Article: 48 of alt.freemasonry Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!athena.mit.edu!dryfoo From: dryfoo@athena.mit.edu (Gary L. Dryfoos) Newsgroups: alt.freemasonry Subject: Re: Somewhat tickedd off Date: 26 Jul 1994 19:31:22 GMT Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lines: 59 Distribution: world Message-ID: <313oaa$7c1@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: thelonious.mit.edu In article , ken@epona.magibox.net (Kenneth B. Mc Cleaft) writes: |>...I was called by my buddy and told that I had been |> blacked balled.... |> ...there are 2 men in the lodge that have been known to blackball |> anyone whos father they didnt go to school with back 20 years ago. Because |> of thies 2 men I can nolonger follow my hearts deam of being a free mason like |> some of my other relatives. It's not as bad for you as you think. Depending on your state's Grand Lodge, there is probably a set period of time during which you can't apply for membership at another lodge, or during which any lodge you go to has to contact the first one and let them know you're applying. The best thing to do is ask your buddy, or your masonic relatives, to help you find another lodge that doesn't have fractious idiots like the two who rejected you. (By the way: in most jurisdictions it's Masonically *illegal* to reject a candidate for foolish reasons such as they did, and it might also be Masonically illegal for a Mason reveal how he balloted, or why, to any other Mason. I don't know about your state's Grand Lodge, but both of those are forbidden in Massachusetts.) |> 1) I was told that not only did you have to believe in a god, it had |> to be the christan (Jahova) god. Because the teachings of the masons come out |> of selected chapters. |> |> I thought you had to only believe in a suppreme being? You are correct. But what can happen sometimes is that if you have a whole lodge of guys in an area that is almost exclusively on sect or religion, they could certainly tend to overlook Masonic teachings and only accept those who are of "their own kind." Yes, it's wrong, but if all men were perfect, they wouldn't need Masonry to teach them how to be better, would they? |> 3) and a funny asside question, is it true that the Illumai is a |> devision of the Free Masons? (I had heard that they were but didnt know) I think you mean the Illuminati. No, there's no real connection between regular Masonry and them, although there's a lot of amusing speculation and nonsense written about links between them. If you join the Masons because you're looking for the Secret Masters of the Illuminati, you're going to be disappointed. If you start reading novels and pamphlets about the Great Masonic Conspiracy, you'll probably enjoy yourself and have a few good laughs, but you won't learn much about Masonry. I hope you will try to find another lodge, and will pursue your desire to join the Fraternity. Good luck. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Gary L. Dryfoos | "A man's concepts should exceed | IS-Athena Training Admin. | his vocabulary... | MIT Room 11-311, Cambridge, MA 02139 | | 617.253-0184 / fax: 253-8665 | ...or what's a metaphor?" | | -- Plato Schrimp | http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/dryfoo/home.html +===========================================================================