Archives for 2009

The Evolution of God

August 23, 2009 by The Euphrates

Before reading this article, I would like to make one more plea asking you to fill out my York Rite Survey. The results of this survey will be used to help me develop a program to help the York Rite in my jurisdiction and hopefully the benefits will extend beyond my state. Anyone can fill it out, it is crucial that I get more responses from non-York Rite Masons. Please provide me with some brotherly relief and take two minutes to fill out this survey. Thank you.

I was having my coffee and enjoying my Sunday morning while watching a recent rerun of an episode of The Colbert Report when the show suddenly caught my attention. Colbert’s guest was Robert Wright who has written a book entitled The Evolution of God. This is a topic that I have long been fascinated with because as I have studied the Bible over the years, I have noticed how the depiction of God evolves throughout the history of the Hebrews and eventually gets a huge makeover when Jesus begins to teach.

The God that Abraham served was extremely personal and was even willing to appear to Abraham as a human, almost like a personal angel. The God of Moses was wrathful. The God of David was often a warrior. Then as the Bible transfers to the New Testament, God becomes a universal being who exists for all of creation. This evolution is not unique to the religions which look to the books of the Bible for enlightenment, mankind is continually making God into a more loving and universal creature. Polytheism and idolatry are types of worship which continually keep disappearing and our society is now starting to make the leap from Deism to agnosticism and eventually atheism. While I have not yet read Robert Wright’s book, he explains that he came to a similar conclusion in his interview with Colbert.

This is a topic that is very relevant to Freemasonry. As Freemasons, we have carried the banner of universality in spirituality for nearly three centuries. There are very few places in the world where men of all creeds can sit in harmony and recognize each other as equals and not judge a man based on his own religious choices. Oh sure, there are plenty of examples of Freemasons that don’t understand this and erroneously regard Freemasonry as a Christian organization, but the knowledgeable Mason understands the fallacy of this idea. It is crucial that Freemasons understand the critical role of the organization in creating peaceful relations among men of all beliefs.

In this age of combative 24-hour news and increased divisiveness in issues such as religion and politics, it is crucial for Freemasons to remain the peacemakers. This is an idea that Albert Pike expounds upon in the 6th degree of the Scottish Rite and the American York Rite gives an example of peaceful religious relations in the Order of the Red Cross, when Darius offers his protection to the Jews so that they can rebuild the temple of their God. Of course, these ideas are well covered by the symbol of the Master Mason’s trowel. As society evolves and the perception of God evolves with it, Freemasons should be happy to be at the forefront of the fight for religious understanding and equality.

Today’s men can use a place to go to escape from religious and political bickering and enjoy fellowship with men of all walks of life which are bound to aid, support, and protect each other. I plan on buying a copy of the book The Evolution of God and gaining some insight into mankind’s perception of Deity. After all, couldn’t understanding someone else’s perspective do us all some good?

[comedycentral 247057]

Like what you are reading at the Euphrates? Email the author at euphratesblog@gmail.com to join the Banks of the Euphrates mailing list.

100 Master Masons Night

August 21, 2009 by TimBryce

Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M. is a Masonic craft lodge located in Dunedin, Florida, a town in the Tampa Bay area with a strong Scottish heritage. Currently we have about 200 members of which approximately thirty attend a stated or called communications; forty on a good night. Having been Secretary of the Lodge, I noticed that attendance is high in the spring but low in autumn (we are dark for the summer). It isn’t until November, when the “snow birds” return to Florida and attendance starts to bounce back. Knowing this, I wanted to try something different during my year in the East. Basically, I was looking for something to stimulate the Craft and give us some momentum going into the Fall.

Believe it or not, the idea came from The Philalethes Society’s Internet discussion group where a member from the north reported his Lodge held a “100 Master Mason Night” to encourage attendance. To me, this was the idea I was looking for and seized on it. In June, just before our summer recess, I called a meeting of our officers and suggested the idea which was warmly received. Consequently, I scheduled August 17th, our first meeting back from recess, for our version of “100 Master Mason Night” and began to promote it in our newsletter and printed up flyers which I distributed to Lodges in our area. I also brought it to the attention of our Masters & Wardens Association who embraced the idea.

I personally invited local Masonic VIPs, including area Worshipful Masters, the President of the Masters & Wardens Association, representatives of the local
High 12 Club, and members of the Grand Lodge. All were introduced accordingly.

Realizing this was not going to be an ordinary stated communications, I started to prepare checklists with assignments for my officers who pitched in without question.

I also formed a telephone committee to contact the Craft about the meeting. Between this, along with an e-mail campaign, people started to register for the meeting, slowly
at first, but then faster as we moved closer to August 17th. By the morning of the day of the meeting, we had 132 reservations. Although we expected some “no shows” we came
close to the mark with 126 people in attendance.

