Aren’t the Shriners a branch of the Masons?
LouisB wrote:
What I gather from actual Masons, as opposed to the many Masonic offshoots, is that it’s a fairly serious and sober organization dedicated to its public works. I am not as skeptical of this as I am of similar claims on the part of those who speak up for fraternities. That fraternities continue to practice shenanigans after many scandals is hardly a secret. Also, you’re not the first to emphasize this national standard of behavior. There was something of a controversy last year when a person got shot during a Masonic ritual, and a student in my class, a proud member of The Masons, said that the ritual described did not conform to the proscribed initiation rites and standards of conduct about which he assured me the national organization was serious as a heart attack. I’m not saying that you’re wrong, I’m just saying that there seems to be more going on in Masonry than is sanctioned by its highest ideals. Oh, and also my crack was mostly aimed at those lodges you see on TV with the funny hats.
BrainGlutton wrote:
They’re seperate but related organizations. There are a lot of Masonic organizations, but there is also The Masons, with a capitalized ‘the.’ The Shriners are Masonic.
[QUOTE=Johnny AngelThey’re seperate but related organizations. There are a lot of Masonic organizations, but there is also The Masons, with a capitalized ‘the.’ The Shriners are Masonic.[/QUOTE]
Clear as mud, Johnny. Does “The Masons” include the Shriners, or does it not? And if “The Masons” have a policy against drinking in the lodge, does that include the Shriners?
I think you misunderstood my intentions. I do want to know the answer to “why Masons use secret handshakes”, it’s just that I couldn’t think of better examples.
Since you make a distinction between a fraternal organization (Masons) and a professional association (AMA), can you please tell me what aspect of being a “fraternal organization” requires the use of secret handshakes? As I mentioned earlier, the AMA (even though not a fraternal organization), must have some secrets of its own that it does not want outsiders to know. Why don’t they protect them as strongly as Masons do? (and if the AMA doesn’t have any secrets, surely there are countless other organizations that do)
Or are you saying that a fraternal organization is not actually trying to protect any important secrets, it just uses the secret handshakes to identify its members, “because that’s what fraternal organizations do”, i.e. the process of identification through secret handshakes is just the modus operandi of any fraternal organization, and the reason: just because.
If the above is not the case, and the purpose is to protect some secrets from outsiders, why do Masons take such extreme measures, that other organizations (admittedly not fraternal organizations, but with their own very important secrets) do not take?
A secret handshake is not a requirement for something to be a fraternal organization. However organizations, like individuals, vary in their purpose and traditions. Don’t underestimate the power of traditions to maintain a strangle on what we do despite it’s original purpose being long forgotten or unimportant.
Marc
Why don’t they protect them as strongly as Masons do? (and if the AMA doesn’t have any secrets, surely there are countless other organizations that do)
Or are you saying that a fraternal organization is not actually trying to protect any important secrets, it just uses the secret handshakes to identify its members, “because that’s what fraternal organizations do”, i.e. the process of identification through secret handshakes is just the modus operandi of any fraternal organization, and the reason: just because.
If the above is not the case, and the purpose is to protect some secrets from outsiders, why do Masons take such extreme measures, that other organizations (admittedly not fraternal organizations, but with their own very important secrets) do not take?
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[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
All Shriners are Masons; not all Masons are Shriners. Does that help? Shriners are Masons who have acheived the 32nd degree in Masonry, although not all Masons who have acheived that degree are Shriners. The Shrine invites Masons who have acheived the 32nd degree to become Shriners; not all such Masons accept the invitation. I did not, for example. As to alcohol consumption, I can only speak for Masons: Alcohol is not to be consumed on the Lodge premises. As I said earlier, I cannot state what policy Shriners have on drinking alcohol on Temple premises as I am **not a Shriner ** and have no idea what they do during the course of their meetings.
As to the 32nd degree—various degrees ranging from the 4th to the 32nd are attainable through advanced study of Masonic principles. A man who holds any or all of the advanced degrees does not outrank a Mason who does not hold such degrees.
And, a note on “Secret Societies.” The Masonic Fraternity is NOT a secret society. Masons do not make any attempt to conceal their membership in the Fraternity. Members of secret societies DO conceal their membership–otherwise, the society would not be secret. Many Masons wear Masonic rings, lapel pins, belt buckles, etc that proclaim their membership. Many Masons have plaques proclaiming their affiliations with various Masonic societies attached to their automobiles. There is no secrecy associated with being a Mason; there are secrets associated with the Fraternity. But—the Masonic secrets are not really secrets anymore; the complete ritual can be found in any of several books that are available in any good public library. I would imagine the information is also available on the Internet.
Polerius, I apologize for impuging your motives. You seem to be concerned with the need for secret handshakes—the handshake, or the grip used in shaking hands, helps to identify one Mason to another. The handshake itself is not the only means of identification—it isn’t even the most important. If the handshake is presented informally, it can be so subtle that many Masons won’t recognize it for what it is unless they are primed to do so. If you are sincerly intersted in Masonry, locate a local Lodge, call that Lodge on the phone, and make an appointment with the Secretary. He will explain in person many of the things that I can’t go into on the Internet----telling something to a man face to face is significantly different that broadcasting it to the entire world. He will also give you some explanatory literature, in most cases—if he thinks you are intersted in “exposing” Masonry, he won’t have much time for you.
