what the heck is "the secret society of masons"?

Question

i've never heard of it till today and even now i cant find out what they are or what they do. i'm not asking for details i just want to know if its some kind of cult that expects you to drink Kool Aide upside down through a straw up your nose. really why was it founded? is there a reason they are so secret?

it seems that every time i meet a new person i learn something new, and a gentelman i was speaking to told me he was a 3rd degree mason...i thought he meet like a building mason, i was wrong. but of course he cant explain because its a secret

wow its scary to think i've never heard of this before though it sounds very very important.

Answer 1

the Masons have been around for a long time, and if you search on the term "freemasons" you'll get more accurate results. They have nothing to do with the Mormon Church as a previous answer implies.

While it has often been called a "Secret Society", it is more correct to say that it is an esoteric society, in that certain aspects are private; From many quarters, Freemasons have stated that Freemasonry has, in the 21st century, become less a secret society and more of a "society with secrets." Most modern Freemasons regard the traditional concern over secrecy as a demonstration of their ability to keep a promise and a concern over the privacy of their own affairs. "Lodge meetings, like meetings of many other social and professional associations, are private occasions open only to members."The private aspects of modern Freemasonry deal with the modes of recognition amongst members and elements within the ritual.

Answer 2

Do you mean the Free Masons?

If you do, (not an expert on the sub, but...)

It was, like you said, a secret society that was formed possibly arounf the time of the Revolutionary War, although probably before. People think Ben Fraklin, George Washington, and other prominent figures in our history have been free masons. If you watch National Treasure, even though it's fiction, they talk a LOT about the free masons, and what they did; and the thing is, a lot of the stuff presented in the movie contains theories that people have about the society for real.

Anyway, I don't know how active they are today, which may make it seem like they are still ultra-secret. Pretty sure there's no Kool-Aid involved, though. ;P

Disclaimer: All this stuff could be completely wrong, lol.

Answer 3

Freemasonry is a fraternity that has unexplainable origins. The operative Masons who built buildings and cathedrals met as secrete organizations. They actually had trade secrets and ways of recognizing each other. In the 17th century, elite men started seeking admision into these lower class trade guilds to learn of their secrets. Somewhere along the way, the different meaning behind the secrets became philosophic. In 1717 the Grad Lodge of England emerged as the first Grand Lodge of speculative freemsonry - meaning that the members were pursuing philosohic and philanthropic goals.

Over the next few centuries, Masonry continued to evolve while maintaining the philosophic and secretvie nature. Many degrees emerged and many clandetine degrees emerged. There are many Mason groups,some havnig legitimate lineage from these fraternities and many who simly duped others. Freemasnry is an inrnational fraternity without a central governing body. Groups are considered regular or recognized when the fraternity at large recognizes them. Some of the group attached to Masonry (three degrees of the Blue Lodge) are Scottish Rite, York Rite, and the Shriners.

It is worth noting here that many legends are connected to Freemasonry. Most conecting it the building King Solomons Temple. Both the York and Scottish Rites have Knights Templar Degrees. To most 18th and 19th century Masons, they thought they were actal descendents of the Knights Templar. While most informed Masons don't make this claim today, there is a strong history that many of us consider us to be the spiritual descendents of these knights.

The reason we maintain secrecy is to impress our candidates at the time of their initiation with important lessons. In actuality, there is very little that is secret of our ceremonies. It is a hame that people have prostituted our rituals and then made spurious claims about our organization. If you have any questions, I woul write to any of the American Grand Lodges. The information on the internet will usually skew the information. And now with the DaVinci Code, many poor souls have been fooled to think that Freemasonry has some conenction to Dan Brown's non-sense. Please think rationally if you deide to investigate into Freemasonry because there is a lot of filth out there.

Answer 4

the mason go all the way back to biblical times with King Solomon. George Washington was a Mason. They do allot for the communities such as help the poor and the sick. Shriner's are a part of the Masons

Answer 5

www.grandlodgeofvirginia.org/whomason

This site should give you some background. The "Masons " are widespread.There are plenty of groups here in Australia. They have their own venues like Masonic Halls / Lodges.
Do you remember the show : Happy Days ? Mr Cunningham belonged to a lodge. This is a similar type of thing but its basis is in Christian religion.

Answer 6

Watch that Johnny Depp and Heather Graham movie about Jack the Ripper, I forget the title. I highly doubt it is an accurate depiction, but it does display some of the power and secretness that probably exists.The truth is if you aren't a member (have no relatives who are members and have no position of authority) you probably will never really understand it. I still don't really understand what its all about. Its serious though. You talk you are heavily penalized.

Answer 7

you reality ought to know more about Masons. Thier symbols are on your money. This country was founded by them, and some say controlled by them til this day.

I live in DC. There are so called masonic symbols everwhere. My metro stop is right next to the Grand Masonic lodge in Alexandria, VA. Masonry is all over here you can't miss it.

Answer 8

it's a secret society, which is why you know nothing about it.

However, they are NOT a cult. They are not a religious order. They were originally, a group of industrial, powerful men who used their secret meetings to set in motion plans that effect society. The Freemasons were no joke... do some research on Wikipedia or google and see what you can LEARN instead of making stupid jokes about cults.

Answer 9

Freemasonry- type this into your search bar and you will get all the info you need. It is not a secret society as some might lead you to believe, although it once was.

Answer 10

These are the so called Freemasons, they are not one group but operate all over world, in places such as America,Britain, Italy they run the government, the police, the armed forces, all religions and are responsible for the state the world is in at the present moment. All the german parasites who are called the royal family are members of this organisation and always have been.