Free Masons

[Mad hatters in jeans]

Apparently there's a special way of using a free masons handshake, my dad knows some apparently one was a chief police officer at one point or something like that.

[Farnhamia]

from what I watched on the History Channel if you place the 6 pointed star symbol on the unfinneshed pyramid it points to 5 words: A,S,N,O,and M. if you flip these words around you get MASON.

I saw that one, too...

That's only five letters, though. Shouldn't it be six? A, S, N, O, M, N and rearrange them to make SNOMAN.

Many of the Founders were Masons. It was and is, as HKII pointed out, a service organization that had a thing for somewhat bizarre trappings and ritual. And secrecy. But orgies and bodies? Methinks not. Besides, do you really want to imagine Franklin, Madison, Jefferson, both the Adamses buck-naked like that? yeesh. Though, Franklin did father 14 kids, so maybe ... no.

[Hanibar]

from what I watched on the History Channel if you place the 6 pointed star symbol on the unfinneshed pyramid it points to 5 words: A,S,N,O,and M. if you flip these words around you get MASON.

I saw that one, too...

That's only five letters, though. Shouldn't it be six? A, S, N, O, M, N and rearrange them to make SNOMAN.

Many of the Founders were Masons. It was and is, as HKII pointed out, a service organization that had a thing for somewhat bizarre trappings and ritual. And secrecy. But orgies and bodies? Methinks not. Besides, do you really want to imagine Franklin, Madison, Jefferson, both the Adamses buck-naked like that? yeesh. Though, Franklin did father 14 kids, so maybe ... no.

sorry about the typo, I meant to type letters but for some reason I typed in words...

[Grave_n_idle]

That's only five letters, though. Shouldn't it be six? A, S, N, O, M, N and rearrange them to make SNOMAN.

The upward pointing triangle points between the two words.

Besides, do you really want to imagine Franklin, Madison, Jefferson, both the Adamses buck-naked like that?

Gods, yes.

[Wilgrove]

Do you guys believe in the Free Masons and do you guys believe that the founding fathers of America were in a satanic cult? I ='ve just watched this on the History channel about this and they have found like a burial ground full of dead corpses under Benjamin Franklin's house and they said some of the founding fathers were in secret "orgy" clubs...

What was the name of this program? Because I've never heard this before, and I'm an avid listener of Coast to Coast AM and an avid watcher of the History Channel.

[Hanibar]

Do you guys believe in the Free Masons and do you guys believe that the founding fathers of America were in a satanic cult? I ='ve just watched this on the History channel about this and they have found like a burial ground full of dead corpses under Benjamin Franklin's house and they said some of the founding fathers were in secret "orgy" clubs...

What was the name of this program? Because I've never heard this before, and I'm an avid listener of Coast to Coast AM and an avid watcher of the History Channel.

"Secrets Of The Founding Fathers"

[Wilgrove]

Do you guys believe in the Free Masons and do you guys believe that the founding fathers of America were in a satanic cult? I ='ve just watched this on the History channel about this and they have found like a burial ground full of dead corpses under Benjamin Franklin's house and they said some of the founding fathers were in secret "orgy" clubs...

What was the name of this program? Because I've never heard this before, and I'm an avid listener of Coast to Coast AM and an avid watcher of the History Channel.

"Secrets Of The Founding Fathers"

Were you doing anything else beside watching this program? Like looking at porn?

[Hanibar]

What was the name of this program? Because I've never heard this before, and I'm an avid listener of Coast to Coast AM and an avid watcher of the History Channel.[/quote]
"Secrets Of The Founding Fathers"[/quote]

Were you doing anything else beside watching this program? Like looking at porn?[/quote]
uh no,lol. My computer had been screwing up, I've just now got it fixed...

[Altergo]

What was the name of this program? Because I've never heard this before, and I'm an avid listener of Coast to Coast AM and an avid watcher of the History Channel.

"Secrets Of The Founding Fathers"[/quote]

Were you doing anything else beside watching this program? Like looking at porn?[/quote]
uh no,lol. My computer had been screwing up, I've just now got it fixed...[/quote]

Somebody got a virus from looking at Hentai

[Hanibar]

What was the name of this program? Because I've never heard this before, and I'm an avid listener of Coast to Coast AM and an avid watcher of the History Channel.

