I heard that in his younger days, Robert C. Byrd, Jr. was involved in a group of young men who would harass men who were playing around with women other than the man's wife (immorality). Unfortunately, his young men's organization was by some folks considered associated with the KKK? Later in his life, he became a member of Mountain Masonic Lodge No. 156 in Coal City WV.
In fits and starts, two steps forward one step back, our society has made great positive strides since the founding of our nation. One hundred years ago the Klan was a major force in US politics, and huge numbers of men were proud to be open about their membership in it. Today, neither of those things is the case, which shows me that over time our society as a whole continues to improve. There is still more work to do, of course, but over the march of history the US has become an ever more just nation.
On the same topic, for a very long time now, plenty of anti-masonic conspiracy theorists have claimed the Klan to somehow be a part of our Craft. That has never been true, but as with a great many conspiracy theories about Masonry, it seems to persist.
To me, the answer is simple "By their actions, you shall know them." It is all to easy to over intellectualize rather that act. For me, morality is virtue in action.
Here’s a quote from the New Testament. It’s the GNT, of which I have a copy and have read all of it. James 1:19-25. “Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose. So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.
Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice. If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are. They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like. But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do.”
I think they chose morality because morality is the pragmatic first step in making a better man, and a better world. Morality governs the person from within their own heart. Plato, in his deep and philosophical debates, tended to conclude with morality, derived from philosophical examination, and that morality was meant to guide behavior. Put differently, if our Masonic forefathers were philosophers, mystics and intellectuals, and they explored the nature of a healthy society and and enlightened person and they were able to cut to the root of those issues, then that wisdom would be communicated to the men who followed them in the form of morality, injunctions on behavior, that would guide a person until such time as they discovered the deeper wisdoms from which the morality was derived for themselves.
I've also wondered if they didn't various stopping points in order to offer each Mason something different, something for his own unique needs.
What I mean is, perhaps it was designed so that:
Many will only hear and retain the simple moral lessons. Fewer will benefit from some of the actual teachings contained within the Lectures. Fewer still will look behind the ritual and symbolism to find that which is veiled.
Each man receiving that which he needs, and can understand.
the problem with the term MORALITY is indeed in its definition ...
As Margeret Mead so long ago pointed out ... Morality is a local socio-culutral interpretation of what is "constructive and ethical" ... with respect to the local culture and conditions or situation ...
Meaning that the concept of "ethics" is pretty universal ...
but
that Morality varies by culture, ciccumstance, local traditions, etc.
Simple examples that are obvious and notorious rotate around sexuality and reproduction ...
but also extend into business, factual truths (objective circumstances that are testable) ...
etc. etc.
Traditionally MORALITY and ETHICS have been used in a bit too interchangable manner ...
Since in a given fixed culture ... say Engliand of 1850 ... the two ...for that one fixed culture in a given fixed layer of society ... the two were indeed the same ...
However ... what is ethical vs moral ... is different if we compare 1940 boston upper crust vs 1940 south pacific island ...
both have a clear idea of ETHICS ...but that social behavior goes along with that is vastly different ... ergo the MORALITY of a given action in the different circumstances and cultures is different ...
I would argue that what was meant in our EA degree is more ETHICS ... than Morality per se ...
Morality is a judgement of social behavior and standards ... that is very different from ETHICS ...
we need to discriminate between LEGAL , ETHICAL, and MORAL ...
more clearly ...
they are not automatically congruent ...
I am sure we can all think of times when "doing the right ethical thing" might be illegal or immoral ...
or another combinations ...
it might be legal , and moral for a soldier to have carried out orders to kill someone in time of war ... but unethical ... if despite legality and morality of it ... it was unnecessary ...
our craft evolved in specific cultureal environment and context ... and as we become more diverse we need to be clearer on such issues
yes most masonic lodges recognize our judeo-christian traditions as a core that most members share ... but clearly we also recognize that members who subscribe or even loddges who mostly subscribe to other value or religious traditions ... are also brothers in context and values and obligations ...
but ...
morality varies with religion as well as local culture and circumstances
ergo ... time to substitue a new term for MORALITY in our rituaal perhaps
Our ritual points to how we know ourselves and others to be Masons. It seems to me that if someone is seeking what the Craft has to offer these would be things that would draw their interest.
"They will know us by our actions" and "Let those with eyes see, those with ears hear, and those with lips speak" are quotes that come to mind in relation to this topic.
If the goal is to become a better man, it stands to reason we would benefit from surrounding ourselves with others who are similarly aligned.
MWPGM Bailey,
I heard that in his younger days, Robert C. Byrd, Jr. was involved in a group of young men who would harass men who were playing around with women other than the man's wife (immorality). Unfortunately, his young men's organization was by some folks considered associated with the KKK? Later in his life, he became a member of Mountain Masonic Lodge No. 156 in Coal City WV.
