Men Who Shouldn't Become Masons . . .

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor
Todd E. Creason


For the last several years, I've written a lot on the topic of Freemasonry and some of the many wonderful things Masonry does--and the kind of difference it can make in men that join our fraternity.  But I realized recently that it's not for everyone, and I thought I'd take a moment to point out the kinds of men that really won't gain much from Freemasonry.

The Exemplar
If you are perfect the way you are, there's very little for you to gain from Freemasonry.  If your social skills are flawless, and your character impeccable there is little need to go through the formality of joining the lodge (unless it would be to be an example to others).  It would very soon become a frustration to you spending all your time teaching others to speak as well as you do, serve the community, mentor the youth, and raise money for charitable causes like you do.  Freemasonry isn't looking for perfect men, we're looking for men who strive to be like you.   

The Athiest
If you believe that all the wonders of life, and the miracle of human consciousness is nothing more than a random fluke of nature, then a Masonic Lodge is no place for you.  If you believe that anyone that believes in God is an uneducated idiot, and the only real purpose in life is to be born, to reproduce, and then to die, then continue to live your life as if it has no real meaning.  Let the Freemasons waste what little time they have on Earth trying to improve themselves and help those around them make their corner of the world a little better.  Let them believe their contributions on Earth mean something.  They'll regret working their lives away doing things that matter, instead of squandering their life on selfish pleasures like you are so wisely doing.

The Scrooge
You work hard for your paycheck, and you're not about to waste it giving your money, or your time away.  That's what your taxes should be paying for.  Let the homeless, and the children with birth defects, the orphans, and the underprivileged youth look to the government for help.  Or maybe a lot of those deadbeats should get jobs--maybe more would if there weren't so many hand-outs.  Spend your money on yourself--you deserve it.  You earned that paycheck.  Enjoy it! 

The Nonconformist
You're not a joiner.  You're not some sheep to be lead.  You're a thinker.  A free will.  You're not going to be tied down to some antiquated code of conduct.  Morals, ethics, virtues, and values are things of the past.  Being a man of character is old school.  Nobody thinks that's important anymore.  We live in a world where you can't trust anybody--what purpose does it serve to waste time on being a man of upright character in a world without values?  There are better ways to spend your time than building your character--like building your bank account perhaps. 

The Snob
You have no interest in knowing people different than yourself.  It's a waste of time.  There is nothing to be learned from men from different cultures, different age groups, different walks of life.  Many of the men in your local lodge are men far below your station in life--there is nothing to be gained from associating with them.  You certainly wouldn't invite them to your home.  What would the neighbors think?  You advance by meeting men at your own level or above.  You are correct in thinking you are better off joining the country club rather than the Masonic Lodge.

So if you're one of these types, you are correct--there is very little that Freemasonry has to offer you.  In fact, Freemasonry doesn't really want you to join.  You aren't suitable material with which to build, because you can't see your own flaws.

We're looking for a few good men.  Men who want to learn from each other, and improve themselves.  Men who take pride in being honest and upright in their dealings with mankind.  Men who believe that life has a meaning, and that our resources, however abundant or limited, can be used to do great good.  And we believe that all men are equal and have value.  Does that sound like you?

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and continues to be a regular contributor.  He is the author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is member of Homer Lodge No. 199, and a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL).  He is a member the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, the York Rite Bodies of Champaign/Urbana (IL), the Ansar Shrine (IL), Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, and Charter President of the Illini High Twelve in Champaign-Urbana (IL).

The Magnificent George Washington Masonic National Memorial Part 1 of 2

by Midnight Freemason Contributor 
WB Gregory J Knott

      On a recent trip to Washington, DC I stopped by the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.  This grand edifice was established in 1910 with the formation of the George Washington Masonic Memorial Association by Freemasons across the United States.
It took several years of fundraising for the construction to begin in 1922 and another ten years for completion with the building dedication on May 12, 1932.  An estimated 20,000 Freemasons and others attended this impressive ceremony.  A cornerstone dedication was held with President Calvin Coolidge and former President and Freemason William H. Taft present.
The memorial is located on Shooter’s Hill in Alexandria, Virginia.  This site is also the place where the 44th New York Volunteer Infantry set up camp during the winter of 1864; this unit’s mission was to guard U.S. military trains.
The memorial building itself is of classical architecture of both Greek and Roman influence.  The design is influenced by the lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World.   It is an imposing structure that you can see from miles around.
You can walk up the memorial via winding sidewalk up the front of the hill.  On the way you come across a large concrete planter box with a sign for the memorial.   A bronze bust of Washington’s head is on the marker with a quote that says:
“Let prejudices and local interests yield to reason.  Let us look to our national character and to things beyond the present period.”  - George Washington
Further up the hill you come across an enormous square and compass that is built into the landscaping.  You can easily see this from the air when you are coming into Reagan National Airport on a landing, an excellent way to let the world know this fraternity is still there.
As you come to the top of the hill, the memorial stands boldly in front of you with a set of stairs leading to the front door.  A portico with six columns rests at the top of the staircase and shields the front entrance from the elements.
Inside the portico are 2 marble tablets with inscriptions of two letters that Washington wrote about Freemasonry, one to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in April, 1797 and the other to King David’s lodge of Newport, Rhode Island on August 22, 1790.  In both letters Washington talks about his admiration for the craft.
Entering into the building, you come into Memorial Hall where I was awe struck by the statue of Washington at the end of the room.  It is large with Washington dressed in his Masonic regalia presiding over a lodge as Master.    The statue was donated by the Order of DeMolay and installed in 1950.
On the walls are two large murals depicting a St. John’s Day Observance at Christ Church in Philadelphia on December 28, 1778 and on the south wall a representation of Washington in full Masonic regalia laying the cornerstone for the United States Capitol.
~GJK







WB Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself; he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

Who were the Gormogons?!

by Midnight Freemason Contributor
Bro. Robert Johnson 32°

     If there was ever a group of foolish men whos utter buffoonery would cost them the penalty of being forgotten, it is the Gormogons. Imagine yourself, a Freemason walking the streets of London in the year 1725. A proud and just man you are but there was this group, another society and they hated you, just for being a Freemason. 

