In yesterday’s discussion it was mentioned that some Masons find their spiritual path within Freemasonry. I know that many do, but I think it is something that is not often talked about.
So, let’s chat about it…
Do you find your spiritual path, or a part of it in Freemasonry?
For me, I find organized religion of any denomination to be corrupt. Any time humans stand between a supreme being and you, they always seem to try and tell you how to live your life by how they interpret their volume of sacred law. The final straw for me was when I attended a church service in town (a rather large and popular church) and the assistant pastor had the ushers not once, not twice, but three times pass around the offering plate asking for donations to do stuff like by the head pastor a birthday gift and other reasons. Three times, in our small, decidedly middle class town. While the pastor talks about spending time on his yacht down at the local boating club, and his number of harleys he owns.
All of this from a church run by a husband and wife (got their seminary training from a three week night school in bellevue), their son and his wife, and a brother (his degree was - no shit - in band), all getting paid fairly handsomely I guess. And the congregation paid and paid and paid. To top it off, the pastor's singular skill seemed to be doing word searches through an electronic copy of the bible to construct his sermons, paying little attention to context or meaning.
All of this (and other reasons) is why I don't attend any organized religious organization, but find solace and spiritual guidance through Masonry.
It is my firm belief that "the Church" is against masonry simply because it takes away money that should in their eyes be spend in church instead of the lodge. Maybe I am jaded. Have I attended decent churches? Sure. Until I find out the pastor was having an affair with one of his congregants, a huge scandal embroils the church, divorce is filed, and kids abandoned.
I'm done with it. I'll find my road on my own, thank you very much, and I will give my money to deserving people, not a clown show full of judgmental sheep.
Sorry, I don't think this was quite the post you were looking for lol.
When I was much younger, I used to look forward to going to church on Sunday. After church, there would be an indoor feed during the winter, or an outdoor feed during the summer. Adjust accordingly for weather. Then, my denomination became "modern," radicalized, and disturbing. I was in the military at the time, and the priests and some of the congregation would rail against me for being a "baby killer." Time to find a new spiritual path. I investigated other organized religions, and was disappointed time after time. Years later, I asked a Masonic friend how to become one. His grin said it all. "Welcome, my Brother!" In Masonry, I find the same spirituality that I sought in church. I find better fellowship than I ever found in church, and I feel renewed after each meeting. The Closing Charge is my favorite part of the Ritual--"Brethren, we are now about to quit this sacred retreat of friendship and virtue..." Yes, we have problems; what group of people doesn't? Yes, there are bad apples in our Fraternity, and we try to weed them out. But what I get from Freemasonry is far more than what I put into it.
Interesting topic. This one hits me close to home.
I grew up in the Mormon church, talk about dogma. I agree with Glenn that my largest struggle was the people. I can understand and rationalize that no human is perfect. As such you'd think most would have a somewhat humble approach. I find this absolutely untrue in any organized religous context through my experiences. What I found instead are the most polarized, judgemental and hypocritical people. I know what some were up to during the week then watch then look down their nose at others on Sunday.
I couldn't rationalize that there could only be one true work or church. That only through their word could you be saved and attain your rightful place along side your maker and all others were professing false doctrine rather than an alternate interpretation that could have merit or value to others if not seen as profane.
For a supposed tight knit community we were really all just judgy individuals operating through our own interpretation that really was inherited through our youth or guidance from the pators or church leaders. We were indoctrinated in our youth. We were told there are unforgivable sins that I couldn't agree with. I have seen families shunned because the parents supported their LGTBQ youth.
I am a father. I love my children unconditionally. I could never set a barrier such as those imposed by churches that tells us to turn our backs on other human beings in the name of God.
I have yet to attend a church that has an open mind. One that is willing to listen to other points of view. One that is willing to grow and change with the evolution of man. The way I see it if change is to happen a church must recognize that something is amis, or in err. By doing this they become vulnerable. To admit that they may have had something wrong and it needs to change means the word of God they profess was incorrect and the strangle hold they have on people and their finances crumbles. Faith in what they tell you without proof. Not just faith in what you find or your interpretations and beliefs.
