Balder Ex-Libris

Author : Coleman John
Title : Freemasonry from A to Z
Year : 2009

Link download : Coleman_John_-_Freemasonry_from_A_to_Z.zip

Freemasonry is often described as a "secret society," but Freemasons themselves believe it is more correct to say that it is an esoteric society, in that certain aspects are private. The most common phrasing being that Freemasonry has, in the 21st century, become less a secret society and more of a "society with secrets." The private aspects of modern Freemasonry are the modes of recognition amongst members and particular elements within the ritual. For instance Masons might ask newcomers they meet "are you on the square?" In an open society such as the United States, one is left to wonder why the need for secrecy? The task of describing Freemasonry is a daunting one. Saying that it is the largest fraternal organization in the world with over 3 million members in the United States and seven hundred thousand in Great Britain and a million more around the Farth, and that it has been the study of fifty thousand books and pamphlets is only the beginning. Since it was revealed in 1717, Freemasonry has engendered more hatred and enmity than any other secular organization in the world. It has been constantly subjected to unremitting attack by the Catholic Church, its membership forbidden to men of the Mormon Church, the Salvation Army and the Methodist Church. It is outlawed in a number of countries. Anti Masonic allegations always run into difficulties because Masonry refuses to respond to attacks. What is surprising is the very large number of world leaders, past and present who were and are members of Freemasonry: King George VI of England, Frederick the Great of Prussia and King Haakon VII of Norway. U.S. history is replete with leaders who were Masons such as George Washington, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. WWII was fought by British Masonic leaders such as Winston Churchill and the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and American army leaders like Generals Omar Bradley, Mark Clark and George Marshall. It is virtually impossible to know where to begin or to end in recounting Masonic influence on every aspect of life for the past 290 years. This work is an attempt to put together that which will make it relatively easy to explain "What is Masonry." ...