     Now this might not seem so far fetched, you might be thinking about religious groups and fantasists that might condemn you. But no, you would be wrong. This group, the Gomogons was not like that, no sir. They existed simply to degrade a Freemason and cause him to renounce his Masonic oaths.

     Legend has it that the Gormogons were formed sometime around 1724 and that they would invite masons to join the fraternity claiming they had secret knowledge and were in fact descendants of some sort of ancient society in China. Accounts say that before a Freemason could become a member he had to be belittled, degraded and then as aforementioned, renounce his Masonic oaths. 

     They were absurdly pretentious, writes Mackey in the Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. They would even publish articles and short pamphlets ridiculing Freemasonry. The Gormogons flourished for only a short period and are now extinct. When they disappeared, many of the documentation of their meetings disappeared as well. In fact no record of the group exists to this day except for some pieces that Bro. R.F. Gould had published in an article he wrote on the Duke of Wharton, in volume eight of the Transactions, Quatuor Coronati Lodge. 

     In recent times there has been a reemergence of this group. However it is a joke secret society on the internet. On their website under the section about us it reads "A secret society dedicated to the restoration of the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania, the imprisonment of Esperanto speakers, and furthering the eschatological doctrine of the Return from Occultation of the Thirteenth Imam, Val Kilmer. 

I hope you had a laugh out loud moment.

~RHJ

Sir Knight Robert Johnson, 32° is the editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog.  He is a Freemason out of the First North-East District of Illinois. He belongs to Waukegan Lodge No. 78. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies Royal Arch, Cryptic Council and Knights Templar, and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago.  Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts a weekly Podcast (internet radio program) Whence Came You? which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on driving interest in the Fraternity and writes original Masonic papers from time to time. He is a husband and father of three. He works full time in the safety industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is also working on two books, one is of a Masonic nature.

Discovering His Wisdom, Power and Goodness

by Midnight Freemason Contributor
Steven L. Harrison, PM, FMLR


"Geometry, the first and noblest of sciences is the basis on which the superstructure of Freemasonry is erected.  By Geometry, we may curiously trace nature through her various windings to her most concealed recesses.  By it, we discover the wisdom, power and goodness of the Grand Architect of the Universe and view with delight the proportions which connect this vast machine.  By it we discover how the planets move in their respective orbits and demonstrate their various revolutions."

     I recall sitting in a science class in high school.  Our teacher, Mr. Mohr, dropped a chunk of sodium into a beaker of water.  The sodium instantly fizzed up and zooped around the beaker like an out of control power boat.  Then it burst into flames and finally exploded as the students oohed and aahed.  When the rumbling subsided, the diabolical Mr. Mohr called on an unfortunate student, "Henry, what made it do that?"

     Poor Henry was unprepared as usual; but since being unprepared was practically his trademark, he did not hesitate to answer:

"God."  

     The class thought it was funny.  Mr. Mohr, who had the sense of humor of a wounded gorilla, didn't. In his own gruff and unsympathetic way he explained that  just because we don't understand something doesn't mean it's a direct result of God's action.  

     True, but in fact the Masonic ritual teaches there is a relationship between God and the physical universe.  From that relationship, as we learn in the Second Degree lecture, we can not only observe the magnificence of the Creator, but also draw moral symbolism from metaphors we see in His physical creation.

     God and science are not at war.  They can't be.  It is we humans, who don't have all the answers when it comes to understanding either God or science, who somehow perceive there is a war.  As Henry discovered, it's a slippery slope to take something we don't understand, stop research, and conclude it's God's work; in that event, what happens when we discover the scientific principle behind it? Historically, many have taken the stance that the research is wrong in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is, in fact, right.

     In the 17th century, for example, humans did not understand the solar system.  It was taken as scientific and religious fact that the sun circled the earth ("He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." ~Psalm 104:5, NIV).  When scientists proved the earth, in fact, did orbit the sun, rather than being inconsistent with God's design, it revealed it.  The church, however, still didn't warm up to the concept right away.  Today, scientists and virtually all religious establishments know it to be an incontrovertible fact.

     Today's hot buttons include evolution, the "Big Bang Theory" and a few more points of contention.    Regardless of your point of view on these issues, the facts for each are overwhelming; and with some religious groups challenging scientific evidence we are, on some level, back in the 17th century again.  Scientific discoveries are not political, not vindictive and not anti-God.  They are based on fact.  (Not, by the way, just on observation — any idiot can observe daily that the sun circles the earth).  These discoveries don't offer proof of God one way or the other.  They prove we have learned more about God's universe and, as we are admonished, should "view with delight" all such revelations.   (Do you recall the video game "Evolution?"  It allowed the player to create and evolve ecosystems based on certain parameters.  It enraged a few fundamentalists until some whiz kid pointed out the game didn't work without the intervention of the player... the creator.)

