A Brother Asks: What are statements that you hear from Brothers that are wrong and even counterproductive or destructive to our Fraternity?
Coach: That's a great question! Here are just a few statements of many that tell me a Brother has not thought things through enough and therefore ultimately drive off members:
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Destructive Comment #10 - Everyone has their own interpretation.
- This statement implies that no one interpretation is better than any other and therefore there is no one interpretation that can provide the truth that is sought.
- This therefore is antagonistic to our Work since one of our tenants is "TRUTH" implying it can be obtained by true and forthright authentic speculation, and not by just any old interpretation based upon conjecture! - this is destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: Although
there exist infinite interpretations, there exists only a finite set
of interpretations that actually are optimized for any one given situation and
that are supported by the surrounding context offered.
- This statement ultimately disappoints & disenchants those who join to accomplish this very thing. It is actually antagonistic to the Craft since it implies what was joined for will never be realized - this is destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: The
Temple referred to in the 3rd degree is "King Solomon's Temple", and
this term is an idiom for "a body of wisdom" which can only be obtained
by completing the Work spelled out within both the Apprentice and Fellow
Craft degrees. Wisdom is a direct result of the two results working together in
harmony, not just one result or the other.
- This statement will leave many with a "then why bother" thought and is actually a hindrance to the Craft since it implies what was joined for will never be realized - this is destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: Although
life's work continues throughout a lifetime, Ritual is not talking about that work. It is
talking about the Work that the first two Degrees point us toward completing - nothing more and nothing less.
This Work can be completed within 7 years. And due to our current situation in the world with so many available resources, completing it is more likely now than ever before.
- This
is the type of statement that will drive off some future members
because it reflects a religious undercurrent that may go against their
beliefs - this is destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: If Hiram were resurrected, he would be brought back to life as he was before he died, he would know his part of
the Master's Word, and there would be absolutely NO logical reason for
providing any substitute to the candidate.
- This
statement reveals a lack of awareness on the part of the member sharing
it. There are at least 11 Working tools that must be either used or
developed by Apprentices if they want to be prepared to engage in Fellow
Craft Work - this is destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: The
members in charge do no good to allow Apprentices to advance who have
not internalized the disciplines these Working Tools represent.
- POINT: Apprentices who do not internalize the disciplines these 11 Working Tools represent will make for very poor members & Masons.
- These statements are not true, are self-defeating, and they serve no good purpose in motivating members to do the necessary Work that does bring about a perfect ashlar.
- Members who buy into this lie are less motivated to do necessary Work and might settle into complacency or even leave - they are destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: We
have within our Ritual several symbols and terms that use the word
"perfect." It's meaning is taken from the context of the 1800s and not
that of the mid to late 1900s - two entirely different focuses & meanings!
- POINT: The perfect ashlar is an attainable reality and can be accomplished within 7 years when one applies oneself toward that goal.
- This statement is antagonistic toward our degree progression because it, by its very claim, dismisses both the Fellow Craft and Master Mason titles as fraudulent if one accepts these titles, wears them, and refers to themselves as anything other than an apprentice.
- People
hearing this statement coming out of the mouths of supposedly learned
Brothers take it as truth and realize what they have achieved is
diminished in value - this is destructive & counterproductive!
- POINT: Apprentices train themselves to be PREPARED to learn. Fellows learn HOW to learn. Masters are the only level where true learning actually takes place. All the previous levels are preparation for that learning.
- This
statement dismisses the
very thing that is true about our Ritual AND for what many join our Craft
- this is counterproductive & destructive
- POINT: There's literally a treasure trove of immediately available written and recorded materials about things that are hidden in plain sight within Freemasonry!
- POINT: When anything is hidden in plain sight and it requires coaching, training, mentoring, and/or instructing to have it revealed or seen or understood, it's esoteric!
- We
are not a society with secrets. We are a society that doesn't talk
about specific things with outsiders. Not talking about specific things
with outsiders is a discipline that members share in common. These
things not discussed with outsiders are NOT secrets, but internalizing and perfecting this discipline of non-discussion keeps us from talking
about things with outsiders.
