A devoted student of the Western Mystery Traditions, Greg is a firm believer in the Masonic connections to the Hermetic traditions of antiquity, its evolution through the ages and into its present configuration as the antecedent to all contemporary esoteric and occult traditions. He is a self-called searcher for that which was lost, a Hermetic Hermit and a believer in “that which is above is so too below.” Read more about Greg Stewart.
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derricksays
I feel that it is a shame that so called brothers continuously feel the need to divulge our secret rituals through the media, they claim to have honest motives for doing so but the reality is they are betraying the rest of the fraternity, I for one enjoy the secrecy and privacy of our rituals and feel them cheapened when they are wide open for the world to see. Obviously the rituals meant very little to Martin Faulks and others like him. In my mind those that divulge the secrets are not considered brothers.
Speaking from my own personal experience within Irish Constitution.. after the 1st 3 years the Craft was so secret that not one person discussed any aspect of freemasonry. It was not until i was able to read books that my path progressed from darkness to light. If you listen to..
Freemasonry is not mine it is not yours it is “ours”. It bothers me that some individuals feel that they are entitled to reveal things that do not actually belong to the “individual”, the things they seek to reveal belong to Freemasonry as a whole. Faulks and others like him perform an injustice against the craft when they reveal our ancient traditions. During the podcast interview in the above post even Faulks indicates that he doesn’t want to take away from a candidates experience. Displaying the ritual that a potential candidate to Freemasonry experiences during the entered apprentice degree and the other degrees on BBC and Youtube robs the craft of its identity, which to a large extent is cloaked in secrecy. Those of us that are Freemasons should have the right to keep our rituals amongst the brethren and away from prying eyes of outsiders.
Shane Stevenssays
Ethnocentrism is a problem even in masonry. Just because we in the US feel the basics of the ritual, please note Martin did NOT give the word or grip, does NOT mean every other Mason in the world feels the same.
Judgment of others without understanding their culture is a danger of which we must all be aware. I love my country with all my being, I am a US citizen for the record, but I do realize we are not the ultimate say in the world. Nor do I wish we were. What we believe is sacred to us…..stands to reason what others believe is sacred to them?
derricksays
Perhaps I’m quick to overreact, I just wish that brother’s would take into consideration that not everyone want’s the rituals exposed.
derrick says
I feel that it is a shame that so called brothers continuously feel the need to divulge our secret rituals through the media, they claim to have honest motives for doing so but the reality is they are betraying the rest of the fraternity, I for one enjoy the secrecy and privacy of our rituals and feel them cheapened when they are wide open for the world to see. Obviously the rituals meant very little to Martin Faulks and others like him. In my mind those that divulge the secrets are not considered brothers.
martin says
Speaking from my own personal experience within Irish Constitution.. after the 1st 3 years the Craft was so secret that not one person discussed any aspect of freemasonry. It was not until i was able to read books that my path progressed from darkness to light. If you listen to..
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Masonic-Central/2009/04/13/Martin-Faulks-on-Lewis-Masonic-Publishing
you will understand the positive motivation of Brother Martin.
“those that divulge the secrets are not considered brothers”.. i will not wrong or defraud my Brother Master Mason….
martin@tracingboards.com
derrick says
Freemasonry is not mine it is not yours it is “ours”. It bothers me that some individuals feel that they are entitled to reveal things that do not actually belong to the “individual”, the things they seek to reveal belong to Freemasonry as a whole. Faulks and others like him perform an injustice against the craft when they reveal our ancient traditions. During the podcast interview in the above post even Faulks indicates that he doesn’t want to take away from a candidates experience. Displaying the ritual that a potential candidate to Freemasonry experiences during the entered apprentice degree and the other degrees on BBC and Youtube robs the craft of its identity, which to a large extent is cloaked in secrecy. Those of us that are Freemasons should have the right to keep our rituals amongst the brethren and away from prying eyes of outsiders.
Shane Stevens says
Ethnocentrism is a problem even in masonry. Just because we in the US feel the basics of the ritual, please note Martin did NOT give the word or grip, does NOT mean every other Mason in the world feels the same.
In certain societies, the feeling is much different. Perhaps because of what is discussed in http://ep9.f3a.mwp.accessdomain.com/2009/04/closed-cloistered-secret-sect-or-open-fraternal-society-partner/?
Judgment of others without understanding their culture is a danger of which we must all be aware. I love my country with all my being, I am a US citizen for the record, but I do realize we are not the ultimate say in the world. Nor do I wish we were. What we believe is sacred to us…..stands to reason what others believe is sacred to them?
derrick says
Perhaps I’m quick to overreact, I just wish that brother’s would take into consideration that not everyone want’s the rituals exposed.