Why do people have an opinion on freemasonry when they dont know what freemasonry entails?
479394
There are several secret societies, and we all know that.\n\nThe reason for people having an opinion that is not necessarily positive, is because they are afraid of them  and because they dont take into account the fact that y ou can be Master of your own existance.  This is way too much complex for people to understand and believe, so as a Mason yourself, you must know evolution is differnt in every being.\n\nSo Ignorance, would be the right answer for this.
776215
Best Answer - Chosen By Voters\n\nFreemasons are a fraternity "men only" There is also a female version called the Eastern Star. They have three appendent bodies the York Rite, Scottish Rite, and Shriners. Masons raise money for charity providing millions of dollars a day to various charities and it costs about 8 million a day to run a Shriners hospital where a child is treated at no charge. A society of secrets rather than a secret society all our rituals are plastered all over the Internet. But our grips,keys, and tokens are kept as secret as possible in the information age. Another words dont belive all you read on the internet! \n\nThere are many celebrties past and presesent Harry Houdini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart his music is written in masonic key.\nPresently Michael A. Richards Kramer from Seinfeld
895494
people are scared of that they do not understand\n\nThey would rather someone tell them what they want to hear instead of learning the truth and be shown they are wrong
853995
I don't find it curious at all.   Non-pagans object greatly to pagans and when someone posts an answer that shows pagans in a positive light, or one that shows that pagans are educated, intelligent and insightful, non-pagans will react to such things with antagonism.   It is an odd thing people fear pagans becasue they do not understand pagan beliefs.   However, they do not WANT to undestand pagan beliefs, nor do they want anyone else to understand them so that the fear, prejudice, and distrust against pagans can be prepetuated.\n\nIf fact I fully expect to get thumbs downs to this answer for that very reason....
5538
As a Mason and a Minister of the Gospel I feel that the problem is the secrecy of the organazation. Often times when people don't understand something they have a fear of it. It should be known that this country, America, was founded by Masons and that a vast majority of our leaders have been members of the Masonic order. It is a Fraternity, not a religion.
598292
Rebeka Lodge etc. are NOT CHRISTIAN at all! They are part of the Masonic Faith.  YES! Masons are a definite religion!
552879
1.  Most of the founding fathers were Masons.  At that time, no nation belived in the concept of freedom of religion, or tolerance.  In fact, at that time, the ONLY place such ideals were found were in Masonry.  From that perspective, America was actually founded on Masonic principles, so that families would have a land where they were free to worship as they saw fit, as opposed to the way the King or the Pope dictated.  \n2.  That definition of Diest is one I have never heard before.  The popular definition of "Diest" today is someone who believes that there is One True and Living God, and that everyone who worships is worshiping the same God regardless of what they believe.  Many people believe this is an unspoken philosophical belief in Masonry because we only require that a man believe in God, but put no qualifications on his religion.  We shun only the "stupid athiest, and the irreligious libertine", and allow each man to have whatever religion he believes.   \n3.  Of course the Masonic symbolism on our currency is a result of our nation's founders being Masons.  The unfinished pyramid and the all-seeing-eye are symbolic of our "One Nation Under God" principle.  Within the capstone is the Eye of God.  Without it the building is unfinished. The symbolism is obvious:  Only under the direction and watchful counsel of God can we hope to fulfill our duties, and complete our labors.  Anti-Masons love to make up any number of ridiculous theories as to Masonic symbolism.  But if you understand that a belief in , and a reliance upon God is at the center of the Masonic philosophy, the symbolism is very obvious, and not sinister in the least.
95428
This site is incredibly informative.\n\nhttp://freemasonry.bcy.ca/
272763
because people have opinions
555682
Its up to each individual. I however am biased. I am very active in many aspects of the fraternity and my credantials include. (Past Master "President" of my local symbolic lodge, Member of the 32nd Degree A.A.S.R. Valley Of Harrisburg, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, Royal Arch Chapter, Pennsylvania Square and Shield Club, and the Order of the Amaranth). All that I have seen and have been involved in\nputs the fraternity in the good catagory. The society as a whole with its many charities throughout the nation and indeed the world gives close to 2 million dollars a day to charity. (Thats only on the US National level). Our best and the most publicized example of Masonic charity is the Shriners burn hospitals (Yes those funny guys driving the little cars wearing red hats during the parade are Freemasons) and the Shrine is one of the many organizations one can choose to belong to after becoming a member of a local Masonic lodge. \n  Our ritual however may be somewhat criptic and strange to outsiders. What I can tell any honest inquiry is that we use it to teach a potenial member or "brother" the philosophy regarding the fraternity. That we are required to behave with all due decorum in our everyday life, essentialy living by the golden rule. That we meet as equals regardless of wealth or social standing, all believe in one god or supreme being regardless or personal religious affiliation (I have been in lodges with Moslems, Jews, and Christians all meeting together in the same room)\nand that we do not descriminate against any race, or ethnicity. \nThis philosphy early in the fraternities history crept its way into our shared ideals as an American nation, and have some people crying "conspiracy". However, our government is run from the Capitol Building, White House, and Supreme Court, not from the local Masonic Lodge Temple. Many of these ideals were the inspration for many of our Masonic founding fathers, I applaud them, and hope that our nation continues a trend of tolerance, progression, and freethinking, that has played such a pivitol role in every American citizens life Mason and Non-Mason alike. \n\nI will leave this answer with my favorite quote from the Scottish Rite Temple in D.C.\n\n"Human progress is our cause, liberty of thought our supreme wish, freedom of conscience our mission,\nand the guarantee of equal rights to all people everywhere our ultimate goal.   -- The Scottish Rite Creed"
388168
Freemasons are not a cult by any stretch of the imagination.\nThe Illuminati (as I recall) was an old German private organisation that tried to compete with Masonry but died out some time ago. Masonry is a fraternal organisation with several sub-groups. There are over 65 separate Masonic bodies in the US. The more common being the so called "Blue lodge", the Scottish and York rights and the Shrine.\n\nMost of our founding fathers were Masons. Thirteen of the signers of the declaration of Independence were Masons. Several (including Geo. Washington) were Masters of their lodges.