Because we were expecting a large crowd, I wanted to keep the program concise, upbeat, and to the point. One variable I had not anticipated was that our new District Deputy Grand Master, who happens to be a member from our Lodge, wanted to use this date to make his first official visit with his entourage. At first, I thought this would drag things out, then I realized it would be a golden opportunity to help our DDGM kick start his year. Consequently, I kept him advised of our plans as they unfolded.

In fact, we went so far as to schedule a rehearsal with his people so that everyone knew their parts.

Knowing that it was important to put on a first class dinner prior to the meeting, our Junior Warden stepped up to the plate without batting an eye and did a great
job. Not only did he secure the services of his stewards and other volunteers, but he contacted a Lodge member who was a restaurateur who greatly assisted in the
laying out of the menu, ordering the supplies, and orchestrating the kitchen.

Because of the Lodge’s Scottish background, our Senior Deacon, who is a superb bagpiper, piped into the Lodge the Masonic VIPs along with the District Deputy and
his entourage. This stirred the attendees noticeably.

As this was a stated communications, the Lodge naturally had some business to attend to which we expedited as quickly as possible. Other than normal Lodge business, the
program included:

As Worshipful Master, I began with some introductory remarks discussing the need for more Freemasonry, not less (see speech below).
First time visitors were presented west of the alter where I met each one individually on the level (a local Lodge custom).
A Master Mason catechism examination was conducted by the Lodge Instructor for two Brothers. Following this, they were presented their white leather aprons.
Interestingly, one of the Brothers returning his catechism was the son of the District Deputy, who was proud to present him with his apron, a very moving moment in the Lodge.
Another high point was the presentation of a 70 year Masonic service award to a Brother who hadn’t been back to Lodge in the last few years as his health had been slowly declining. Nonetheless, there was a twinkle in his eye as we presented his 70 year pin and rendered grand honors to him.

I received an e-mail from his wife the next day saying how excited he was to sit in Lodge again and receive the award.

For Masonic Education and to improve awareness about our lodge, we showed a new MS PowerPoint presentation featuring a brief history of Dunedin Lodge (about 9 minutes in length).

Knowing our Secretary was celebrating his 55th birthday on this day, I surprised him by having him escorted west of the altar and led the Craft in singing him “Happy Birthday.”
The Master’s gavel was then turned over to the District Deputy Grand Master who conducted his program. Following the meeting, many of the attendees adjourned to nearby Dunedin Brewery which was specially opened for the Masons.

This was an interesting experiment. Hopefully, this will not only invigorate Freemasonry in Dunedin, but it will also stimulate all of the Lodges in our area (a few are considering a similar meeting in their own Lodge). My officers did an outstanding job and I cannot thank them enough for their efforts which, as an aside, kept them organized and motivated during the summer months. The spirit of cooperation was truly infectious. For example, our chaplain was called away on an emergency at the last minute and a chaplain from a neighboring Lodge quickly volunteered his services. Likewise, our organist was out of town and another readily filled in for him. It seemed everyone wanted to take an active part in this historic evening.

Through this program of “100 Master Masons” the message I tried to communicate was twofold in nature: that our Lodge had its act together, and; that a Masonic Lodge
meeting need not be boring. Hopefully, the evening’s spirit of Masonic goodwill will rub off and encourage others to redouble their efforts for the fraternity.

I don’t know who exactly it was from The Philalethes Society that came up with the idea, but thanks! It works.

WORSHIPFUL MASTER’S REMARKS – WE NEED MORE FREEMASONRY, NOT LESS – by W:.Tim Bryce, PM

My Brothers, these are indeed strange times we live in. The economy has been shaken to its foundation, people are out of work, companies are closing their doors, morality is
crumbling, we have considerable political wrangling and backbiting underfoot, we have grave concerns about health care and the national debt, the country is still on guard
against terrorism, and the nuclear threat has never dissipated. Obviously, we can ill-afford to conduct business as usual. If we are to survive, we must find new and
imaginative ways to grow and evolve. Maintaining the status quo is simply not an option.

As we have learned, stagnation means death.

The critics of our fraternity claim that Freemasonry has outlived its usefulness; that it is no longer in step with the times; that it is actually an evil society that must be stamped out. I vehemently disagree. Although we are an imperfect society with our own unique set of problems, I hardly believe we are an obsolete institution.

Now, more than ever, the world needs more Freemasonry, not less. We need more patriotism and civic pride, not less.

We need more cooperation, loyalty, and teamwork, not less.

We need more religious tolerance, not less.

We need more Faith, Hope, and Charity, not less.

We need more positive examples of ethics and pride in workmanship, not less.

We need more Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love, not less.

To do all this, we need more honest and respectful debate, not less.

Yes, we need more Freemasonry, not less.

Maybe I’m old fashioned; maybe I’m wrong, but this is how I see True Masonry; a universal and beautiful concept embraced by men around the world. We must remain the example for others to emulate. We must practice what we preach.

