A Pilgrim's Path: Freemasonry and the Religious Right - John J. Robinson

A Pilgrim's Path: Freemasonry and the Religious Right

by John J. Robinson

Received this in the mail today. I honestly don't know where I first heard of this book. Online? From a brother at lodge? I don't know know, but without hesitation I can say it's one of the best reads I've had in awhile. I sat down and read the entire thing tonight in one sitting. It was that compelling.

The book is somewhat hard to describe as it doesn't necessarily have a core focus. Essentially it is a book of apologetics defending Freemasonry against the slanderous attacks made against it by so many fundamentalist religious pundits of the modern era. It criticizes mostly Christians, but that's mainly because they tend to attack Masonry the most in America, and often from the most ridiculous, outlandish grounds. It takes many of the most common anti-Masonic arguments made by those 'Christian' leaders, and refutes them with facts, and often enough, pure reason. It was amazing to me how many arguments the author was able to deconstruct just through logic alone. He truly was a gifted writer.

Not only that, he was fair minded. When he did criticize anyone, it was through a careful examination of the [often times] outright falsehoods they proclaim as truth to those unwilling to investigate the craft for itself. 

I think, perhaps, most fascinating about the whole book is that, at the time of the writing, the author was definitively not a Freemason. He chose to undertake writing this book after earlier research into another book he wrote, Born In Blood, which discusses his theories regarding the origins of Freemasonry. After writing that book, he learned much about the fraternity, and actually had his own sort of a lecture circuit in the Masonic world. Through that, he learned about modern Freemasonry, and made friends in the craft, when caused him to learn even more about the subject at hand. At the request of many who wanted him to write another book about Freemasonry, he choose this as the topic, addressing what he considered some of the most heinous lies told about Masonry, which he encountered during his many radio show spots, discussions post lecture, etc. 

That a man, who was not a Mason, should be motivated to write a book defending Masonry is in itself an illuminating fact. And the book continues to enlighten. He does a better job of defending Freemasonry than most Freemasons themselves do.

To be fair, some of the book is a bit dated. It was written in the early 1990's, and some of the issues he discussed in a then contemporary voice are rapidly becoming old history. However, that said, the work as a whole, excepting one or two chapters, is still incredibly relevant, and I expect it to remain relevant for years to come. 

Overall, as a Freemason, I found the book both enlightening and inspiring in parts. From the standpoint of an author outside of Masonry, he had remarkable understanding and insight into what is a complex fraternity at best. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone with reservations about the fraternity, be it wives of men who just joined, or men who've always been curious but have questions they are afraid to ask.

I'd like to add that Mr. John Robinson, at the conclusion of writing this book, did join the fraternity and became Brother John Robinson. Unfortunately, only a few short years after joining the fraternity, he passed away from health issues. This saddens me, as I had hoped to be able to write him and thank him for this valuable work. Even more so, it saddens me that no new works will ever be published by him. 

For a list of all his publications, including Born in Blood, click here. (Link takes you to the Barnes and Noble website.)

Where Have The Good Men Gone?

Where Have The Good Men Gone?

An interesting article brought to my attention by blogger Brett Mckay at the Art of Manliness. (His response to the article can be found here.) There are many excellent points that I agree with in the article. Towards the end, however, it devolves from a relatively accurate critique of maledom in modern society, to, well... a roast at best. The article is quick to point out flaws, and slow to offer solutions.

And the tone of the article is readily apparent at the outset. One glance at the graphic splashed across the top of the page makes it clear what the author thinks of American males.

There are two things I find inherently fascinating about this article. One, is the blatantly chauvinistic perspective. Because that's what it is. Go through, and read the article. Now go through, and read the article again, but reverse all the gender specific words, woman for man, man for woman, etc. You'll see exactly what I mean.

