This is a place for discussion, and I can only mention from what I know.
For once, I agree, and I enter into discussion in much the same manner. And one thing I know is, what I have "heard" does not qualify as matter for legitimate discussion, nor does anything that I have heard qualify as something I "know." So things that I hear, I question, and seek verification before I speak. In fact, I have learned, when it comes to arguments against Freemasonry, it pays not to believe even what you READ, for there have been some well-known and documented cases of people being fast and loose with the manner in which they cite Masonic sources, even to the point of flat-out lying.
All I ask--and I have not been alone in this by ANY means, so please don't single me out as though I were--is that any accusation against Freemasonry be supported with something besides hearsay and personal opinion, otherwise it is no "discussion," it is an opinion poll. If I seem to have been harsh, forgive me, but the most recent post re your comments, comes on the heels of a post in which you seemed to be trying to justify the idea that hearsay is legitimate argument, and I can assure you it is not.
It doesn't get any more difficult than that around here----if this were
formal debate, you can rest assured the standards would be far stricter than simply objecting to hearsay opinions.
I was actually listening to all sides, but it seems you are having more fun attacking my thoughts and intellect. If that's the way you want to be then I just won't listen to you.
Several people have posted here in the same manner in which you have, that is, hearsay and rumor without any substantial foundation for one's claims against Freemasonry. More than once, there have been requests for corroboration, and more than once they have been ignored, not just by you, but by others posting here as well. I have not been the only one, by far, who has requested either sources for accusations made, or clarification/corroboration of information which one claims as "truth."
I think the attempt to categorize my request for corroboration as "attacking your thoughts and intellect," is disingenuous at best. After all, subsequent to your claims, someone has now made the attempt to support their claims by quoting from Freemasonrywatch, which is probably the most UNreliable source anyone could find ANYwhere about Freemasonry. It was quickly pointed out to the poster that the source is completely unreliable, and a link was posted to a source which very clearly outlines the reasons why it is so. But I don't see Misfitforfaith objecting to our comments as "attacking his thoughts and intellect."
No one is asking anything of you that is not asked of anyone else. The only thing different in your case is, for some reason you seem to believe I am the only one who has spoken up to point out that you make unsupported accusations, and so you take aim at me as though there were some issue on my part----I assure you there is not.
If someone makes an erroneous claim here against Freemasonry, and does not support it with anything substantial, I will call them on it any time. Nor will I be the only one, so get used to it if you choose to continue posting in the manner you have grown accustomed to. I really couldn't care less if I don't win any popularity contests in which accusers of Masonry are the judges. On this or any thread on Freemasonry, I am interested only in addressing claims made against Freemasonry, and since you have shown an interest in making those claims, your arguments have drawn my attention, as well as the attention of some others here. If an argument is invalid, I believe this is the place to address the argument and point out the reason for its being invalid. That is, after all, one of the general procedures of discussion on this or any other subject.
I think if you will consider the exchanges between us, you will find that I address arguments and not persons. If you feel that anything I have said may be taken otherwise, you have my apology beforehand, for I assure you none of my remarks have been so intended. I have not said anything about your unsupported comments that I have not said about the unsupported comments of others besides yourself, that they lack credibility if supported by nothing but opinion or hearsay. I stand by that assessment of the comments offered by several who have posted here. You are not alone, nor have I singled you out for any personal censure, as you seem to believe. There have been plenty of others who have been called on it when they post information that is not supported, or information that comes from highly unreliable sources. (If you don't agree, I simply refer you to the most recent post by izarya to misfitforfaith, which comes far closer to "attacking one's thoughts and intellect" than anything I might have said to you.)
Since there seems to have been a bit of silence on the part of others here who might be in agreement with me, I simply appeal to those who have not rung in on this matter: have I said anything about marksman's comments that I have not already said about several others who have posted similar unsupported arguments? Is there any reason to consider any of my remarks an "attack" against marksman's "thoughts and intellect?"