"Secrets Of The Founding Fathers"

Were you doing anything else beside watching this program? Like looking at porn?[/quote]
uh no,lol. My computer had been screwing up, I've just now got it fixed...[/quote]

Somebody got a virus from looking at Hentai[/quote]
actually it was stupid Limewire....

[Wilgrove]

Somebody got a virus from looking at Hentai

Congrats, you just made me LOL in real life.

*gives slice of cheesecake*

[Altergo]

Somebody got a virus from looking at Hentai

Congrats, you just made me LOL in real life.

*gives slice of cheesecake*

*Eats the cheesecake*

And there's more where that came from

[Scolopendra]

Dude, I'm a Freemason and I never get invited to any of these crazy snuff sex death orgy parties.

Freemasonry essentially exists as a pro-Enlightenment club that uses relatively simple tools that any working man can understand to generate a convenient vocabulary for discussing moral and ethical philosophy. When the movement was officially founded in Britain in 1717 it basically served the purpose of moving intellectualism and philosophy down from the upper classes and moving egalitarianism up from the working classes, which did establish the a subcultural mindset supportive of democracy and equality (which, if you recall from history, were rather in vogue during the Enlightenment). Seeing how Freemasonry in general was a democracy club at the time, it's not overly surprising that anybody interested in making a democratic country would either be members or influenced by them.

As a society with secrets, we also have fun with the old "I know something you don't know" trick. Unlike some other Masons, I do tend to think that all of the geometrical curiosities you see in the planning of Washington D.C. and the $1 bill were intentional. Unlike conspiracy theorists, though, I don't think it particularly means anything beyond "we were here and therefore awesome." It's just a Kilroy daub or a graffiti tag applied to institutional design is all. The MASON anagram hidden in a hexagon is a good indicator; when the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (you know, the old guys with the little cars in parades) was formed, it was pretty much a kick-back-and-have-fun group made up of people with an interest in Orientalism and drinking; rearrange the letters in AAONMS and you get, tada, A MASON.

Sometimes we like to think ourselves clever that way.

I say "we," but Masonry really isn't organized in one super group. Each geographical location in "regular" ("orthodox," sort of) has a Grand Lodge which standardizes how Masons do their thing in their area: I'm a member of the Grand Lodge of California; there's a Grand Lodge of England, a Grand Lodge of Mexico, so on and so forth. These Grand Lodges communicate to each other and those which are 'close enough' to original Masonry (essentially following the rules "no girls allowed," "ritual secrecy," and "members must believe in a supreme being of some sort") are considered regular; this intercommunication is the closest thing that exists to a worldwide Masonic 'structure.' There's no shadow Pope/king/twelve that rule in majesty, and 33° Masons are just members of a related "appendant body" who have been given a title of respect; they don't get to order anyone around.

The reason why I bring this up is because there are "irregular" lodges which break some of those rules and are considered too heterodox to be part of the bigger whole. Co-Masonry, which started in France before the Revolution, is one of those irregular bodies: they allow women and atheists (I've got no problem with that; clubs can let whoever they want join) but are otherwise broadly identical. The Bavarian Illuminati were likewise irregular, if really related to Freemasonry at all. It was also an Enlightenment society, probably influenced by Freemasonry, which was a bit more aggressive and humanist in its standards. The Catholic Church took a dim view of it, sure, but more importantly, Duke Karl Theodor took a dim view of it and had it banned. It used to operate in the open.