The premise of the article starts out that there has been a drastic decline in the expectations for young men, that manhood is in disarray, is currently juvenile, etc. Yet, it goes on to speak of the irrelevance of manhood in modern society. No, not in so many words, but the intent is there. Quoted from the article:

What explains this puerile shallowness? I see it as an expression of our cultural uncertainty about the social role of men. It's been an almost universal rule of civilization that girls became women simply by reaching physical maturity, but boys had to pass a test. They needed to demonstrate courage, physical prowess or mastery of the necessary skills. The goal was to prove their competence as protectors and providers. Today, however, with women moving ahead in our advanced economy, husbands and fathers are now optional, and the qualities of character men once needed to play their roles—fortitude, stoicism, courage, fidelity—are obsolete, even a little embarrassing.

Fortitude is irrelevant? Courage is irrelevant? Fidelity is irrelevant? The author slams the state of young men's maturity compared to men of old, then goes right on to slam her comparative point of reference. Indeed, I wish I could ask the author, what is a good man then? Currently, my generation (according to the author) is writhing in irrelevant depravity. Yet, those role models we think of when we think of 'manhood' and 'manly values', we immediately write off as irrelevant as relics of the past. Indeed the whole tone of the article seems to be that of the dominance of woman. It might be summed of as, "Men wallow in irrelevance like pigs because, well, they are."


What a sad, and dare I say sexist, view of society.


My second major problem with the article can be found in the above quote. Since when are virtues like fortitude, courage, and fidelity irrelevant? It makes me wonder what other virtues she might have written off. What about honesty? Is that an irrelevant relic of the past? How embarrassing is duty? Should we hide any sense of honor we have under the rug? 


While the overall conclusion of the article I find as fruitless criticism offering no solutions, the writing off of virtues as 'obsolete, even a little embarrassing' I think is down right shameful. Virtues are wholly relevant today, to men and women. We should be encourage a virtuous, industrious society in both men and women, not damning virtues as embarrassing. Virtues that have been revered by mankind literally for thousands of years.

We shouldn't be ashamed to claim a virtuous manhood, and strive toward that goal. We should be ashamed to write off the current generation of young men as irrelevant, to leave them to wallow. We should be ashamed, because instead of trying to revive honorable manhood in America, we allow manhood itself to wallow.

But perhaps we can't do that because shame is something that's obsolete, and just a little too embarrassing to acknowledge.

Symbols of Freemasonry - Daniel Beresniak

I recently finished Symbols of Freemasonry by Daniel Beresniak. An interesting read, is perhaps the best way I can describe it. It was stumbled upon in a Hastings, used, for sale. I bought it cheap, not knowing exactly what to expect. Well, now that I've finished it, I'm rather glad I bought it on sale.

The book suffers from two problems that make it somewhat difficult to digest. The first is the background of the author. He is a French Mason, and French Masonry has a very distinct perspective and flavor to it. I dug around a bit on the internet, trying to find out which governing body in France he belongs to, the Grand Orient of France or the Grand Lodge of France, but haven't come up with an answer. (The former being irregular, the latter being recognized by the UGLE. I strongly suspect the former from the tone of the book, but can't be sure.)

Anyway, many of the organizations and symbols he references are peculiar to French/European Masonry, and wouldn't be immediately recognizable to an American Mason. If a non-Mason were to read the book, then join an American lodge, things would simply not quite be what he was expecting. For example, there are many more references to alchemical meanings in the book than you will run across in most American Freemasonry. Some things, like the references to the Chamber of Reflection, and the Rectified Scottish Rite, and almost non-existent in American Masonry. I'm only familiar with them from an extensive bit of reading on my part. And other subjects, such as the Lodge of Adoption and Co-Masonry, are almost antithetical to American Masonic traditions, and would certainly set up the wrong expectations.

Conversely, while he does discuss many traditions that are peculiar to Continental Freemasonry that American Masons wouldn't recognize, he also doesn't include any information on major Masonic Institutions in America. There is barely a mention of the York Rite at all in the book, which is one of the major appendant bodies in American Masonry. Likewise, the Allied masonic degrees, a smaller, but nevertheless ubiquitious group of degrees conferred in the United States, are conspicuously absent. While this is no sin, as he is a French Mason, perhaps a more apt title would be "Symbols of French Freemasonry." Perhaps that was the original title, and it was an editorial choice to change it when a translation was made? Either way, to paint the book as a broad overview of general Masonic symbols is inaccurate, as it's more specifically a regional title, truly.

