There has been a lot written of late by a small group of malcontents in freemasonry. These brothers seem to feel that if only freemasonry would change, lock, stock and barrel to THEIR vision, that everything would be cool beans and freemasonry would grow.The Problem is, their "suggestions" for change involve throwing away pretty much everything that makes Freemasonry, well, Masonic. This includes the Grand Lodge system, the lodges, the ritual, the tenets, how we meet, who we recognize... if all their plans were implemented, we would be something else, but not freemasonry.
They go on constantly about Grand Lodges being "monolithic" and "unresponsive". One of these brothers even recently wrote: Monolithic systems such as Grand Lodges are well suited for mass production operations where everything is the same, but poorly suited to address individual needs. This, I believe, is the true nature of the problem. It's not about the needs of the ego but the spirit of the human being.
The problem is, this is incorrect, a sand foundation for all proceeding arguments, and in itself an ego driven position. These few brothers, and by few I mean less than a hundred (though they are quite vocal) out of, what, 4 million plus Freemasons worldwide, seem to hold the position that they are not bound by their obligation to Freemasonry, that they do not have to work within the system to effect change.
They do not seem to care that the MAJORITY, and by majority, I mean over 99% of all regular masons, do not agree with them and their methods. In one case recently, a lodge voted to surrender its charter, and is attempting to take all the assets of the lodge with them in the process, and have now formed a NEW lodge, without a charter.
This action was handled by less than a third of the members of the lodge who were present to vote, out of the entire membership of the lodge. More disturbing is their actions in moving the building and other valuable assets into an outside charity (in contravention to the bylaws of the law and the constitution of the grand lodge under which they HELD their charter.
The fact that they took this action after having their charter placed on probationary status because of actions they had been, or had not been taking, and the concern of the Grand Lodge over their actions. These men also, at the same time they voted to "surrender" their charter, also surrendered their dues cards and formed a new lodge, without a charter. Of course, these three actions meant that these brothers, less than a hundred of them according to reports, were no longer regular masons.
Ego is the prime cause of this problem, and others like it. In masonic ritual, we are taught that we were first PREPARED to be made a mason in our hearts, then taught to circumscribe our desires, and "wait a time with patience". A lack of patience, and an over riding ego are the prime cause of these types of actions.
They did not attempt anything through gentle acts. I have been following the actions there, and they have been, as far as I can tell, rightly reined in by the grand lodge.
Now they have done what I recommended, vote with their feet. Good for them. The issue I take umbrage with is what appears to be their moving the assets of the Lodge out of the "lodge", illegally by their own bylaws and the constitution of the grand lodge under which charter the assets were assembled, THEN surrendering their charter and taking over the assets to form a "new" lodge.
Sorry, that is not good. If they were honest in their actions, they would all have simply demited from that lodge and gone to form a new lodge and left the charter in place. After all, there are over 300 members of that lodge.
But no, they wanted to have their cake and eat it to (yes, I know, silly saying but there you are). Myself, I have no problem with their objecting to... whatever it was they objected to... following the rules of their grand lodge in not extending even honorary membership to an expelled mason, and not moving the assets of the lodge, wasn't it?
If they had simply done the honorable thing, demitted and gone off to get a charter from somewhere else, or even just forming their own new lodge, I would have lauded and honored them. After all, that is following the dictates of their conscience.
That is NOT what they did, however. They had to make a show, by "giving back their charter", and taking the assets of the lodge WITH them. Not masonic at all, in my estimation.
They should have simply demitted and left the lodge without officers, for the GM to fix however he decided to fix it. That is not what they did, and it is the... other things they did, in association with a rather... untraditional manner of demitting that I object to...
By the way, no one really seems to know what was so egregious about their grand lodge that they just HAD to demit, do they? And no one seems to see anything that they are doing that is different from regular masons the world over... except claiming to be the best masons there are, I mean.
