Freemasons have long communicated using visual symbols drawn from the tools of stonemasonry. The Masonic square and compasses symbol is seen on the main floor wall at the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Washington, D. They are used during Masonic ceremonies. While Freemasonry is not itself a religion, all its members believe in a Supreme Being , or "Grand Architect of the Universe. The Catholic Church first condemned Freemasonry in , prompted by concern over Masonic temples and the secret rituals performed within them.
In the 19th century, the Vatican even called the Masons "the Synagogue of Satan. The Shriners known formally as the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine , the charity organization best known in the popular mind for driving tiny cars in parades, are an off-shoot of the Masons.
They run 22 children's hospitals where patients don't pay a cent. Masonry began as a guild for stone masons who built the castles and cathedrals of Medieval Europe.
So that's why they believe the Masons' word came into effect. It allowed the craftspeople to move from one jobsite to another and identify themselves as being part of the trade union. Introduced in , the Rolling Rock brand of beer, from the Latrobe Brewing Company of Pennsylvania, ends a statement on its label with the cryptic " In , Cecil Adams' "The Straight Dope" column investigated this urban legend and found that "33" actually was scribbled under the statement, indicating how many words it contained, and the printer mistakenly added it to the label.
Rob joined in January, I joined a few months later, and then Chris joined right after me. Beck: How do you get in? Do you just apply?
Are there certain qualifications? You need to have a belief in God. You have to apply, then you go through a background check, and you provide references. Beck: Have you all seen National Treasure? There is a lot of history tied to the fraternity. Beck: Nobody stole the Declaration of Independence? Beck: Can you explain to me what Masons actually do? When I think of Freemasonry, I just think of charity and secrets.
In Masonry, there are three degrees. The degrees are called entered apprentice, fellow craft, and master Mason. They are very similar to the concepts in a union or trade group of the apprentice, journeyman, and master—because Masonry adopted a lot of its structure from the old stonemason guilds of medieval times.
The degrees [each] have initiation rites. All of the officers who perform the initiation ceremony are doing it from memory. Each degree is designed to give a candidate an impression of [what goes on in] Freemasonry and a certain amount of moral teaching. Then that becomes a shared bond with everyone in the fraternity, no matter where you come from. Chris kept mentioning the Shriners; in order to become a Shriner, you have to become a Mason.
The Shriners do the Shriners Hospitals. Our lodge does charitable work with a youth and family service group. A lot of what we do is just take care of the other members.
They also fissured on issues of race and gender. Were women worthy to be admitted to the great mysteries? Were Jewish or Black people? Externally, the Masonic brand was borrowed and bastardized. If you had a secret, then organizing yourself like the Freemasons seemed a good way to keep it.
Groups as varied as the Ku Klux Klan to conceal the identity of white supremacist terrorists , the Sicilian mafia crime , and the Mormon Church bigamy all incorporated the furtive strands of the Masonic DNA. The Pope excommunicated them very early on, seeing them as covert heretics; any Catholic who joins the Masons is still putting his soul in peril, according to the Vatican.
Conspiracy thinking drove Mussolini, Hitler and Franco to crush the Craft. Today, Freemasonry is banned in China, and everywhere in the Muslim world except Lebanon and Morocco. The men who built the well know how deep it is.
The rest of us can only peer down and wonder what might lurk below, while the dark surface mirrors back our fears. Ask the Freemasons today about secrecy, and you will receive a pat response. But, of course, even moderately skeptical non-Masons will still wonder.
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