines brother as being “One closely united with another or others by religious, political, or family bond”. What happen to the belief in the Cardinal Virtues of Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice? Perhaps in the dynamics of race these words have very little meaning to the white Masonic body when it comes to their dark skinned Masonic Brothers. This argument is not about Prince Hall Masons being classified by Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as “irregular” or “clandestine”, it is convenient to hide behind such accusations, but what truly drives this fraternal division more than anything else is racism. Masons are taught how to communicate with a fellow Mason in darkness and light based on the language of symbolism---a word (the being able to verbalize the passwords), sign (give the due guard), token (being able to give the grip) let me stop right there; IS THERE NO HELP FOR THE POOR WIDOW'S SON.

But this social phenomenon and antagonistic contradiction between black Masons and white Masons is steeped in a perhaps much larger historical debate of race in America and the culture that evolved out of Chattel Slavery (1555-1865) impacting the political, economic and social reality of race relations and affected how institutions were originated, as well as the formulation of group dynamics ideology.

Dr. Asa Hilliard who authored the book entitled, “Reawakening of the African Mind” stated, “mental bondage is invisible violence. Formal physical slavery has ended in the United States. Mental slavery continues to this present day. This slavery affects the minds of all people and, in one way, it is worst than physical slavery alone. That is, the person who is in mental bondage will self-contained. Not only will that person fail to challenge beliefs and patterns of thought which control him, he will defend and protect those beliefs and patterns of thought virtually with his last dying effort.”

End of Part 1

Moderator's Note: Weblinks added by the moderator to give readers further references.

Freemasonry: A Religion or Not

"Concerning the oft-heard statement by some that Freemasonry is a religion, the Supreme Court of Nebraska, in a 1921 decision, used the following illuminating language:

"The guiding thought is not religion but religious toleration. The Masonic fraternity refrains from intruding into the field of religion and confines itself to the teaching of morality and duty to one's fellow men, which makes better men and better citizens.

"The distinction is clear between such ethical teachings and the doctrines of religion. One cannot espouse a religion without belief and faith in its peculiar doctrines. A fraternity broad enought to take in and cover with its mantle Christian, Muslim and Jew, without requiring him to renounce his religion, is not a religious organization, although its members may join in prayer which, in that case of each, is a petition addressed to his own Deity.

"Neither can the belief in the immortality of the soul be denominated religious in the sense that it is typical of any religion, of any race, or any age. It constitutes one of the most beautiful and consoling freatures of our own religion, but it is equally found in almost every other. It is so unusual and spontaneous that it is not so much belief or dogma as it is an instinct of the human soul. Neither does it imply or require adherence to any system of religious worship.

"The fact that belief in the doctrines or deity of no particular religion is required, of itself refutes the theory that the Masonic ritual embodies a religion, or that its teachings are religious." 1

In an article by the Christian Research Journal, entitled: "Masonry and Pagan Religion", the author said:

"Dr. Shildes Johnson is only one of many scholars of comparative religion who have concluded:

"A comparison of the moral, allegorical, and symbolic teachings of Freemasonry with these definitions of a religion reveals that the lodge is a theistic, non-Christian, man-centered, and universal religion."[44]

"All this is why numerous leading Masonic authorities have publicly confessed that Masonry is, in fact, a religion. For example:

Albert G. Mackey: "The religion of Masonry is cosmopolitan, universal...."[45]

Henry Wilson Coil: "Religion is espoused by the Masonic Ritual and required of the candidate"; and, "Freemasonry is undoubtedly religion"; and, "Many Freemasons make this flight [to heaven] with no other guarantee of a safe landing than their belief in the religion of Freemasonry" (emphasis added).[46]

Albert Pike: "Masonry...is the universal, eternal, immutable religion...."[47]

Joseph Fort Newton: "Everything in Masonry has reference to God, implies God, speaks of God, points and leads to God. Not a degree, not a symbol, not an obligation, not a lecture, not a charge but finds its meaning and derives its beauty from God the Great Architect, in whose temple all Masons are workmen."[48] "

Whether we as a fraternity is a religion or not does not change the good we are doing in moulding good men into better ones. I'd rather be a Mason than an Irish Catholic waging a war against an Irish Protestant, both professing as Christians. Muslims killing and maiming either Christians, Hindus or their fellow Mohammedans.

