who are the freemasons?

Question

and what does the letter g mean on the sighn? shouldn't it be an F ?

Answer 1

You've received some good answers so far, and some inaccurate ones (Sara)...

Freemasonry is a social fraternity that studies morality through ritual, symbol and allegory; its main tenets are faith, hope and charity.

Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a cult; as such is does not worship nor have a God... it does require its members to believe in God but does not define that God (so there are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc... Freemasons) - certain Christian anti-masons cannot come to grips with this and call it a cult or satan worshippers because of this, but its a Fraternity --- you wouldn't consider your college fraternity satanic because they let a non-Christian in it would you???

to some other responses:

* the G is an American invenstion, as with everything in freemasonry is has more than one meaning - geometry and God
* I'm struggling to find fault with a masonic position of "the believe heaven is only attainable by good works" --- isn't that what Jesus taught??? the term "mason" does not originate as Sara suggests
* I have never heard "nameless one of a thousand names" in any masonic writing, ritual, etc... if you can please cite your reference I would be interested in reading it

Answer 2

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that arose from obscure origins (theorised to be anywhere from the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple to the mid-1600s). Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, and has millions of members. The various forms all share moral and metaphysical ideals, which include, in most cases, a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.[1]

The fraternity is administratively organised into Grand Lodges (or sometimes Orients) that each govern their own jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. Grand Lodges recognise each other through a process of landmarks and regularity. There are also appendant bodies, which are organisations related to the main branch of Freemasonry, but with their own independent administration.

for the sighn & the f questions go to thier website or forum here are the links:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freemasons/
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/

Answer 3

Easy part first: the letter G stands for Geometry, it can also stand for God. We use geometry as a way of teaching moral values: as you use a square to check the right angles of builder's work to see that they ate true and accurate, so you mentally use the square of honesty to check that your actions and dealings are true and honest. (geometry can be seen as a reflection of God's order in the world.)

Explaining who Freemasons are is pretty complicated, but the Skeptic's Dictionary has an explanation which is a good start:

"Freemason

A member of the Free and Accepted Masons or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, an international secular fraternal order. Freemasons are organized into lodges. Groups of lodges belong to a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient, but there is no single governing body that directs all the Grand Lodges. The origins of the Freemasons are disputed, but the first organized lodges date from 1717 in England. Members consider others in their lodge as "brothers" or "brethren," but consider members of other lodges as brothers only if their Grand Lodges officially recognize each other. Freemasons are sometimes accused of being secretive societies because they have "signs of recognition such as handshakes, passwords, and references that only initiated members would understand."*

Freemasonry is not a secret society, cult, religion or anti-Christian sect, nor is it behind the Illuminati, although it is often accused of being such. Membership does require belief in a Supreme Being and there is a Masonic Bible, usually the King James Version of the same book accepted by those Christians who accuse the Masons of being anti-Christian."

Try looking at Wikipedia- there's a lot on Freemasonry there.

Answer 4

The Freemasons are a society that was born out of actual masons. It was a society where men could discuss how to run things, hence it's fabled past. Presently, the Masons do mostly charity work, and are slowly fizzling out due to lack of interest from the younger generations.

The G in the compass stands for God.

To Hoosier Daddy: It actually does stand for God. Not geometry.

Answer 5

The free masons is a fellowship. It was documented far earlier then that. the masons were stone masons or builders who built most of the architecture in Europe. The reason they were called free masons was because they were allowed to travel between city's and towns UN obstructed because of their status as Masons. they were building the cities so they were of the most respected. Masonry graduated into a fellowship of men who stood for integrity, a belief in god and ready to help their fellow man. Much was construed because of their secret rituals. These rituals were a way for interns to grasp the importance of the fellowship. Many presidents were Masons. My family brought a charter from Scotland in 1680 to Va. and it still continues in Silver City N.M and the same charter is in Globe AZ. Brought to the southwest by my grandfather in 1878.
The Letter G represents the divine presence in all meetings. there are many books on Masons. The problem today is that many older members are dieing off and there are not many young members coming in.

Answer 6

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that arose from obscure origins (theorised to be anywhere from the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple to the mid-1600s). Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, and has millions of members. The various forms all share moral and metaphysical ideals, which include, in most cases, a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry

Representation of "G":
In keeping with the geometrical and architectural theme of Freemasonry, the Supreme Being is referred to in Masonic ritual by the titles of the "Great Architect of the Universe" or "Grand Geometrician". The Square and Compasses (or, more correctly, a square and a set of compasses joined together) is the single most identifiable symbol of Freemasonry. Both the square and compasses are architect's tools, and are used in Masonic ritual as emblems to teach symbolic lessons. Some Lodges and rituals explain these symbols as lessons in conduct: for example, that Masons should "square their actions by the square of virtue" and learn to "circumscribe their desires and keep their passions within due bounds toward all mankind". As measuring instruments, the tools represent judgement and discernment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_and_Compasses

Answer 7

my step-dad is a mason. they are men and on some occasions women that are out to better themselves and the community. they do not approach people to join but they will talk about the group if they are asked. they spend time giving to the community and they give to charity. i assume that the g stands for guild. the story is that the group was started by ancient stone masons.

Answer 8

freemasons (deists) believe that all gods are God, to one degree or another. the masonic cult sees the bible as nothing more than a good source of morality, and does not allow the name of Jesus to be spoken in the lodge, though they do use select bible verses in their teachings. this is the main reason the group is so secretive, as the group was created in what used to be christian europe. they believe heaven is only attainable by good works, and they attempt to build heaven on earth through these works, thus the title ''mason.''

''gaotu'' (great architect of the universe) is the god of the freemasons, also called ''the nameless one of a thousand names.'' when you see the masonic logo with the ''G'' in the middle of it, it stands for ''gaotu.''

Answer 9

The "G" stands for "Geometry". Outsiders are sometimes told that it stands for "God", but it's actually "Geometry". Fortunately, it's not really a Masonic secret.

http://www.ohiofreemason.com/education/symbols/007.htm