A Brother
Asks: Why is “A Belief
in God” the only religious requirement to be considered when a pre-mason
petitions to join the Free & Accepted Masons associated with UGLE, GLS
& GLI?
Coach: It fits perfectly with the target market
the organization desires to serve without placing too many condition on that
requirement.
Brother: Target Market?
Coach: Yes.
Brother: What do you mean by “Target Market”?
Coach: The organization only looks for those
individuals who meet specific requirements.
“Belief in God” is one of them.
Brother: Why is it the only religious requirement?
Coach: It is stated this way to stress upon the petitioner that no matter what his faith, the only requirement is belief in God, not his religion itself*.
Brother: Does this mean he must have a religion?
Coach: No. He doesn't have to be any specific religion at all. Just a belief in God.
Brother: So, the target market consists only of those who believe in God.
Coach: Yep. That is, exclusively within any UGLE recognized organization.
Coach: It is stated this way to stress upon the petitioner that no matter what his faith, the only requirement is belief in God, not his religion itself*.
Brother: Does this mean he must have a religion?
Coach: No. He doesn't have to be any specific religion at all. Just a belief in God.
Brother: So, the target market consists only of those who believe in God.
Coach: Yep. That is, exclusively within any UGLE recognized organization.
Brother: Why?
Leverage
Coach: Affect.
Brother: As in influence?
Coach: Yes.
Brother: Please explain this.
Coach: What Freemasons offer to their target
market is “affect”.
Brother: The organization is offering influence?
Coach: Yes. But not the influence one
might expect.
Brother: Such as?
Coach: Remember that slogan…
Brother: …the “Masonry makes good men better”
slogan?
Coach: Yes. You cannot better men without
influencing them to do just that.
Brother: So you’re implying one of the ways of
influencing members toward betterment is using their collective belief in God
as leverage?
Coach: Yes. I am.
Brother: And if they don’t really believe in God,
then the intended influence these ceremonies have will not be there?
Coach: Yes. It will not be as intended.
Intentions
Brother: Intended?
Coach: Yes. The organization calls what
they offer to their candidates “ceremonies” and “rituals”.
Brother: Yes.
Coach: But in reality, these are all morality
plays.
Brother: Morality plays?
Coach: Yes, every last one of them.
Brother: What's a morality play?
Coach: A morality play, also called
"morality", is an allegorical drama popular in Europe.
Brother: You mean popularized during the 15th and 16th
centuries?
Coach: Yes, the characters in these plays personify moral
qualities (such as Vices or Virtues) or abstractions (as Death, Wisdom or
Beauty) and in which moral lessons are taught, or at least conveyed.
Brother: Wow! That describes Ritual perfectly.
Coach: Yes, without a doubt.
Brother: Hey! Is that what is meant by
"A peculiar system of morality"?
Coach: Yes. And it also alludes to the usual
definition of "morality" as well since these moralities are
all about morals.
Brother: Are you saying the organization puts on
these plays to affect the morality of those who participate?
Coach: Yes. I am.
Brother: That’s the intent?
Coach: Yes. Let's go back to the slogan...
Brother: ...okay, to make a good man
better...
Coach: Yes.
Brother: WOW! To do is, a man would have to
fundamentally change his moral nature for the better.
Coach: Indeed!
Brother: And the leveraging to do this is his
belief in God.
Coach: Yes. These morality plays all point him
toward his morality, put a spot light upon it and let him know what he can do
to improve it, should he commit to specific actions.
Lights,
Camera, Actions
Brother: And the scripts and choreography used
within these plays are all designed to have that impact on a specific target
audience.
Coach: Yes. And to have the impact these
scripts were intended to have, an impact upon believers in God, the audience must
believe in God regardless of the specifics of their beliefs.
Brother: Otherwise the words and actions would
not be experienced the same way.
Coach: Yes. To invoke deity through prayer and
not believe in God would be a ludicrous act.
Brother: It would not be experienced as sacred.
Coach: Not by anyone who didn’t believe in what
they were saying or doing.
Strong
Foundations
Brother: So the target audience wants something
rock solid (pun intended) that they can believe in.
Coach: Yes. And if the foundation of the
play was experienced as a farce due to a lack of belief, the experience would
be pointless or at least have an entirely different meaning assigned to it that
was never intended by the playwrights.
Brother: I see better now how this all fits
together.
Coach: How so?
Brother: The obligations that each candidate
takes.
Coach: What about them?
Brother: Each must have a lead into it and
an anchor at the end for those going through them to appear to have any
validity to a believer in God.
Coach: Meaning without being surrounded by a
belief in God, they lose their significance?
Brother: Yes. I mean, sure a person who didn’t
believe in God can glean some benefits from it…
Coach: ...but?
Brother: The obligations are intended for those
who actually do believe in God; believers not non-believers.
Coach: Back to the target market?
Brother: Yes. This makes so much sense!
Coach: Yes, especially when one thinks through
all the necessary connections.
Brother: I can see why prayer and other
references to deity are necessary supports for the obligation to have a lasting
affect upon those who do believe in God.
Coach: For not to have such things within the
play would lessen the intended experience?
Brother: For Sure! When everything is put
into place, those going through it will commit to improvement and follow
through upon that commitment.
Coach: Why?
Brother: Because it's no longer about them.
Coach: What is it then?
Brother: It's about them and their relationship with God!
Brother: It's about them and their relationship with God!
Coach: And?
Brother: They are influenced by their belief in
God so much so that the importance they place on their commitment makes it a
top priority in their life.
Non-Believers
Coach: Agreed! But does that mean non-believers
can’t benefit?
Brother: Not really. It just means the motivations
would be different and so would the affect these plays have upon them.
Coach: Agreed! Non-believers would also
have an undesirable impact upon others within the ranks who do believe in God.
Brother: How so?
Coach: They would not have belief in God as a motivation
behind their actions.
Brother: And not having this motivation would
require believing members to question the very core of a non-believer's
involvement.
Coach: Yes. And requirement in the belief in
God also does something politically to the organization as well.
Brother: What's that?
Coach: It prevents governments, institutions
and organization from falsely accuse the membership of harboring heretics and
atheists.
Brother: Ah! Things that early on in
Freemasonry's creation would have closed its doors very quickly.
Coach: Indeed. When you have every member
of the organization believing in God, even before they are even considered for
membership, such accusations become quickly impotent.
Wrap
Up
Brother: Thank you brother! You put Masonry
into perspective for me.
Coach: You're most welcome. Thanks for
taking it positively. Many would take these words as an affront on the
Craft.
Brother: How so?
Coach: They don’t understand the Morality Play
basis of these rituals and ceremonies.
Brother: You mean they want the romanticized
version of the Craft?
Coach: Yes. Not the reality…
Brother: … but the fantasy.
Coach: Yes. I view it as a realistic way
to present the Craft that places great importance upon staying in character.
Brother: And when you don’t rightfully understand
the art of Masonry, you are likely going to have a very difficult time playing
your part.
Coach: Indeed!
* There is only one recognized Grand Lodge that requires a specific religion. This will not be addressed here.
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