Why do most people have negative things to say about free masons?

Question

What exactly do they do that makes them so horrible?
Wasn't George Washington a free mason?

Answer 1

Right off let me say that I am a Freemason of an esoteric Order, American Co-Masonry. We admit women and men of all races and religions. We require them to be tolerant of races and religions not their own.

While we are not a religion, we are spiritual in our undertakings with the world. We are about molding character in people already well along the way. One of the reasons we use the tools of the ancient operative stone masons as our symbols for reflection is that it is easier to mold stone than the human heart. We are bent upon improving the world by improving ourselves. However, faith without deeds is dead.

We work also to help others, not just other Masons. Most of our donations are to causes like women's shelters, half-way houses for recovering addicts, food programs (like Second Harvest) for the poor.

Those few who have quarrels with Freemasonry basically boil down to we sit in equality with Brothers (BTW, we call women members of our Order "Brother" too) of all religions and politics and races (and in Co-Masonry, all genders). There are those people so fearful that they see any difference as being grounds for hating - sort of the paint one chicken blue and the other chickens will peck her to death phenomenon. These fearful people say they will not be yoked with non-believers and other such pseudo-pious quotes.

Freemasons believe in the freedom of religion, the equality of mankind, and the right to secret ballot. Much of what America was founded upon was this kind of thinking. Not all founders were Freemasons, but the moral imperative to make something better, to create a place of such freedom was there in the air of the times. We believe that urge is not dead.

We are not a secret society. You know who is a Freemason and where we meet. We just do not open our Lodge workings to those not in the calm clear space that each degree requires. Not being secret refers to America today. In some countries it has been and continues to be death to be a Freemason - Germany in the 1940s, Portugal until 1970s, and other places I will not now name. Very unpopular with tyrants, to be a believer in the brotherhood of mankind, equality under law, and the right for all religions to be practiced.

To those who put down Freemasonry, I say to you go and do better. Seriously. Do not sit in your bedroom with your computer and some hateful books, go out today and make the life of someone in need better. Go work in a soup kitchen, lead a Scout troop, become a Big Brother or Big Sister, donate to a women's shelter. Give some something of your bounty. We do. And you know what? We do not expect anything from that. We are not looking for salvation in Lodge, we are looking for Harmony and Peace in the world.

A Master Mason
American Co-Masonry

Hiram Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)
Amon Ra Lodge (Los Angeles, CA)
Sapientia Lodge of Research (Larkspur, CO)
Adamant Mark Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)

Answer 2

Yes George Washington was a Freemason.

People say evil things about Masons because they center their organization on the One True and Living God and yet do not give any specific group control over their organization.

I have sat in lodge with Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists and even a Priest who would have been excommunicated if anyone found out he was a Freemason.

One thing brings all these people together, the desire to fellowship in the service to others.

What some people cannot control they hate and incite others to hate.

PS: If Freemasonry is so secret how come so many people know about it? How come we put huge square and compasses and signs on our buildings? Build and fund Shriners Hospitals for Children? How come we march in parades, ride motorcycles and drive little cars around? If it is a secret society it is doing a pretty lousy job of keeping themselves secret.

Answer 3

This has often puzzled me as my father has been a Mason all of his addult life. He is a Past Master, my mother is in the Eastern Star. As a child I attended camps funded by the Masons - Camp Rainbow. I grew up often going to the Lodge with my parents. I never saw any evil, a lot of it is spiritual in a Christian way. There were times though when the family members would be asked to leave the galley and the doors would be locke while we waited out in the Hall.
This secretness would be my guess as to the negativity. People tend to fear what they do not understand.

Answer 4

I also, never think about freemasons till someone brings them up, but I have to admit that the whole "secret society" thing has me puzzled. Secret societies are for little boys in their tree houses, not for grown men and women.
If it's all good, why keep it so secret? What about the horrendous oaths supposedly involved? Why all the "on pain of having my tongue torn out by the roots and buried where the tide comes in" or some such childish nonsense?
Masons have been involved in some pretty shady goings on, as I recall. Can't remember the guy's name offhand, but weren't they involved in a murder back in the fifties? Some guy that left the lodge or something?
I've heard, but don't know, that,at the 33rd level, it becomes obvious that it is satanic. Evidently the grand master drinks the blood of a goat that was sacrificed there on the floor of the lodge.
Now, obviously, freemasons know this stuff is being said, and conjectures made, so why not come clean?
Perhaps it is just a grown up tree house with a bunch of guys who never grew all the way up...but then, aren't most of them people who have influence in their communities? Why is it when one of them gets into trouble, he just flashes his ring, and all is well?
A child's game for grown ups with make believe oaths and empty threats?
Or is it childish? Not if it's a real threat....

Why did Richard Cheney shoot that lawyer anyhow? Whoever heard of anyone getting shot, even accidentally, and then apologizing to the shooter?
It's stuff like that that make you wonder.....

Answer 5

It's a secret society. That has a tendency 2 scare people. If they don't understand what something is about, they'll come up with all types of slanderous things 2 say about it. I personally could care less if any of what ppl say about Free Masons is true (what with the witchcraft and other such things)Who knows?

Answer 6

I agree that people fear what they do not know or understand. But, the thing is, that Free Masons are not a church, they do not meet to WORSHIP God. They are a fraternal philanthropic organization that is based on an ancient group of builders of the temple of Solomon. They are not a Christian organization, they are a God-centered group made up mostly of Christians.

Answer 7

It would take days to explain the whole deal to you, but let me say this:
The ones who join the masons do not realize the organization is occult; they think
its just a great do-good community-based organization that is a great club to join because you get alot of benefits from it, like the best jobs, etc.
Unfortunately, until the person reaches the highest levels of the organization, they do not know what they have gotten themselves into. They take oaths of death, etc. Christ specifically stated not to take an oath to anyone or anything. This would be one good reason not to. The higher levels of the masons are stone-cold occult to the highest possible degree. They follow the occult Bible, occult rituals, etc.
I personally believe that they are of the decendants of Cain, who is a blood (natural) son of Satan himself, according to the original texts of the Bible.
But thats my opinion from years of study, and that plus five bucks will get you a coffee just about anywhere you go......

Answer 8

They are from an ancient society and the oaths they take to become members are blasphemous.They were adopted into the roman catholic church and tehyre part of the "new world order" agenda in the upper eschalon.Go the the bible book store sometime and ask if they have anything on them.Youll be surprised.

Answer 9

people dont really want to believe in the idea that one organization would have so much sway/control over the world we live in today or the destiny of the world back then was fixed. i feel we like to believe in the randomness. i think we rely on it, for hope of a different tommorrow when we feel today is bad.

Answer 10

Any group that is secretive is going to scare people. And most (or even all) of the Founders were.