As to the "true" teaching of Jesus Christ, even the various Christian sects can not even agree among each other on how to or not to interpret the Bible. Even before the King James Version (KJV), we know that numerous books have been excluded in the KJV version. It still continues today with several versions of the Bible.

Mohammedans have the same problem of interpreting and the teaching of the Koran. Hence we have different Muslim sects. At least Masonry professess tolerance for one's belief, how much more can we follow fully the Golden Rule?

For further reading, please see Bro Olano's blog: Like Religion.

1 (Source via email by Bro Kenneth Go Tieng, Jose Rizal Lodge No. 22, District NCR-C< MW GLP, F & AM).

45-48 (Sources per author, see original article).

The Apprentice Pillar: Rosslyn Chapel: A Legacy in Stone by Dr Karen Ralls

Below is an excerpt from an article by Dr Ralls concerning the symbolism of the carvings at Rosslyn Chapel. I am sure most Masons would love to have a "pilgrimage" and see with their own eyes this chapel. In the absence of King Solomon's Temple, this is the next best thing.

The Chapel has been popularized again in Dan Brown's work of fiction Da Vinci Code, full of Masonic symbolism. A Da Vinci Code tour is one of the most popular one nowadays, and spans from England, Scotland and France.

To read the full article by Dr Ralls, please click main title.

"The Apprentice Pillar also has a special Masonic tale associated with it, as explained by the Earl of Rosslyn in the official chapel guidebook:

The Master Mason, having received from the Founder the moder of a pillar of exquisite workmanship and design, hesitated to carry it out until he had been to Rome . . . and seen the original. He went abroad and in his absence an apprentice . . . set to work and carried out the design as it now stands, a perfect marvel of workmanship. The Master Mason on his return, seeing the pillar completed, instead of being delighted at the success of his pupil, was so stung with envy that . . . with rage and passion . . . he struck [the apprentice] with his mallet, killed him on the spot.

"The Masonic story of a talented murdered apprentice by a jealous master has been told from at least the 17th century at Rosslyn, if not before, and it also refers to another specific carving in the chapel by the same name. This "murdered apprentice" carving may not have been that of an apprentice at all, as in ancient and medieval times only master masons were allowed to sport a full beard, which implies that the original carving at Rosslyn, which surviving evidence shows had a beard, may in fact have been that of a murdered master and not a murdered apprentice.

"In more modern times, some have attempted to claim that the Apprentice pillar is hollow and may contain a "Grail" hidden within its pillar specifically, a silver platter. Scans have been done of the pillar and no metal was detected; however, others speculate that the Grail hidden there is not made of metal. Some insist it may be a mummified head of Christ or a simple wooden chalice, yet there is no proof of these theories."

A Warm Masonic Tale: Author Unknown

This story was sent to me by Bro Ernie way back in April 2004. I've read this and came across it before. It's been in circulation long before that. It just so happens that I still have a copy of Bro Ernie's email in my inbox!

Bro Ernie said in his email: "At the height of my volumetric assignment (just happens once in awhile), I still have time for you my brother. Please read and may you find the wisdom in this tale."

Again, I don't know the provenance and the author of this tale. But like most parables, it is not so much the source and/or speaker but the meaning inherent that we must focus on. As Bro Ernie counsels us: "Please read and may you find the wisdom... "

"It was a tale of Masonic men surrounding a campfire in the Old West; at night, discussing the Fraternity and its teachings. One old man listened patiently, and finally spoke up:

"I can tell you more about Masonry in a little example than some of the great Masonic philosophers can in books. Everybody stand up, and gather in a circle around the campfire."

They did that. "Now, everybody hold hands with the man next to him." They did that, too. "Now, what do you see, looking ahead?" "The face of a Brother Mason through the flames."

"What do you feel in front of you?" "The warmth of the fire, and the comfort it brings on a cool night."

"What do you feel at your side?" "The warm hand of a Brother."

"OK. Now, drop the hands, and turn around."

They did so. "Now, what do you see, looking ahead?"

"Complete darkness."

"What do you feel, looking ahead?"

"A sense of loneliness, of being alienated."

"What do you feel at your side?"

"Nothing at all."

"What do you feel on your backside?"

"The warmth of the fire."