The second major fault in the book is, frankly, some of his interpretations of the symbols. I won't harp too much on this, as one of the beauties of Freemasonry is the fact that, because it's teachings are taught through symbols, there are endless ways to interpret them, and endless connections to be made, allowing ever increasing depths of study. While most of the symbols have one generally accepted meaning, there are sometimes secondary meanings, tertiary meanings, and beyond. Symbolism, by definition, is open to interpretation, and I won't begrudge the author his own interpretation of Masonic symbols.

However, all of that said, many of his interpretations as recorded in the book are not interpretations I would reach myself in many cases. Often times, even in the explanations I found enlightening, they wouldn't necessarily be my first choice to publish in a book that could be someone's first encounter with Masonry. he often grasps at the most obscure references and connections possible in the symbolism, building a delicate house of cards on linguistic connections that are circumstantial at best. Frankly, sometimes his 'connections' weren't even that, at times. Sometimes they were just wild leaps of preference. Which, I suppose, at the end of the day, interpretation does have a good bit of generous give. But it can only be so generous.

All that said, the book isn't without worth, not even 'bad' in any sense. It's simply targeted towards a particular audience, and I think the average American, or even the average American Mason, isn't that audience. For all of its obscure connections, I will say there are some absolutely beautiful pictures and illustrations within the book of Masonic artifacts that you could have trouble finding elsewhere. Its visual impact is stunning, and it does do an excellent job of providing pictorial references, that both show the great similarities between French and American Masonry, and yet at other times highlight the differences.

So for those looking for a good, broad introduction to Masonry, particularly Masonry in America, I can confidently say this book is not for you. It's a highly intellectual study of symbolism that is often peculiar to French Masonry. There is even a warning as much in the Preface. However, if you are looking to expand your Masonic library, or perhaps are an American Mason trying to find a new, outsider perspective on Freemasonry, illuminating certain aspects of the symbolism not stressed much in American lodges, then you ought to look into this book as a valuable purchase. Its biggest strength is also its greatest detractor, that is, its perspective. Not a bad book by any means, but you need to know what you're purchasing before rushing off to buy it. 

Lyrics:

O Isis and Osiris favor
this noble pair with wisdom's light! 
Grant them your aid in their endeavor.
Lead them to find the path of right.
Lead them to find the path of right.

Let them be strong against temptation.
But if they fail in their probation
Do not their virtue need deny.
Take them to your abode on high.
Take them to your abode on high.

Woman

With trepidation, I must admit
I recollect everything

I guiltily relished in a reminder of
What a warm embrace can do
To replenish a man's soul

And I ask, please forgive me my flaws
In my moment of weakness -
But the temptation of a shoulder, embrace
Beauty
Makes me a fool indeed

All the same, I thank you

That God might grant such a gift to men
Is proof a thousand fold of His
Love and Compassion for mankind.

Live Coverage of the Egyptian Revolution

And it's by Al Jazeera English. Link here. I've been listening for some time now. Very fascinating, very inspiring, and very wonderful that the Egyptians have achieved the first step towards building their own democracy. Stories of Christians protecting Muslim protesters during prayers, and Muslims protecting Christians during Mass. Egypt is one of the more prosperous countries in the Middle East, and this development will surely shade the progress of the Middle Eastern region for years to come. Let's hope it turns out best for the Egyptian people.

EDIT: Interestingly, an article submitted to The Art of Manliness can be found here. Good read.

The Importance of a Study Journal

I have to say, the single greatest tool I've been taught to utilize, probably in the entirety of my Bachelor's degree, is that of a study journal. The amazingly brilliant and helpful Dr. Shaffer at WT started me on the habit when I took his 'Great Books' course offering through the Honors Program. We were encouraged to keep a journal of our thoughts regarding our assigned readings for each class session, including anything from knee jerk reactions to the text, to favorite quotes or lines from the book, to questions for discussion during the following class period.

