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Post by LorrB on May 28, 2013 8:02:05 GMT 9.5
>Brotherly love, Relief and Truth So what is veiled in allegory? Why is it so hard to get that question answered? Does no one know? Do you?
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 8:16:59 GMT 9.5
The first key is given by Albert Mackey when he refers to a "science of morality". In his day science was known to proceed by observation, hypothesis and experiment.
Ultimately science allows great effects to be achieved with modest effort. So it is with a science of morality.
And of course with a science, morality is no longer anchored to the mores of the community but to something more profound.
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Post by LorrB on May 28, 2013 8:42:41 GMT 9.5
... ah-ha ... the ARK
A Random act of Kindness
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 15:19:41 GMT 9.5
Actually it is more anchored to the plumb line..
Amos 7 7Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
8And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
Douay-Rheims is in a minority
7These things the Lord shewed to me: and behold the Lord was standing upon a plastered wall, and in his hand a mason's trowel.
8And the Lord said to me: What seest thou, Amos? And I said: A mason's trowel. And the Lord said: Behold, I will lay down the trowel in the midst of my people Israel. I will plaster them over no more.
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Post by Amos on May 28, 2013 19:36:15 GMT 9.5
And the Lord said to me: What seest thou, Amos? And I said: A mason's trowel. And the Lord said: Behold, I will lay down the trowel in the midst of my people Israel. I will plaster them over no more."And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:" - Amos chapter 7 verse 8
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Post by Clement XII on May 28, 2013 19:42:27 GMT 9.5
So what was veiled in allegory was that any suitable male can join? Surely that was well known to the Roman church. Like most veils, it can be seen through. Hence the many Papal bulls, encyclicals, et cetera, condemning Freemasonry.
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Post by Amos on May 28, 2013 19:49:07 GMT 9.5
And the Lord said to me: What seest thou, Amos? And I said: A mason's trowel. And the Lord said: Behold, I will lay down the trowel in the midst of my people Israel. I will plaster them over no more."And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:" - Amos chapter 7 verse 8 The passage is significant in Freemasonry and in that tradition the Authorised King James version is used and before that was published the Geneva Bible. Freemasonry was simply picking up on a theme in the Bible.
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 19:51:58 GMT 9.5
So what was veiled in allegory was that any suitable male can join? Surely that was well known to the Roman church. Like most veils, it can be seen through. Hence the many Papal bulls, encyclicals, et cetera, condemning Freemasonry. "veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols" So if the only morality that was veiled was that any suitable male might join where are the symbols to illustrate that? It does seem a rather weak argument to me. Perhaps the Masonic science has yet to be unveiled.
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 19:56:28 GMT 9.5
... The passage is significant in Freemasonry and in that tradition the Authorised King James version is used and before that was published the Geneva Bible. Freemasonry was simply picking up on a theme in the Bible. The passage is seen as sufficiently significant to be used by some orders as part of the secrets of the IM. Does the passage give us the first clue to what is veiled by the plumb line?
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Post by Clement XII on May 28, 2013 20:08:36 GMT 9.5
So if the only morality that was veiled was that any suitable male might join.... That has not been said. The Catholic state was concerned about the bottom-up democratic example being a real threat to its secular power, with the Pope being the feudal head of Europe.
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Post by stepnwolf on May 28, 2013 20:16:46 GMT 9.5
That is a tragic mis-translation in the Douay version, isn't it? When translating from Hebrew to Latin evidently St. Jerome used the term trulla cementarii, which was the Latin technical term for plumb. However, trulla alone meant trowel and cementarii meant builders, hence the builders' trowel. When the Douay published an English version the phrase was translated literally, ignoring the idiomatic use of the phrase. There is no confusion in the Hebrew original אנך (anak), meaning plumb, or lead-weight. Once committed to “trowel” the translators had to fudge a translation out of the rest of the passage to make any sense.
This is much like the new English translation of the Latin Mass where translators slavishly followed the Latin text with little attempt to make it idiomatic English. The translator's art can easily become a slippery slope to error.
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 20:42:16 GMT 9.5
The Catholic state was concerned about the bottom-up democratic example being a real threat to its secular power, with the Pope being the feudal head of Europe. No doubt it was but that is unlikely to be the origin of teaching through allegory and symbol. The ancient mysteries seemed always to have been taught so and it does not seem very likely to me that Masonry doing the same was a later and independent invention to deal with religious authorities.
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 20:43:44 GMT 9.5
>That is a tragic mis-translation in the Douay version, isn't it?
I thought it a curious translation and wondered whether it was entirely accidental.
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Post by veiled in allegory on May 28, 2013 20:47:29 GMT 9.5
No doubt it was but that is unlikely to be the origin of teaching through allegory and symbol. The ancient mysteries seemed always to have been taught so and it does not seem very likely to me that Masonry doing the same was a later and independent invention to deal with religious authorities. So is that your point? I had understood you to have been asking about WHAT was veiled not about the ACT of veiling. Masonry has several forms of instruction, none of them peculiar to the institution.
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Post by paul on May 28, 2013 20:49:34 GMT 9.5
So what is the fabled Masonic science?
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Post by adept on May 28, 2013 21:28:24 GMT 9.5
So what is the fabled Masonic science? Brotherhood.
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Post by paul on May 29, 2013 7:47:48 GMT 9.5
A science indeed. I rest my case.