This is where Masonry lifted me up. Masonry allowed me to remove the dogma and read the VSL with an open mind. Masons taught me how to see the lessons contained within, their purpose of assisting me and my internal growth and that most Holy Books contain very similar writings impressing the same ideals and standards of life. However churches I attended don't want us to value other religions. It seems that if one has value it deminishes the validity of another.
Through this new perspective I was able to reconnect to my sprituality once again. I was shown how all people should be treated with respect and compassion. I was shown that we can have differing opinions and still feel confident that we are all on the level and through the sharing of ideas and working together with an open mind and heart we can bring the world together rather than perpetuating the divide.
For me it was the people and their ways that ruined organized religion.
It is equally so that in Masonry the men and their families have proven to me the value of our ancient and honorable craft. Open minds and open hearts assisting where possible, listening to each other and sharing openly have created a safe environment that allows us all to express and develop our sprituality internally yet together as a sacred band of friends and Brothers each to honor what is right for themselves and the whole.
Like Glen, my experience with organized religion has been less that stellar. I was raised in the Catholic Church and attended mass with my father every Sunday. My first marriage was in the Lutheran church and we left after the pastor was found to be having an affair with one of the other pastors. I then attended the baptist mega church. I was in a small group study with the pastor. My marriage was falling apart and in my time of greatest need, my pastor abandoned me and then did a sermon about be. This is a round about way to say I no longer believe in religion. Masonry does fulfill my spiritual walk. The idea that we can discuss multiple faiths with an open mind, learning from each is amazing in my mind.
My experience is similar to the others here in this thread. But it’s from another direction.
I work in a business that’s customer oriented, so rather than having an issue with the church I’m attending, it’s dealing with the congregants of these churches as customers. It’s disheartening when I think about the people who have condemned me due to my membership in Freemasonry. One of them told me there’s nothing he can do about the fact that I’m going to hell because I don’t attend my Dad’s church. Not church in general, mind you, but a specific church.
I remember one time when a regular customer who was a devout member of a church in town got a little questionable with his comments when our District Deputy stopped by the Shop to cover some important Lodge business. I remember it well, because I lost it. I tore into him: “Dude, what is your problem with the Freemasons? Did they do something to you? You seem to really have a beef with these people!” And so on. He was taken aback by it, but he did admit his pastor mentioned us in a negative manner in a sermon in the past. I appreciated him being honest with me and cooled down enough to tell him that he needed to do a little research on his own and not follow his pastor like a drone. He did come to our business a few more times before he stopped, so I don’t know if my tirade chased him away or some other life decision caused him to leave town, etc. Either way, it didn’t matter; I was getting tired of my Masonic membership costing me business. I should NOT have to hide the fact that I’m a Freemason because of people who have been fed erroneous, negative information about us.
There was another customer that we had come to develop a friendship, that found out I was a Freemason when he saw me march in a 4th of July parade. Same thing. He started razzing me about being a “dualist.” I asked him where he got that crap, and sure enough, it was his pastor. A pastor of a Church that condemned one of their most prominent members when they found out he was a Freemason. I went around with this Gentleman on that topic, too, and noted the very troubling faults of his church, how they would turn their back on someone who was a fine example of the true teachings of their religion. We wound up calling a truce, and fortunately so, as he passed suddenly shortly afterwards. I still visit his grave every Memorial Day.
I know this sounds like an anti-church diatribe, but I do find it troubling that truly good men are looking at other truly good men in a bad manner due to faulty teachings of their religious leadership. The only thing I can do about it is to continue to do the Right Thing and lead by example.
And now, I’ll give the positive answer to the Spirituality question…
I read the Holy Bible cover-to-cover back in 1995. I had the time, since our business was just starting and I had a lot of spare time. It took most of the year, since it’s a VERY long book. It wasn’t the first time I read the New Testament, but to date, it’s the only time I’ve read the entire Old Testament like a book, although I’ve referenced all sections of the Bible often.
I joined the Freemasons the following year. Learning the ritual, as well as contemplating the symbolism it contains, got me curious, and I went back and looked at several sections of the Bible that had confused me. Poof! Many of those sections then made sense, and really opened up the meaning of other sections in those Biblical books. The more I look back on that Holy Book, and applying the allegorical facets of the texts, it really turns it into a truly spiritual document. I imagine other Holy Books can be “opened up” in the same manner.
