Ridiculing and defamatory pamphlets, manuscripts, folios, newspaper articles, or advertisements purported to reveal Masonic lectures, test questions, or symbolic materials about Freemasonry began to appear almost as soon the Fraternity was formally organized. Some of these works were products of betrayal and, by that fact, suspicious. Others were clearly intended to antagonize the Fraternity. Some may have been published to help Masons learn rituals and processes and even as a publication to attract the attention of men who became interested enough to join the Craft.
Read MoreHistory provides a real grasp of how the world works. To know why something happened, we must look for factors that took shape earlier―sometimes centuries ago.The low-hanging fruit of history can be easy to harvest. However, doing so overlooks large amounts of data. No one has found a way to pick only the history they like and agree with, reject the parts they do not, and then walk away with a clear picture or understanding of events.
Read MorePhilosophical questions become the framework of our identities, and, our answers to them can determine the quality and even the trajectory of our lives. What we believe matters. Philosophy provides an equation to help better understand the nature of life, and can lead us to choose what we will believe. We all have a specific set of ideas. We all have basic concepts about knowledge, right and wrong, the value of things and about how to do something or how to live and let live. Whether our ideas are based on well-grounded philosophy or merely an opinion is worth examining.
Read MoreIf you are currently a regularly made Mason in good standing in a subordinate Lodge of your Grand Jurisdiction, you are invited to imagine the following: On any given night, within the borders of your jurisdiction, three separate Lodges are holding their stated meetings. In the first Lodge, the Senior Warden rises to address the Master. After a brief preamble, he proposes that the Lodge begin to set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at each of its meetings for the purpose of Masonic education. His proposal finds support among the Brothers of the Lodge, and the Master, in turn, appoints a committee to prepare Masonic education subjects for the Lodge to consider.
Read MoreThere is no limit to the number of topics that could spark a spirited debate. Controversy is everywhere. Debate can lead us to question our assumptions, challenge us to defend our ideas, and prepare us to probe for a more complete understanding of the issues defining our times. Since at least 1740, debating societies have existed, but they were usually comprised of exclusive groups and more secretive societies. By the early eighteenth century, such organizations became prominent societal fixtures of life in London, largely due to increased membership from London’s growing middle class.
Read MoreAfter the Constitution was written and adopted in 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to a friend in France. In that letter comes a quote we often hear. He wrote, Our new Constitution is now established and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. We might add one more category and say,”… in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and the things Freemasonry notes in its minutes.”
Read MoreHow does a person or organization begin to successfully address and resolve an issue if they do not know what caused it to become an issue and when? Root Cause Analysis is a useful process for understanding, as well as solving, a problem. It is a useful tool to answer those questions when something goes badly but can also be used when something goes well. There are only three questions to research and ponder: What is the problem? Why did it happen? and What can or will be done to prevent it from happening again? Figuring out what negative (or positive) events are occurring answers the first question. Looking at and understanding the complex systems that surround those events answers the second. Identifying the key points of failure (or success) answers the third. The answers, when properly researched and analyzed, reveal the root cause. As simple as it may sound, and sometimes as simple as it is to do, the evidence is scant that American Freemasonry has regularly used root cause analysis when it comes to the issue of public image and awareness of the idea of Freemasonry.
Read MoreThe organizational structure and its culture consequences inherited by twenty-first-century Freemasonry often seems immovable to the point that even the suggestion of a balanced examination of other possibilities involving our structure evokes robust, sometimes heated, opposition. This is not a recent characteristic found in American Freemasonry, but one that settled in only decades following the formation of lodges. Scottish Freemason and writer, Peter Taylor, describes the reason for this stemming from unintentionally imposing a “horrendous superstructure on a very elegant organization.” The superstructure he refers to is grand lodges.
Read MoreAs children, many of us played a game in school called, “Pass It On.” Some of us knew the game by different names. Some of us knew it as, “Gossip,” while others of us knew it as, “Chinese Whispers.” Regardless of the name, the game was almost always played in the same way. Children would arrange themselves in rows or lines, and the first would whisper something to the next person in line, then say, “pass it on!” By the time whatever it was that was being “passed on” reached the last person in line, it was generally something quite different than the original statement uttered by the first person in line. The amusement of the game was to see just to what extent the original message became distorted as it reached its final destination.
Read MoreEvery Masonic Lodge conducts a ritualistic opening ceremony before transacting any business. The opening ceremony is actually quite brief – usually just about ten minutes long. Because of its brevity, its importance is often overlooked. Many times the ritual opening is viewed as an annoyance, to be hurried through as quickly as possible, or, in some cases, reduced to an abbreviated set of declarations, after which we can get down to the business of reading minutes and paying bills.
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