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Post by paul on Jul 28, 2013 10:06:19 GMT 9.5
This is quite a powerful scene - where the brethren are conducting energy into the candidate. Perhaps it is worth recovering into modern ritual. There is a related process at the obligation of the candidate in LDH but this seems better
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Post by stewartedwards on Jul 28, 2013 15:31:50 GMT 9.5
Some lodges, admittedly few, do have a distinct energy signature about them, that hits me when I enter (as a tourist remember). Most are sterile or bland. But some - wow.
A few examples:-
1. Grand Lodge of Scotland - Grand Lodge - simple, functional, could almost be a school hall. But so very comforting. 2. UGLE - a tiny lodge that I understand used to be the Grand Secretaries office - I immediately knew that a lot of good work had been done in there, and I was quite humbled, and wondered if I could be worthy enough. The energy signature was quite overwhelming - which for an old English Establishment office is rather unusual, as the polarity of the energy was unexpected. 3. The LDH Grand Lodge in the UK - when I entered I was hit with so much unexpected energy that the Grand Master sat me down and made me a cup of tea. He seemed rather surprised at what I could feel in there, and kindly helped me understand, though he said virtually nothing.
My point in picking three different Grand lodges is to illustrate that the ability to awaken is retained in lodges even if many masons think it complete and utter nonsense. The right lodge with the right members and the right candidates must be an exhausting, comforting, awakening place to be.
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Post by paul on Apr 12, 2014 8:07:31 GMT 9.5
Current Masonic craft ritual is a rather limited reflection of the temple in the heavens. For example only the human species is overtly represented. A more explicit ritual would identify the officers representing elemental, nature spirit, and devic kingdoms with side initiations for those roles. The Song of Creation would be represented. The previous metaphor was The Lighthouse which was the Great Pyramid in the days of its reflective limestone covering and the brethren were Sons of Light. The next metaphor may well move past the developer image of architects and buildings towards a Great Steward who oversees the stewardship of the earth. Here is a perception that I had a few years ago: The lodge room is probably circular at least in the arrangement of the brethren.
In the East is the officer representing the human race - convening the lodge. The human is the meeting point of many energies hence a lodge in him or herself.
The anchor point is in the West where the officer represents the angelic kingdom. In order to be an effective representative, that officer has to be initiated into the angelic kingdom through a side degree for that purpose.
The choice of officer is not trivial either, being generally filled by a brother/sister with close incarnational connections to the angelic (greater devic) kingdom.
The use of sound especially song is critical in the relationship between the Master and the WSW. (I am not sure if the existing titles remain but the old ones are convenient for this exposition)
In the South is the officer representing the Nature Spirits of Earth and Water. The officer in the North (hidden entry to the higher temple) represents the nature spirits of Air and Fire. Again with their own initiations - have to be real initiations conducted with the Nature Spirits themselves - and again the choice of officers is not trivial. (This is foreshadowed in the Co-Masonic initiation in which the candidate is introduced to the elemental groups and the Wardens of their "gates")
The Senior Deacon is the messenger from the Temple in the Heavens (actually the lodge in the solar system) and has the role of "tuning" the brethren who are to anchor the 7 Spirits before the Throne of God (The 7 Masons who make a lodge perfect). The SD therefore has a more extensive and chanting role - somewhat parallel to the role of the thurifer in the Co-Masonic opening ritual. The choice of the brethren to anchor each of the 7 Masons is likely not to be directly related to formal positions but related to ability to resonate.
This may result in brethren in the columns being chosen early in the ritual for those tasks. This may take the form of particular brethren being censed (with a thurible) with the particular swings and sounds from the SD indicating the particular role for the ceremony. This of course requires that the SD knows who The 7 Masons prefer. (The SD may well consult with senior brethren in advance of the opening and indeed forewarn the relevant brethren)
The Junior Deacon has a similar role with respect to the Lords of Karma (Lords of the Planes) and following the SD will designate those brethren to facilitate the entry of the Lords of the Planes. The designation process is likely to be based upon the plane. For example for the Lord of the Physical Plane I expect that a physical contact will be used, while for the astral plane a sound and for the mental plane a sound associated with a distinct connection between the 3rd eye of the JD and the designated brother. For the purposes of human degrees only 5 Lords/planes will be used.
Again, the JD must have a profound connection to the lords of karma to perform this role.
Now the position of IPM is interesting as it is a stellar role and directly represents The Widow and her Lodge as custodians of the education processes of humans and related species. The IPM specifically is expected to obtain the patterns for the unfoldment of the group entity of the lodge and for the candidates in the lodge working in the human degrees.
These patterns are transferred to the candidate as the Master magnetises the candidate with the Master's rod. This parallels the use of a sword in initiation in Co-Masonic workings.
The basic work of the lodge working in the human degrees is to raise the brethren (male and female) to a consciousness of and a competence in a series of five-fold relationships. The first of these is elemental, the second is brotherhood of kingdoms within creation, and the third is the brotherhood within the solar systemic temple. This is unfolds the current use of the Five Points of Fellowship.
This of course prepares the human brother to be a steward of the Earth, balancing kingdoms and stimulating their unfoldment.
There are at least 2 five-fold geometries in the arrangement of officers in the earthly temple. The presence of a sevenfold geometry is concealed until the 3rd degree.The rituals for the installation of specific officers I will leave undescribed at present but they are not carried out in the lodge opened in human form.I was looking for something on the temple in the heavens and found this. I like it even more than before.
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