Freemasonry isn’t a replacement for true religion, but it really empowers it! “(Freemasonry) is so far interwoven WITH religion as to lay us under obligation to pay to the Deity that rational homage which constitutes at once, our duty and our happiness.” This sentence of the Middle Chamber Lecture really makes sense, when you really think about it.
The single element of my life that has been consistent since I was a child was spirituality, not religion. I was exposed to a lot of ‘folk’ beliefs as a child, as elements of my family were drawn from several immigrant groups who had traditional folk beliefs. Because of that experience the ‘spiritual world’ is ever present in my consciousness, and is the foundation of my life. Because my belief system is based in spirituality, I have been free to explore and participate in many religions, seeing an expression of the divine in many forms. I once had the opportunity to participate in a 24-hour prayer for peace, that allotted one hour periods for any religion that applied to lead that prayer in their unique style. WOW, what an experience. Obviously, this background prepositions me to the esoteric path, primarily in its Western manifestation, though not exclusively. Every day I have periods of study, contemplation and meditation intended to advance my personal development and understanding. When I came to Freemasonry, I was immediately attracted to the elements of the traditional Western path that were in place. As Freemasonry is open to men of many faiths, it necessarily has to be open to negotiating a common space for those men. That negotiation forces us to examine our beliefs and how much room it leaves for others to express their beliefs. That exercise is good for us and a model for our society.
Then there is the actual esoteric work or Freemasonry. The mystical, symbolic and ritual aspects. One thing that Albert Pike talks about is “the Adepts of the Craft”, men that have to some extent walked the esoteric path. I wish, (and I cannot express how much I wish) We had a community of men dedicated exclusively to the esoteric/mystical aspects of the Craft that could serve as the Adepts of the Craft. I’m not talking about hobbyist but rather men educated, well read, and experienced in the esoteric who could mentor younger men in the Craft, who would someday serve as the Adepts of our sacred knowledge. These men exist in isolation and working alone, and I think we need them to coalesce into a Masonic body that would serve to anchor us more firmly in the esoteric.
So, to answer your specific question; yes. Freemasonry is very much a spiritual exercise for me. It’s the one thing that makes it superior to other fraternal and social organizations and it is the reason I am here.
To me we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience and not a human being having an occasional spiritual experience. The last line we use of Ecclesiastes 12, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit return to God who gave it" To me this raises the question, "When did he give it?" The only logical answer I can come up with is at conception.
I like to use the comparison of a roller coaster ride to our human experience. I believe we choose as a spiritual being to experience the human experience just as we choose to take a roller coaster ride. To submit to the limitations that each present. To end up at the same place we started with only the experience to take away from it.
I haven't found a church which would accept that belief however Freemasonry allows me to have it.
This is the second time l have heard that theory. My biggest issue with it is that it seems a soul who chose this human experience would retain some knowledge of that choice or some connection with that purely spiritual realm. Yet I personally am totally cut off from any such feelings. I envy those who have unwavering faith as it seems to offer great comfort and resolve. I have never had any certainty about anything but the purely physical empirically testable world of hard data.
I grew up Roman Catholic, Catholic school, the whole bit.
Many of the teachings of the Catholic Church seem sound and correct to me.
As do many of the Catholic practices of the Latin American Church. (They are different than Catholic practices here in the US, in some respects)
The thing is though, that many of the teachings seemed unsound to me as well. They did as a young person, and they still do today.
That's the rub though. The Church requires that you accept it all.
I couldn't accept it all.
That's where Freemasonry fills that role for me. Freemasonry has teachings and lessons, dogma if you will, but Freemasonry's most valuable lesson is that what is true about it for me, might not be true about it for the guy sitting next to me. We are all free, indeed encouraged, to interpret Freemasonry, the symbolism, and the lessons, for ourselves.
How very freeing that is.
How fundamentally true that is.
So yes, like everyone else who has commented here, my spiritual path is largely contained within Freemasonry. Plus a goodly smattering of other elements that seem a good fit.
Amazing how many of us were raised catholic. I will spare you all the boring tale of my rejection of the nicene creed. I have not yet found a spiritual home. I entertain many thoughts on God, but have not accepted any of them yet. Can masonry help me find what I'm looking for? Not so far.
