tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post7582216247285178309..comments2023-07-07T02:20:07.533-07:00Comments on The Dodgy Liberal: The Dodgy Liberal Comes OutJustin Bretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13337993764081653625noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-30034810206012753902011-09-22T19:26:30.653-07:002011-09-22T19:26:30.653-07:00And the Left/"Progressives" are upset th...And the Left/"Progressives" are upset that the Freemasons are (usually)all-male and so a "bastion of patriarchy"; they also take away time and money and interest that might otherwise be directed towards religions (supposedly).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-83551848677939655472011-09-06T22:06:52.290-07:002011-09-06T22:06:52.290-07:00The Catholics and Orthodox forbid their members fr...The Catholics and Orthodox forbid their members from becoming Freemasons-apparently, they think they will start revolutions and begin burning churches and allowing anti-church laws and separating church and state and other things.<br /> Lots of conspiracy theories, especially among the Orthodox, about Freemasonry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-22304975706963343502011-05-22T10:00:14.011-07:002011-05-22T10:00:14.011-07:00Thank you for your good defense of the craft over ...Thank you for your good defense of the craft over at Thinking Anglicans. I put in my two cents worth, too. Perhaps we can't convince those who have closed their ears to hearing about the fraternity, but we can set an example for men of good will who might be interested enough to explore it on their own. A much older brother in my first lodge back in Seattle told me to never waste time trying to defend the fraternity. He said something about making my life the best argument for the craft. I should heed his good advice, but I can't. I race to the cause to defend something that means a lot to me. Thanks for your good words on that discussion board.Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01945343859290558131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-79171626737564685392011-05-20T23:36:50.677-07:002011-05-20T23:36:50.677-07:00Justin,
Thank you for your post. I am an American...Justin,<br /><br />Thank you for your post. I am an American who has been lurking around the Anglican blogosphere on and off for years trying to figure out my feelings about joining the Episcopal Church. I am also a freemason.<br /><br />After seeing the ABC, a man I otherwise respect, renew his attack on the Craft, I decided to see what the blogs and commentators have had to say about the issue over the years. Despite knowing a good deal about anti-Masonry, I was shocked at the rancorous tone of Anglicans--both the progressive and conservative variety.<br /><br />Reading it all was akin to slow excommunication-by-blog. On one Anglo-Catholic board, there were dozens of comments accusing masons of satanism, syncretism, Protestant vodoo, and corruption. Half of the posts began "My (father, uncle, grandfather, cousin) was/is a Mason." and concluded with a vicious condemnation of masons everywhere--how cold, how sad. A more even-tempered CofE blog expressed cool, calm doubt at whether my masonic membership is compatible with Christian living. My jaw dropped.<br /><br />All of this resonated with me because I'm a theological conservative, i.e. I'm not comfortable with the breaking of tradition re: human sexuality's place in a Christian life currently underway in the Communion and elsewhere. For a moment, however, I felt the intense pain of being excluded, doubted, and scorned that those on the other side of the argument must feel. The feeling that I have been convicted without trial by the followers of Christ.<br /><br />I've always believed all of us sinners are welcome in God's house. But I also realize--now much more clearly--how the rhetorical fallout from all this theological debate over covenants and ordinations can impair the central redemptive message of the Church. If my honest, prayerful concern about the homosexuality issue ever led me to think an exclusionary thought, or to doubt without cause the faith or worth of those with whom I disagree, I repent wholeheartedly.<br /><br />So thanks again for posting this, both for your voice in the wilderness of anti-Masonry and for getting me thinking about old problems in a new way.<br /><br />As a personal aside, I lived in England last year and had the privilege of enjoying the hospitality of many lodges in the PGL of Cambridgeshire. I found English masonry to be splendidly beautiful and its fellowship to be made up of men of the first rank--true gentlemen, all. I shall never forget the kindness they showed to a traveling brother, nor the central place of prayer in all their activities.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07005018239736877669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-45150785311433033862011-05-17T11:00:16.893-07:002011-05-17T11:00:16.893-07:00Thank you for this well written, and articulate po...Thank you for this well written, and articulate post. It sums up my feelings very well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-28625060489127024562011-05-17T05:14:18.270-07:002011-05-17T05:14:18.270-07:00Gerry, would you be prepared to say why you could ...Gerry, would you be prepared to say why you could not reconcile Freemasonry with your faith?Justin Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13337993764081653625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-52144901925785010572011-05-17T04:37:00.583-07:002011-05-17T04:37:00.583-07:00A bit like pipe-smoking and beating one's chil...A bit like pipe-smoking and beating one's children, Freemasonry has gone from being almost compulsory for Church of England bishops to being forbidden in a remarkably short space of time.<br /><br />It's a funny old world. And that's speaking as someone who, personally, could not reconcile Freemasonry with their faith.Gerry Lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966006351546865756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-47367678302665800912011-05-17T00:23:16.468-07:002011-05-17T00:23:16.468-07:00More clarity on the CofE position would certainly ...More clarity on the CofE position would certainly be good - not least because I keep being told that the CofE has ruled that Freemasonry is not allowed, and that is certainly not the current position.Justin Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13337993764081653625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-60404690861013283232011-05-16T14:57:45.235-07:002011-05-16T14:57:45.235-07:00It is a legitimate story. I suspect the intention ...It is a legitimate story. I suspect the intention was actually to have a dig at Rowan, as the angle is mainly that the appointment is a reversal of his previous views. Rowan had blocked senior appointments of masons, and said freemasonry is not compatible with Christianity. The 1987 Synod report expressed serious concerns, but failed to adequately conclude on any sort of policy. It is fair to ask the question and Mouse would certainly like more clarity on the Church's position.The Church Mousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533337543955611592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8126171749304105212.post-61443524863275463182011-05-16T14:40:14.615-07:002011-05-16T14:40:14.615-07:00I think the Telegraph were stirring brown material...I think the Telegraph were stirring brown material in raising this. It's a crude attempt to try and embarrass someone whose constituency is basically Anglo-Catholic. Typical Telegraph say I. I usually feel slimed when I read it.<br /><br />As far as Masonry goes, the historian in me points out most bishops in the 1950's were masons, at the behest of Archbishop Fisher. I remember being told by a bishop consecrated in the 1960's all about how he was buttonholed on this subject the night before by Fisher. Hensley Henson was a Mason, mainly driven, he said, by a feeling he had missed out socially by never going to a public school or undergraduate college. <br /><br />So I can't exactly be too horrified. I also remember a Methodist colleague years ago who had got into serious trouble with the bottle and told me the Masons had been much more kind and supportive to him than the Methodists about it.<br /><br />Mervyn Stockwood objected seriously to Masonry. In the 1960's I suspect it was rather more secretive. I take the force of his doubts about people entering into bonds that seemingly transcended their baptismal obligations, and I am rather with Rowan on this one personally. It's not my scene.<br /><br />But it's a free country, and the right of free association is an important liberty...Bishop Alan Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13879516755776951638noreply@blogger.com