Recall that the Revolutionary Period in Europe was a shocking game-changer; with the Enlightenment rolling around and royal heads rolling off, people wondered who was pulling the strings in the background. The Catholic Church was the status quo, and for something to stop it, obviously there had to be conspiracies afoot. Just like 9/11 conspiracy theorists today, a lot of royalists at the time pointed the finger at Freemasons and similar sorts since they happened to like, oh, everything the Church was against (religious tolerance, egalitarianism, democracy, and so forth). Admittedly, Freemasons didn't do much to dispel this, what with being secretive and all, and quite possibly a few lodges were used as local cabals and planning places due to their emphasis on secrecy. They shouldn't have, of course, but they did--the same thing happened in the modern world with Propaganda Due (which has to be the coolest name for a lodge ever, which is unfortunate since the Grand Lodge of Italy correctly declared them irregular and then they got mixed up in trying to take over the Republic of Italy). Some sort of world-wide conspiracy though is patently unlikely for more-or-less the same reasons that a worldwide conspiracy now takes a bit of faith to believe in.

There's no doubting that we've been influential through the years, but more due to the spread of ideas and philosophy rather than some sort of secretive control.

[Grave_n_idle]

Dude, I'm a Freemason and I never get invited to any of these crazy snuff sex death orgy parties.

Freemasonry essentially exists as a pro-Enlightenment club that uses relatively simple tools that any working man can understand to generate a convenient vocabulary for discussing moral and ethical philosophy. When the movement was officially founded in Britain in 1717 it basically served the purpose of moving intellectualism and philosophy down from the upper classes and moving egalitarianism up from the working classes, which did establish the a subcultural mindset supportive of democracy and equality (which, if you recall from history, were rather in vogue during the Enlightenment). Seeing how Freemasonry in general was a democracy club at the time, it's not overly surprising that anybody interested in making a democratic country would either be members or influenced by them.

As a society with secrets, we also have fun with the old "I know something you don't know" trick. Unlike some other Masons, I do tend to think that all of the geometrical curiosities you see in the planning of Washington D.C. and the $1 bill were intentional. Unlike conspiracy theorists, though, I don't think it particularly means anything beyond "we were here and therefore awesome." It's just a Kilroy daub or a graffiti tag applied to institutional design is all. The MASON anagram hidden in a hexagon is a good indicator; when the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (you know, the old guys with the little cars in parades) was formed, it was pretty much a kick-back-and-have-fun group made up of people with an interest in Orientalism and drinking; rearrange the letters in AAONMS and you get, tada, A MASON.

Sometimes we like to think ourselves clever that way.

I say "we," but Masonry really isn't organized in one super group. Each geographical location in "regular" ("orthodox," sort of) has a Grand Lodge which standardizes how Masons do their thing in their area: I'm a member of the Grand Lodge of California; there's a Grand Lodge of England, a Grand Lodge of Mexico, so on and so forth. These Grand Lodges communicate to each other and those which are 'close enough' to original Masonry (essentially following the rules "no girls allowed," "ritual secrecy," and "members must believe in a supreme being of some sort") are considered regular; this intercommunication is the closest thing that exists to a worldwide Masonic 'structure.' There's no shadow Pope/king/twelve that rule in majesty, and 33° Masons are just members of a related "appendant body" who have been given a title of respect; they don't get to order anyone around.

The reason why I bring this up is because there are "irregular" lodges which break some of those rules and are considered too heterodox to be part of the bigger whole. Co-Masonry, which started in France before the Revolution, is one of those irregular bodies: they allow women and atheists (I've got no problem with that; clubs can let whoever they want join) but are otherwise broadly identical. The Bavarian Illuminati were likewise irregular, if really related to Freemasonry at all. It was also an Enlightenment society, probably influenced by Freemasonry, which was a bit more aggressive and humanist in its standards. The Catholic Church took a dim view of it, sure, but more importantly, Duke Karl Theodor took a dim view of it and had it banned. It used to operate in the open.

Recall that the Revolutionary Period in Europe was a shocking game-changer; with the Enlightenment rolling around and royal heads rolling off, people wondered who was pulling the strings in the background. The Catholic Church was the status quo, and for something to stop it, obviously there had to be conspiracies afoot. Just like 9/11 conspiracy theorists today, a lot of royalists at the time pointed the finger at Freemasons and similar sorts since they happened to like, oh, everything the Church was against (religious tolerance, egalitarianism, democracy, and so forth). Admittedly, Freemasons didn't do much to dispel this, what with being secretive and all, and quite possibly a few lodges were used as local cabals and planning places due to their emphasis on secrecy. They shouldn't have, of course, but they did--the same thing happened in the modern world with Propaganda Due (which has to be the coolest name for a lodge ever, which is unfortunate since the Grand Lodge of Italy correctly declared them irregular and then they got mixed up in trying to take over the Republic of Italy). Some sort of world-wide conspiracy though is patently unlikely for more-or-less the same reasons that a worldwide conspiracy now takes a bit of faith to believe in.