481011
That would be faith...or ignorance.  Depends on how much thought goes into it.\n\nPersonally I view faith like this:  If someone believes in god, the bible, etc.  More power to 'em!  However, if you present a different point of view, and they cover their ears, close their eyes and scream, "Lies!"...that's not faith, that's ignorance.\n\nIf they ignore your question and quote the bible...the same book they know nothing about, that's ignorance\n\nIf they KNOW they're right and you're wrong, that's ignorance.\n\nIf they believe in God with knowledge, understanding, acceptence, and reservation that while their faith is absolute, that there are other possibilities, or that we are too ill informed or lack the understanding to comprehend the workings of the universe...that's faith.\n\nTo be agnostic, like I am, means you don't have faith.  Personally, I don't have a clue what's going on.  I know the bible isn't accurate, we've proven Genesis to be wrong 100x over.  However, I do agree with many of its teachings.  How did we get here?  Dunno.  How does life work?  Dunno.  Is there a God?  Dunno.  Is God as the bible describes?  Probably not, but dunno.  Good news about being agnostic is it allows you the freedom to think and examine.  You're not stuck in an organized religion that recites the same thing to you day after day.  Your free to analyze and accept that there are somethings you just don't know.  On the one had its very liberating.  On the other it carries responsibility because you don't have something to blame, or to believe will take care of you...you lose the "knowledge" that everything's under control.\n\nSo, I'm all for agnostic.  I'm comfortable knowing that I don't know. I LOVE studying theology, laughing when a religious person avoids thought, and learning when a religious person makes a good point.\n\nFor examples:  Look to spur4eight.  He'll make intelligent arguements for Christianity.  I disagree with many of them, but hey...that's faith.  For ignorance, look at Mainworry.  He'll ignore questions completely that require any sort of thought towards religion, and reply either with biblical quotes or insults.
1041325
I enjoy reading information about secret societies.  If you want to learn more about another interesting group read about the Bilderberg group.\nAs far as my opinion for this society, I believe that they exist.  This country was formed by a group of men, most belonging to a secret society-free masons.  Seems like it is tradition maybe even American culture.
1000905
Heh, love how you end you "why can't people get it" question by stating you just don't get it.\n\nJust because you believe something should be a certain way doesn't mean others will feel the same way.  If they believe opposite enough it doesn't matter how articulate you are because they just won't care.  Not everyone will agree and not everyone will respond intelligently, this is just a simple fact of life.
370588
1) Freemasonry is not a secret society.  Check the topic out at a decent library and you'll find all you ever want to know.  (If you look hard enough, you'll even find out why people think everything's a secret!)\n\n2) Freemasonry is not a cult.  A cult deals with religion and freemasonry does not.  True, it is based upon religious texts... but only for the moral values found therein.
530313
You know, about a month ago I had an enormous crisis in faith involving Freemasonry. \n\nIt was not any dark secret involving the da Vinci code or the Illuminati. It was not about the VSL or any garbage that Leo Taxil wrote about Albert Pike. Want to guess what it was?\n\nIt was that I was not up to be a good enough Freemason. True. I am a Co-Mason (women and men, all races, and all religions as long as you believe in a Supreme Being). We take the esoteric stuff pretty seriously. I belong to two real life Lodges and travel 1500 miles each month to attend them both. I also belong to a Lodge of research (we research Masonic history). I was Entered on May 23, 2004 VE, Passed April 17, 2005 VE, and Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on October 22, 2005 VE. \n\nWell, I was having physical problems - not sleeping enough, my leg hurting, my back hurting. A lot of it revolved around not having a good mattress and having been tortured when I was in the Army. The travel made it worse. I started taking everything my Right Worshipful Master said as an attack on me (even though she meant it as instruction).\n\nSo I had to deal with that. I had to think that maybe I was just not worthy enough to be a Freemason; that I was too rough a stone to be smoothed. Everyone else seemed to "be getting it." Eventually, through much more introspection I came to I was in pain and needed to deal with that instead of just running away and hiding (my first inclination).\n\nBTW, the "instruction" was nothing weird or violent, just what was proper to post where and what forms to send where. Nothing major, just ME making mountains out of mole hills. \n\nWhen you say to the Universe that you are ready for lessons, The Great Teacher in His Ineffable Wisdom smiles and sends those to you. Stone gets shaped very slowly and sometimes it seems kind of hard on the stone. But what a lovely edifice Solomon's Temple!
839773
There are many secret societies in the US. Several people in my family belong to them. But if you're talking about conspiracy theories (the country being run by the Illuminati, Bilderbergers, Skull & Bones, etc), you'll find debates on either side.