The Masonic Myth

Ashlar2006

Masonic Mafia
I thought I would start a thread about Masonic myths that non-Masons have about us .

I will start .

We have all heard or read about non-Masons saying they have family members who are high up Masons , top members of 32nd/33rd degree Masons .

There is no such thing as a high up , top member aka: the 32nd/33rd degree Mason . The highest degree that a Mason can obtain is that of the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason or the 3rd degree . The 3 degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry IS Freemasonry .

The 32nd/33rd degree are those of the Scottish Rite Mason which is concordant body of Freemasonry . The Scottish Rite gives a Brother more knowledge but they do not elevate the Scottish Rite Mason above a 3rd Degree Master Mason . They are not over all of Freemasonry . The Blue Lodge or Craft Masonry is the end all be all of Freemasonry . The Scottish Rite is simply extra side degrees that a Freemason is free to join if he wishes .


And while I am on the Scottish Rite , Morals and Dogma is not the "Bible" of Freemasons and Albert Pike and his musings in Morals and Dogma does not speak for Freemasonry . What he says in Morals and Dogma are his thoughts and his alone . A Freemason is free to accept or reject any of his or any other Masonic authors thoughts on Freemasonry .
 

Ashlar2006

Masonic Mafia
One rule : Any Anti-Masonic posts trying to refute what we as Freemasons post here will be promptly removed . This thread is only for Freemasons who know what they are talking about . As we are not posting heresay , lies and secondhand information .

If anyone has something they would like to question or refute , please start a new thread , copy and paste what you disagree with and we will debate with you there .
 

jason

Seanchaí
Staff member
First off, great idea.

Second, I do not know to start. I guess because I'm ready A Pilgrims Path which deals a lot with Anti-Masonic theories.

Third, I may do something on the "start". This however seems to be a huge subject, as many Brothers do not agree on how we started. So it may deserve its own thread completely.
 

Ashlar2006

Masonic Mafia
Thank you .

Yes , our history would be a great thread where Brothers may post all the theories they have heard . There is so many different stories and theories that it would make for some great reading .
 

Cemore

Senior Member
Morning, another mith I keep hearing is Freemasonry has one great ruler or is a world order. This is not at all true as in the USA each State has its on Grand Lodge which is omnipotent to its self (or mambers). This meaning the Grand Lodge only answers to it members and abiding within civil law.
 
I know one myth I wish was true....that we had the ability to turn lead into gold....then we wouldnt have so many Brothers hurting financially...World Domination...HA!!!...I just want to get my kids to keep their room clean....
 
G

Gary

Guest
I know one myth I wish was true....that we had the ability to turn lead into gold....then we wouldnt have so many Brothers hurting financially...World Domination...HA!!!...I just want to get my kids to keep their room clean....
LOL...Me too brother. Me too!
 

Ashlar2006

Masonic Mafia
Let's not post what we wish was true . Only serious posts about myths , half truths and out right lies .
 

Duncan1574

Lodge Chaplain & arms dealer
Most of my friends (many who have or had relatives in the Craft) call us a cult. When I asked why they thought that it came down to the secrecy "they wouldn't talk about it".
 
G

Gary

Guest
Freemason's ride goats

Ok then, How about this one;

The myth goes that Freemasons ride goats during ceremonies in lodge. The truth is Masons do not ride goats in lodge. Maybe some do at home on their farm for fun, but it is not a sanctioned part of any Masonic ritual.

Why the goat? Since the Middle Ages goats have been used as a symbol to make reference to the devil. That may sound far fetched in today’s world however the goat still plays a major roll in references to Satan in a number of Christian denominations. This idea was very popular during the witch persecutions. Witches were said to come riding into town on goats to take part in their blasphemous activities.

As Freemasonry became more and more popular, people who feared and misunderstood the fraternity started making claims and accusing Freemasons of witchcraft. This is most likely where the goat riding accusations came from. Some other things that may have contributed to this rumor and helped it grow into a unfortunate and untrue belief of some people is that in some of the early ritual books for the fraternity God was referred to as “God of all Things” abbreviated G.O.A.T. This has since been changed to G.A.O.T.U or Great Architect of the Universe.

Some of the other things that help perpetuate this myth among non- and anti-Masons is that some of the old catalogs distributed by some of the fraternal supply companies in the late 1800’s did offer mechanical goats for use in non recognized fun degrees. Kind of like the duck rides outside of grocery stores.

This kind of horseplay or (goat-play) which was used when fraternalism was at its height and there were many different fraternal orders that were competing for membership with the Freemasons also helped perpetuate this myth.

Freemasons do not ride a goat in their lodges. There is no lodge goat. The degrees of Masonry are very serious business to Freemasons. It’s a joke and nothing more.
 

Duncan1574

Lodge Chaplain & arms dealer
Ok then, How about this one;

The myth goes that Freemasons ride goats during ceremonies in lodge. The truth is Masons do not ride goats in lodge. Maybe some do at home on their farm for fun, but it is not a sanctioned part of any Masonic ritual.
[SNIP]
Freemasons do not ride a goat in their lodges. There is no lodge goat. The degrees of Masonry are very serious business to Freemasons. It’s a joke and nothing more.
This myth is told about the Rotary Intl & Optimists clubs in my town. No goats that I have seen.
 

