FURY.791

Full of sound and fury

A column wherein our gentil readeres shake a lance at
ignorance, at one another, at ye olde editor and on rare
occasions even succeed in h*tinge ye naile on ye heade.

Dear Brother, Marsengill:

I've read Bro. Nocas article, Winter
1990, RoyalArchMasonmagazine, now
I read another article by Bro. Hender-
son, Spring 1991, The Philalethes mag-
azine.

Now it's time that I respond to these
so called Brethren who are trying to de-
stroy Freemasonry from within. It's
my opinion that these Brethren never
learned the lessons of Freemasonry
that are taught or trying to be taught.

I have a few suggestions that might be
of interest to those who speak or write
against our great fraternity.

Eliminate all degrees they might offend
someone or some group.

Eliminate all obligations they might of-
fend some one or some group.

Some years ago in this jurisdiction, no
offence intended nor suggested to this
jurisdiction, the penalties were elimina-
ted, for the then Grand Master thought
it might offend some one or some group.

Eliminate the Flag ceremony it might
offend some one or some group.

Did you know that in this jurisdiction,
again no offence intended nor suggested
to this jurisdiction, for nearly two hun-
dred years, (1730-1918), the flag was
prohibited to be displayed in the lodge
room, in or on the building, even near
the building, for our unthinking
Brethren in the past, thought it would
offend someone or some group.

Eliminate the Pledge of Allegiance it
might offend someone or some group.

Eliminate all opening and closing pray-
ers they might offend some one or some
group.

Eliminate the word "High Priest" it
might offend some one or some group.

Eliminate the "Illustrious Master" it
might offend some one or some group.

Eliminate the word " Sovereign
Prince" it might offend some one or
some group.

Eliminate the word "Temple" it might
offend some one or some group.

Eliminate the words "So mote it be" it
might offend some one or some group.

Lets eliminate Freemasonry all to-
gether it might offend some one or some
group.

And on and on and on. When and
where will it ever stop?

I would like to ask, where do these
unthinking so called Brethren come up
with these irrational ideas and changes.

I am all for changing, but to suggest
changing just for the sake of changing,
due to offending some one or some
group, are lacking normal and modern
intelligence. No wonder our attendance
and membership is declining, there is too
much internal friction among members
and other jurisdictions, foreign and do-
mestic.

Let us all strive to go forward and re-
build the greatest fraternity the world
has ever seen. To stop condemning and
trying to change who and what we are.
To inform, the uninformed. To respond
to the ones who speak evil or despiteful
against us. Let us not destroy ourselves
from within.

Don't change or eliminate those por-
tions unacceptable, unfashionable,
politically embarrassing, socially unat-
tractive, or of modern theology.

Keep the ancient landmarks of the
fraternity intact.

Fraternally yours,
Frederic B. Spangler



Dear Brother Hilliard:

I have just completed the reading of
your unreasonable and unwarranted at-
tack on our past President John Nocas
and "his ilk" in the April issue of our
Philalethes Magazine. Based on the one-
sided tone of your " Presidents'Corner"
article I might have trouble believing
you are a Mason. For, my understanding
of a Mason is one with a full belief in
Brotherly love, Relief and Truth. Any-
one unwilling to give a fellow Mason the
benefit of his views without resulting in
sarcasm and belittlement cannot rest
quietly on his Masonic membership. I,
like you, believe we are the beneficiaries
of some great degrees, but I leave you
when you indicate no improvement ever
can be made and if so we become mem-
bers of the Lions Club or the Jaycees. A
shallow analysis, unworthy of our Presi-
'dent. For, even before and since the year
1717 there have been Ritual changes--
askJames Anderson.

I have been a Mason for more than 50
years and have been honored on many
occasions. Frankly, I worry about the
downward trend in our membership
rolls. With a fraternity that has so much
self-improvement to offer the average
man, our membership should double.
But, like most all of us, our Masonic
Order is interested in quality, not quan-
tity, and that's the way it should be!

Yet, it is my belief the intelligent Ma-
sons of goodwill can and will make rea-
sonable modifications that the majority
of us can agree upon to the everlasting
credit of Freemasonry.

Very cordially andfraternally,
one of the "ilk"
Chester R. MacPhee, PGM



Dear Brother Marsengill.

Not long ago I wrote to you regarding
an article in the Royal Arch Mason; this
time it is The Philalethes.

It never ceases to amaze - and amuse -
me how many Masons who would be
expected to be knowledgeable about the
fraternity have yet to discover that there
is not a single Grand Lodge for the
United States or, being aware that there
is not, still think that all operate under
identical rules and regulations. The
latest is Alton McMillan who in his
otherwise excellent article "Whaddya
Mean, Ask Him" continually refers to
"Grand Lodge" without ever saying
which grand lodge. True, he does periph-
erally acknowledge the existence of the
Grand Lodge of Texas, but except for
that all of his remarks concern some neb-
ulous "Grand Lodge".

Brother McMillan also quotes, by
chapter and verse, from "Grand Lodge
Law ". and admonishes the reader to
look at an Article in "Grand Lodge Law ".
Massachusetts does not have a "Grand
Lodge Law ", it has a " Grand Constitu-
tion: and the subjects covered by the
references he cites have nothing to do
with those in his unidentified "Grand
Lodge Law". Of course, they are dealt
with elsewhere - possibly in the same
words - but that is beside the point.