There's no doubting that we've been influential through the years, but more due to the spread of ideas and philosophy rather than some sort of secretive control.

Yeah... well, you would say that...

[Scolopendra]

Yeah... well, you would say that...

Of course I would. What, you think I'd tell you about the network of mind control satellites we launched using ancient astronaut technology recovered from Peru and Egypt in the 1830s?

...

Crap.

[Altergo]

Dude, I'm a Freemason and I never get invited to any of these crazy snuff sex death orgy parties.

Freemasonry essentially exists as a pro-Enlightenment club that uses relatively simple tools that any working man can understand to generate a convenient vocabulary for discussing moral and ethical philosophy. When the movement was officially founded in Britain in 1717 it basically served the purpose of moving intellectualism and philosophy down from the upper classes and moving egalitarianism up from the working classes, which did establish the a subcultural mindset supportive of democracy and equality (which, if you recall from history, were rather in vogue during the Enlightenment). Seeing how Freemasonry in general was a democracy club at the time, it's not overly surprising that anybody interested in making a democratic country would either be members or influenced by them.

As a society with secrets, we also have fun with the old "I know something you don't know" trick. Unlike some other Masons, I do tend to think that all of the geometrical curiosities you see in the planning of Washington D.C. and the $1 bill were intentional. Unlike conspiracy theorists, though, I don't think it particularly means anything beyond "we were here and therefore awesome." It's just a Kilroy daub or a graffiti tag applied to institutional design is all. The MASON anagram hidden in a hexagon is a good indicator; when the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (you know, the old guys with the little cars in parades) was formed, it was pretty much a kick-back-and-have-fun group made up of people with an interest in Orientalism and drinking; rearrange the letters in AAONMS and you get, tada, A MASON.

Sometimes we like to think ourselves clever that way.

I say "we," but Masonry really isn't organized in one super group. Each geographical location in "regular" ("orthodox," sort of) has a Grand Lodge which standardizes how Masons do their thing in their area: I'm a member of the Grand Lodge of California; there's a Grand Lodge of England, a Grand Lodge of Mexico, so on and so forth. These Grand Lodges communicate to each other and those which are 'close enough' to original Masonry (essentially following the rules "no girls allowed," "ritual secrecy," and "members must believe in a supreme being of some sort") are considered regular; this intercommunication is the closest thing that exists to a worldwide Masonic 'structure.' There's no shadow Pope/king/twelve that rule in majesty, and 33° Masons are just members of a related "appendant body" who have been given a title of respect; they don't get to order anyone around.

The reason why I bring this up is because there are "irregular" lodges which break some of those rules and are considered too heterodox to be part of the bigger whole. Co-Masonry, which started in France before the Revolution, is one of those irregular bodies: they allow women and atheists (I've got no problem with that; clubs can let whoever they want join) but are otherwise broadly identical. The Bavarian Illuminati were likewise irregular, if really related to Freemasonry at all. It was also an Enlightenment society, probably influenced by Freemasonry, which was a bit more aggressive and humanist in its standards. The Catholic Church took a dim view of it, sure, but more importantly, Duke Karl Theodor took a dim view of it and had it banned. It used to operate in the open.