     What these scientific discoveries do prove is that God is bigger and more complex than we can ever comprehend.  So complex, in fact, that when asked to prove God exists, famed theologian and Freemason Peter Marshall responded, "You ask me to prove it?  How could my tiny mind prove God?  What kind of a God could my little mind prove?"

     The Reverend Marshall went further.  He turned the tables and asked his questioners to prove they existed.  Fact is, he was onto something.  Any legitimate, credible scientist today will tell you, your body is nothing but energy.  Your house, everything inside it, the trees outside, the very ground you walk on is nothing but energy.  This is not some kind of New Age folderol; it's scientific fact.  Sounds kind of spiritual, doesn't it? Or, as Dr. Wayne Dyer puts it, "You are not a body with a soul. You are a soul with a body" (also attributed to others).

     If what you personally believe about God seems inconsistent with scientific facts, consider this: scientists have already observed the world of relativity and the quantum world appear completely incompatible.  Yet, they coexist!  Can't God coexist along with them even with perceived inconsistencies?  And don't we know on some level all those inconsistencies have to iron themselves out, even if that process is beyond our human capability to figure out?

     So many concepts still baffle our best scientists: dark matter and dark energy; the nature of time and matter inside black holes — the "singularity"; a unified theory; the possibility of parallel universes; backwards time travel; dimensions beyond the three (four, if you count time) we live in; quantum entanglement, a phenomenon so strange and baffling that Einstein called it "spooky." To each of these, the best scientific minds around would say, "We just don't completely understand."  Or, perhaps more accurately, "We just don't have all the facts."  

     Many, even some scientists, think there may be spiritual elements to these mysteries.  The scientists, however, will not draw conclusions without proven facts — pesky hindrances that some outside the scientific community have the luxury of ignoring.  In our lifetimes, we will most likely solve some of these mysteries.  To many, those discoveries will not just reveal scientific facts.  They will also give us greater insight into the wisdom, power and goodness of the Grand Architect of the Universe.

     And I, for one, finding far more spirituality in science than science in spirituality, anticipate each new discovery with delight.


~SLH

Steve Harrison, 32° KCCH, is a Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri.  He is the editor of the Missouri Freemasonmagazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Senior Warden.  He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and is a member of the DeMolay Legion of Honor.

Sons of the East Part 4 The Purpose of the Temple

by Midnight Freemason Contributor
James E. Frey 32°
Descending of the Holy Shekhinah


     The question I proposed and have sought an answer for is what is the purpose of the Temple of Solomon? Phoenician architects and builders built it in a Phoenician design, to a God that commended his people not to build any graven images to him. This is why the Tabernacle in the wilderness was to be erected.  It is clear Yahweh was first associated as a tribal war God that descended through the nomadic peoples of the Shasu, to the Midianites, and to the Israelites. But Solomon erected monuments to many Gods from foreign countries so why build a temple to Yahweh? 
Finally the mystery becomes clear if we look at Solomon’s motive from a political and economic standpoint. The Israelite people were in a period of transition from a nomadic people to establishing a Kingdom. From the wanderings of Moses, through the constant battles of the period of Judges, through the Conquests of Joshua and David, the Israelites now having established themselves as the Kingdom seek to evolve their culture, by doing so Solomon redefined the relationship between the people and God. 
It is my belief that the reason a Phoenician temple was built in Jerusalem was because Solomon was trying to incorporate Phoenician culture into Israelite culture. This is more because of economic and political reasons more then religious ones. Once the temple was complete it became the center of sacrifice for all of Judea. 
Under Moses, tradition tells us the culture was focused around the Torah, under Solomon the focus of culture was the Temple. This center of sacrifice was also the center for taxation of the people. The temple served to propagate the wealth of the state, not the wealth of the people. This was the standard system of taxation through out ancient civilizations. The people pay the priests to sacrifice their offerings in a ritualistic manner and to offer up prayers for their redemption. 
To achieve this integration of political structure it was necessary for Israel to culturally reinvent the God Yahweh from a nomadic tribal war God into a God that propagates a Kingdom cultural structure. So Solomon mimicked the success of Tyre as well as Egypt, which were known for their wealth. Solomon had them build a temple to create a system of taxation to support a kingdom. 
Mackey Writes in the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry “hence we see there is an evident antagonism in the orthodox Hebrew mind between Jehovah and Baal… The latter was, however, worshipped by the Jews…and by all the Oriental and Shemitic people as Supreme Deity, representing the sun in some of his modifications as the ruler of the day. In Tyre, Baal was the sun, and Ashteroth the moon.” (P. 88)
So it is reasonable to see the purpose of this temple being for Solomon to merge the mythology of the characters of Ba’al and Yahweh, to create a new God character, which supports the nationalism and structure of the Kingdom. So Yahweh not Ba’al is now recognized as the sun, and Ashteroth, the moon.  This creates a new type of ritualistic ceremony for sacrifice, known as the Korban, a sacrifice is now given in place of a sin, rather then for victory in tribal war fare. Yahweh is then associated with the son, which is culturally necessary for a Kingdom, which is traditionally agriculturally based economically. This is because Judea needed a more regionally recognizable God to Ba’al so foreign traders could pay their sacrifice to the state or purposes of taxation. 
Canaanite God El
Even though rituals were seemingly based around Ba’al customs, the character of Yahweh changed drastically to resemble more the Canaanite god El, the Father of Ba’al. El was seen as the Father God the creator of mankind and existence itself. It is the first depiction we see of the image of God as an older man and Fatherly figure. Mackey continues “El, one of the Hebrew names of God, signifying the Mighty One. It is the root of many different names of Deity…” (P.235)  
Masonic tradition informs us that the True name of God YHVH was kept secret and was never to be uttered. So it became necessary to keep this true Identity of God a secret from the people because of its immense power. Thus Solomon sought to create a new image or aspect of God as a creative force similar to El, and established the deity of the temple, Elohim. Mackey writes Elohim “is an expression used throughout the first chapter of Genesis, as applied to God in the exercise of His creative power, and signifies the “Divine Omnipotence, the Source of all power, the power of powers,” which was in activity in the creation. After which the expression used for Deity was Jehovah, which implies the Providence of God, and which could not have been active until the world had been created by Elohim.” (P. 239) 
El also has a direct link to the creation of the Hebrew people. Shortly after Abram receives God’s calling to travel to the promised land and create the foundation to his people he is met a Priest King of El Elyon, or El most High, by the name of Melchizedek, who’s name translates to “my King is Righteousness”. He comes to bless Abram in the name of El and to establish his calling by the means of the first Eucharist.  It is following this ritual event that God makes the covenant with Abram, after this event would take the new name Abraham, to deliver the Promised Land unto the children of God.
“And Melchizadek King of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the most High God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.” (Genesis 14: 18)
So it is clear that is was El, not Yahweh, which made this covenant with Abraham. I find it interesting that Elohim is the plural version of El, this is why the Elyon is added to show the distinction of Most high, as opposed to Elohim which is a title for plural Gods. This is mostly a cultural difference I believe, but it would only be natural if you were building a temple to the Most High God to have worshipers of El to construct it. 
 It is El who created Ba’al the central figure to extract taxes through ritual sacrifice, and just as Elohim who acted to create Yahweh who now became a central figure to extract taxes through ritual sacrifice. Before our very eyes we see the cultural and spiritual evolution of a Deity. Culturally, Yahweh was no longer seen in a tribal perception. It was Yahweh that delivered the Israelites unto the Promised Land, so he still remained a God of national strength for Judea.  But it is clear that Yahweh took on new aspects Canaanite deities to become a multi-dimensional Deity who could embody both the aspects of a Father figure, El, to amend sins to, as well as a Sun God, Ba’al, to support the transition to a agricultural society, as well as a national God to direct all worship to for taxation purposes.  
So by now I hope you have come to the conclusion that cultural transitions is essential to how an individual can perceive Deity. This is because the individual will perceive abstract concepts from a cultural perspective. But these merging cultures of the region changed the way a culture perceived deity and changed their relation to divinity as a people. 

