Is Freemasonry good or evil? (Jesus, claim, religion, world)

[Scotty011]

It is a great organization and there is certainly nothing evil about it. I have been a member for many years and I can vouch that it is filled with good intelligent people that are pillars of the community. They are men from all walks of life meeting together for fellowship and lodge activities. All of the negative things you hear about this fraternity is bull.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by djmilf

Freemasonry as an exclusive fraternal society existed in England in one form or another prior to the English colonization of North America. It naturally spread to the English Colonies and many of the Founding Fathers were Freemasons. As such, it was an established and respected organization in America.

But the secretive nature of the group contrasted against the emerging democratization of the United States in the early 19th century. Basically, as the nation expanded west of the Appalachian Mountains, as voting rights were extended to all white males without regard to property requirements, and as more men gained influence and wealth without being related directly to the original upper classes of the established eastern states, exclusive and secretive societies became seen as anti-democratic. Freemasonry came to bee seen as the Bilderberg Group of the nineteenth century.

If any one incident sparked the growing resentment of Freemasonry into outright opposition, it started with this:



William Morgan (anti-Mason) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My grandparents on back were Masons. My grandmother was a member of the Eastern Star. It was part of community life in the small town area of Iowa they lived in. When they came to California they continued to be active in masonry.

If there is or isn't a connection to upper class Englishmen it was of no importance to the Masons who saw it as a part of their own small communities in middle America, where it was a fixture of the very middle class/working class society.

[JimRom]

Originally Posted by phili80

OK...little bit of a catchy title but why does Freemasonry have such a negative connotation to it to so many people? Although it is secretive, many high profile people are a part of this group and it's hard to believe they all have some kind of consistent hidden world agenda. I'll admit I don't much about it but what do you think? Is this a good organization based on what you know? Or not?

You've touched on one of my favorite areas of study, and the only answer I can give about why Freemasonry is frowned upon in some circles is superstition. Similar to the way that Friday the 13th (and the number 13 in general) are viewed as unlucky due to a supposed association with the Knights Templar (no evidence exists that ties the two together other than the date that the Templars were arrested by King Philip IV's men), Freemasonry has long been associated with the Templars (spuriously, and apparently through some pains that were taken by Masons to build this association centuries after the Templars had been disbanded). Unfortunately, that association among European and other Western cultures has led to Freemasons being painted with the same brush that the Templars were. Any student of history knows that the Templars were less than loved toward the end of their existence. Freemasonry's secrecy and chauvinism throughout the years probably haven't helped their social standing in recent years, either.

Having known quite a few Masons, I think the negativity is overblown and misplaced. Freemasonry is a very socially conscious organization, and members tend to be very helpful and well known on the volunteer circuit in their areas.

[desertdetroiter]

Neither, although they do some good things occasionally.

Certainly no more evil than organized religion, which is far more ubiquitous.

[simetime]

Is it possible that on the lower levels it is nothing but a party and help one another but the higher levels that few are privy to have a special agenda known only to themselves?

[JimRom]

Originally Posted by certsevtxert

Freemasonry, at its core, worships and serves the so-called "angel of light" as a god. The angel of light is called Lucifer, who was once the archangel of heaven, but was cast down from heaven by the one true God, who is not the entity who freemasons worship.

Freemasonry is the worship of Lucifer, akaSatan, aka the Devil, aka the Deceiver, aka the Spirit of Darkness, and he has many other names. However, Satan is not God and worship of Satan is pure evil!

If you believe otherwise, then you have been deceived.

This tidbit of misinformation was first brought to light by Leo Taxil, and was known as Taxil's Hoax. Even though Taxil held a press conference in 1897 at which he revealed that everything he had written about the Freemasons was fictitious, people are still using his fictional writings to try to discredit the Freemasons.

Anyone else see the irony of spreading deceptive information and then accusing anyone who doesn't believe it of being deceived?

[Scotty011]

Originally Posted by simetime

Is it possible that on the lower levels it is nothing but a party and help one another but the higher levels that few are privy to have a special agenda known only to themselves?

Absolutely not.

[baxendale]

Free masonry work? Where do I sign up?

[Weichert]

Originally Posted by weltschmerz

The Founding Fathers were Freemasons. Are you saying the US was built on Satanism and devil worship?

I think that I've read that George Washington himself was a member.

[Gilah G.]

I was just reading about this group and "the Illuminati" Coconut Grove...etc...
. This is spooky.
Googled it last night and the first thing I read on the forum is freemasonry.