Recall that the Revolutionary Period in Europe was a shocking game-changer; with the Enlightenment rolling around and royal heads rolling off, people wondered who was pulling the strings in the background. The Catholic Church was the status quo, and for something to stop it, obviously there had to be conspiracies afoot. Just like 9/11 conspiracy theorists today, a lot of royalists at the time pointed the finger at Freemasons and similar sorts since they happened to like, oh, everything the Church was against (religious tolerance, egalitarianism, democracy, and so forth). Admittedly, Freemasons didn't do much to dispel this, what with being secretive and all, and quite possibly a few lodges were used as local cabals and planning places due to their emphasis on secrecy. They shouldn't have, of course, but they did--the same thing happened in the modern world with Propaganda Due (which has to be the coolest name for a lodge ever, which is unfortunate since the Grand Lodge of Italy correctly declared them irregular and then they got mixed up in trying to take over the Republic of Italy). Some sort of world-wide conspiracy though is patently unlikely for more-or-less the same reasons that a worldwide conspiracy now takes a bit of faith to believe in.

There's no doubting that we've been influential through the years, but more due to the spread of ideas and philosophy rather than some sort of secretive control.

So there we have it. No damn Hentai! No damn sex parties!! Just a Fraternity with some cool shirts!!! Dammit!!!

[Reploid Productions]

<snip>

In before "OMG MOD CONSPIRACY!"

[Wilgrove]

What are the requirements to become a Free Mason?

[Scolopendra]

So there we have it. No damn Hentai! No damn sex parties!! Just a Fraternity with some cool shirts!!! Dammit!!!

That's a collar. He's got a level (the T-shaped thing) so that makes him a senior warden (not a secret!).

EDIT oooohhh I see. The semi-military regalia suggests he's probably also in the York or Scottish Rite; they like those sorts of things.

EDIT 2 Or maybe George just happened to go around like that most of the time? This'll teach me to look at the details of pictures.

What are the requirements to become a Free Mason?

Requirements? Pretty easy.
1) Be male.
2) Believe in some sort of supreme being or higher power.

Absolute requirements may vary from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge.

Hell, I'll even throw in how you join.

Step 1) Find a Mason. If you're in the United States, this isn't very hard seeing how we tend to quietly advertise this fact through rings and bumper stickers and the like.
Step 2) Ask.

[Mad hatters in jeans]

What are the requirements to become a Free Mason?

You work in the building industry and have a working knowledge of philosophy. and lots of bricks and mortar.
that or you have a talent in talking in code, remember deus ex does not exist, there is no man and machine.

[Wilgrove]

So there we have it. No damn Hentai! No damn sex parties!! Just a Fraternity with some cool shirts!!! Dammit!!!

That's a collar. He's got a level (the T-shaped thing) so that makes him a senior warden (not a secret!).

EDIT oooohhh I see. The semi-military regalia suggests he's probably also in the York or Scottish Rite; they like those sorts of things.

What are the requirements to become a Free Mason?

Requirements? Pretty easy.
1) Be male.
2) Believe in some sort of supreme being or higher power.

Absolute requirements may vary from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge.

Hell, I'll even throw in how you join.

Step 1) Find a Mason. If you're in the United States, this isn't very hard seeing how we tend to quietly advertise this fact through rings and bumper stickers and the like.
Step 2) Ask.

Yay I am a male, and I believe in two higher powers!

[Altergo]

So there we have it. No damn Hentai! No damn sex parties!! Just a Fraternity with some cool shirts!!! Dammit!!!

That's a collar. He's got a level (the T-shaped thing) so that makes him a senior warden (not a secret!).

EDIT oooohhh I see. The semi-military regalia suggests he's probably also in the York or Scottish Rite; they like those sorts of things.

What are the requirements to become a Free Mason?

Requirements? Pretty easy.
1) Be male.
2) Believe in some sort of supreme being or higher power.

Absolute requirements may vary from Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge.

Hell, I'll even throw in how you join.

Step 1) Find a Mason. If you're in the United States, this isn't very hard seeing how we tend to quietly advertise this fact through rings and bumper stickers and the like.
Step 2) Ask.

I read that even Females can join know

[Insert Quip Here]

I believe in reasonably inxepensive Masons.

[Hairless Kitten II]

What are the requirements to become a Free Mason?

By not asking around.

[Grave_n_idle]

<snip>

In before "OMG MOD CONSPIRACY!"

Surely there's only be a Mod conspiracy, if Scolo wasn't the only Masonic Mod?

OMG MOD CONSPIRACY!