Originally posted by frandall
Dear Seebs,
Please tell me as to where in our ritual we invoke the Satan's name. I must have missed that part in the several hundred meetings and ritual training sessions I 've attended over the last 20+ years. Better yet, please cite your source for making such a statement.
Er, you misread me. That was a pure hypothetical - as was the possibility that the secret is the 11 herbs & spices used in KFC. I have no idea what your secret is; I merely wished to point out that there *do* exist secrets which might reasonably worry people.
By the way, did you know that at the start of each obligation a candidate takes for a degree, he states, with his hand resting on the Holy Bible, "I, [name], in the presence of Almighty God and this worshipful Lodge, erected to Him and dedicated to the Saints John, do hereby amd hereon...?
Did you know that "worshipful," as used in a Masonic Lodge, is a continued usage of the old English term "worshypful," meaning respected or honored--like the practice of addressing judges and mayors as "your honor"?
Did you know that the Saints John referred to are St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist?
I didn't, and arguably, I still don't, because I'm a purebred skeptic, and won't believe something just 'cuz I'm told.
The point here is not that I think you're bad people; I have generally assumed that freemasons are decent people like everyone else.
The point here is that, as long as there is a secret,
people cannot form an informed opinion about you, because the "secret" could be forswearing that oath you cite, which is thereafter taken in vain. As long as there is a secret, people will be able to invent possible things to fill in that gap which would be very bad; furthermore, they will tend to, because if it weren't a bad thing, *why would it be secret*?
Note that the same exact argument applies to the rumors that there's a secret book that only the Pope can read, in which we are variously told is found:
* Proof that Jesus never existed
* A secret gospel revealing things which the Pope uses to control the church
* Secrets of mind control, alien technology, and whatnot.
I personally don't even know whether there *is* any secret information only the Pope has - I'm just using this to show how secrecy is always interpreted in a negative light.
Not knowing what your secret is, I obviously can't comment - but you may as well resign yourself to people who believe it to be a Bad Thing which invalidates all the "good" stuff you can point to, because if it weren't Bad, why would you be keeping it a secret? ("Because we swore to" doesn't really answer this; why was it *originally* declared a secret?)