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Post by corab on Sept 23, 2007 14:21:02 GMT
The problem here is that any attempt to replace the Holy Bible with another volume will run foul of the principles of GL Recognition and the Aims and Relations of the Craft as agreed upon by the 'home' Grand Lodges of England, Ireland and Scotland. Why is that a 'problem'? Co-masonry isn't recognised by them in the first place, and I have yet to meet a co-mason who is genuinely bothered by that.
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Post by gaslight on Sept 24, 2007 2:05:54 GMT
Lauderdale and CoraB:
Thanks for your responses to my post about the strictures imposed by the Concordat between the three 'home' GLs. When I wrote that post, I wasn't thinking about your jurisdictions: I was referring to the way the unambiguous wording of the Concordat, Aims and Relations of the Craft, etc. have made any internal change very difficult. To go from VSL=Holy Bible to something like Bro. JMD's three symbols would require nothing short of a cataclysmic upheaval in the three 'home' GLs.
What the consequences, if any, of such an upheaval would be for your jurisdictions is another matter.
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Post by thedixiemason on Sept 24, 2007 4:35:57 GMT
It wouldn't fly in my jurisdiction; that I can guarantee.
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Post by corab on Sept 24, 2007 11:16:48 GMT
Bro:. Gaslight,
Thanks for clarifying that -- you truly had me at a loss for a moment!
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Post by gaslight on Sept 24, 2007 13:58:08 GMT
Bro:. Gaslight, Thanks for clarifying that -- you truly had me at a loss for a moment! And sorry for the communication blip. If it ever happens again, just assume that we're on the same wavelength.
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jmd
Member
fourhares.com
Posts: 1,081
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Post by jmd on Sept 25, 2007 2:52:17 GMT
Just to clarify, the idea is not mine: rather, this is what is actually used in some Lodges in France, and presumably elsewhere.
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Post by Marcel on Oct 23, 2007 14:03:03 GMT
Just as a "side thingy": The "Do what thou wilt" of Thelema does in no way take away Ethics or responsability. Thelema has Ethics and they circulate around individuality. In the O.T.O. the fact that you adhere to "Do what thou wilt" and at the same time take an obligation to the O.T.O. is one of the "Mystical contradictions" through the degrees (ie: the work of the Order is a tool to do your will, and so would a membership in Masonry be and any other self imposed discipline not oposing your will). Some Religions do not Have a book considered canonical in the way the Bible is by Christians. I have a hard time seeing one of my Hellenic friends placing his hand on the Homeric hymns. In some Religions, trust in the written word is even prohibited (though i have a hard time seeing a Discordian Mason too to be honest). In Asatru the "correct" way to swear an oath is on either a ring (big enough to fit around an arm) or on the hammer. Aestethically both a ring (circle) and a hammer would look very much in line with Masonic symbolism. On the other hand, in Asatru all vows are considered binding anyway regardless of when, where and why they where made. If there is to be room within an Order for those of minority Religions this problem will eventually arise. And to think Ethics is something unique to Religous people is to me a strange notion. Guidelines might differ but Ethics can be drawn from Philosophy (proper, since it´s one of it´s four main branches),political standpoints and a host of ideas. Not all of them with a core book. Btw: "A blank book" is not an oxymoron since a book is a physical object. "A blank text" would have been though.
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Post by tws on Oct 23, 2007 14:43:37 GMT
And to think Ethics is something unique to Religous people is to me a strange notion. Guidelines might differ but Ethics can be drawn from Philosophy (proper, since it´s one of it´s four main branches),political standpoints and a host of ideas. Not all of them with a core book. Ethics crosses all boundries. The atheist can be (and usually are) as ethical as those proffessing a strong religious belief. The "Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle would be a good core book. One that I highly recommend.
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jmd
Member
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Posts: 1,081
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Post by jmd on Oct 24, 2007 9:20:33 GMT
Actually, tws, I would go further than you on this, in that ethical considerations have naught to do with religion, but rather have their own intrinsic aspect. For example, if a religion advocates that someone who holds different views be beheaded, than following that action, though perhaps religiously justifiable, is nonetheless morally wrong: we can sense into the ethical dimension of situations and discern moral acts independently of any book.
This does not deny the importance of books as transmitters of various people's views (whether it be Moses or Aristotle), nor does it deny that a book may be held as sacred. Rather, it points out that even the actions promulgated within a book deemed sacred can be questioned for its moral elucidation.
Personally, the philosophical text I hold most highly in terms of its ethical dimension is Steiner's Philosophy of Freedom.
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mohod
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by mohod on Jul 14, 2008 7:51:38 GMT
I think, as MM:., we need to loose our grip on the VLS. After all, everything within the Craft is symbolic. The VLS, like all other symbols, is but a tool which enables us to find deeper truths within the Microcosmos of our Inner Temples.
If a blank book can help a man realize and understand those inner truths...who am I to take it away from him?
The book has been given us, whichever book that may be. It's up to us to translate that book into our own spiritual and very personal language.
So say I.
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imakegarb
Member
One wee, sleeket, cowran, tim'rous beastie
Posts: 3,573
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Post by imakegarb on Jul 14, 2008 16:29:04 GMT
Hello Mohod and welcome to Masonic Forum of Light ;D
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