are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
I still think the unique parallels between Russell and Mason is striking. Russell’s fundamental teachings are uniquely closer to Mason. Ideas don’t come out of a vacuum. Russell copied most of his teaching from others like Miller, Adventists etc.
The research I have done has leads me to this conclusion. But if you have related links for me I would be happy to do more research, because I find this very interesting.
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
LittleToe & Kenneson,
True, comparing any two organisations one would find a number of commonality and differences. I think comparing is an effective tool for evaluation. We do it all the time. Making comparisons is a technique used in every field of science. A ‘comparison of two’ is limited compared with a ‘comparison of three or more”. Now if we add a third column to the list of parallels, a better observation is accessible. For example (common) Christianity, the parallels and differences become significant. To me the vast number of points of commonality is striking.
Believing that freemasonry had an influence on the WTS, I am not saying masonry actively influenced or even approved of this. That’s why I find it interesting that both societies deny any relation to each other.
The amount of indications (or evidence to me) that the WTS’ founder was mason does not necessarily reflect negatively on freemasonry.
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
One more: My understanding is it started around the medieval time in Europe. To make sure a (stone) mason receives his due salary, he had to approach, use secret handshake, and say the right words to the master mason. By this they could tell the difference between apprentice, (fellow)craftsman, master…etc. And from here things further developed to freemasonry. I know the roots of freemasonry go way back, but the term freemason started here. Its been a while since I last really looked into this.
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
Lerntoswim, There is no need for you to get annoyed over this. First of all my post said: “parallel believes- Russell and Mason” not Mason and present truth of today’s WTS. Russell would be disfellowshiped for his believes if was around today. Even in Rutherford’s day the WTS was changed into something almost new!!! I think this pretty much answers you objection. Regarding Jehovah (again in Russell’s day): A. G. Mackey (33°) states in ‘An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry’, Vol. I (1871) Chicago: The Masoric History Co.,p. 363 ff, “JEHOVAH is, of all the significant words of Masonry, by far the most important…” In a previous post I make mention of a book (freedownload PDF), you can find more evidence and detail there. I am always happy to learn something new and don’t mind to be proven wrong, since I don’t claim to be an expert. It is rather late for me now (because of time difference) and I really need to go to bed. I don’t mean to offend and only want to share my knowledge on this. I’ll be back! freetosee
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
Lerntoswim,
There is no need for you to get annoyed over this.
First of all my post said: “parallel believes- Russell and Mason” not Mason and present truth of today’s WTS. Russell would be disfellowshiped for his believes if was around today. Even in
Regarding Jehovah (again in Russell’s day):
A. G. Mackey (33°) states in ‘An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry’, Vol. I (1871) : The Masoric History ,p. 363 ff, “JEHOVAH is, of all the significant words of Masonry, by far the most important…”
In a previous post I make mention of a book (freedownload PDF), you can find more evidence and detail there.
I am always happy to learn something new and don’t mind to be proven wrong, since I don’t claim to be an expert.
It is rather late for me now (because of time difference) and I really need to go to bed. I don’t mean to offend and only want to share my knowledge on this.
I’ll be back!
freetosee
ive been free for about 10 years now, though not disfellowshiped.
and some time ago i accommodated an elder (friend of the family) who was visiting from the caribbean.
after trying different ways to encourage me, he and my father (both elders) chose demon stories it frighten me back to jehovah.
Now, as an adult I can simile about many things they try with me. But I get upset when I think of the many demon stories we were bombarded with as little children, never mind spooky WT lit. pictures. Like a missionary who almost slaughtered two fellow missionaries, because of being possessed. My father loved these stories and before he became a JW he was into astral projection/travel. He also told us, that our grandfather, a Lutheran minister, could put his hand on top of a heavy table and walk away with it. He was buried in a glass coffin and was seen walking around at the cemetery. As a child I often couldn’t sleep and was terrified in the dark. So my father said: “the wicked shall not sleep, you must have been a bad boy!” This went on for years and many wet beds. At last Proverbs 22:15 (the first scripture I knew by heart) came into place. ‘Ten of the best’ will solve the problem. –it never did solve anything. Fear and guilt is what the WTS and its follower (not all) knows best to working with.
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
Addition: Catholic Church is Babylon the Great (Sorry, post pieces keep missing)
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
Most interesting are their parallel beliefs -Russell and Mason. Here are only a few:
ABOUT GOD
JESUS
CHURCH
BIBLE
FUTURE
ABOUT TRUTH
Because of the same buzz words I was asked twice by colleges, after a long handshake, if I was Mason. At that time I know nothing about Mason.
freetosee /sorry I have formatting problems
are there any freemasons who post here?
if you don't want to add to the thread then feel free to pm me.. one of my close friends is a mason and has encouraged me to consider joining but everything i have known about the masons in the past has been negative - all bigoted jw speak.
from what i have researched they are a fraternity who hold near christian moral values and cannot understand the vitriol the witnesses hold for them.. i have also seen pictures of rutherford's grave in a masonic cemetary so cannot understand why they would aim such negativity against a group which their founder belonged to.. can anyone shed any light on this?
Kenneson
I didn’t say they were buried in a Masonic cemetery, although many Masons are buried in that graveyard, the streets names that surround the cemetery are mason. To me Russells gravestone is very much Mason.
Russell did not give the name ‘Kingdom Hall’, but the fact of calling them ‘Halls’ is typical Mason. Why did Rutherford place a typical mason symbol on his famous “Finished Mystery” book? Why did he choose that title? Russell grow up in an very Mason area with much of his family being Mason.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Mason and secret societies.
i believe i have mentioned before, i works w/ a lunatic jw.
this is the same woman who will not go by a shorter version of her name because as she told me in front of some fellow co-workers once i found the truth, i put on the new personality and the fruitages of the spirit, so i go by my full name now.
alrighty then..
Looking glass, that posting problem happens to me all the time! Good story!