For me, I find organized religion of any denomination to be corrupt. Any time humans stand between a supreme being and you, they always seem to try and tell you how to live your life by how they interpret their volume of sacred law. The final straw for me was when I attended a church service in town (a rather large and popular church) and the assistant pastor had the ushers not once, not twice, but three times pass around the offering plate asking for donations to do stuff like by the head pastor a birthday gift and other reasons. Three times, in our small, decidedly middle class town. While the pastor talks about spending time on his yacht down at the local boating club, and his number of harleys he owns.
All of this from a church run by a husband and wife (got their seminary training from a three week night school in bellevue), their son and his wife, and a brother (his degree was - no shit - in band), all getting paid fairly handsomely I guess. And the congregation paid and paid and paid. To top it off, the pastor's singular skill seemed to be doing word searches through an electronic copy of the bible to construct his sermons, paying little attention to context or meaning.
All of this (and other reasons) is why I don't attend any organized religious organization, but find solace and spiritual guidance through Masonry.
It is my firm belief that "the Church" is against masonry simply because it takes away money that should in their eyes be spend in church instead of the lodge. Maybe I am jaded. Have I attended decent churches? Sure. Until I find out the pastor was having an affair with one of his congregants, a huge scandal embroils the church, divorce is filed, and kids abandoned.
I'm done with it. I'll find my road on my own, thank you very much, and I will give my money to deserving people, not a clown show full of judgmental sheep.
Sorry, I don't think this was quite the post you were looking for lol.
When I was much younger, I used to look forward to going to church on Sunday. After church, there would be an indoor feed during the winter, or an outdoor feed during the summer. Adjust accordingly for weather. Then, my denomination became "modern," radicalized, and disturbing. I was in the military at the time, and the priests and some of the congregation would rail against me for being a "baby killer." Time to find a new spiritual path. I investigated other organized religions, and was disappointed time after time. Years later, I asked a Masonic friend how to become one. His grin said it all. "Welcome, my Brother!" In Masonry, I find the same spirituality that I sought in church. I find better fellowship than I ever found in church, and I feel renewed after each meeting. The Closing Charge is my favorite part of the Ritual--"Brethren, we are now about to quit this sacred retreat of friendship and virtue..." Yes, we have problems; what group of people doesn't? Yes, there are bad apples in our Fraternity, and we try to weed them out. But what I get from Freemasonry is far more than what I put into it.
Interesting topic. This one hits me close to home.
I grew up in the Mormon church, talk about dogma. I agree with Glenn that my largest struggle was the people. I can understand and rationalize that no human is perfect. As such you'd think most would have a somewhat humble approach. I find this absolutely untrue in any organized religous context through my experiences. What I found instead are the most polarized, judgemental and hypocritical people. I know what some were up to during the week then watch then look down their nose at others on Sunday.
I couldn't rationalize that there could only be one true work or church. That only through their word could you be saved and attain your rightful place along side your maker and all others were professing false doctrine rather than an alternate interpretation that could have merit or value to others if not seen as profane.
For a supposed tight knit community we were really all just judgy individuals operating through our own interpretation that really was inherited through our youth or guidance from the pators or church leaders. We were indoctrinated in our youth. We were told there are unforgivable sins that I couldn't agree with. I have seen families shunned because the parents supported their LGTBQ youth.
I am a father. I love my children unconditionally. I could never set a barrier such as those imposed by churches that tells us to turn our backs on other human beings in the name of God.
I have yet to attend a church that has an open mind. One that is willing to listen to other points of view. One that is willing to grow and change with the evolution of man. The way I see it if change is to happen a church must recognize that something is amis, or in err. By doing this they become vulnerable. To admit that they may have had something wrong and it needs to change means the word of God they profess was incorrect and the strangle hold they have on people and their finances crumbles. Faith in what they tell you without proof. Not just faith in what you find or your interpretations and beliefs.
This is where Masonry lifted me up. Masonry allowed me to remove the dogma and read the VSL with an open mind. Masons taught me how to see the lessons contained within, their purpose of assisting me and my internal growth and that most Holy Books contain very similar writings impressing the same ideals and standards of life. However churches I attended don't want us to value other religions. It seems that if one has value it deminishes the validity of another.
