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The Freemasons are the modern incarnation of the Knights Templar. They're after the Pieces of Eden so they can harness their power and rule humanity - they kidnap people descended from Assassins and plug them into the Animus and use their genetic memories to find the pieces.
The Kasrkin were just men. It made their actions all the more astonishing. Six white blurs, they fell upon the cultists, lasguns barking at close range. They wasted no shots. One shot, one kill. - Eisenhorn: Malleus
If you're religious, you might want to see if your church is okay with you becoming a Mason. It's not like they can prevent you from doing so, but some churches definitely frown on it.
Catholics have the Knights of Columbus, which are more or less an officially sanctioned, less secretive Catholic version of the Freemasonry.
The centre of a massive brood chamber, heaving and pulsating.
My granddad's a Freemason. I want nothing to do with it. It's just a jumped up, "no gurlz allowded" super secret special snowflake club for misogynistic old men to grumble about stuff and pat each other on the back whilst pretending they're somehow relevant. Basically exactly the same as the Illuminati, but somehow even less important.
Squigsquasher, resident ban magnet, White Knight, and general fethwit.
buddha wrote: I've decided that these GW is dead/dying threads that pop up every-week must be followers and cultists of nurgle perpetuating the need for decay. I therefore declare that that such threads are heresy and subject to exterminatus. So says the Inquisition!
Squigsquasher wrote: My granddad's a Freemason. I want nothing to do with it. It's just a jumped up, "no gurlz allowded" super secret special snowflake club for misogynistic old men to grumble about stuff and pat each other on the back whilst pretending they're somehow relevant. Basically exactly the same as the Illuminati, but somehow even less important.
This is the general vibe I've gotten from them as well...
Bullockist wrote: They are an evil conspiracy designed by communists to destablise the US , there, I got in before anyone else could don their tinfoil hat.
You forgot to add Jewish and Marxist to that list. Right now I'm reading a book about Franco's justifications for starting the Spanish Civil War hence the connection.
A lot of the suspicion towards Freemason comes from their supposed prominent role during the French Revolution.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Squigsquasher wrote: My granddad's a Freemason. I want nothing to do with it. It's just a jumped up, "no gurlz allowded" super secret special snowflake club for misogynistic old men to grumble about stuff and pat each other on the back whilst pretending they're somehow relevant. Basically exactly the same as the Illuminati, but somehow even less important.
Men have been wanting time away from their wife/girlfriends since the dawn of time, so the Freemasons can't take the blame for that aspect of their society!
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/08/02 19:10:29
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
"Proofs of a Conspiracy" by Robison was the book that "exposed" the Illuminati and tied them to Freemasonry and accused them of all kinds of anti-church and anti-monarchy stuff. I actually was able to read an original copy in my university library, which was an interesting experience. There sure were lots of long "S"s. Anyway, yeah, it was basically the world's first big crazy conspiracy book.
If you ever need to locate a Mason, here is a short Monty Python video on how to recognize one (NSFW, though):
Spoiler:
Anyway, I suspect most Masonic lodges these days are, by and large, just social clubs at this point.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/03 00:05:55
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me." - Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks
Essentially the body of Freemasonry exists to give men of good character who believe in some form of higher
power an opportunity to study certain ancient, esoteric principles. Masons believe these principles constitute a '
hidden science' that explains the fundamentals of pretty much everything. These principles are transmitted to
the mason by means of a process called 'inititation.'
Much of the information is explained by means of symbolism. As an example, the well known masonic symbol
of the square and compass with the G in the middle is a pretty straightforward representation of one of masonry's
central esoteric teachings: sacred geometry. The G stands for God/Grand Architect or Geometry, interchangeably.
Here is a high-level mason, Randall Carlson, talking about the principles of sacred geometry:
The charity thing is really just a way of justifying their existence to people who get too curious. They're not some scary,
power-hungry order bent on world domination, but they're also not just a club for old rich guys.
That guy is an evil wizard if I ever saw one. Proof that freemasons are satanic.
Essentially the body of Freemasonry exists to give men of good character who believe in some form of higher
power an opportunity to study certain ancient, esoteric principles. Masons believe these principles constitute a '
hidden science' that explains the fundamentals of pretty much everything. These principles are transmitted to
the mason by means of a process called 'inititation.'
Much of the information is explained by means of symbolism. As an example, the well known masonic symbol
of the square and compass with the G in the middle is a pretty straightforward representation of one of masonry's
central esoteric teachings: sacred geometry. The G stands for God/Grand Architect or Geometry, interchangeably.