"So it is with Masonry," said the old man.


"In Masonic gatherings, you can feel the warmth of Masonic interaction, you can see the face of a Brother through the light Masonry brings to you, and you can always feel the warm hand of a Brother.

"When you turn away from Masonry, and are out in the world, you see darkness, feel alienated and alone, and do not feel the warm hand of your Masonic Brother. But Masonry, and the warmth and light it brings, are just a turn away from you."

- Author Unknown

Tell Us, Past Master: Freemasonry's Symbols by Bro Bobby J. Demott

Bro Bobby J. Demott, 33° is a member of Cherokee Lodge No. 728 and Knoxville Scottish Rite Bodies, Knoxville, Tennessee, a Past Grand Historian to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee; and a frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal.

"Freemasonry' s symbols represent principles to guide and improve our lives.

Deeply moved by the beauty of Masonry, some newly made Masons asked the old Past Master to tell them more about the Masonic apron, and the elder man replied:

"Masonry regards no man for the clothes he wears, the house in which he lives, the kind of car he drives, or the other luxuries he owns or uses. All Masons are equal when in the Lodge room and all are clothed in the same manner. The apron is the only raiment we see.

Masons stand before God equal to one another, and the apron is the sign of equality. "In ancient times the aprons were manufactured from the skins of lambs, animals deemed to be pure and without taint. Thus the wearer of the apron assumes the characteristics, virtues, purity, and innocence typified by the lamb."

"Masons wear two aprons, one visible and one invisible. The visible one is a symbolic gift from the Lodge to the Mason. It is made of worldly material and is subject to decay and destruction. The invisible apron is the gift of God to every man who would assume the responsibilities and obligations which entitle him to wear it. This apron is eternal, not subject to decay or destruction. Man sees only the visible; God sees both, and He holds him accountable who wears this honored badge of the Masonic Lodge."

The young Masons then said: "Tell us more of the square." The old Past Master replied: "The operative masons used the square to determine if the rough ashlar were trimmed into a block of 90 degrees on all corners and thus fit for the builder's use. The perfect ashlar is always formed from a rough ashlar by removing excess material, never by adding to it."

"The rough ashlar always contains a perfect ashlar, and the stone is tested many times by the square to determine if it is fit for the builder's use. In Masonry, the rough ashlar is symbolic of the man who enters the Lodge for the first time, and the perfect ashlar is symbolic of the Master Mason."

"In a moral sense, the square is a symbol of morality, truth, justice, and righteousness. Man should refrain from doing to others what he would not have others do to him. This is called the principle of 'acting on the square' and has been a rule for the guidance of man since long before the time of Christ.

"Every person has a try square of his own. It is called conscience. We use this to measure our thoughts, words, and deeds as to whether they are true or false. The extent to which this test is applied to himself in regard to his relations with his fellows measures the extent to which each man's life will be stable, honest, true, and happy."

The young Masons then said: "Tell us more of the level and the plumb."The old Past Master said: "Now the square is the tool to be used in the making of a perfect ashlar, but the plumb and level are concerned with the use of the perfect ashlar in order to construct a wall which is straight and strong.

"As stones are hewed into perfect ashlars and placed in the building wall in a level and vertical manner, men are divested of their coarse habits and sinful manners, thus building a better life for the entire group through their common effort.

"Each man is tested by his own plumb line, his own conscience, in order for him to fit properly into the whole. Because no two men have the same talents, abilities or characteristics, no two men can use the same device to measure their fitness."

(Bold & italic supplied. Ed.)

Then the young Masons said: "Please, Past Master, be more specific. We understand how to use the working tools to improve ourselves, but we are not clear as to how we can serve our fellowman in a society which is so indifferent to the needs of others."

And the old Past Master said: "This is your challenge. Your Brothers are confident that you are of high moral character, and you know that you are now a part of the great Temple of Masonry. Masonically you have reached manhood. Do your duty."

(Note: I have used the "magic" of Google to search for relevant links regarding the various topic and Masonic symbolisms. Please feel free to click on the highlighted or "linked" words or phrases for a more deeper discussion and/or for more information. Obviously this is not the complete or a comprehensive list of links, please use Google or other similar search engines for your own personal research. For downloadable and printable Masonic images as used here, click here. Book review by Bro Demott, click here. )