Through this new perspective I was able to reconnect to my sprituality once again. I was shown how all people should be treated with respect and compassion. I was shown that we can have differing opinions and still feel confident that we are all on the level and through the sharing of ideas and working together with an open mind and heart we can bring the world together rather than perpetuating the divide.
For me it was the people and their ways that ruined organized religion.
It is equally so that in Masonry the men and their families have proven to me the value of our ancient and honorable craft. Open minds and open hearts assisting where possible, listening to each other and sharing openly have created a safe environment that allows us all to express and develop our sprituality internally yet together as a sacred band of friends and Brothers each to honor what is right for themselves and the whole.
Like Glen, my experience with organized religion has been less that stellar. I was raised in the Catholic Church and attended mass with my father every Sunday. My first marriage was in the Lutheran church and we left after the pastor was found to be having an affair with one of the other pastors. I then attended the baptist mega church. I was in a small group study with the pastor. My marriage was falling apart and in my time of greatest need, my pastor abandoned me and then did a sermon about be. This is a round about way to say I no longer believe in religion. Masonry does fulfill my spiritual walk. The idea that we can discuss multiple faiths with an open mind, learning from each is amazing in my mind.
My experience is similar to the others here in this thread. But it’s from another direction.
I work in a business that’s customer oriented, so rather than having an issue with the church I’m attending, it’s dealing with the congregants of these churches as customers. It’s disheartening when I think about the people who have condemned me due to my membership in Freemasonry. One of them told me there’s nothing he can do about the fact that I’m going to hell because I don’t attend my Dad’s church. Not church in general, mind you, but a specific church.
I remember one time when a regular customer who was a devout member of a church in town got a little questionable with his comments when our District Deputy stopped by the Shop to cover some important Lodge business. I remember it well, because I lost it. I tore into him: “Dude, what is your problem with the Freemasons? Did they do something to you? You seem to really have a beef with these people!” And so on. He was taken aback by it, but he did admit his pastor mentioned us in a negative manner in a sermon in the past. I appreciated him being honest with me and cooled down enough to tell him that he needed to do a little research on his own and not follow his pastor like a drone. He did come to our business a few more times before he stopped, so I don’t know if my tirade chased him away or some other life decision caused him to leave town, etc. Either way, it didn’t matter; I was getting tired of my Masonic membership costing me business. I should NOT have to hide the fact that I’m a Freemason because of people who have been fed erroneous, negative information about us.
There was another customer that we had come to develop a friendship, that found out I was a Freemason when he saw me march in a 4th of July parade. Same thing. He started razzing me about being a “dualist.” I asked him where he got that crap, and sure enough, it was his pastor. A pastor of a Church that condemned one of their most prominent members when they found out he was a Freemason. I went around with this Gentleman on that topic, too, and noted the very troubling faults of his church, how they would turn their back on someone who was a fine example of the true teachings of their religion. We wound up calling a truce, and fortunately so, as he passed suddenly shortly afterwards. I still visit his grave every Memorial Day.
I know this sounds like an anti-church diatribe, but I do find it troubling that truly good men are looking at other truly good men in a bad manner due to faulty teachings of their religious leadership. The only thing I can do about it is to continue to do the Right Thing and lead by example.
And now, I’ll give the positive answer to the Spirituality question…
I read the Holy Bible cover-to-cover back in 1995. I had the time, since our business was just starting and I had a lot of spare time. It took most of the year, since it’s a VERY long book. It wasn’t the first time I read the New Testament, but to date, it’s the only time I’ve read the entire Old Testament like a book, although I’ve referenced all sections of the Bible often.
I joined the Freemasons the following year. Learning the ritual, as well as contemplating the symbolism it contains, got me curious, and I went back and looked at several sections of the Bible that had confused me. Poof! Many of those sections then made sense, and really opened up the meaning of other sections in those Biblical books. The more I look back on that Holy Book, and applying the allegorical facets of the texts, it really turns it into a truly spiritual document. I imagine other Holy Books can be “opened up” in the same manner.