Ashlar2006

Masonic Mafia
Most of my friends (many who have or had relatives in the Craft) call us a cult. When I asked why they thought that it came down to the secrecy "they wouldn't talk about it".
Would you care to elaborate as to why we are not a cult , for those not in the know ? Or would someone else like to take the baton and run with it ?
 

Duncan1574

Lodge Chaplain & arms dealer
Would you care to elaborate as to why we are not a cult , for those not in the know ? Or would someone else like to take the baton and run with it ?
Freemasonry is not a cult as we do not practice a particular religion over any other. Any man of 18-25 years or older, who believes in a singular deity, of good reputation, & without a felony conviction to their name is free to become a Mason (Note Free as in FREEmason). This information is openly shared on this forum/website and in numerous other sites on the Internet.

Personally, I researched freemasonry before asking for a petition to join, I have some Freemason friends and many more now. I was invited to tour the Lodge, including the Lodge room, and my questions were all answered without guile.

Additionally, I study religions as a vocation/hobby as part of my officiant/celebrant part-time job. (I perform marriage ceremonies for people with no church homes or that have 'different' views), so I can with some authority state that: Freemasonry & Wiccans have one clear thing in common: bad press for many, many years.
 

Winter

I've been here before
I'm surprised nobody has brought up the one I hear all the time, that we worship Baphomet.

I find these damned Jack Chick pamphlets all over the place around campus all the time. Annoying is what it is.

The Curse of Baphomet
 

FamilyMan

Fidelis ad Mortem
How about this: That we either urinate on a cross or crucifix, or that (Christian Masons) must renounce Jesus. Anyone want to tell me where this bull came from?

We all know that this isn't true. Anyone who believes in a Supreme Being is permitted to petition to join, and that a brother's particular religious views are not discussed in the Lodge.

Also its been expressed to me by someone I know that, "Oh, you just haven't made it high enough into the Cult yet. Once you're part of the 'upper level' and you're a 33rd or 32nd degree, you'll have to do all of that stuff. And since they are sworn to secrecy about doing it, they can't tell you about it."

Again with people worried about secrecy... "it's not public? Assume the worse!" Doctors and nurses can't talk about certain aspects of their jobs, nor can police officers, teachers, people with security clearances, and many other professions... but if it's a Freemason, oh gosh, they must be doing something nefarious.
 
G

Gary

Guest
I'm surprised nobody has brought up the one I hear all the time, that we worship Baphomet.

I find these damned Jack Chick pamphlets all over the place around campus all the time. Annoying is what it is.

The Curse of Baphomet
In the goat myth, I should have included it. I allude to it with the part about the witchcraft. But yeah, it's annoying.
 

Ashlar2006

Masonic Mafia
I'm surprised nobody has brought up the one I hear all the time, that we worship Baphomet.

I find these damned Jack Chick pamphlets all over the place around campus all the time. Annoying is what it is.

The Curse of Baphomet
I was going to set and post a few , but I am hoping others will step up to the plate and correct some mistaken ideas others have of us .

Topics of interest.......

Are we a Religion ?
Can a Freemason be a Christian ?
Are we anti-Christian ?
Are we a cult ?
Does 33rd degree SR Masons run Freemasonry ?
Do we worship the devil/baphomet ?
Do we really make our candidates ride goats ?
Do we get our members out of trouble if they break the law ?
Are we out to take over the world ?


Or any other myth you have read , heard or have been accused of , no matter how silly or mundane we think it is . Go into as much detail as you can to refute these claims . Even if it has already been posted and a Brother feels he can go into greater detail on it , then go ahead .
 

PatrickWilliams

I could tell you ...
The myth goes that Freemasons ride goats during ceremonies in lodge. The truth is Masons do not ride goats in lodge. Maybe some do at home on their farm for fun, but it is not a sanctioned part of any Masonic ritual.
You are quite correct, from the aspect of the fraternity TODAY. However, things were not always as they are now. Fraternalism in the USA went through an enormous growth period after our Civil War and some of the Masons who were made during this period did not take our Craft as seriously as we do now. There are fraternal supply catalogs extant from the mid to late 1800's (and beyond) that are full of things like horrific looking paddles, exploding chairs and mechanical goats that were marketed directly at Freemasonry (as well as other fraternities). The anti-Masonic movement of the late 1800's put an end to almost all of that sort of thing, thankfully (there was still, and in some jurisdictions is still a bit of hazing in the Shrine, for example, but nothing as serious or dangerous as what our brethren participated in during the past).

For this particular myth, it is unfortunately true that some Lodges in our past forced candidates to ride a mechanical goat as part of their entry into our fraternity. The same can be said of other frats, too. Luckily for us, we live in more enlightened times, eh?

In fact, here: http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/demoulin_bros_artifacts.htm is a link to a page at the Phoenixmasonry Online Masonic Museum that shows a fraternal catalog from the 1930's. By that time, most of the horseplay was confined to 'side degrees', but it was still there.
 
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