Here is a high-level mason, Randall Carlson, talking about the principles of sacred geometry:
The charity thing is really just a way of justifying their existence to people who get too curious. They're not some scary,
power-hungry order bent on world domination, but they're also not just a club for old rich guys.
That guy is an evil wizard if I ever saw one. Proof that freemasons are satanic.
GG
...What? He's just a guy with a theory and a love of shapes, both natural and artificial.
See, I haven't got a problem with the esoteric/free thinking/blending of mythology and science side of Freemasonry-in fact I think it's a very healthy way of thinking. My problem is with the super special snowflake/misogynistic side of the order (no women allowed, for example).
I fail to understand how a theory on a natural inclination towards geometry in the universe can possibly be equated to Satanism. It's not even that esoteric/supernatural-it's just maths when it comes down to it.
I for one found him quite interesting.
Squigsquasher, resident ban magnet, White Knight, and general fethwit.
buddha wrote: I've decided that these GW is dead/dying threads that pop up every-week must be followers and cultists of nurgle perpetuating the need for decay. I therefore declare that that such threads are heresy and subject to exterminatus. So says the Inquisition!
I was invited to join the masons (or rather, invited to make inquiry of a senior local mason to join, as apparently you can't be invited or something...) and I went along and met some of the men there. My great uncle, who was an amazingly good and decent bloke, had been a high up with them back in the day, so perhaps it was partially hereditary.
Senior local police, religious leaders, local councilors, wealthy land owners, businessmen etc. They were extremely keen to have me join up and on going along to the first introduction, it was clear why, they were all ancient, no-one under 50 and many tottering about in their 70s and 80s.
I was told I'd need to buy a dinner suit, then questioned about my beliefs and convictions. I answered honestly and we reached an impasse, I would not swear allegiance to the Queen or to any monotheistic god. I had come along to see if this organisation would benefit my career and out of curiosity, on both counts I realized the masons in my small town were a dining club of old men who never got speeding tickets or parking tickets and scratched each other's backs in small business, none of which interested me.
I also played D&D on Wednesday nights and joining would have meant giving that up, so I politely declined further meetings.
This is the problem alot of lodges are having. Alot of older men are leaving and no new guys are coming in. I happen to belong to the youngest lodge in my area with 15 members under 30 and another 30 under 40. Even though i have only been in for a short time I have noticed it is far more then a bunch of old men getting together for chats and avoiding tickets. It is about teaching men to help each other and the rest of the world by doing good deeds for each other and their community.
Masons don't engage in self engrandisement meaning all the good we don't attach our names to it. All the money we raise for schools and the poor and destitute is given freely with no desire for praise or thanks. It is done becaus eit is the right thing to do.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/03 14:54:26
BrotherChaplinMalus wrote: This i sthe problem alot of lodges are having. Alot of older men are leaving and no new guys are coming in. I happen to belong to the youngest lodge in my area with 15 members under 30 and another 30 under 40. Even though i have only been in for a short time I have noticed it is far more then a bunch of old men getting together for chats and avoiding tickets. It is about teaching men to help each other and the rest of the world by doing good deeds for each other and their community.
Having joined the Art of Manliness community, I think that what many of these older groups are not necessarily failing to do, but are... is in staying relevant in the modern world. Many young people these days just don't seem to learn the value of a good face to face friendship, and a decent sized circle of people to turn to. In it's most basic form, this is what groups like the Elks, Masons and others offer their members.
Sure, as MGS pointed out, their are certain under the table benefits, like no tickets or business opportunities available to some. I had joined a cigar club a while back that was in a similar situation... I was the youngest guy there, but I felt like a freaking sponge in there... Lawyers, retired vets, cops, teachers... nearly all walks of life in there; and basically, if you needed anything that one of them could help with, all you had to do was ask. Of course, with the lawyers, nothing was free, but you MAY get a small discount for being a cigar man.
The company I work for (one of the largest arms dealers in the world) is generally considered to be a Masonocracy.
If you want to get ahead you need to be in the club.
All the major positions locally and back at head office are held by masons.
If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it. item 87, skippys list
DC:70S+++G+++M+++B+++I++Pw40k86/f#-D+++++A++++/cWD86R+++++T(D)DM++
BrotherChaplinMalus wrote: This i sthe problem alot of lodges are having. Alot of older men are leaving and no new guys are coming in. I happen to belong to the youngest lodge in my area with 15 members under 30 and another 30 under 40. Even though i have only been in for a short time I have noticed it is far more then a bunch of old men getting together for chats and avoiding tickets. It is about teaching men to help each other and the rest of the world by doing good deeds for each other and their community.
