Whence Came You #206: The Survey and A.A.S.R.

Having been out of the loop with Freemasonry for over a year, and also not listening to the podcast since early 2014, I re-downloaded the Whence Came You App from Amazon to start listening again.

I knew it would be hard to try and get back to where I was, so I figured I'd start with a newer episode.

I chose #206, which discusses a survey I was unaware of existing (because I had so much going on in my life, I just didn't have the time to listen). Lo and behold, its like the best sort of dream being read to me.

The survey asked questions like whether or not brothers are getting what they want out of Freemasonry (Blue Lodge to York to Scottish). Not only were the majority of the answers in line with my personal feelings, but they sort of encouraged me for the future.

Furthermore, Brother Johnson discussed the A.A.S.R. NMJ and the recent articles in The Northern Light discussing the organization and its aims.

I posted to Reddit a few months ago, an essay I wrote entitled "In Defense of Ritual". This being a new blog, I have not yet posted it here but it will follow this post. The recent stance by the A.A.S.R. NMJ made clear in their periodical has all but sealed my choice to demit once I receive my dues statement. The act is not to betray what kindness that I received from the brothers who were there when I received my 32nd; the act of demitting is to make a stand against an organization which would appear to derive the esoteric nature of The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

To be good brothers and true is the great aim we have in mind for Freemasonry. The act of taking care of our brothers is a tenant of Freemasonry (Brotherly Love?). Philosophy and Esoteric lessons reflecting the most ancient teachings of all time are the aim of The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; my comment on this does not make it true but the work of Albert Pike makes this blatantly obvious.

Brother Pike did not spend over 30 years of his guiding The Scottish Rite, writing so much, researching so much, and giving his life to all that it had to teach, that its purpose would be strictly social. Although the Southern Jurisdiction did not completely accept his revisions and the organization has made revisions over the years, the very soul of The Scottish Rite still exists in The Southern Jurisdictions ritual.

The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction has made it apparently a mission to revise nearly all of the esoteric aspects and remove a personal connection by the use of DVD's to present degrees which have been stripped of their philosophical connection. The very fact that the 4th degree of the NMJ has been reduced to a simple "introduction" to freemasonry, devoid of any lesson, is a testament to my previous statement. 

To illustrate this point, the following is taken directly from"The Degree Rituals of The Supreme Council, 33°, AASR for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction United States of America":

"The prevailing attitude toward the ritual was best expressed in few words by McIlyar Lichliter in 1943, “Dead. Dull. Overloaded with symbolism.” Many agreed that what was needed was a more dramatic ritual. Nevertheless, no effective steps were taken to address the need."

The same manuscript goes on to state:

"The proposed ritual would introduce the candidate to the Rite as he identified with an exemplar passing through four dramatic scenes, each representing one of the coordinate Bodies of the Scottish Rite. In each scene, the exemplar would encounter some of the characters, dramatic situations, and philosophy presented in the degree rituals of the representative Body. In effect, the proposed ritual would be a ritualistic preview of the Scottish Rite degree system. Hopefully, it would encourage candidates to return to view the degree rituals they had not yet experienced. "

Unfortunately for myself, I found the 4th degree of the NMJ dead, dull, and devoid of the rich symbolism I had seen in The Master Mason Degree. Change is of course the only constant in this world, but somethings do not need modernizing. Obviously the times in which the Pike ritual was created were much different than today. However, sometimes one must put the effort into understanding the deep philosophical meaning of Pike's rich symbolism. To strip the degrees down to "food for babes" is to ruin a temple.

My final thesis is thus: Men will seek organizations where they can nurture fraternal bonds with others; Good men will seek Freemasonry where they can nurture fraternal bonds and improve themselves through the symbolism, philosophy, and ancient teachings that only Freemasonry can provide.

*This post is not to demean The A.A.S.R. NMJ but to provide my personal feelings on the current direction of the organization.