I began to value the study journal as a means of elucidating my thoughts on paper, and organizing my mind during the learning process. Since that course, I've continued to use it off and on, and it's been absolutely invaluable. It's a habit I would encourage anyone to pick up. It's taking notes in an informal fashion, and particularly helps in post study discussion with another person. You always remember to bring up those points and questions you had while reading because you wrote them down. And I find that my retention is significantly enhanced by the process. A picture of a random page from mine below:

It may not work for everyone, or be their own cup of tea. But it's something I think I'll always use, from time to time, for the rest of my life. Why is this not a basic skill encouraged during early college work? I suppose I know the answer to that question: It's not very valuable in regurgitation course work, only in higher level thinking, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation studies. But isn't that the kind of mental agility that should be encouraged at the collegiate level?

From Bro. Christopher Hodapp

A short snippet written by Bro. Chris Hodapp, author of Freemasons for Dummies, and maintainer of the blog by the same name, a brother Mason I have much respect for. I really felt he hit the nail on the head with this post. It kind of goes hand in hand with the epidemic of low dues rates among many lodges, much lower than they ought to be.  Something for all Masons to consider.

---

Last summer - the beginning of last summer, as a matter of fact - I stacked a dozen bags of mulch and topsoil next to my garage. Now, I had every intention of spreading that stuff all over my garden. I had big plans, but I got sidetracked. Things happened, and there are loads of really outstanding excuses as to why I never got around to it. So they sat there. All summer, fall and winter. They're still there. As I write this, I figure it's been about 270 days since I put them there. I see them every single day of my life. I walk right past them twice a day. The fact is; I don't notice them anymore. They're torn now, leaking and ugly, providing fodder and a new home for the chipmunks. They're an eyesore. I'm sure they're responsible for plummeting property values in my neighborhood.

Well, perhaps it's not that drastic, but you get my point. Which brings me to the discussion of our Masonic Temples. I joined a suburban Masonic lodge that had recently moved to an office building put up in the 1960s. I joined what I knew was the oldest, largest and greatest gentlemen's fraternity in the world. So, when I walked into my lodge for the first time, I was a little surprised at how shabby it all looked. The walls were covered in sickly, institutional green wallpaper from the early days of the space program. The lobby and lounge area were decorated with two mismatched and startlingly horrific couches that no penniless college student would have had in his apartment. A pittance of library books was moldering on collapsing particleboard shelves. The carpets were worn clear through to the concrete floor in some places, which were a little hard to see because of the broken light fixtures. Still, it was not an especially prosperous lodge, so I knocked it up to the place having fallen on hard times.

Months later, I strolled into the once-impressive downtown Temple that is home to ten lodges and many appendant groups, as well as our Grand Lodge office. That's when I came to the realization that the problem is endemic throughout the Masonic fraternity. Low-wattage light bulbs installed in every room to save money cast a dim, pallid glow over the whole place. I saw peeling plaster and paint. Couches purchased in the 1930s with broken legs, held up by bricks. An auditorium that had sat unused for almost 40 years, filled with old files and trash. No climate control, rendering it uninhabitable for almost five months out of the year, making it an eight-story Petri dish for mold and mildew. In a word, it stank.

Criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed the `broken windows' thesis to explain the growth of crime and decay in urban areas that are plagued by vandalism and unkempt property. The theory goes that if a building has broken windows, graffiti on the walls and trash in the foyer, it encourages - nay, invites - vandalism, crime and further deterioration. If the landlord doesn't fix the problem immediately, he's a big part of the problem, because he is providing an atmosphere of decay for the whole neighborhood, whose inhabitants will come to believe their community is a lost cause.
Broken windows are more than just bleak and ugly pockmarks. Sixty years ago, a broken window would get a kid in serious trouble. Neighbors would round up the miscreant and there would be a price to pay for causing the damage. But the proliferation of broken windows, with no consequences for the offenders, signals a loss of control, a lack of caring, and a devastating loss of pride.