~JEF

James E Frey, 32° is a Past Sovereign Prince and current librarian of Valley of Danville AASR. Founder of the R.E.B.I.S Research Society he sits on two Blue Lodge Education committees as well as a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry. He is also a Member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, and Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He also works as a counselor with emotionally and behaviorally challenged children. 







Justice – One of the Four Cardinal Virtues

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Gregory J Knott

     The Entered Apprentice learns in the first degree lecture about the four cardinal virtues; Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice.   Some brethren and I recently have been having a discussion about the topic of Justice, so I wanted to explore what it means in the Masonic sense.
In Duncan’s Masonic Ritual the EA lecture states:
Justice is that standard or boundary of right which enables us to render to every man without distinction his just due. This virtue is not only consistent with Divine and human laws, but is the very cement and support of civil society; and as Justice in a great measure constitutes the real good man, so should it be the invariable practice of every Mason never to deviate from the minutest principles thereof. The charge you received while standing in the northeast corner of the Lodge, your feet forming a right angle, was an allusion to the pedal.

     So what does this mean in the Masonic Lodge?  Our ritual frequently uses the phrase “in every well governed lodge”.  This makes reference to a set of principles of how lodges conduct their business, how the brethren interact with each other and how problems that arise within the lodge are ultimately dealt with.

     A lodge is created with the granting of a charter from a Grand Lodge.  The Grand Lodge has issued this charter based upon the rules of its own constitution and by-laws.  This constitution and by-laws were created by a group of men – Masons, who agreed to utilize these common principles in the execution of the fraternal business.

    Men become Masons through a process outlined within this constitution and by-laws via the ritual of our fraternity.  The ritual illustrates through an allegorical story the important principals and lessons that serve as the basis for masonry.

     Justice thus forms the very basis of our organization, it guides how we conduct our business, how we deal with issues that face us and provide the guidance in carrying out the actions necessary to keep peace and harmony within the institution.

     The obligations outline a code of conduct in how we strive to live and interact with our brethren.  The Charge in the Fellowcraft degree further explains to us:
Our laws and regulations you are strenuously to support, and be always ready to assist in seeing them duly executed. You are not to palliate, or aggravate, the offences of your brethren; but, in the decision of every trespass against our rules, you are to judge with candor, admonish with friendship, and reprehend with justice. (Duncan)

    We are thus taught not only the importance of our obligation, but also an approach to which it should be carried out.

     What does this mean within the local lodge?  As brethren we have an obligation, a responsibility and a duty to help each other in the seeing that our common goals, rules and high standards are maintained.
This can lead to some difficult choices at times, especially when you must “in the decision of every trespass against our rules, you are to judge with candor, admonish with friendship, and reprehend with justice”.