And Brothers, consider this: If not us, who?

Our Politicians? The media? Religious zealots? Who?

Freemasonry is uniquely qualified to lead the charge. We are not a religious or political organization, we represent a cross-section of people from all social strata, located around the world, with honorable intentions. We are well established and have a strong historical background. As long as we do not deviate from the basic tenets of Freemasonry, we’ll be fine.

I therefore admonish all of you to redouble your efforts as Masons and help perpetuate this great fraternity and make the world a better place.

Thank you.

Keep the Faith!

by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
“A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry”

NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not necessarily represent
the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body.
As with all of my Masonic articles herein, please feel free to reuse them in Masonic
publications or re-post them on Masonic web sites (except Florida).
When doing so, please add the following:

Article reprinted with permission of the author and “Freemason Information”
http://www.FreemasonInformation.com

Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.

To receive notices of Tim’s writings, subscribe to his private Discussion Group.

Also be sure to check out Tim’s “Pet Peeve of the Week” (non-Masonic related).

Georgia speaks. Grand Master Jennings on the Georgia Affair.

August 20, 2009 by Greg Stewart

I’ll save my thoughts for the end…

The Grand Lodge of Georgia of Free and Accepted Masons
J. Edward Jennings Jr. – Grand Master

August 19,2009

EDICT No. 2009-1

TO ALL CONSTITUTENT LODGES UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GRAND
LODGE OF GEORGIA, FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS:

WHEREAS: Freemasonry has existed in Georgia since it founding in 1734 and is the oldest Fraternal organization in the State, and;

WHEREAS: Freemasonry is universal in scope, being a Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God, and;

WHEREAS: the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free & Accepted Masons, holds membership in this worldwide Brotherhood, and;

WHEREAS: our Ancient and Honorable Fraternity welcomes to its doors and offers its privileges to men of all races, colors and national origins who believe in a Supreme Being, as stated in our Degrees and Lectures, and;

WHEREAS: no reference is made to exclude any petitioner with regard to race, color or national origin in any of the Rituals or Masonic Code authorized for use in the Constituent Lodges chartered by the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted
Masons, and;

WHEREAS: it is incumbent on all members of our Brotherhood to abide by the Rule’S, Regulations, Laws and Edicts of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons;

THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED:
That no negative reference be made by any officer or member of any lodge chartered under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, in reference to a petitioner’s race, color or national origin, who believe in a Supreme Being, during any Lodge communication, conferral of degrees, proficiency practice o proficiency examination;

Further, be it resolved, that it is the responsibility of the Worshipful Master of each Lodge constituted under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, to insure and enforce strict compliance with this EDICT, an, further, to have it read at the next two communications of the Lodge after receipt by the Lodge.

Any Lodge reported in violation of this Edict will be disciplined.

Given under my hand as Grand master of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, Free and Accepted Masons, this 19th day of August, 2009.

Signed:
J. Edward Jennings Jr.

Attested:
Donald I. DeKalb

The Resolution addresses the issue of the “incident” that took place in June about the charges brought against Gate City Lodge (see My Brothers Keeper) for their raising of an African American to the degree of Master Mason and then allowing him to progress to an officer’s position.

Reading the above, it seems to say nothing of the charges brought, or their spurious nature, any past exclusion based on race, or impropriety of racial segregation. Essentially, it is a safe way of saying that “we don’t promote any bias on race, religion, or color (never mind sexual orientation)” despite what people say. Neither does it seem to suggest any acknowledgment of the bias that this edict was written to.

What do you think? Is this enough? Does this speak to an enlightened brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God? Is it enough, or should it say more?

The originals below.

Masonic symbolism is skate punk cool.

August 16, 2009 by Masonic Traveler

You never know who you might meet when your out and about. One of the cool factors of Freemasonry is that pretty much anyone you meet who has the square and compass somewhere on their person is a person you can trust and that that you have an undercurrent of social commonality with one another.

As a quick example, I can’t keep count anymore of how many brothers I’ve met on my commute who fly our emblematic device on their bumper. And its a good feeling to be the company, even if sitting in traffic. Its an even better feeling when its in person and the brother that you meet is sporting a ring, lapel pin, or t-shirt. You know almost instantly that the person with wearing it is an instant friend.

But, that seems to be shifting, especially as the fraternity is mushrooming into the broader material culture and the symbolism is being appropriated for more and more non-Masoninc commercial endeavors and ending up as logos or devices for particular brands. This was evident a few weeks ago with the Angel and Airwaves logo for their new album.

Br. Hodapp posted up not to long ago a shirt lifted by Old Navy that used a wings up double headed eagle on one of its new shirts. But yesterday I had the first hand experience of encountering one of these T’s in the field and a startling realization came over me.