Don’t make too much of the rituals----it is the idea behind the rituals that is important. The rituals help a person focus on the ideals, and on the history behind them.
I think the Freemasons got a reputation as a secret society because they were exactly that, back in the 18th Century – not in Britain, but in many countries on the Continent, they were considered a politically subversive organization, and a suspected Mason might get in trouble with the state or with the Inquisition. And in fact, by the standards of the time the Masons were a politically subversive organization, advocating free speech, a free press, no established church, etc. – in short, all the rationalistic and liberal values of the Enlightenment. So it comes as no surprise that George Washington and several others of our Founding Fathers were Masons. Franklin too, I believe. I’m not sure about Jefferson.
Have I got that right?
One other point: The Masons might be considered a secret society in the sense that, although they do not conceal their organization’s existence nor their membership in it, they do have secret rituals and doctrines, known only to initiates. By this time there is probably not a single Masonic ritual, handshake or codeword that has not been described in a published book somewhere, but in principle they’re supposed to be secret. One purpose of this (so a Unitarian minister once told me) is that each stage of Masonic initiation is supposed to have a certain psychological effect, which will be spoiled if the postulant knows in advance what is going to happen during the ceremony. Some of these rites were described by Robert Anton Wilson in his “Historical Illuminatus Chronicles” – The Earth Will Shake, The Widow’s Son, and Nature’s God – all set in the late 18th Century. Whether Wilson is himself a Mason I do not know, but it’s clear he’s made a deep study of Masonry.
Have I got that right?
Where are you, Paul in Saudi?
From the classic Ray Stevens song, “Shriner’s Convention” (http://www.raystevens.com/SongLyrics/ShrinersConventionLyrics.html):
Random thoughts while catching up on this thread:
Free and Accepted Masons. Applied Masonry is a reference to the actual practice.
This is correct. The Masonic Funeral service is a way for Masons to honor a fallen Brother and is usually performed in addition to the religious service chosen by the family.
This may be the understatement of the entire thread!
As I remember the term is usually “Allied and Appendant” . All of the comments below are subject to my faulty memory/knowledge - I am not a member of all of the organizations listed.
A&A bodies include (but are not limited to):
Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine - must be a Mason to join
The Order of the Eastern Star - must be a Mason to join if male, open to all female relatives of Masonry.
Job’s Daughters - for teenage girls - open to the daughter’s, granddaughters, etc. of Masons.
Rainbow Girls - open to all teenage girls
Order of DeMolay - open to all teenage boys
There are many others, but some are more prevalent in certain regions of the US.
Why is a secret handshake an extreme measure, but requiring a membership card and a photo id not? A handshake has the advantage of:
- Not requiring printing since Masonry may well predate the availability of the printing press.
- Not requiring you to remember to bring your wallet to the meeting and working even if you’ve lost your wallet.
- Another thing you should keep in mind is that there is no national or international body in charge of Masonry. Masonry is governed at the state level (in the US - national level for most other countries) by each state’s Grand Lodge which is comprised of that state’s local Lodges. Thus, there is no body to issue/track/standardize ID cards. But a man who knows the various ways one Mason may identify himself to another has probably gone through the difficult (well, theoretically anyway, it’s actually not that hard) and time-consuming task of becoming a Mason and deserves the recognition and privileges attendant with that honor.
Loved this whole paragraph! Well written, Brother.
To all of my fellow Mason in this thread a hearty hello! Recognizing the near impossibility of it, but it would be cool to meet and open Lodge together sometime - a Doper Lodge!
Zakalwe - P.M.
Is there such thing as an online, virtual Lodge?
Interesting thought. How would you tyle it?
“Tyle”?
Looks like it has been done before
But what does it mean (I’m not a Mason) for a lodge to meet “under tyle”? (That website showes a tiled floor, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.)
Ah, at last, I find a chink in Polycarp’s armor, and can say, Poly you got that wrong
One should of course read
- Love Og with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
b.t.w. several Discordian rituals are secret, but that is just because they would be illegal in most civilized countries.
You know it’s funny, I was just going to link to a definition of the word, but damned if I can find one.
Tyle is a masonic term for “guarded”. It just means that someone is making sure that only Masons are in the room or are allowed in the room. At a Masonic Lodge, the guy who sits outside the door is called the Tyler.
A ‘Tyler’ is a ritual guard most commonly found in Masonic lodges and in the New York Times crossword puzzle.
The verb is ‘to tyle.’
And what is the ceremonial function of the Tippecanoe?
Sorry, that’s one of the secrets. You’ll just have to join to find out. 
Standard Disclaimer: While I am a Mason, I am not your Mason. You should consult with a Mason with expertise in your area of concern before proceeding. Also, it would be really stupid to join to find out the “Tippecanoe secret”, but if you do, please arrange for pictures of your new Brother’s faces when you ask about it. Thanks!