- POINT: The
"Secrets of a Master Mason" are in actuality internalized disciplines
realized by doing the Work pointed toward by our rituals. When you
don't do that Work, you'll not have those secrets. In this light, NO
ONE can TELL YOU these secrets! They are disciplines that you have to cultivate for yourself!
- POINT: The statement "We are a society with secrets" is
misleading for all the wrong reasons. It gives the wrong impression as
well, making it destructive & counterproductive. Nothing that Freemasons have or do within its walls is secret. But there are
plenty of things that Freemasons will not talk about. Why? Because
that discipline is one of many disciplines which are important in life.
- POINT: What are these things that we won't talk about? Become a member and we'll let you know.
- Use
of this statement misleads pre-masons in that it is in no way supported by
the organization or its members and leaves unfulfilled those seeking the
improvements it implies. As a result, pre-masons join expecting things that will never be provided. This lack of support by both the organization
and its members ultimately makes this statement destructive & counterproductive.
- POINT: Neither
the organization or its members will make better any person who joins.
It is only members applying themselves toward the Work that is pointed
toward by our Ritual that improves those members and in direct
proportion to the effort they make.
BONUS LEVEL COMMENTS
- Destructive Comment - Any public accusation of an Obligation violation by a member.
- Publicly accusing any member violates two things:
- It alerts the public, and hence cowans, that what was shared is something that was considered confidential to the fraternity.
- It violates the accused member in that you didn't whisper counsel and you may very well have misunderstood what was shared and thereby accused him without due process.
- POINT: No matter how compelled you are to inform a member that they may have breached their Obligation, you are also Obligated to do so in a private, respectful, civil, considerate, and constructive way.
- We are obligated to our members to assure that we assist them in their obligations without making a mess of things when you do!
- Destructive Comment - The Word "Free" used in "Free & Accepted", "Free Mason" & "Freeborn", means "unrestrained."
- Not
sharing its true meaning does great disservice to our membership's
ability to comprehend our true heritage and future exemplification of the
Craft. This makes it destructive & counterproductive.
- POINT: The
word "free" used in these terms comes from the French "franc" , "frank", and
"franche" and have the same meaning assigned to the first part of
the compound word "frankincense" - that is "pure; excellent,
superior." It implied "Mastery" and is the very reason that
"Free-Frac-Franch-Frank" were used as precursors to all guild professions.
- POINT: Free
Masonry is about superior-excellent-masterful masonry! It has nothing
to do with being unrestrained to travel and work.
- Destructive Comment - The meaning behind the Ruffian's names are unknown.
- Uninformed members who believe this statement to be true provide counter-support to members who seek the truth - this is destructive & counterproductive.
- POINT: This claim used to be true, but it is no longer valid. Members who do not know what the ruffian names mean have not been keeping up with the latest discoveries.
- POINT: First off, they're not names. They are phonetic representations of statements that are in a foreign tongue.
- POINT: Secondly, the meaning behind these foreign statement is known.
- POINT: Thirdly, once understood, these statements make
for a more understandable degree experience.
- Destructive Comment - The Lost Master's Word is provide to Members of the York Rite.
- This is a statement that leaves some members, who
know better and who think things through, feeling conned and let down
by their Brothers. Even worse, it'll diminish in the eyes of these conned
members the value of those Brothers who provided it and the Craft as a
whole - this is destructive & counterproductive.
- POINT: What is provide through the York Rite is "A Lost Word",
but it is not "The 'Recovered' Master's Word." That Word was already provided to Blue
Lodge members within the Apprentice degree (and any member who paid attention, and thought the degree information through, would know this.) By its very nature, what is provided by York members does not qualify as "The Master's Word".
- We are obligated to instruct our members as to the misdirected zeal of others within our organization.Do you know of other
destructive & counterproductive commentsthat can be looked into as well?
Please! Let me know!
2 comments:
This list is outstanding. I recognize some of the questions from your books. Great teaching points. Thanks for the compilation coach.
Thanks Bro. Swany! Much appreciate the feedback.
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