     These tasks are not to be taken lightly, but are often necessary to maintain harmony within the lodge, sustain our high moral standards and ultimately fulfill our obligations to each other.

~GJK

WB Gregory J. Knott is the Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No. 970 in St. Joseph (IL) and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He's a member of both the Scottish Rite, and the York Rite, and is the Charter Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club in Champaign-Urbana. He's also a member of the Ansar Shrine (IL) and the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. Greg is very involved in Boy Scouts--an Eagle Scout himself, he serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois A. F. & A. M. as their representative to the National Association of Masonic Scouters.

Harvey


by Midnight Freemason Contributor 
Robert Johnson 32°

In 2007 I was raised to be a Master Mason. On my first business meeting, I heard the voice of our endowment committee, at that time it was Brother Harvey.  Brother Harvey was a very old gentleman who was always at the lodge, always involved with his church and always had good conversation. 

About two years after I had been in lodge, I believe I was JR Deacon at the time, he stopped coming to lodge regularly. His wife had passed and he decided to move to an assisted living facility a bit too far to drive. We thought of him often and many Brothers went to visit him much of the time. 

Two months ago Brother Harvey passed to the Lodge on High. It was a sombre time for the lodge. I attended the funeral which was held at his church. I found out then that Harvey was a Scottish Rite Mason as well. He was a member of the Valley of Chicago, the same as I had joined and in fact one of those who was honored this year at the Valley of Chicago's Feast of the Paschal Lamb. 

The following meeting at our lodge, our Secretary Bro Carl brought in some of Harvey effects that his family believed we should have. It was a treasure to us. There were pins, cufflinks, books and tie bars. The Brothers there went through some things and when it came to me, our WM said honor Bro Harvey and take something. So I took a simple pair of cufflinks. Old in style yet shiny like new. 

I wore those cufflinks to the 2013 Valley of Chicago Scottish Rite Spring Reunion. Harvey had never been to the new building that the VOC had built. While I was eating lunch a Brother asked me about these unique cufflinks, and I told him who they belonged to. He said well I guess Brother Harvey made it here after all and grabbed my hand. I have a feeling that this Brother knew brother Harvey and knew that I wore them for him since he couldn't be there.

It was an odd moment realizing that the last time these cufflinks were worn in the VOC, they were worn by a different man and in a different building. He was a just and upright Mason, Brother Harvey.    

~RHJ

Sir Knight Robert Johnson, 32° is the editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog.  He is a Freemason out of the First North-East District of Illinois. He belongs to Waukegan Lodge No. 78. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies Royal Arch, Cryptic Council and Knights Templar, and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago.  Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts a weekly Podcast (internet radio program) Whence Came You? which focuses on topics relating to Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on driving interest in the Fraternity and writes original Masonic papers from time to time. He is a husband and father of three. He works full time in the safety industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is also working on two books, one is of a Masonic nature.

