In looking at Lora Hubbel’s Facebook page, I find myself in a quandary. Which thing did the Constitution Party Candidate for Governor say on Facebook yesterday should I feature?
Do I feature the whack-a-doodle comment she made about “Masonry” being the force behind America’s ruin…
Or do I feature the somewhat racist comment she made about “little black babies”:
The Constitution Party Convention is on July 14th.
Stay tuned.
The Constitution Party is career ender for any politician.
I’m not sure Lora needs any help with that.
George Washington was a Mason.
That’s correct. As Troy points out below, many Founding Fathers were Masons. The quote Lora cited is not anywhere close to an accurate portrayal of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and does not tell its members how to worship God.
“Among Protestants opposed to Freemasonry are the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Church of the Nazarene, Salvation Army, Mennonites, North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Church of the Brethren, Assemblies of God, Society of Friends (Quakers), Free Methodist Church, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Free Church of Scotland, Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, Presbyterian Church in America, and Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland.”
References here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_attitudes_towards_Freemasonry#Opposing_stance
Are all of these Protestant Christian teachings “whack-a-doodle”?
That is a matter of religious disagreement. Most Christian denominations are not on the list you quoted, which means most denominations see no incompatibility between Christianity and Masonry. Your religious choices are your own.
What is “whack-a-doodle” is Lora’s conspiracy theory that Masonry supports One World Order (which it does not) and is therefore “the force behind [America’s] ruin” (which it is not).
The fact that most Christian denominations aren’t on the list doesn’t mean they see no incompatibility between Christianity and Freemasonry. Many other Protestant Christian denominations that regard the membership issue as a matter of personal conscience have explicitly pointed out their theological incompatibility.
The very attitude you suggest Freemasonry promotes, namely the attitude that it doesn’t matter how people worship God, supports what many Protestant Christians refer to as the One World Order. I’m sure Lora believes there are other forces behind America’s ruin, but Freemasonry is the one she was addressing here.
To be clear, Masonry does not “promote” the idea that it doesn’t matter how you worship God. It does not say that all religions are or should be the same or that there are no differences among religions. It simply says that your religious choices are your own. Like many other service organizations, it says that people of different faiths can come together for the common good. If your faith says you cannot pray with a person of another faith, then that is your religious choice.
But any implication that Masonry is trying to make everyone part of one religion or one world order is just wrong.
Freemasonry promotes the idea that Christian Freemasons, Muslim Freemasons, and even Hindu Freemasons are all praying to the same great “Architect of the Universe.” Would you really claim Christian Freemasons face no pressure to participate in the Masonic prayers?
Your suggestion that a ritual-driven secret society like Freemasonry is just another service organization is extremely misleading.
That is an incorrect statement. Masonry does not promote “the idea that Christian Freemasons, Muslim Freemasons, and even Hindu Freemasons are all praying to the same great ‘Architect of the Universe.’” Masonry uses that term in order to be generic so that each Mason can pray to his own God and because it fits an organization that uses architectural tools as its symbols. Christian Masons participate in the organization’s prayers just like Christian Rotarians participate in prayers at the beginning of a Rotary meeting or Christian legislators participate in prayers at the opening of each session.
If you are at an event and a Jew is offering a prayer, do you not pray along with that person? Or do you ignore it like nothing is being said? Masonry promotes the idea that people of different faiths can come together for the common good, and even pray together, but without telling anyone whom to pray to.
And I agree that Masonry is not just another service organization. It is the world’s largest and oldest fraternity, and like many fraternities it uses rituals to convey the organization’s philosophy to its members. But it is also like many other service organizations in that it is a bunch of individuals (of various faiths) who gather together on a regular basis to improve themselves and their community.
You say Freemasonry uses the term “Architect of the Universe” to be generic so each Mason can pray to his own God.
So Freemasonry teaches that there’s more than one God, and the great Architect doesn’t really exist.
Please go back and re-read my previous posts. Masonry is not a religion. It does not teach its members that there’s more than one God. It does not teach members what God is or how to worship God. That is for a person’s religion to teach.
To Jack @ 11:58 p.m.:
Do Freemasons swear oaths to conceal the organization’s secret teachings?
No. Masons make promises to keep certain secrets, but those relate mainly to the passwords, handshakes, and forms of the ceremonies, which is similar to most college fraternities. Anyone can discuss the philosophical teachings of the organization.
I’ll take one from Column A, one from Column B, then wrap them in tinfoil.
The Founding Fathers were all Freemasons, and the word Catholic means Universal.
