Freemasonry: occult or community service?

Dixie

Dixie

Farting Snowflakes
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I got to thinking about this today. Many churchgoers feel that Freemasonry is a cult, despite many of our founding fathers being Masons and it derived from the Knights Templar around the time of the Middle Ages. However, I have noticed that Freemasons and Masonic Lodges do a lot of services to their respective communities, such as helping the needy and providing tools for the community to better themselves. However, Freemasonry has been on the decline for the past several decades.

So what are your thoughts and opinions on this? Just curious.
 
I don't see the organization as a cult, but they are very secretive, and that is what scares a lot of church goers.
 
i honestly don't know much about Freemasonry but I know that some aspects of British Wicca a la Gardener were taken from Freemasonry.
Many of these types of groups - Freemasons, certain traditional Wicca covens and others - are very secretive like Jillio mentioned.

But for me, when I think of "cult" I think of an organization dominated by an individual who wants to exert control and authoritarian power over a group of originally un-related people, usually through means such as isolation from others not connected with the group, thought control through drugs, restrictive eating, extreme physical regimens and so forth. The "leader" often genuinely believes that he or she has powers from some outwardly deity, or is the source of that deity's wisdom on the earth, and may believe they are preparing for some divine moment or "war" after which only those in the group will survive.
No deviation from group think is allowed and punishment is harsh.
 
I think the Church has traditionally for very long time played on the fear people associate with the word "cult", in order to try to retain their <church's> members. "Cult" equals "Satanism" equals "bad", therefore, stay with US <church> which is "safe" and "righteous"

-please excuse all the quotation marks-
:giggle:
 
I agree with that description of "cult." I don't think of the Freemasons as a cult, more like a men's club that started as a sort of mutual support group and expanded into community service. It seems more secretive, maybe due to its ancient roots, but in practice today, I don't see it as much different from the Lions' Clubs and Rotary and Kiwanis and Shriners and other similar service/social groups.

It's unfortunate, I think, that membership in those groups seems to be falling off, as people get busier and busier, have longer commutes, and have less time to give to service and volunteer organizations like that. Robert D. Putnam's article and then book, "Bowling Alone," talks about the disintegration of our social and civic groups and what that means for U.S. society today.
 
being secretive as such a group is part of the fun, thats what attracts the members, oh and if anything happens like 'eyes wide shut' then you got more fun:giggle:
 
I don't know about "church goers." I guess it might depend on to which church they're "going."

The Masons aren't a Christian organization but Christians aren't afraid of them.
 
I have met many Christians who are afraid of those who don't hold the same beliefs.
 
and yes, sometimes the "secret " part makes anything seem more romantic or more "special", therefore, it attracts an interest.
 
dogmom said:
and yes, sometimes the "secret " part makes anything seem more romantic or more "special", therefore, it attracts an interest.
Click to expand...

Kinda like the ten-year-old boys who build their tree houses and put up "No Girlz Allowed!" signs. :lol:
 
The Free Masons have played many important roles in American History, especially the American Revolutionary, since the birth of United States of America.

I watched two programs about them on History Channel and then I was in awe of them.
 
Beach Girl - true.

yeah, the History Channel does have some interesting programs - think I caught maybe 5 minutes of the one on Freemasonry.
There's also various books on it.
 
I honestly don't know thate much about them, but I am intrigued by them. I've read the book and seen the movie "The Divinci Code". I've also read "The Knights Templar", both by Dan Brown.


I would agree with both points that this group is neither Christian nor a cult.
 
Grummer said:
being secretive as such a group is part of the fun, thats what attracts the members, oh and if anything happens like 'eyes wide shut' then you got more fun:giggle:
Click to expand...

Hsnnt anyone seen that film!?:eek3: its a classic , pretty much the high end fantasy for the freemasons lol
 
My grandpa was a Mason. He wore a silly hat when he went to meetings. Personally, I think that it was a club to get away from the wives. He had Lodge buddies that he hung out with. When the Lodge buddies got too old to drive to meeting, younger Lodge buddies would pick them up.

I went to Lodge awards night as a kid. The most boring thing ever.
 
deafskeptic said:
My grandfather was both a Manson and Baptist minister.
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:eek3:

Well from what little I have been around church goers, they seem to shun freemasonry in a way. I was told that a deacon of the church had been found out to be a mason and he was removed from his position as deacon and was told if he continued being a mason they would have no choice but to ask him to leave the church as masonry wasn't an accepted belief there. I don't know how true this is, and maybe this has happened at a church somewhere else.

As my personal opinion, when I think of Freemasonry, I think of a bunch of old men wearing funny hats and aprons doing secret rituals at the lodge on their weekly night to get away from the family and they also do civic duties such as donating money to schools and they will do hands-on work if they are able to.

If I am not mistaken, Freemasonry also has roots connected to old stone masons that built castles and such. To show they had been there, they would leave certain symbols in their work engraved in a stone where one could see it, but it's not obvious to the untrained eye.

I think a lot of church goers are afraid of them because of the symbolism and its secretiveness. The DaVinci Code touched on these symbols and their meanings somewhat. Also, wasn't the move 'National Treasure' also based on Freemasonry here in the United States?
 
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