Sons of the East Part 3 The Tabernacle of Yahweh

by Midnight Freemason Contributor
James E. Frey 32°




“And Solomon went after Ashtoreth goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites… Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the Abomination of the Mo’ab.,. in the hill that is before Jerusalem.” (1 Kings 11:5-7)
The question I propose is why would Solomon, King of Israel have Phoenicians build a Phoenician temple? It is clear the Israelites were a polytheistic people and this is illustrated by the passage above. Ashtoreth is a goddess that was long engrained into Israelite faith, mentioned as the ‘Queen of Heaven” in Jeremiah. This goddess would become a female counterpart to Yahweh, instead of Ba’al as found in the rest of Canaan. But it was around this time this transition of Yahweh’s character occured. This is because Ashtoreth is the chief goddess of the Sidoneons in Phoenician hew were said to hew the timber for the temple. Philo Biblos originates her worship to Tyre itself. So it is reasonably to think that with the in flex of the workers of Tyre the Israelite culture begins to change and adopt new foreign ideals and reinvent their culture. 
It is also said that Solomon built a shrine to Milcom, or Molech of the Ammonites. This was probably in Gehenna which was was a valley by Jerusalem, where apostate Israelites and followers of various Caananite gods and sacrificed their children by fire to Molech the Owl God. (2 Chr. 28:3, 33:6; Jer. 7:31, 19:2–6). The Ammonites were constant antagonists to the Israelites, blocking their passage first into the Holy Land, and then constantly attacking them with the Moabites and other tribes. The Ammonites were finally subdued by King David and it was at this time their cultural religion and values would be established among the Israelites. Solomon also built a high place for Chemosh, who was the Moabite deity representing Ba’al. 
This is interesting because the worship of Yahweh first began in the late Bronze Age or the third age of Egypt with a people known as the Shasu. The Shasu were a nomadic people from the Eastern Mediterranean people in an area known as the Levant. The Shasu are listed as tribal enemies inscribed on column bases at the temple of Solebb built by Amenhotep III who ruled Egypt between 1386 BC and 1349 BC.  Referred to as the Hykos, they were later ater copied by either Ramesses II at Amarah-West. This list mentions six groups of Shashu: which include the Shasu of YHVH. 
Shasu Beaten by Egyptians in Battle 
But the biggest mystery is the inscription of the name of Yahweh appearing on a Moabite Stone around 863 BC by King Mesha of Moab. "Hieroglyphic rendering corresponds very precisely to the Hebrew Tetragrammaton YHVH, or Yahweh. and antedates the hitherto oldest occurrence of that Divine Name - on the Moabite Stone by over five hundred years." (Astor, 1979, p18)
The Levant area is associated with the Land of the Midianites, who were known as the children of Abraham and the region he lived before being charged to find Canaan. The Midianitess had a regio-political connection with the Moabites, were the descendents of the Shasu living in the area north of Egypt. It was this area where Moses fled too after the murder of the Egyptian by his hand. Moses married the daughter of Jethro a Midian priest. It was in this land Moses gazed upon the burning bush and received his charge to deliver the Israelites from bondage. (Exodos 3:1-22)
After leaving Israel Moses leads the people north of the Red Sea into Midian where he meets with Jethro. Now The Midians were polytheistic as well worshiping not only Yahweh, but Ashteroth the Goddesss and Ba’al Pe’or, or Ba’al of the Mountain. It is interesting to note that Jethro arrives to guide and advise Moses for a night in the wilderness where he advises him on how to judge and govern the people as well as teaches both Moses and Aaron on how to build an altar and offer proper sacrifice to God. 
“And Jethro, Moses father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses and his father in law before God.” (Exodos 19: 12) 
Jethro also helps Moses establish the first Judges to mediate between Moses and the people. Jethro also instructs Aaron on the methods of priesthood and proper religious ceremonies. Soon after this Yahweh appears to Moses on Mount Sinai, just as Ba’al dwells upon the Mountain of Pe’or. So I find it interesting that at the beginning of Israelite culture there is a direct correlation between Yahweh and Ba’al both sharing a similar mythology concerning a mountain top. 
But the difference is that Yahweh is the God that delivered the people from Egypt and would eventually lead them on a nomadic journey of 40 years in the wilderness. But during this nomadic period Yahweh is primarily adorned as a God of war. Even in traditional Canaanite pantheon of Gods, Yahweh is viewed as a God of war and  would become a consort to Ashteroth. It is reasonable to say the Yahweh was taught to Moses as the best choice of God to lead an exodus from Egypt.
Upon ascending Mount Sinai Moses is given the commandment that thou shall have no other Gods, and though shall not build Idols or barren images. Upon Moses ascending Mount Sinai the second time he receives specific instructions on how to prepare a moving temple, the tabernacle in the wilderness. (Exodos 25)
This was given specifically because Yahweh has neither Idols, nor any temples because Yahweh is the invisible God that dwells everywhere. After sacrifice rituals were done to call Yahweh to his seat upon the Ark of the Covenant, it was taken into battle which was attributed into the destruction of Jericho and other conquests of Canaan. (Joshua 6:6-27)
This gave Yahweh a very fickle and judgmental demeanor casting his judgment and punishing brutally all who resisted his worship. "And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense." (Numbers 16:35) "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died." (Numbers 21:6). "A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth, for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword sayeth the Lord." (Jeremiah 25:31)
So the question I propose deepens, King Solomon, known for building monuments and temples to foreign Gods, began building an elaborate Phoenician temple supposably dedicated to a God that gave a command not to build unto him a temple, nor have any engrave images. So why does Solomon decide to build a temple to Yahweh or is it a temple to Yahweh?

~JEF

James E Frey, 32° is a Past Sovereign Prince and current librarian of Valley of Danville AASR. Founder of the R.E.B.I.S Research Society he sits on two Blue Lodge Education committees as well as a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry. He is also a Member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, and Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He also works as a counselor with emotionally and behaviorally challenged children. 

President of the United States for a Single Day

by Midnight Freemason Conrtibutor
Steven L. Harrison PM, FMLR


     Riding along the winding backroads of northwest Missouri, about a half-hour form my home, I

sometimes stop at an old cemetery just outside Plattsburgh.  Right inside the entrance is a series of arrows pointing to a specific grave.  That grave has a compelling brass marker which proclaims the man buried there was "President of the United States for one day ~ Mar. 4, 1849."  After stopping at the cemetery I sometimes roll my big red Harley trike into Plattsburgh where the townsfolk have erected a towering statue to the man, also proclaiming his presidency.  On occasion, I've even gone on up the road, across the Missouri river and visited "The World's Smallest Presidential Library," which was built in his honor.  The library is located in Atchison, Kansas, which was named after the man, David Rice Atchison.

     Senator David Rice Atchison, a member of Platte Lodge #56 in Missouri, was President pro tempore of the United States Senate when Zachary Taylor was elected president.  Inauguration day in 1849 fell on a Sunday and the devout Taylor refused to attend his swearing in on the sabbath, rescheduling it for the following day.  Taylor's Vice President, Millard Fillmore, followed suit and James K. Polk's term had expired the previous day, technically leaving the presidency vacant.  Constitutionally, Atchison was next in line for the office.

     Hearing this quirky bit of news, Atchison's friend, Judge Willie Magnum, and a group of others descended on Atchison's house and tramped up to his bedroom in the middle of the night.  There, with the confused Atchison in his nightgown, Judge Magnum administered the oath of office.  Brother Atchison went back to sleep and spent the bulk of his "presidency" resting and reading in his home.  He later said this about his auspicious day:

"It was in this way; Polk went out of office on the third of March 1849, on Saturday at twelve noon. The next day, the fourth, occurring on Sunday, General Taylor was not inaugurated. He was not inaugurated until Monday the fifth, at twelve noon. It was then canvassed among senators whether there was an interregnum (which means a time during which a country lacks a government). It was plain that there was either an interregnum or I was the President of  the United States, being chairman of the Senate, having succeeded Judge Magnum of North Carolina. The judge waked me up at three o'clock in the morning and said jocularly that I was President of the United States and he wanted me to appoint him as Secretary of State. I made no pretense to the office, but if I was entitled in it I had one boast to make, that not a woman or child shed a tear on account of my removing anyone from office during my incumbency of the place."