Anthony Van Engelen Square and Compass Tee

What I realized was the question of whether I could trust the person wearing the device or not as a brother. The reason the thought rolled through my head was because the mark wasn’t a subtle to headed eagle or a scimitar or star… No, what I saw was a new shirt out from Van’s Shoes apparel line under Anthony Van Engelen who is one of their Pro Skaters. A quick search on the web and I couldn’t turn up anything to suggest that Van Engelen is a Mason, more likely some off shore designer was building an apparel line and thought the design was cool and skater worthy and the picked it up for his “style” (to many years in the apparel/branding industry has jaded me).

So, the broader question I’m left with is that as the emblems that we use to know a brother in the “regular” world become more common as a design device, can we so easily trust the wearer as a brother, or does it erode the fraternities logos to be just another brand device to sell into pop culture? The easy answer is that you can still approach someone and ask if they’re a traveler, but does it signify on a deeper level a break down of Masonry’s control of its own means to unite men outside of lodge?

Maybe it just means that Freemasonry will be cooler in the skateboarder world.

What do you think?

Freemasonry in Material Culture – the Freemason DJ Remixers

August 15, 2009 by Masonic Traveler

This originally appeared in July of 2006 on the Masonic Traveler blog.

The interview was relevent then, but more so today as both the footprint of the fraternity and the DJ’s of the same name have grown in those three years.

Their website has changed, but you can now find them on MySpace, and their success has grown, touting now * 5 Consecutive UK Hit Singles, a Debut album ‘Unmixed’ which has gone silver, Grammy Nominations for their Remixes, and an international demand and following, so too has their list of performers that they have remixed Beyonce and Shakira’s “Beautiful liar” that hit the No 1 spot for weeks some 8 months in the UK, Kelly Rowland’s “Work”, as well as others

All of this under the name Freemasons. I thought it relevant in light of the Angels and Airwaves piece recently to revisit the last time I found something like this.

So, without further adieu, here is the original interview, and some updates on the music of the Freemasons.

Freemasonry is not a thing to be possessed. Nor is it something that is uniquely owned by anyone. As such, the influence and ideas of the ancient fraternity reach even beyond the walls of our ancient institution and seep into society at large. Does one influence the other? I would say yes, and can point to several institutions established on the Framework of Freemasonry. But that is not the purpose of this article.

Freemasonry is not limited to itself and is a part of society at large. One such example of this is the Electronic dance music produced by the DJ Remixers FREEMASONS (aka Freemaison). They are not a Masonic band assembled by a lodge or a Rite, nor is it a free formed band consisting of Masonic brothers. They are a product of the material culture around us.

Coming from the Brighton area in England, they are shaping a larger and larger presence for themselves and the music industry. So far they have worked with and remixed Fat Boy Slim, Marvin Gaye, Faith Evans, Heather Headley, and Jamiroquai to name but a few. Described as “modern disco”, Freemason is becoming a fixed urban name on the music landscape. One item to note, they go by the name Freemsons, but also with another spelling – Freemaison, which I took to translate into “Free House”, which is a liberating expression of their sound.

I spent a short time talking to James Wiltshire who is one half of the DJ collective who has adopted the name Freemasons. While not members of the fraternity, I think you’ll enjoy their answers and see one point that the fraternity has left its mark on our socities material culture.

MT: Who are The Freemasons (Freemaisons)?
JW: We are Russell Small and James Wiltshire

MT: How and when did the band evolve? How did you come up with the Name Freemason/Freemaison?
JW: We worked together on previous dance music projects , but about 18 months ago work stated in ernest as we watched the first single grow from a simple Underground level (on 12″ Vinyl originally!!) to a level that was going to gain entry into the UK singles market… As the promotion gathered momentum we named ourselves after The Freemasons Arms at the top of Russell’s road….

Brighton has a long masonic history (one of the largest lodges is just around the corner from the pub in question) … The building where our studio is (again in the same road) used to be an old coach house, and as The Freemasons arms has been a licenced premises for many, many years, perhaps the name of the pub comes from it’s signifigance as a meeting point.

MT: Are any of you Freemasons?
JW: If we were, would we reveal ourselves so easily?

MT: How, if at all, does your name influence your music?
JW: Directly, our name probably does not influence our music… However, between ourselves – the creative engine of the project , Our record company (an independant called Loaded, based again in Brighton) and our manager, we are a group of people working hard and together, playing on each others strengths , and supporting each other to further our work and business… That does seem very similar to the ethos of the Freemasons….

Many months ago, when the band was in its infancy, I had to visit
London to remove myself from another project that was, in my opinion going in a direction I felt uncomfotable with. A young singer was involved and various business angles of a new recording were being kept from her, and I was going to have to compromise my beliefs in the way I like business to be conducted….

The meeting was painful and the conversation turned ugly….

