Reality Check
By Edward L King, masonicinfo.com
“Why is it that reality, when set down un-transposed in a book, sounds false?”
- Simone Weil (1909-43), French philosopher and mystic
Sometimes people will follow their “leaders” blindly down paths of hate and animosity, without thinking on their own.
Over 900 followers of the ‛Reverend’ Jim Jones committed mass suicide in Guyana in 1978, the disciples of David Koresh are willingly (perhaps) accepted death following their ‛prophet’, or people continue to donate to religious ‛missions’ despite their having been totally discredited as to motive, so it certainly is understandable that some people will blindly accept the charges that Masons and Masonry are all part of some huge evil empire or anti-religious cabal — or at least wonder if there’s some merit to the accusations, particularly since they’re so widely spread around today in the media and on the internet. But let’s try to look at this using common sense:
- Does it seem reasonable to think that some 3 to 5 million Masons of today have all misunderstood what Masonry was really all about?
- Is it conceivable that thousands of religious leaders and hundreds of thousands of devout religious followers have been ‛tricked’ into some kind of Satanic cult which encourages them to attend their own house of worship?
- Can you really believe that so many national leaders and simple, common people are all sharing a common, secret agenda with none of them ever disclosing it, even on their death bed or when wronged by the ‛entity’ they’ve supported?
- Do you think there is some incredible knowledge held by the small handful of those who protest against Freemasonry, and often argue amongst themselves on various issues such as religion, that transcends the knowledge and intelligence of the millions of Masons during the past three hundred years?
- Could tens of millions of people over the past three hundred years — including leaders in all walks of religious, political, educational, and other fields — all have been so totally and completely wrong — while the small handful of those who have opposed Freemasonry during that same period be right?
- Can people who don’t agree on what the ‛proper’ version of the Bible is and argue over who are ‛legitimate’ preachers really be correct when they start condemning a particular group?
- And finally — IF Masonry was so evil, why haven’t more people ‛defected’? Why isn’t Masonry more secretive? Why aren’t there more exposes? Why, oh, why?
Have you examined the ‛sources’ of information for yourself or are you simply accepting the word of another? If you are listening to someone who is against Masonry, have you checked to see what other things they are against as well?
Admittedly, the concepts of Masonry can be a stretch for one’s credibility. Finding clear, succinct, summary information is virtually impossible. We are, after all, addressing a group which is over three hundred years old, has lodges around the world and has members who themselves have only knowledge or understanding (sometimes misunderstood) about their own local organization, not recognizing what goes on in other parts of the world. Nor are they always able to communicate simply yet convey all of the subtleties and nuances that the answer to a seemingly simple question would require.
And surely, it defies all logic that men of different (and often strongly held) religious faiths, political beliefs, social positions, amounts of worldly goods, etc. can set aside all of these differences to meet together in peace and harmony — but in Freemasonry, they do! Why?
Perhaps that truly IS one of the ‛Masonic mysteries.’
As to evil doing, though, does it seem logical that such a group would build hospitals and support all types of medical research and other charities with some ulterior motive? Does it make sense that a ‛secret’ organization bent on world domination or following Satan would spend some two million dollars a day on charity?
Can you really believe that there is a group which has existed for nearly 300 years, founded on the simple principles of brotherly love, relief, truth, temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice is secretly bent on world domination and is about to make it happen any day now?
When confronted with charges against Masonry, compare what you’ve seen in your daily life against what the anti-Mason says. Do all of those Shriners at their circus look like they’re Satanists or bent on world domination? Are local leaders as well as your neighbors all dupes of Lucifer or under the control of some grand cabal?
Confirm your observations with reality!
Don’t blindly accept the word of those who are filled with hate for an organization that does so much good.
This was delivered by Education Officer Joe West on December 7, 2021