I contend that the same theory can be applied to our aging, decaying Masonic buildings. The more we neglect our Temples on the outside, the more they rot spiritually on the inside, spiraling into lethargy and failure. One of the most misunderstood phrases in Masonry is that the fraternity regards the internal and not the external qualifications of a man, and we've gone on to believe it about our Temples. The truth is that what is on the outside is a reflection of what goes on inside. We've been breaking our own windows. And it's high time we got in trouble for it.

Our grandfathers and great grandfathers built these magnificent monuments to Masonry. In 1892, the Freemasons of Chicago built the tallest skyscraper in the world, 22 stories high, and it remained the tallest building in Chicago for more than 30 years. In 1926 the Masons of Detroit opened the largest Masonic building in the world, home to almost thirty different Masonic bodies, with room for a total of fifty. It had more than a thousand rooms, three auditoriums including one that seated 4,100 people, restaurants, ballrooms, hotel rooms, a barber shop, even an indoor pool. They believed "build it and they will come." They donated lavishly to their fraternity and constructed splendid Temples for us, designed to last for generations as proud symbols of Freemasonry. And they spent lots of their own money, at a time when there were no tax incentives to do so; nor were there social safety nets for their retirements. Yet, they still gave much in both time and treasure to Freemasonry for these places we now treat with such slovenly and appalling neglect. What our forefathers constructed for the Ages, we now scornfully dismiss as white elephants.

In the effort to be politically correct, we don't call them Temples anymore, but our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers sure did. These were Temples to the ideals of Freemasonry. Great things went on inside of them, and the community knew who and what the Freemasons were and what they stood for. As America expanded and new towns were founded, the Masonic Temple and the local church were some of the first buildings erected. The Masonic Temple was vital to a community. Balls were held there. Politicians spoke there. Visiting celebrities and luminaries were feted there. Today, thousands of people drive past our faceless buildings and never know what they are. Ask a hundred people in your town if they know where the Masonic lodge is, and you'll be depressed beyond belief.

These are not white elephants, my brothers. These are our Temples, our heritage. They are priceless, irreplaceable treasures. And we throw them away now like they don't matter, like they are not worth fighting for. We are murdering our own posterity out of sheer Scrooge-like stinginess, as if we don't believe in ourselves and in our fraternity anymore. Instead, we believe the myth spun by the popular press that we're dying, nothing but a sad collection of old men in decaying halls. That IS what they say about us, and we go right on giving them little evidence to the contrary.

The men who built these Temples only wanted us to do one thing: treat them with respect. Maintain them. Paint the walls every once in a while. Keep the light bulbs changed. Replace a carpet when it gets worn out. Reupholster a chair when it becomes torn or better yet, replace it. No one is asking us to build new Temples. The least we can do is protect them until a new generation comes along that cherishes them as our grandfathers did. But as every year ticks by and one more Temple goes away, we will never get them back. And we certainly won't ever have the vision or the guts to build another.

Lodges that sit, year after year, whining that no one is showing up, yet failing to change one single aspect of the way they do things, are not just shooting themselves in the foot. They are taking careful aim at their own heads and blasting away. When new men see these tumble-down places, so obviously uncared for by our own members, why would they want to join us? And if they do join and are treated like greedy, bratty interlopers for daring to suggest spending any money, they won't come back.
When lodges fail to attract new men, it is bad leadership. When lodges lose men after they join, it is bad leadership. When lodges let their buildings fall down around their heads while they hoard money for some nebulous future disaster, it is bad leadership.