     Historians almost universally agree that Atchison was not officially the president.  It is also true, however, that neither the outgoing president James K. Polk, nor Taylor were president on March 4.  Duly inaugurated, who better than Brother Atchison to fill the gap? If you're not willing to agree that he was at least ex-officio President, just don't mention it around Atchison, Kansas or Plattsburgh, Missouri.


~SLH

Steve Harrison, 32° KCCH, is a Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri.  He is the editor of the Missouri Freemasonmagazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Senior Warden.  He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and is a member of the DeMolay Legion of Honor.

Finding Your Path In Life

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor
Todd E. Creason, 33°

Find a path is not always so easy
Sometimes people are surprised to learn that I've not been a Freemason for a very long time.  I was raised a Master Mason in 2005.  I was in my late thirties, I'd been married for about seven years, I was very accomplished in my job, I had a good reputation, owned a home, new cars, and we had a lot of very good friends.  In other words, we'd been pretty successful in life so far.  But there was something missing, and I just couldn't put my finger on it.  I was looking for a new path in life, but I really didn't know where to look for it.  My fascination with Freemasonry is finally what made me wonder if that wasn't where the answers lay.

I couldn't have been more right about that, and it didn't take long to figure it out that path forward.  One of the first things I learned in a Masonic Lodge was the difference between being accomplished and needing a purpose.

Freemasonry's goal is to make good men better.  I think a lot of that is helping Masons find a purpose in life.  That purpose varies from Master Mason to Master Mason, but I know for a lot of us, that purpose usually involves making the world a better place.  Some work helping children grow up strong and healthy.  Some work with veterans.  Some work with the elderly.  Some work to help shape our young people today.  Some work within their communities to make those places better places to live.

Most Masons know that a life without a purpose is a life unfulfilled.  And the main difference between an accomplishment and a purpose, is that a purpose usually makes a positive difference in the lives of others.  And that is at the heart of what Freemasonry is all about.

My life has never been the same since I joined a Masonic Lodge.  I can never go back to the person I was before I became a Freemason.  I would never want to.  I think I've learned the true secret of Masonry.  It's that the secrets of Freemasonry aren't hidden within the walls of a lodge, they reside in the hearts of men.

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog and continues to be a regular contributor.  He is the author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is member of Homer Lodge No. 199, and a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL).  He is a member the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, the York Rite Bodies of Champaign/Urbana (IL), the Ansar Shrine (IL), Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, and Charter President of the Illini High Twelve in Champaign-Urbana (IL).

 

Sons of the East Part 2 Architecture of the Temple

by Midnight Freemason Contributor
James E. Frey 32°

King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace.” (1 Chronicles 14:1)

Brethren, the question I proposed is a quandary of inconsistencies that I stumbled upon in my reading. Why would King Solomon have foreigners come to build his temple? Why would foreigners paid to help build a temple to a foreign God. One could make the assumption it was a political move, to acknowledge and make peace with a neighboring kingdom. But Tyre was a long way from Jerusalem, and it is known that King Solomon made peace with neighboring nations by marrying the Kings daughters. “But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hitties… and he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.” (1 Kings 11:1-3)
So if it was not for a political reason, then why would King Solomon have Phoenician builders build a Phoenician style temple in the heart of his Capital. Chief Architect of the Temple was Hiram Abiff was from the tribe of Naphtali, which was part of a loose federation of Israelite tribes after the conquest of Canaan by Joshua in 1050 BC. The Naphtali was a far northern tribe and would have had adequate exposure to the Phoenician culture. It is also said his Father was a man of Tyre and a Phoenician himself. 
So it is this man King Hiram chooses specifically for he was “a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work all things brass.” (1 Kings 7:14) It is said Hiram erected Jachin and Boaz and constructed the designs for the Temple. So I can believe it can be assumed that Hiram choose him based off of a resume of work he had done for the King in the past. Perhaps he was known for his building skills of Phoenician temples, hence why we see a Phoenician design in King Solomon’s temple. 