On the train back to Brighton that night, I was quite upset to think that my chosen industry should be so full of deceit…. Five men came and sat around me moments before the train pulled off – they had been to a party thrown by the Mayor of London.

As we sped south, I overheard much of their conversation, work, jokes, memories of other nights out and even memories of times served abroad with the army…. One gentleman took a great interest in my laptop as he was thinking of buying his son one for christmas, and was facinated to find out I used computers to make music….. By the time the train was pulling into the station, I had cheered up no end – It’s very inspiring to know that a group of friends who had obviously worked together in some way for years, still had such great respect for each other…. As they left, their last conversations were of meetings at their respective lodges – I had just shared the journey with 5 Freemasons.

We had named our band they day before – Life has a beautiful way of showing you the correct path

MT: How would you describe your music to people who have never heard of you?
JW: Soulful electronic dance music

MT: What is your creative process in approaching your music?
JW: The creative process can take many courses…. It may be a simple musical idea or hook that triggers off an idea for a complete track, or the beginnings of a song … We are both

MT: What do you want to accomplish in creating it?
JW: Sometimes, personally, the act of creation alone can be reward enough… we have both in the past completed a lot of music that has never really gone further than the ears of ourselves and our friends, but anyone creating wishes to have their work appreciated by others – we have been lucky enough to see that happen a lot in recent months… As dance music is designed to be played to an audience, and we have been able to watch the reactions ourselves as DJ’s , we are lucky to see the direct response in people… there is nothing quite like seeing a club full of people whoop and cheer when you play your own records and suddenly they start to recognise it from the introduction…. From a business level, we want to further ourselves and our profile, work with great musicians and singers and create even better music….. we often joke that we have the best job in the world – what we do seems to make people’s days better

MT: Does your audience influence your creative process?
JW: Absolutely, without people dancing and enjoying our music , we would’nt be able to run a successful business…. trends and fashions within music might change, but people will always want to dance, we’ve just got to try and make records that they can dance to

MT: What do you feel are your greatest hurdles? Your greatest strengths?
JW: One of the greatest hurdles at the moment in the music industry is the volume of sales – it now takes just 8,000 copies a week to gain entry to the UK top 20 and that is not enough to support single releases … Illegal Downloads threaten the integrity and quality of all music as if things carry on , there will soon be no financially viable retail outlets …. Working independantly also can prove difficult as the whole machine is now powered in favour of the Major lables…. Our greatest strengths however lie in the fact that we can make master recordings very cheaply now thanks to technology and that our music makes people enjoy themselves – Music can be such a release (as any good art form should be) – it is inspiring to hear from fans that they enjoy our work as much as we do making it.

MT: Any upcoming projects to watch for?
JW:We have just completed a remix of Beyonce’s new single (see above for the video) – She has now reached iconic status within the music industry and we are very proud to have been asked … We have also completed a new single featuring the wonderful vocals of Seidah Garrett (who co-wrote Michael Jackson’s Man In the mirror and dueted with him on “I just can’t stop loving you” … the new single will be followed by a hybrid Compilation and artist album containing the best of our work to date.

My thanks to James who took the time in 2006 to answer my questions, and its good to see that their success has grown.

And their latest release, ironically (perhaps) its title is the ultimate message of Freemasonry
Love is the Answer

Freemason Remix with Kyle Minogue

Freemason Remix with Moby

The return of Masonic Central and the “Masonic Baptism”!

August 13, 2009 by Masonic Traveler

After a long summer hiatus, Masonic Central is back and to recommit ourselves to our second year, this weeks show is highly appropriate.

Coming on the program is Brother Cliff Porter to talk with us about his new book “Masonic Baptism – A Post Modern Ritual for an Ancient Craft“.

For some background, Mackey says of the ritual that it is “… simply a lustration or purification by water, a ceremony which was common to all the ancient initiations”.

Missed the LIVE program? Listen NOW!
or Download

In the present day, the ceremony and ritual are designed to be performed in lodges wishing to baptize children of Masonic families. The ceremony is not a religious function, nor does it compete with the baptisms of the different religions of the world. Rather it is a solemn act of fidelity and a pledge to the children of Freemasons to signify that they are now a part of a broader community and that they will never be alone. Br. Porter’s work has brought the ritual back into a modern parlance and reintroduces us to this past practice in a modern era.

Reconnect with Dean and Greg, and travel with them through their summer adventures and this appropriate topic of the Masonic Baptism on this special hour and a half long program on Masonic Central this Sunday, August 16th starting at 6pm PDT/9pm EDT. For your questions and comments to the guest live on the air call: (347) 677-0936 during the program.

Listen to the program live from our home at Masonic Central on Blog Talk Radio and join in with our live program chat, or from our player widget on our website at Freemason Information.

Its good to be back!