What has happened to the philanthropic brethren in this fraternity, the men who thought so much of it that they gladly and lavishly donated to build these places? My own lodge's original three-story brick building was entirely financed by one individual brother's gift in 1907 of what would today amount to almost $700,000. We stopped asking our members for money for our own Temples long ago in favor of our Masonic Homes, the Shrine Hospitals, the Dyslexic Centers, the CHIPs programs, the York Rite Charities, and more. But as wonderful as those programs are, we are making a big mistake if every penny we have goes into them. Our institutionalized charities have robbed us of the first duty we have as Masons - namely, to look after each other, and to keep Freemasonry safe and proud and strong for our members and for the next generation. Or a simpler way of putting it is; we don't ask anymore. We don't ask ourselves to step up to the plate to collect $2000 for carpeting, or $4000 for a furnace, or $10,000 for a parking lot, or a million for a new building. Churches do, and so do every other kind of community organization, from YMCAs to country clubs. So did Lodges, once. Why don't we now? Do we think so little of our fraternity now? Is it not worthy now? What has happened to our pride?

And don't think it's because our lodges have 300 members but only 10 ever show up. If you look at your old minutes, Masters were lamenting tiny turnouts at the height of the building boom in the 1920s. In those days, just being a card carrying Mason still required certain responsibilities to the lodge, responsibilities we don't ask of our stay-at-homes these days.
Don't misunderstand - not every clapboard lodge building from the 1920s necessarily needs to be preserved, any more than my rural uncle's outhouse from the same era. One neighbor's historic landmark is another's ramshackle, pigeon-infested eyesore. In a lot of cases, we really do have too many lodge buildings. We don't walk or ride a horse to the Stated Meeting anymore, so we no longer need a lodge every five miles as the crow flies. It is a far better use of our resources for there to be many smaller lodges that meet in one common Temple.

If we don't present a dignified face to the outside world and provide meeting places that our old and new members can be proud of, we are slitting our own throats. It is better for us to meet in a hotel ballroom than in a fallen-down barn of a place that we refuse to maintain. At least a hotel will keep it clean, climate-controlled and well lit. But if we have any desire to really rebuild this fraternity, our Temples need to regain their place at the center of our communities, as they were 60, 80 and a hundred years ago. They need to be places we want to come to, and bring our friends and families to. They need to be comfortable and inviting, places where brethren want to congregate before and after meetings, instead of eating, meeting and fleeing. That isn't going to happen with $45 annual dues and no strategic financial planning for the future.

There are happy stories in Freemasonry about some of our Temples around the country. Visionary men are now transforming the downtown building I spoke of earlier in this piece. Capital campaigns and a 501c3 tax-exempt foundation have been created, and they are seeking donations and community participation. Dancing, theatrical and singing groups are now renting the auditorium, and they see more potential for the space than the last four decades of Masons did, under whose noses it sat unused and neglected. It sat unused because we walked past it for forty years and never even saw it any more, like those bags of mulch in my front yard. But now that there is new life in the building, the resident Lodges are awakening. Checkbooks are opening. Lodge rooms have been plastered and painted, furniture has been bought, social rooms have been redecorated, and there's even a rumor of air conditioning coming to this Temple nearly a century after it was built. Just as broken windows encourage rot, investment and vision are now encouraging growth.

And something even more important.

Pride.

Source: W. Bro. Christopher Hodapp
Author of Freemasons for Dummies

Solitude and Leadership

Solitude and Leadership

My title must seem like a contradiction. What can solitude have to do with leadership? Solitude means being alone, and leadership necessitates the presence of others—the people you’re leading. When we think about leadership in American history we are likely to think of Washington, at the head of an army, or Lincoln, at the head of a nation, or King, at the head of a movement—people with multitudes behind them, looking to them for direction. And when we think of solitude, we are apt to think of Thoreau, a man alone in the woods, keeping a journal and communing with nature in silence.

Leadership is what you are here to learn—the qualities of character and mind that will make you fit to command a platoon, and beyond that, perhaps, a company, a battalion, or, if you leave the military, a corporation, a foundation, a department of government. Solitude is what you have the least of here, especially as plebes. You don’t even have privacy, the opportunity simply to be physically alone, never mind solitude, the ability to be alone with your thoughts. And yet I submit to you that solitude is one of the most important necessities of true leadership. This lecture will be an attempt to explain why.