Correction:
Not all were Freemasons and those who were Masons fell into two camps: deists and social members.
Catholicism’s universality is “all embracing “ of different cultures, races, etc. but not of all thoughts/philosophies (in fact, Early Church Father made it clear being Catholic is a rejection of many of the common “wisdoms” prevalent at the time).
To be clear, I am not the anonymous poster
It was a secret society designed to protect Catholics from Protestants and vice versa. So there is no proof of membership. But when you are cooking up a seditious plot and recruiting co-conspirators up and down a 1200 mile stretch of coast in the 18th century, you don’t contact people you don’t know or trust. It was a network. They were all Freemasons. They just didn’t leave a paper trail.
You seem to be arguing that even the Founding Fathers who most aggressively opposed deism were all closet Freemasons, but if they didn’t leave a paper trail, how do you claim to know?
Among the 56 Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence, there was one Catholic. Among the 55 who participated in drafting the Constitution, there were two. Their Catholicism was well-known. They didn’t need a secret society to protect them from Protestants, and the Protestant Founding Fathers definitely didn’t need one to protect them from Catholics.
If you were a British subject in the 18th century, you would know. There had been a history of turmoil during which time your religious affiliation could get you killed, and nobody seemed to be sure it wouldn’t start up again. If they weren’t still worried about it they wouldn’t have written the anti-establishment clause in the First Amendment.
The current anti-Masonic teachings of the various churches is a reaction to the Masons’ expressed acceptance of all denominations and faiths. It really disturbs some sects when somebody says it doesn’t matter which church you go to.
Yes, and it really disturbs some Freemasons when somebody says it does matter.
The First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom was primarily motivated by what the Protestant Church of England had done to Protestants.
Genealogy. Deep dark family secrets.
I am “an” anonymous poster and my question is a relatively simple one…what is so darned difficult with saying, writing, remembering the title/phrase “Judeo-Christian”?? Lora turns it into “Judea-Christian” and Stace turned it into “Judo-Christian” which I am sure would include a lot of mission work with broken boards and bricks and such…
Just a pet peeve on a simple term…my rant here is over.
I noticed those errors as well. I do like accuracy when I can get it.
If Lora is looking for the source of the ruin of America, she had better look at the Lions, Kiwanians, Rotarians and Toastmasters. I swear, half of America shows up late to work after lunch once a month because of them. Don’t forget that rat bastard who introduced the Designated Hitter to the American League too.
Anonymous 9:17:
Additional comment: The voting rights of Catholics and protection under the First Amendment is almost exclusively by the efforts of George Washington and his relationship with Charles Carroll of Maryland.
We would be a significantly different country but for this one-on-one personal relationship.
So you are right: Catholics didn’t need protection from a secret society. We had one very powerful advocate.
My sister is eligible to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution from my dad’s side. However, my mom’s side has an unfavorable reaction because of the DAR overt anti-Catholicism. When I chose to go to a university firmed by the women of Mount Vernon (virulently anti-Catholic) my grandma begged me to go to Georgetown or Catholic U.
My point: George Washington is a hero to me because my family never would have come here but for him. I’d otherwise be Argentinian.
On a scale of SD Rep. Michael Clark to Rep. Steve King of Iowa, how racist would you say it is?
Jack brings up a really good point:
Rather than assertion the Mason’s are part of a conspiracy, the more legitimate criticism is they are so excessively intellectually tolerant, they embrace competing thoughts to the point of being essentially irrational.
The roots of the conspiracy go to their “secret” initiation practices. However, in the end, its just a club without anything meaningful with regard to principles except “you are in” and others are not. And, who cares. Some people like to join stuff, have a few beers, drive kiddie cars, and raise a few bucks for charity. Go for it guys.
The public face of a secret society, by definition, is always different from the conspiracy at its core.
the postings and this exchange are crazy and a little scary. ps – lora – the masons didn’t hide any gold in a secret vault at mount rushmore either.
Damn!
We had to relocate because of that movie.
Benjamin Franklin was a Freemason
Jack,
Try as you did to make sense of what Masonry’s philosophy is, you either didn’t do a good job or you exposed its nonsense.
In the end you’d be better to admit it is a fraternity grounded in rituals of no real consequence but to bind or create common ground with the members for social and charitable purposes.
Pretending you are more is disingenuous and thinking you are more makes it a cult.
Troy,
I think that is actually a good explanation of the organization. Critics often try to make Masonry into more than it is. It is not a religion, and it does not try to change anyone’s beliefs about God. I hope I have at least been successful in getting that point across.