The Fall of Solomon

August 13, 2009 by The Euphrates

King Solomon of Israel is referred to in Masonic tradition as being the fraternity’s first Most Excellent Grand Master. He is championed as the man who constructed the magnificent temple for Jehovah and is heralded as the personification of wisdom. However, a closer look at the life of King Solomon shows that he wasn’t always worthy of emulation.

It is true that Solomon had multitudes of wives and concubines, but that will not be the source of any criticism in this article. Many Biblical kings had large harems, including Solomon’s father David. No, Solomon would be condemned for the very sin which had plagued his people for centuries: putting other gods before Jehovah.

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
1 Kings 11:4-7

The Hebrews could be a strange people. God parted the Red Sea and freed the Israelites from slavery. Then he gave them a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide them. Then he provided them with manna to nourish them. Yet, the Hebrews worshiped other Gods. In Solomon’s case, he was allowed to complete the Lord’s temple and was blessed by the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. Still, he decided to disobey the First Commandment.

Like many main characters in the Old Testament, Solomon’s place of prominence came only through special circumstances. When David was old and frail, Bathsheba convinced him to place Solomon on the throne of Israel (indeed, the influence of women can be great). Solomon was certainly not David’s first choice for his heir. Joseph Heller’s God Knows gives a fictional account of the events surrounding the elderly King David. Heller portrays Solomon in a less than flattering manner in this humorous work. In the story, King David says of his son:

And I was smart enough to appreciate that for Solomon you had to spell everything out. I’ll let you in on a secret about my son Solomon: he was dead serious when he proposed cutting the baby in half, that putz. I swear to God.

While this portrayal may have no real historical basis, this much is true: Solomon was made king only through the unfortunate deaths of David’s older sons, he built his temple only through a blessing secured by his father, and he managed to nearly destroy the promising future which God had given David’s offspring. Nevertheless, 1 Kings 4:29 says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.”

Through this knowledge he was able to secure his place in history as the builder of the Lord’s temple and has been given the honor of being a prominent figure in Masonic tradition. Like all men, Solomon may have had faults, but some of his actions have earned him respect. This is a lesson that can benefit all Masons. Masons must recognize that all men have their redeeming qualities as well as their imperfections. The Mason should never hesitate to clearly identify these qualities in the men that they have identified as being worthy of emulation.

Shot From The Cannon – David Naughton-Shires And The Masonic Art Exchange

August 7, 2009 by Fred Milliken

If I were to tell you that there is a man raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in 2007 who has in just a short period of time started a Masonic organization with a newsletter which has exploded with membership overnight beyond his wildest dreams, who is writing a novel, producing a graphic novel, working on a book for a college, writing several Masonic research articles for Masonic Journals, is an officer in his Craft Lodge, a member of a Research Society, producer of an upcoming Templar comic presentation, a Committee Chairman for The Masonic Society and an editor for The Global Fraternal Network (GFN) would you not want to know more about him? Who he is?

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, —no it’s Brother David Naughton-Shires.

Until the last few years, 38 year old Naughton-Shires lived a rather quiet, modest life with his wife and three children in Sixmilebridge, Ireland just 9 km out of Shannon where he helped his wife run a small dance studio and scraped together a rather meager living in graphic design and illustration.

THEN HE JOINED FREEMASONRY…………….AND BANG AS IF SHOT FROM A CANNON, the life of David Naughton-Shires has not been the same since.

He was raised to the third degree in October of 2007 in Ormonde Lodge 201 in the Province of North Munster in the Irish Constitution where today he holds the office of Inner Guard. He hopes to go onto the Royal Arch in just a few months. But as you can see it will be October of 2009 before he has completed two years in the Craft which makes his Masonic accomplishments quite remarkable – as if shot from a cannon.

He tells us that right away, “I found the Craft had produced over the years a wealth of fantastic art, and I started to collect what I could find that fell within my meager budget. This consisted of items such as Ladies Festival Menu cards, lodge summonses, and certificates. From time to time I came across a beautifully illustrated book or two, and as I continued to collect I noticed there was a lack of current art for Freemasons available and what there was, well hidden within the Craft with the exception of the wonderful art of Brother Stephen McKim. Also the standard of publications being produced internally and externally was not always inspiring.”

“I asked myself the question why was this and how could this be resolved? I know that many Lodge newsletters and other similar publications were produced by very well meaning Brethren with only limited experience and knowledge of design who under increasing pressure produced the best they could, and I came to the conclusion they needed help not criticizing.”

So help them he would. He decided to start a group in Facebook with this idea in mind. He wanted to centralize in one place where Brethren with talent who were prepared to help could come together and share their work for the use of anybody who needed it. He called his new group THE MASONIC ART EXCHANGE. The concept hit the Internet like a sudden Texas thunder storm, exploding into over 500 members in just a few weeks. In his own words Naughton-Shires describes the mission of Masonic Art Exchange.