So, lets go back to the "monolithic" comment. In the United States alone, there are over 90 REGULAR Grand Lodges. I do not follow the actions or philosophies of other obediences, so I will not include them in this discussions, or speculate on them. These 90 REGULAR grand lodges follow a tradition that goes back to at least 1717, a set of traditions, tenets, rituals and philosophy.
Now, all men see things in different lights. That is the essence of working together, and is most masonic when we can set our differences aside and work together. If a brother sees, or thinks he sees a need for change in masonry, whatever it is, it is most masonic that he discuss it with his brethren and either convince them he is correct, or, recognize that his vision is not shared and move on.
If one cannot convince the majority of the correctness of his belief, then it strikes me as the height of chutzpah, ego and hubris when he turns around and claims that the GL is therefore wrong, evil, corrupt etc etc etc, when the fact is, if the majority of his brothers do not agree with him, that HE might be out of step.
Freemasonry is a democracy, at its core, and modern freemasonry is no different. Convince the majority of anything, and you, and they, will prevail. The only MONOLITH in freemasonry is the brethren.
Then we have comments like: If one truly believes in Freemasonry, but the monolithic structure inhibits their spiritual growth, they will become deeply unhappy and confused as to the nature of their unhappiness. Eventually the realization will come to them that it is the limitations of the monolithic structure that holds them back morally and spiritually in their quest for self-discovery.
This type of comment confuses me, because every brother, EVERY brother, can work to effect change in Freemasonry, IF the change is really necessary; AND, more importantly, every man is free to demit from Freemasonry if it does not fulfill his "spiritual" needs. NO MAN, however, is free to stand back, as the antimasonic elements do, and throw rocks at freemasonry because it does not exactly match their "needs".
Some of these brothers use unmasonic, antithetical methods in their efforts to effect change. Some start new "masonic" bodies, clubs, rites, etc., that are not in keeping with true freemasonry. Sometimes, these brothers are even removed from the body masonic because their actions are so disruptive, negative, and unmasonic. Its a sad thing, but it happens.
Fortunately, the number of men that so violate their obligations, masonic teachings, masonic philosophy and masonic tolerance are few. As with any organization, some men join with a misunderstanding of what Freemasonry is... and isn't. When they find out that Freemasonry isn't a bowling club, or a pool hall, or a gym, or a bar with a club grafted on, they become unhappy.
The majority of masons worldwide find the craft to be what it claims and holds itself out as: An ancient and honorable fraternity of men, with a faith in the supreme being, however they define him, a sense of community, of brotherhood, and a need, a hunger, for more light. As one who has traveled the world and seen lodges across the face of it, met and worked with brothers of all races, nationalities and creeds, the glory and beauty of freemasonry is clear.
With the RARE exceptions noted above, the universal experience has been one of friendship, support, study, contemplation, charity and brotherhood. The philosophy of freemasonry is intact, as are the fraternal, social and moral ethos for the taking. Is all sunshine and light? No, Freemasonry, like all organizations, reflects the society in which it grows.
The warmth of masonic light is there, the brotherhood, the family and the knowledge. We are taught as Masons to be tolerant, to be gentle, and to work as brothers to achieve our noble ends. These few men, these errant brothers, are not the cure for Freemasonry's "ills", they ARE an ill, for they have set aside the trowel for the setting maul... and we Masons all know who wields the setting maul, and what the result of one fellowcraft's use of it resulted in.
As masons, we are called to tolerance, fraternity, and to whisper good counsel to our brothers when they have fallen from the path. There comes a time, however, when all good masons must, failing to bring about a reformation through kind, gentle remonstrations and whispered good counsel, must turn our backs on their antics and say, this far, and no further.
A good lodge has been destroyed by following the pied piper, and it seems another is on the brink of the same foolishness. Ego, thy name is NOT Freemasonry. The TRUE name of Freemasonry is FRATERNITAS, and the true secret of freemasonry is brotherhood.
May the blessing of heaven rest upon us and all regular masons. May brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue, cement us.