I was entirely impressed with the literature I was given, about the charity works being done by the masons worldwide, but my local lodge was a) ultraconservative and therefore at odds with my political beliefs, b) only did charitable works with 'sympathetic' causes c) seemed entirely more focused on being a diner's club, c) religion heavy and I'm not a monotheist so at odds with my religious beliefs.
It did seem very 'networking' heavy, to me, and whilst that might have appealed to my urge to advance my career and income, they were more about getting off parking tickets or trading with each other at mate's rates.
What became clear as I looked about was that these guys were the old networking, and that as someone capable of navigating the series of tubes known as the internet, I was already part of the new networking.
I was also deeply distressed to find this was not a front for the submariners, a secret cult of shining ones, dedicated to serving the deep dwelling eldritch horrors of antiquity, as I'd been led to believe by reading Finn in 2000AD...
MGS I have to take issue with what you are saying. Not about your beliefs but what the lodge was doing. One of the appealing things in Masonary is that it takes all men reguardless of creed, race, or political views and all these things are to be sat aside once lodge has opened. They should NOT be donating only to certain causes that match their morals nor should the espouse one religion over another.
The religion parts really gets my goat because i held back for a long time about asking becuase i am not a christian. Once i asked and had talked to a few Masons i learned you just have to believe in somethign higher than yourself. Believe that this world is not governed by chaos and that is a pattern in nature.
That isn't true. Even in the thread it was stated you have to believe in a higher power, so atheists and certain religions are ineligible right off the bat. You even say it in your post.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/04 07:43:56
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
I had a few family members in the organization. Apparently at least one of them was rather important since once he kicked the bucket they had a really fancy funeral service at the Mason lodge for him (I was too young to remember most of it, but there was a lot of talk about colors and symbols in their logo and what they represented/how he lived up to them or something like that).
I thought a few times about joining up over the years, having a relative that was on the inside already might have helped back when it was more relevant. It always comes down to the decision that I probably wouldn't actually enjoy it that much. I can do cheritable contributions/work through other organizations where the average member is somewhat more similar to me in age/personality.
Also, I'd just like to add that I highly approve of "old networking". Someday I'd love to be at the point in my career where I could just look around a room somewhere and be like "these are the most prominent men in my field. I'm friends with all of them. Now I'm going to go smoke a cigar and twirl my mustache, then invite some people to play golf."
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/04 07:54:09
Like watching other people play video games (badly) while blathering about nothing in particular? Check out my Youtube channel: joemamaUSA!
BrianDavion wrote: Between the two of us... I think GW is assuming we the players are not complete idiots.
Rapidly on path to becoming the world's youngest bitter old man.
demented wombat;
he didn't have to a higher up for the funeral. All he needed to be was a Mason.
Ahtman:
And I have sat in lodge with a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, and an Agnostic all at the same. There is a lill bit more to the creed part that i left. Before you ever step foot in the lodge itself you are asked 4 things and any no answer to any of them stops you on the spot.
1) Do you believe in (a)God
2)Are you joining of your own free will?
3)You are of an upright and moral person
4) and are you willing to submit to the rules of this lodge
As I said a no answer to any of these 4 stop you from becoming a Mason.
BrotherChaplinMalus wrote: demented wombat;
he didn't have to a higher up for the funeral. All he needed to be was a Mason.
Ahtman:
And I have sat in lodge with a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, and an Agnostic all at the same. There is a lill bit more to the creed part that i left. Before you ever step foot in the lodge itself you are asked 4 things and any no answer to any of them stops you on the spot.
1) Do you believe in (a)God Define belief. 2)Are you joining of your own free will? If I were inclined to, then yes 3)You are of an upright and moral person One man's morals are another's treason 4) and are you willing to submit to the rules of this lodge See 2 As I said a no answer to any of these 4 stop you from becoming a Mason.
Other than that I find the whole idea of 'secret' societies rather amusing.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/04 09:10:13
Horst wrote:This is how trolling happens. A few cheeky posts are made. Then they get more insulting. Eventually, we revert to our primal animal state, hurling feces at each other while shreeking with glee.
BrotherChaplinMalus wrote: This i sthe problem alot of lodges are having. Alot of older men are leaving and no new guys are coming in. I happen to belong to the youngest lodge in my area with 15 members under 30 and another 30 under 40. Even though i have only been in for a short time I have noticed it is far more then a bunch of old men getting together for chats and avoiding tickets. It is about teaching men to help each other and the rest of the world by doing good deeds for each other and their community.