Although ritual per se is not treated in
this article the same comment applies.
The ritual is NOT identical in all juris-
dictions, and some permit multiple ritu-
als within themselves (the United Grand
Lodge of England recognizes nineteen, a
few of which are worked only by two or
three lodges or in a particular city). I
personally am aware of a phrase in the
Third Degree which in Massachusetts
makes a following bit of information of
great importance, but by being relocated
makes the identical information abso-
lutely worthless in West Virginia. Many
times I have seen references such as
(e.g.)"..what is said in the Second De-
gree charge ", and I have not the faintest
idea what he is writing about since I have
never heard one. I fully realize the diffi-
culties involved in being specific about
the ritual, but it can be done so that most
readers will understand.

In substance, then, my admonitions
are:(l) identify any grand jurisdiction
which is part of your presentation, and
(2) do not assume that everything is the
same everywhere. It might surprise you
to find out how many differences there

Dear Brother, Marsengill.

Donald S. Robinson

In my last note requesting a replace-
ment magazine, I did not mean to cast
any aspersions on your efforts. I was just
surprised to find such an esteemed peri-
odical missing its middle pages. With
that out of the way, I wish to comment
on brotherJohn S. Henderson' s article in
the April 1991 issue, entitled 'The "Al-
batross" of Terminology. '

While I agree, generally, with Brother
Henderson, I take exception to his desire
to change some of the Freemasonic ter-
minology to which he takes exceptior_.
How's that for a statement?

For your edification (I like that word; it
sounds so "Masonic"), let me first state
that although a US citizen, I have the
honor of being a British Freemason, hav-
ing been raised, as a Lewis, in the Scot-
tish Craft (not Scottish Rite). We were
taught never to mention the Name of
Deity. Therefore, in the EA, He is re-
ferred to as "The Great Architect of the
Universe. " This is, for those uninform-
ed Brethren and others, a Biblical title.
In the FC, He is referred to as "The
Grand Geometrician" and in the MM,
He is referred to as "The Most High"
(also a Biblical title).

Remember, " God " (or " Allah " ) is not
His "Name." It is a title, for there are
many other " gods . " His Name, by
Jewish tradition, is unpronounceable, al-
though Christians have endeavored to
do so. It is believed that Jesus (not his
Hebrew name) had the true pronuncia-
tion and was, therefore, able to call upon
It when accomplishing His miracles.

Further, in Scottish Craft Masonry, the
Holy Book (Bible, Torah, Koran, etc.) is
referred to as "The Volume of Sacred Law. "
"The Volume of Sacred Law." May I
remind you that the Scottish Craft may
be found in all "climes," and among
various religions, so it makes little differ-
ence which specific Sacred Writings are
on the Altar.

I also object to changing other terms
such as "Altar. " We do have prayers in
our Lodges and we should continue to
center those prayers and our lives on that
Center.

If we go about updating much of the
archaic language, we would lose some of
the distinctiveness of the Craft. We,
then, should divest ourselves of such
words as the old Scottish "Cowan" and
the old English "hele" (rhymes with
'hail' and means to conceal) and other
outdated phrases which include words of
both the Angles and Saxons, which were
originally used to clarify certain points of
the ritual.

Perhaps we should use the more mod-
ern versions of Sacred Writings and the
language therein contained. It seems
that the only reason the KingJames ver-
sion is used is that is historical. It was the
"authorized" translation at the forming
of the Premier Grand Lodges. But why
bother retaining history? Why bother,
indeed, retaining references to King
Solomon's Temple? That's drchaic, isn't
it???

Some GrandJurisdictions have revised
their rituals to reduce confusion. That is
their prerogative. However, some of the
changes are a bit peculiar. Such as, refer-
ring to movable parts of the Lodge fur-
niture as immovable; omitting parts of
Lodge furniture mentioned in the Ritu-
al; and so on. Many of these differences
are made through misinterpretation of
the old phrases. However, Brethren from
one jurisdiction should not criticize those
of another, we are all Brothers, and if you
could see what happens in all the world
of Freemasonry, you would be amazed.
I think it would have been interesting to
have sat in Lodge with Brother Kipling,
in India.

Not long ago, I met a visiting Brother
from the Netherlands Antilles, under the
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the
Netherlands. After the Lodge meeting,
where we had witnessed a Master Mason
degree, he remarked that he had found
the ritual to be too " Christian. " He said
that in his Lodge, they don't even HAVE
prayers. (I have not heard of this before,
in Masonic Lodges.) I understand that
the Grand Lodge of Belgium wanted to
remove the Sacred Law from the Altar.
However, the United Grand Lodge of
England reminded them that if they did
so, they would no longer be recognized
as Freemasons. [(Three for the English.)
(That ' s " 3-cheers . " y ' all . )] Remember,
Brethren, that anytime you visit a Lodge
which does not display the Great Lights
in their proper place and have their
Charter readily available, turn thine self
around and flee from thither as this is not
a regular Lodge. It might be well to
inform your Lodge secretary so others
might not also follow in thy footsteps.

As to the title of "Worshipful, " I agree
with Brother Henderson. However, I
would like to see such a title as "Wor-
thy" used as a substitute. We will prob-
ably never see this change.

I think that this is enough for this time.
If you find space to print any of this
outpouring of my Masonic spirit, would
you please indicate at least that I reside
in Florida.

Paul R. Holmberg, MPS

Florida Chapter