In fits and starts, two steps forward one step back, our society has made great positive strides since the founding of our nation. One hundred years ago the Klan was a major force in US politics, and huge numbers of men were proud to be open about their membership in it. Today, neither of those things is the case, which shows me that over time our society as a whole continues to improve. There is still more work to do, of course, but over the march of history the US has become an ever more just nation.
On the same topic, for a very long time now, plenty of anti-masonic conspiracy theorists have claimed the Klan to somehow be a part of our Craft. That has never been true, but as with a great many conspiracy theories about Masonry, it seems to persist.
To me, the answer is simple "By their actions, you shall know them." It is all to easy to over intellectualize rather that act. For me, morality is virtue in action.
Thanks for this, it gives me something to ponder, for it is certainly true that thought without action lacks effect.
Here’s a quote from the New Testament. It’s the GNT, of which I have a copy and have read all of it. James 1:19-25. “Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose. So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.
Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice. If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are. They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like. But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do.”
This covers SO much of what's happening today.
Thanks for sharing this here!
I think they chose morality because morality is the pragmatic first step in making a better man, and a better world. Morality governs the person from within their own heart. Plato, in his deep and philosophical debates, tended to conclude with morality, derived from philosophical examination, and that morality was meant to guide behavior. Put differently, if our Masonic forefathers were philosophers, mystics and intellectuals, and they explored the nature of a healthy society and and enlightened person and they were able to cut to the root of those issues, then that wisdom would be communicated to the men who followed them in the form of morality, injunctions on behavior, that would guide a person until such time as they discovered the deeper wisdoms from which the morality was derived for themselves.
This makes sense to me.
I've also wondered if they didn't various stopping points in order to offer each Mason something different, something for his own unique needs.
What I mean is, perhaps it was designed so that:
Many will only hear and retain the simple moral lessons. Fewer will benefit from some of the actual teachings contained within the Lectures. Fewer still will look behind the ritual and symbolism to find that which is veiled.
Each man receiving that which he needs, and can understand.
I'm sure there is truth in that.
the problem with the term MORALITY is indeed in its definition ...
As Margeret Mead so long ago pointed out ... Morality is a local socio-culutral interpretation of what is "constructive and ethical" ... with respect to the local culture and conditions or situation ...
Meaning that the concept of "ethics" is pretty universal ...
but
that Morality varies by culture, ciccumstance, local traditions, etc.
Simple examples that are obvious and notorious rotate around sexuality and reproduction ...
but also extend into business, factual truths (objective circumstances that are testable) ...
etc. etc.
Traditionally MORALITY and ETHICS have been used in a bit too interchangable manner ...
Since in a given fixed culture ... say Engliand of 1850 ... the two ...for that one fixed culture in a given fixed layer of society ... the two were indeed the same ...
However ... what is ethical vs moral ... is different if we compare 1940 boston upper crust vs 1940 south pacific island ...
both have a clear idea of ETHICS ...but that social behavior goes along with that is vastly different ... ergo the MORALITY of a given action in the different circumstances and cultures is different ...
I would argue that what was meant in our EA degree is more ETHICS ... than Morality per se ...
Morality is a judgement of social behavior and standards ... that is very different from ETHICS ...
we need to discriminate between LEGAL , ETHICAL, and MORAL ...
more clearly ...
they are not automatically congruent ...
I am sure we can all think of times when "doing the right ethical thing" might be illegal or immoral ...
or another combinations ...
it might be legal , and moral for a soldier to have carried out orders to kill someone in time of war ... but unethical ... if despite legality and morality of it ... it was unnecessary ...
etc.
lots of combinations ...
clearly we can all think of circumstgances where something might be illegal but both moral and ethical ...
our craft evolved in specific cultureal environment and context ... and as we become more diverse we need to be clearer on such issues
yes most masonic lodges recognize our judeo-christian traditions as a core that most members share ... but clearly we also recognize that members who subscribe or even loddges who mostly subscribe to other value or religious traditions ... are also brothers in context and values and obligations ...
but ...
morality varies with religion as well as local culture and circumstances
ergo ... time to substitue a new term for MORALITY in our rituaal perhaps
holding to archeic traditional language is nice
but it can also lead to confusikons ...
Our ritual points to how we know ourselves and others to be Masons. It seems to me that if someone is seeking what the Craft has to offer these would be things that would draw their interest.
"They will know us by our actions" and "Let those with eyes see, those with ears hear, and those with lips speak" are quotes that come to mind in relation to this topic.
If the goal is to become a better man, it stands to reason we would benefit from surrounding ourselves with others who are similarly aligned.