“In a nutshell the aims of the group is to provide a central ‘hub’ for the coming together of people who wish to improve the graphical look of the many newsletters, leaflets, circulars and the such presented within the craft by providing a forum and communication point for each other to offer advice and support on a design basis”

Naughton-Shires decided that a newsletter that the members could contribute to and pass onto the members of their Lodge would be a good illustration of what could be done with a little help. In a few more weeks, which is where we are as of this writing, the Masonic Art Exchange has grown into a membership of over 1100 and Naughton-Shires has decided to produce the newsletter bi-monthly and add a website and a forum for non Facebookers (http://masonic-ae.com). The first newsletter consisted of just six pages including the front and back covers. But the second and most recent has twenty two pages with some really super articles as well as illustrations. One of them is “Skull & Gold: Creating Knight Templar’s Aprons,” a brief outline of the story behind The Knight Templar’s Aprons along with the beautiful creations of Ginger Wood Smyrl. Also in this issue is “Et in Arcadia Ego,” by Brother Nathan M. Glover who shares with us the symbolism found in the Et in Arcadia Ego paintings. Those of you searching for some portraits of George Washington in Masonic regalia also will not be disappointed. Issue #3 is being worked on as of this writing but it already has some very interesting stories and illustrations, two of which will be “Art of the Templar Knights” & “Painted Aprons.”

To help in this enterprise which was growing by leaps and bounds Naughton-Shires added Vice-President Brother Martyn Greene who handles the Facebook group and put writer Brother Kevin Noel Olson in charge of articles for the newsletter.

The Masonic Art Exchange is open to everyone, Mason and non Mason alike. The rules are pretty simple and straight forward. If you are posting to the site the work must be yours and not somebody else’s and you must be prepared to share it with everybody. If you are using something from the site you must give credit to its author, inform the author of what publication it is being used in and use it only for nonprofit enterprises. In addition:

“THE ARTWORK CAN NEITHER BE USED FOR NOR DEPICT ANYTHING CONSIDERED TO BE DEFAMING TO FREEMASONRY OR SOCIETY IN GENERAL.”

For ease and maximum exposure there are two sites where you can download the newsletter, scribd – http://www.scribd.com/doc/18165122/MAE12 and issuu –http://issuu.com/masconicartexchange/docs/mae_1_2/1?viewMode=magazine

Or if you prefer you can now do the same thing from the website – http://masonic-ae.com or on Facebook.

But as we have already seen this man shot from the cannon has many irons in the fire. He is a correspondent circle member of the Lodge of Research Number 200 in Ireland (http://www.irish-freemasonry.org.uk/). Soon he will have his first paper published in the Hibiscus Masonic Review (http://hibiscusmasonicreview.wordpress.com/ ). He is a founding member and Irish Second Circle Committee Chairman of The Masonic Society (http://themasonicsociety.com). He is the new Graphics Editor for the Global Fraternal Network (GFN) and has just completed designing his first issue for them (http://issuu.com/masconicartexchange/docs/gfn_v4-n8). Here is another project he is working on: http://templarcomic.com

For those who might denigrate Masonic activity on the Internet I ask them to come see what David Naughton-Shires is doing online. He is a man who has accomplished more in his two years in the Craft than many of us do in a lifetime. The secret to his success is the quality of his work. You only have to spend a few minutes on The Masonic Art Exchange to be impressed. It would seem that what he has started may expand and become a broader concept than it is now. Also success can breed more success in spin offs and related enterprises and that may well be a path for Brother David Naughton-Shires. All of us at Freemason Information wish him all the best and continued success. Above and beyond all this is the great service available to us all to improve the quality of all our publications whether big or small. Also up to now there has been no site dedicated to Masonic artists. We may find around the world many Freemasons who are artists and who have been operating in the shadows of ignominy. No more. They will shine in the light of The Masonic Art Exchange and we shall all be able to enjoy their works.

Angels and Airwaves co-opts the square and compass in the name of Love.

August 4, 2009 by Masonic Traveler

On a video posted on the Modlife website for the band Angels and Airwaves (AVA) if you pay close attention to the beginning of the video you can see their new square and compass logo, melded with other iconography of the fraternity, mixed with elements of the bands name.

Apparently, Angels and Airwaves is going Masonic.

I just stumbled across this and don’t have much info, but it leaves me wondering what the intent was of using the tools of Freemasonry in the bands brand logo.

Their Wikipedia post has been updated to talk about the new logo and asserts that it is linked to the bands new album “Love”, saying of the new logo mark: This new logo…contains the Latin words “et plumbum mundus per lumen” which translates to “and lead the world by light”.

The new album is due out in February of 2010.

On July 27, 2009, Tom Delong blogged via Modlife: “We’re in the beginning stages of getting the word out that we have a new record and a movie called LOVE that will be released 2/14/2010”

I wonder if while borrowing the square and compass, their borrowing the concept of brotherly love too.