Freemasonry isn’t a replacement for true religion, but it really empowers it! “(Freemasonry) is so far interwoven WITH religion as to lay us under obligation to pay to the Deity that rational homage which constitutes at once, our duty and our happiness.” This sentence of the Middle Chamber Lecture really makes sense, when you really think about it.
The single element of my life that has been consistent since I was a child was spirituality, not religion. I was exposed to a lot of ‘folk’ beliefs as a child, as elements of my family were drawn from several immigrant groups who had traditional folk beliefs. Because of that experience the ‘spiritual world’ is ever present in my consciousness, and is the foundation of my life. Because my belief system is based in spirituality, I have been free to explore and participate in many religions, seeing an expression of the divine in many forms. I once had the opportunity to participate in a 24-hour prayer for peace, that allotted one hour periods for any religion that applied to lead that prayer in their unique style. WOW, what an experience. Obviously, this background prepositions me to the esoteric path, primarily in its Western manifestation, though not exclusively. Every day I have periods of study, contemplation and meditation intended to advance my personal development and understanding. When I came to Freemasonry, I was immediately attracted to the elements of the traditional Western path that were in place. As Freemasonry is open to men of many faiths, it necessarily has to be open to negotiating a common space for those men. That negotiation forces us to examine our beliefs and how much room it leaves for others to express their beliefs. That exercise is good for us and a model for our society.
Then there is the actual esoteric work or Freemasonry. The mystical, symbolic and ritual aspects. One thing that Albert Pike talks about is “the Adepts of the Craft”, men that have to some extent walked the esoteric path. I wish, (and I cannot express how much I wish) We had a community of men dedicated exclusively to the esoteric/mystical aspects of the Craft that could serve as the Adepts of the Craft. I’m not talking about hobbyist but rather men educated, well read, and experienced in the esoteric who could mentor younger men in the Craft, who would someday serve as the Adepts of our sacred knowledge. These men exist in isolation and working alone, and I think we need them to coalesce into a Masonic body that would serve to anchor us more firmly in the esoteric.
So, to answer your specific question; yes. Freemasonry is very much a spiritual exercise for me. It’s the one thing that makes it superior to other fraternal and social organizations and it is the reason I am here.
To me we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience and not a human being having an occasional spiritual experience. The last line we use of Ecclesiastes 12, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit return to God who gave it" To me this raises the question, "When did he give it?" The only logical answer I can come up with is at conception.
I like to use the comparison of a roller coaster ride to our human experience. I believe we choose as a spiritual being to experience the human experience just as we choose to take a roller coaster ride. To submit to the limitations that each present. To end up at the same place we started with only the experience to take away from it.
I haven't found a church which would accept that belief however Freemasonry allows me to have it.
This is the second time l have heard that theory. My biggest issue with it is that it seems a soul who chose this human experience would retain some knowledge of that choice or some connection with that purely spiritual realm. Yet I personally am totally cut off from any such feelings. I envy those who have unwavering faith as it seems to offer great comfort and resolve. I have never had any certainty about anything but the purely physical empirically testable world of hard data.
I grew up Roman Catholic, Catholic school, the whole bit.
Many of the teachings of the Catholic Church seem sound and correct to me.
As do many of the Catholic practices of the Latin American Church. (They are different than Catholic practices here in the US, in some respects)
The thing is though, that many of the teachings seemed unsound to me as well. They did as a young person, and they still do today.
That's the rub though. The Church requires that you accept it all.
I couldn't accept it all.
That's where Freemasonry fills that role for me. Freemasonry has teachings and lessons, dogma if you will, but Freemasonry's most valuable lesson is that what is true about it for me, might not be true about it for the guy sitting next to me. We are all free, indeed encouraged, to interpret Freemasonry, the symbolism, and the lessons, for ourselves.
How very freeing that is.
How fundamentally true that is.
So yes, like everyone else who has commented here, my spiritual path is largely contained within Freemasonry. Plus a goodly smattering of other elements that seem a good fit.
Amazing how many of us were raised catholic. I will spare you all the boring tale of my rejection of the nicene creed. I have not yet found a spiritual home. I entertain many thoughts on God, but have not accepted any of them yet. Can masonry help me find what I'm looking for? Not so far.