A Brother Asks: Is Masonry Spiritual?

 

 

A Brother Asks: I heard that a Grand Lodge has claimed that Masonry is not spiritual. Can you provide evidence to the contrary?

Coach: I can, but I think Freemasonic Ritual dispels this claim far better, and then some.

Brother:  Wait?!  Are you saying that Freemasonic Ritual provides all the evidence a member needs to dispel this claim?

Coach: Yes, and then some. Do you want to have it put out on the table for you?

Brother: I certainly do.

Coach: Great! Would you please share with me the section of the trestle-board* lecture that talks about the type of building we are supposed to erect?

Brother: I sure can!  Let me quote it here...

"and by the trestle-board we are also reminded, that as the operative workman erects his temporal building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the master, on his trestle-board, so should we, both operative and speculative, endeavor to erect our spiritual building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the Supreme Architect of the universe, in the great Books of nature and revelation, which is our spiritual, moral, and masonic trestle-board."

Coach: So, based upon Freemasonic Ritual, what kind of building must we endeavor to erect?

Brother: We are to endeavor to erect a spiritual building.

Coach: And we are to to so agreeably to Whose rules & designs? 

Brother: Well, it uses the term, "the Supreme Architect of the universe."  But Masons all know that's "God" that this term is referring to... Hey!  Wouldn't a spiritually based book on a spiritually based altar be evidence as well?

Coach: Of course!  The Volume of Sacred Law and the Altar are both spiritually based.  All of them are evidence.  And when you add to all this provided evidence the fact that one cannot join the Craft without a believe in God and that Ritual would be a farce for anyone who went through it who didn't believe in God,  I believe you have all the evidence you need to dispel the claim that Masonry is not spiritual.  

Brother:  I'll say!  The erection of a spiritual building alone requires that Masons use a spiritual approach - focusing upon a non-physical building not made with hands! Couple this with the fact that we are to use God's rules & designs to do this certainly drives the spiritual point home.  

Coach: Agreed! So, when you hear the claim that Masonry is not spiritual, what should be your response?

Brother: I'd say that the evidence is to the contrary and provide the evidence, but only when the claiming party is open to hearing it.

Coach: I like that you put that caveat in your future response.  People who are not open to evidence to the contrary have settled in with their dogma and are only available to what they have accepted as valid.  The term, "pearls to swine" comes to mind.

Brother: Agreed! 

Coach: So, why do you think these Grand Lodges make such absurd claims?

Brother: I was just wondering the same thing.  Do you have any ideas?

Coach: Yes, and I believe it stems from how the word "spiritual" is too often misrepresented and misunderstood in a small cross-section of members who want to introduce their occult pursuits into Lodges that they attend and that they might even govern.

Brother: So, you're saying Grand Lodge knee-jerk responses to members trying to introduce occult materials and practices into Lodges is why they have made the claim that Masonry is not spiritual?

Coach Yes, I am indeed!  Such responses are irresponsible if they do not define their terms.  By putting out such a claim and not defining their claim's terms, they do a great disservice to our members around the world.  One Grand Lodge even outlawed the use of the term, "esoteric," so as to prevent introduction of what was perceived to be occult practices and materials into their jurisdiction's Lodges.  As you can imagine, this causes quite a stir since Masonry is esoteric in nature and in its practice.

Brother: So, had they defined their terms better, members would have been better guided in the direction its Grand Lodge desired them to go.

Coach: And the Grand Lodge's true concerns would have been better addressed as well.

Brother: Agreed!

Coach: But, let's circle back and address something that is crucial here.

Brother: Sure...  What is it?

Coach: If you reread that Trestle-board lecture, it says we're to endeavor to erect this spiritual building.

Brother: So? What am I missing here?

Coach: Great question! Would you agree that defining terms is important to understanding?

Brother:  Yes!  Of Course!

Coach: When you don't understand the word, "endeavor," you're likely to not comprehend how important this task is.

Brother: You're going to hit me with something relevant now, aren't you?

Coach: Maybe. Freemasonic Ritual says we should endeavor in this process of erecting a spiritual building.  To endeavor is to devote serious effort or energy and to struggle in opposition toward a goal.  In the use of this term, we're told our Masonic purpose and our Obligation to fulfill this purpose as well.

Brother: Wow!  That escaped me.  I had no idea!

Coach: You're not alone in this.  Very few members have comprehended Masonry's purpose and this obligation to fulfill it. This includes many of our leaders who don't understand what's hidden in plain sight every time degrees are performed.

Brother: So, you've inspired me to ask the question, "How do we determine what is spiritual and what is not?"

Coach: Brilliant!  You want me to define the terms! No?

Brother: Well, it's not much of a stretch to claim that a claim can be dispelled by providing evidence without defining your terms and then say that a claim is made without defining terms. So, "yes", I want you to define your terms.

Coach: Great!  Let me offer to you this as a term defining.  The term "spiritual" pertains to things that are not physical in nature and, in actuality, transcend time & space.  The term must also include patterns that, when impressed upon time and space (matter) cause living animation. As these patterns relate to humanity, they come across to us as a manner of being and as processes that allow us to take in things that we need and to let go of things that we no longer need, and to do both in functional, healthy, and mature ways.  When this spiritual process is diminished in any way, we suffer and may very well cease the animation of the earth we are made from. This is why it's so crucial to be able to obtain God's rules & designs.  They help us maximize our spirituality through gaining insight into God's spiritual processes. So, we continue our animation and do so well-informed.

Brother: That's a lot to take on and it sounds exactly like the Masonry I joined for.

Coach: Yes, it is a lot to take on and is it the reason that I joined the Craft as well.  And when you understand and start to live it, you've begun to erect your spiritual building.

 Brother: So, this raises the question, "Can Masonry be practiced non-spiritually."

Coach: Not if you're doing it right.  If you're doing it wrong, it can't be Masonry.  If you're just going through the motions not understanding the endgame, it becomes a pale shadow of what it was intended to do for those engaging in it.

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* or tracing-board