I’ll see what else I can dig up. In the Mean time, watch the Angels and Airwaves video with the log and tell me what you think.

Where Were You First Made A Mason? – An Answer To Fundamentalists

August 2, 2009 by Fred Milliken

Me: Bill, I had a great time this weekend with my Lodge. We went out to Union Park with our families and had a big BBQ. The swimming was good and the food was great. But the best time was just sitting under the shade tree and reminiscing with old and new friends.

Bill: You are always talking about your Lodge but I don’t get this Masonry thing. I never could see why a man would join. I know you get a lot of pleasure from it but I don’t see what is so special about it. I go out to Union Park with friends now and then myself but none of them are Masons.

Me: Well Bill, Masonry is more than social good times. It’s also about reverence, respect, knowledge, a helping hand and close bonding relationships. As a matter of fact it is a philosophy, a virtual way of life………ah, a method of looking at the world and yourself through a different prism.

Bill: So how does this new way of life, this different prism do for you at Union Park with all your Mason friends?

Me: Well I know where the heart is of all my Brothers, even the ones I don’t know. And that’s important to me. Someone once said that – “you are who your friends are.” My contention is that nobody is perfect and that it is possible to be led into or to follow the wrong path in life. One can get lost in superficial and unrewarding patterns of life by constantly associating with corrupting influences. I choose to surround myself with those who try to be noble and righteous and I believe that encourages me to “make something of myself” and to improve myself as a person and that is what God wants for me.

Bill: I didn’t realize how deep Masonry is. I have to say now that it sounds almost like a religion. Would you say that your Brothers look upon their Lodge as church?

Me: I am sure some mistakenly substitute Lodge for church but their reasoning is faulty and their actions bespeak of one who is lazy. Masonry has many religious people in the fraternity but the approach in Lodge is more spiritual than religious. By that I mean that it has nothing to do with sectarian dogma but everything to do with an appreciation of the Creator and the wonders of His creation.

Bill: My Pastor does not speak complimentary about Masonry. He says that I don’t need another Guidance System, the one I have right here in church has everything I need.

Me: Well Bill, church is about worshiping the Almighty Creator. Its focus is salvation, its work the improvement of the soul.

Lodge is not focused on the Hereafter. Its theme is the interrelationships right here on earth. It delineates an earthly philosophy the practice of which points you to seeking that relationship with your Creator. It sends you to church to complete the edification of the other half of yourself.

Bill: But it sounds to me from all that I have heard and of what you have had to say that you are offering a system of morality, a way of life as you call it, that teaches a certain path that should be taken to live your life. That sure sounds to me like a competing Guidance System as my Pastor believes.

Me: Look Bill, we talk about the virtues of Masonry………er, of being a virtuous person using the already established patterns of life that are universally accepted by all cultures. Masonry is the application of your creed not a competing way of worshiping. Being a believer in Democracy rather than totalitarianism is a philosophy, a way of life. But no one is calling that path a competing religion or guidance system.

Bill: I’m a little bit confused and I am not sure how to separate the two, Masonry and church.

Me: Many facets of life, Bill, don’t compete with each other they are intertwined. There is a lot of crossover here in the applications used to take this journey we call life. You can chop them up into neat little boxes but that is a separation that is artificial and does not deal with the complexity of actually living life. Try looking at what you call –competing guidance systems – as interrelated, intertwined aspects of the same discipline all leading to the same end.

Bill: So what you are saying is that while we all think that we are doing something different we are really all doing the same thing?

Me: Now you are getting the idea, Bill. Which is why a Jew, a Muslim and a Christian can all sit in Lodge together. We are all worshiping God but we are not holding a worship service. And all that we talk about in Lodge is universal to them all.

Bill: I can see why some people misunderstand all this. It takes a little bit of thinking about it to grasp Masonry’s niche in the scheme of things. But I can see now that Masonry is a universal application of all that is good and righteous in life. I would now have to say that makes it complimentary not competing. I wonder why my Pastor and others think of it as a competing religion?

Me: Because in most instances we do it so well. We end up being more influential in a man’s life than his Pastor and some Pastors just can’t take that.

Bill: So how come you have never asked me to become a Mason?

Me: Oh but I have. Not in so many words, but as you have said I talk about my Lodge quite often. That information is then there for you to act upon. We do not invite you in, you ask to join.

Bill: So when I go through the ceremonies of initiation I will come out this new person?

Me: No.

Bill: Just when I thought I had a good handle on what is going on here I find myself lost again. Again I am confused.

Me: The ceremonies are required so that your mind has a logical understanding of where your heart already is.

Bill: So are you saying that I am already there?

Me: Where is a man first made a Mason?

Bill: I don’t know.

Me: In his heart.

Bill: I finally, finally got it! All I have to do now is ask.