I was entirely impressed with the literature I was given, about the charity works being done by the masons worldwide, but my local lodge was a) ultraconservative and therefore at odds with my political beliefs, b) only did charitable works with 'sympathetic' causes c) seemed entirely more focused on being a diner's club, c) religion heavy and I'm not a monotheist so at odds with my religious beliefs.
It did seem very 'networking' heavy, to me, and whilst that might have appealed to my urge to advance my career and income, they were more about getting off parking tickets or trading with each other at mate's rates.
What became clear as I looked about was that these guys were the old networking, and that as someone capable of navigating the series of tubes known as the internet, I was already part of the new networking.
I was also deeply distressed to find this was not a front for the submariners, a secret cult of shining ones, dedicated to serving the deep dwelling eldritch horrors of antiquity, as I'd been led to believe by reading Finn in 2000AD...
Still can't believe you wouldn't swear allegiance to the Queen...
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
Sturmtruppen wrote: The Freemasons are the modern incarnation of the Knights Templar. They're after the Pieces of Eden so they can harness their power and rule humanity - they kidnap people descended from Assassins and plug them into the Animus and use their genetic memories to find the pieces.
This is ridiculous... that's just a smokescreen story they use to hide their real goal, which is to break the seal on the wizard-locked gates on the far side of the moon to unleash the antichrist, so he can go about the process of reducing the world's population to under 500 million in accordance with the georgia guidestones. China's ICBM attack on a satellite a few years ago was actually an effort by them to prevent the US from deploying a harmonic resonance device intended to open the gates.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/04 10:52:01
Whatever society you belong to Scarletsquig... I want in!
Are you for or against unleashing the moon monster?
Not that it matters, I'm a sucker for ancient powers.
Klawz-Ramming is a subset of citrus fruit?
Gwar- "And everyone wants a bigger Spleen!"
Mercurial wrote:
I admire your aplomb and instate you as Baron of the Seas and Lord Marshall of Privateers.
Orkeosaurus wrote:Star Trek also said we'd have X-Wings by now. We all see how that prediction turned out.
Orkeosaurus, on homophobia, the nature of homosexuality, and the greatness of George Takei.
English doesn't borrow from other languages. It follows them down dark alleyways and mugs them for loose grammar.
BrotherChaplinMalus wrote: Ahtman:
And I have sat in lodge with a Jew, a Muslim, a Buddhist, and an Agnostic all at the same. There is a lill bit more to the creed part that i left. Before you ever step foot in the lodge itself you are asked 4 things and any no answer to any of them stops you on the spot.
1) Do you believe in (a)God
2)Are you joining of your own free will?
3)You are of an upright and moral person
4) and are you willing to submit to the rules of this lodge
As I said a no answer to any of these 4 stop you from becoming a Mason.
This continues to argue that your statement "it takes all men reguardless of creed, race, or political views" is not quite accurate. While the latter two may be true, and I would suspect that political views would depend on the local lodge to be honest, it certainly doesn't take 'all creeds'. Again, I notice you didn't list atheist as being there. This isn't an attack on the group, as it may select members as it likes, but it doesn't take all people.
I have to imagine that the first question has to be a bit loose, since Buddhists don't believe in (a) God. You could jump through a bit of hoops to get to 'a higher power', but that isn't the same thing. A Buddha, nor The Buddha, is not a god.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/04 14:57:12
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
This is ridiculous... that's just a smokescreen story they use to hide their real goal, which is to break the seal on the wizard-locked gates on the far side of the moon to unleash the antichrist, so he can go about the process of reducing the world's population to under 500 million in accordance with the georgia guidestones. China's ICBM attack on a satellite a few years ago was actually an effort by them to prevent the US from deploying a harmonic resonance device intended to open the gates.
Ok i actually loled on this
Automatically Appended Next Post: One could also argue that being an atheist is a lack of a creed. On the Bhuddist part I will admit i myself was confusing having researched it in my heady younger days but there are some cultures around india that worship bhudda as a god so meh
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/04 16:32:40
The centre of a massive brood chamber, heaving and pulsating.
BrotherChaplinMalus wrote: One of the appealing things in Masonary is that it takes all men reguardless of creed, race, or political views and all these things are to be sat aside once lodge has opened
And yet they do not accept women of any race, creed or political view.
Squigsquasher, resident ban magnet, White Knight, and general fethwit.
buddha wrote: I've decided that these GW is dead/dying threads that pop up every-week must be followers and cultists of nurgle perpetuating the need for decay. I therefore declare that that such threads are heresy and subject to exterminatus. So says the Inquisition!