Whoa! How did you message her? I ask because it'd be super creepy if you texted her cell and then that happened.

Wow that's pretty interesting! My town has a Freemasons club which i found sort of weird when i first discovered it. They have a dedicated building and everything. A sign pointing you too it! I found this weird only because i have no clue if that's a normal thing.

the freemason lodge(?) in my town is butted up right against the parking lot to the public library - (at least I assume its their lodge, a big compass and square symbol is emblazoned on the side of the building facing the library parking lot) Im not sure why exactly, but it makes me uneasy.

Yeah, isn't it just weird? It's weird we both just got that first sense of uneasiness, that i'm sure many more people have.

The lodge in Castle Rock gives off a weird vibe, too.

The lodge in Castle Rock gives off a weird vibe, too.

Derry?

Nah, but to know its two places - at least that have the masonic lodge next to the public library is a little odd... why (oh why) would they do that?

Well, I asked the town historian about it. Apparently the first librarian in town was married to a doctor who purchased the house next to the library to found his lodge. Simple enough explanation.....I suppose. But that big G faces the library as you describe.

Haha, aren't we all? Yeah it'd be really cool to get the truth on who they really are and look at it the way they see it.

Lol indeed.

A word on religion: our rituals use allegory to teach moral lessons. Those allegories are based in Abrahamic scripture, but we're not preaching a particular religion. Our members are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and every other established religion. We're also members of non-dogmatic faiths like deism (I'm a deist, in fact).

So, don't read the religious references in our rituals as anything more than allegorical.

Grab a freemason bible. There's some weird shit in there.

No there isn't. It's a standard King James Bible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XWX4OUeB5w

"Standard."

Yeah, so I'm pretty sure I've seen an appendix describing the cultures and religions that surrounded the early Israelites in other bibles as well. Not shocking. Also, he makes all kinds of weird claims based on that one page that aren't supported in that book at all (like the amen/Amun theory).

It is not a standard KJV bible, period. You can't tell me the books are the same. They aren't, and you can clearly see this by comparing the two. The masonic bible has history of freemasonry in it and quotes certain passages of the bible that apparently relate to freemasonry. So it offers a masonic interpretation of the bible, which means it's not a standard KJV.

The sky is not red, sir. I can clearly see it is blue. The Masonic bible is not the same as a KJV. You would be better off saying the Masonic bible is a masonic interpretation of the KJV, or it is a KJV with added masonic texts and interpretations. Those are more accurate.

As for your reply, history of the Israelites would be a benign addition to the bible, so it wouldn't really be a different "version." The Freemasons don't really have any place in the bible since they come much later.

Imagine another group of people, like furries or some international circus clown union decided to print a KJV bible with their history of their organizations/groups and quoted passages out of the bible and explained those passages and how they relate to clowns or furries. You're telling me this would be a "standard KJV?"

It is not a standard KJV bible, period. You can't tell me the books are the same.

Actually, I really can. The ones I've seen (they're not very popular anymore, as it turns out, and I've never seen one in my Lodge) are standard KJV Bibles in terms of the books of the Bible. Every KJV publication I've run across has some sort of extra appendices, usually including maps, cultural details, etc. The Masonic KJV is no different in this respect.

So it offers a masonic interpretation of the bible

Not at all! Freemasonry has no interest in interpreting anyone's religion.

Imagine another group of people, like furries or some international circus clown union...

Why would this be a problem? As long as they don't alter the text, it's still the KJV. You might not like the group in question, but arguing that because you don't like them, that their printing of the Bible is somehow a modified version when it's not is silly.

Wow... a lot of misinformation that would be really really difficult to fight against because of the ignorance of the populace.

You are definitely getting tagged.

You can meet some pretty great people and connections though. My grandfather was a Freemason, and I met a few of the Masons he knew at his funeral. They were nice and helpful guys, and incredibly respectful. It's a good way to branch out in your community if that's something you're looking for.

Freemasonary is a "Society with Secrets" and not a "Secret Society". The fact remains that unfortunately most lodges are more interested in navel-gazing, cronyism, and performing their "rituals", instead of their 19th early-20th cent. reformist agenda and philanthropy.

You are obliged to attend their assemblies (usually monthly if I'm correct), and specially in the beginning you are obliged to have a high attendency-rate / commitment.

Not that all lodges are the same of couse, many are still involved in being active members of society, but the Simpsons perfectly depicted the current state of Freemasonry (specially in America, don't know much about Europe).

"To become one, ask one" thats their motto i guess. It is strange, indeed. But to say its a coincidence depends on what you believe. Have you heard of the law of attraction?

Things have a way of working out.

A word of caution: if both you and your wife were invited to join, it's likely co-masonry. The only organization in the world that recognizes co-masonry is the Grand Orient of France, and they're not recognized by mainstream Freemasonry either.

Why does this s matter? One of the primary benefits of Freemasonry is the right to travel to and visit any regular Lodge of Master Masons in the world.

That said, I'm not telling you not to do it. I'm just advising that you go in with your eyes open. The choice is yours.

Masons are sexist?

Freemasonry is a men's organization, but it's no more sexist than a women's gym. Sometimes it's useful to have a male or female space.

I wouldn't understand the need for a women's only gym either...

I wouldn't understand the need for a women's only gym either...

To radically over-simplify: if your goal is to teach a system of morality, you have to deal with the fact that slightly fewer than half of all human beings are inclined toward dominance displays and violence, even if they successfully subdue those passions. This makes a one-size-fits-all system of morality impractical.

I love the idea of coed and all-female variations on Freemasonry's approach, but they do not address the same need for me as mainstream Freemasonry.

I'm a Mason and I never really paid much attention to all the signs and symbols until after I joined.

It was kind of like buying a new car. You never see that car on the road until you are driving one, then you see them everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XWX4OUeB5w

"Standard."

I wouldn't understand the need for a women's only gym either...