If you look at the architecture of King Solomon’s temple you’ll see it follows the traditional Phoenician design, which consists of a outer hallway or an ulam, a central open courtyard or heikal, and an inner holy of holies or debir. There were two pillars outside the front entrance and rooms for temple staff in an annex.
It is known that there is much older Phoenician temples exist in ruins under the Roman ones at Baalbek. Excavation of the 13th century BC Phoenician temple at Hazor and the 9th century one at Tell Tainat shows that Solomon’s temple follows exactly the time-honoured Phoenician pattern, the same patteren to the temple of Ba’al right in the centre of Tyre. All Phoenician temples incorporated two pillars: originally a wooden one for Astarte and a stone one for Baal. According to the ancient historian Herodotus, the Tyrian temple had one emerald pillar and one of gold. The emerald one may have been green Phoenician glass though given the wealth of Tyre may well have actually been emerald. 
It was said to have a candle inside so that it glowed in the dark of the night: the green obviously symbolizes a tree so the emerald pillar may have represented the wooden column of Asteroth who is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah as the Queen of Heaven. The gold one symbolized the wealth given by the earth, gold being then the most precious metal to come out of stone, just as it is now. 
If it was the chief architect of the Temple Hiram Abiff that was set to erect the two outer pillars Jachin and Boaz, we as Masons must further investigate the symbolism and how it is connected to the Phoenician design of the temple. The pillar of Jachin, or Yakayn, was the right pillar on the outer porch of the Temple. Yakayn present tense in Hiphhil means cun or caven; in present plural form in Hithpahel it translates to yacunnu, which means formed in the womb. Gesenius gives primary meaning of erectus stetit or erect uprightwith a secondary meaning of ‘kunan’ which meant strengthen or sustain.
Albert Pike writes un the Book of Words “This symbol (the pillar) appears in all sacred monuments of antiquity, and was everywhere the symbol of the generative or creative power of God… Phallic columns were also common in every part of the orient, and obelisk, standing stones, the stocks of trees, the round towers in Ireland, and even the cross, were representations of the virile member. That the columns of the temple should represent this organ, and one of them be designated by the name signifying erection, vigor, potency, was not at all singular.” (p 29)
This is interesting because in his first kosmogony Philo gives the theology of Phoenician creation as seeing the beginning of All, was a dark and unfathomable blackness called ‘Tohu Bohu’ or ‘without form or void’. Then the spirit was inflamed with love for eternal beings, and a penetration took place, which was the creation of things but itself had no consciousness until Yekun, the first personification of regeneration lead the sons of the Holy angels to Earth to seduce the women of Earth. This is vaguely represented in the book of Enoch. 
Boaz is the column on the left side of the outer porch. Boaz means the word force with the Latin gerund roborando, or strengthening. Albert Pike continues “The act of generation by the Deity never ceases. This may give one meaning of the name Boaz. But its primary meaning is strong, firm, agile, vigorous, stout, able, all which are characteristics of the Phallus, as a symbol of the Divine generative potency represented by upright stones” (p. 32)
Atop both these pillars are decorated with pomegranates and lotus flowers being emblems of the female fruitfulness. Atop these pillars were spheres or as Phoenician tradition would inform us egg shaped to resemble new life. So you have too masculine pillars penetrating feminine symbols of pomegranates and lotus to reveal the moment of the cosmic birth of  cosmic consciousness, or the birth of a New God.
“The king made two columns, each one 15.5 meters tall, and placed them in front of the temple. Each one had a capital 2.2. meters tall. The tops of the columns were decorated with a design of interwoven chains and one hundred bronze pomegranates. The columns were set at the sides of the temple entrance: the one on the south side was named Jachin, and the one on the north side was named Boaz.” (2 Chronicles 3:15-17)


Traditionally the interior of King Solomon’s temple was Phoenician in nature with three parts: an anteroom, then a main hall, finally a secret holy-of-holies. This basic layout suited Solomon admirably since the Hebrew and Phoenician rituals had much in common, except the purpose of the God., Ba’al being a God of reproduction and Yahweh being the war God that allowed them to leave Egypt and conquer much of Canaan. 
The reconstruction on these pages, again based on the Bible, has the small anteroom, or Main, at left. Temple activities took place in the main hall, or Hekal. Twice each day once early in the morning and at dusk, which is similar to Phonecician sun worship. Sacrificial services were held: as sacrifices were offered up outside and incense was burned inside on the altar in front of steps leading to the 'holy-of-holies. In the center of the hall is a low table with
12 small loaves of bread upon it, one for each of the tribes of Israel light by a 12 branch candle stick. The walls of the Hekal are paneled in cedar, decorated with Phoenician winged sphinxes or cherium and lotus patterns. The lofty hall, the scent of cedar and incense, the richly ornamented walls dimly illuminated through the high recessed windows-all contributed to the mystery and beauty of the temple service. The reverence was intensified by a sense of God's near presence-just up the steps and behind the doors of the holy-of-holies. (The Sea Traders, 1974)

The Holy of Holies was a windowless, dark room also paneled in cedar decorated than the sumptuous Hekal. No one could enter here except the high priest once a year, on the Day of Atonement, when he made a special blood offering as a plea to God to cleanse His people of their sins. Two sphinx like creatures stand on either side of the Ark of the convenient. The Bible refers to them as cherubim.
     “And within the oracle he made two cherubim’s of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was one wing of the chrub, and five was the other wing of the cherub: from the utmost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits…And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cheribum…so that the wings touched one another in the midst of the house.” (1 Kings 7:23-27)
     Between the Cheribum sat the Holy Shekhinah, of Divine presence of God rested, it was from here the Bathkol, or voice of God spoke. They are described by Ezekiel, Isaiah, and St. John as having the face and breast of a man, the wings of an eagle,  the belly of a lion, and the feet and legs of an ox.  
Nothing is known of what went on inside the Phoenician version of the holy of holies, except that the room contained whatever image the Phoenicians worshiped. It was there that the betyl, or holy stone, was enshrined. But it is in this position the Ark of the Covenant was placed as the seat of mercy, or place of the Holy Shekhinah. 
So it is without a doubt that Solomon had a Phoenician Temple, not a Israelite temple, built in the centre of Jerusalem. But the question still remains, why? Why doesn’t Solomon have Israelites build his temple? Why have Pagan imagery in the house of your God? Why pagan builders? Why pagan funding? Again I must question tradition and ask, was the Temple of Solomon a temple to Yahweh? 

~JEF

James E Frey, 32° is a Past Sovereign Prince and current librarian of Valley of Danville AASR. Founder of the R.E.B.I.S Research Society he sits on two Blue Lodge Education committees as well as a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry. He is also a Member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, and Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He also works as a counselor with emotionally and behaviorally challenged children.