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Post by redcoat on Jul 5, 2011 10:20:06 GMT
Very interesting information about the James ossuary, what did they have to say about the others? The James ossuary was allegedly stolen from when the tomb was excavated and has always been in doubt.
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Post by redcoat on Jul 4, 2011 14:26:11 GMT
"Yet, they seem to be important enough to have been used in Anderson's Constitutions."
According to what I copied from the Academia Lodge No. 847 web site this image was not part of the original Anderson's Constitutions of 1723 but was later included in the 1784 edition.
Descendit e Caelo ("It descends from heaven") Frontispiece to The Book of Constitutions 1784 edition
This was published as the frontispiece (illustration facing the title page) of the 1784 edition of James Anderson's Constitutions of Freemasory. It was designed and drawn by Giovanni Battista Cipriani and Paul Sandby (brother of the famous architect). The actual engraving is by Francesco Bartolozzi and James Fittler. An unnumbered page within the book offers this explanation of the piece: "The architectural part represents the inside of Free-masons' Hall.The uppermost figure is Truth, holding a mirror, which reflects its rays on divers ornaments of the Hall, and also on the Globes and other Masonic Furniture and Implements of the Lodge. Truth is attended by the three Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity: under these, the Genius of Masonry, commissioned by Truth and her Attendants, is descending into the Hall, bearing a lighted Torch; she is decorated with some of the Masonic Emblems, and on her arm hangs a ribbon with a Medal pendant, with which she is to invest the Grand Master, in token of the Divine approbation of a Building sacred to Charity and Benevolence."
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Post by redcoat on Jul 4, 2011 14:14:31 GMT
I find it hard to believe that someone faked the patina especially when you consider the scientific evidence present to show that the stolen James Ossuary had the same patina as the others.
The ossuaries sat in a warehouse for over 20 years without anyone knowing about them other than the state. If there was a conspiracy I would suggest that it was a conspiracy of silence because bring the worlds attention to this discovery would not please the Church or the Jewish State. The plausibility of Christ's material body along with a wife and child would be too unsettling for Christendom, and proof that he did exist would not go down well with the Jewish State.
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Post by redcoat on Jul 4, 2011 13:56:06 GMT
In Canada having a demit entitles you to visit Lodges and partake in fellowship.
People obtain demits for many reasons such as a move to a new community or you simply don't like the Lodge you belong to. Obtaining a demit provides you with proof that you are a Freemason in good standing. Your demit shows that you have ceased to be a member of a particular lodge and are no long paying dues to it or its Grand jurisdiction.
As compared to being suspended for NPD. When you are suspended from the Craft and are no longer a legal Freemason. By being suspended for NPD or other causes you have no proof that you are in good standing and therefore cannot prove that you are a Freemason and cannot be allowed into a Lodge.
Due to the nature of my employment I have moved around quite a bit over the past 30 years and have obtained several demits and with them I have been able to shop around. Where I live now there are over 25 Lodges and having a demit enables you to check out different lodges as a visitor before deciding which one to affiliate with.
If you choose to affiliate with another Lodge then you written demit paves the way and after an investigation you can be voted a member of that Lodge.
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Post by redcoat on Jul 2, 2011 12:06:51 GMT
From a Masonic perspective I would encourage you to get a copy of "Harry Carr's World of Freemasonry" and read chapter 2 "Pillars & Globes: columns & Candlesticks". In which he points out that when the globes appeared on the scene they were not associated to the pillars and did not appear in the catechisms prior to 1744. There is no denying that the globes now relate to the terrestrial and celestial, but as I have stated before, try not to read too much into symbols and mistakenly assume that what we choose to interpret today was the way it always was.
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Post by redcoat on Jul 1, 2011 11:24:59 GMT
The link to Ken Brown's site no longer works is there a new one?
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Post by redcoat on Jul 1, 2011 11:13:18 GMT
Over twenty years ago I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation given by the CEO of the NGO the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on the challenges of providing aid to Africa.
What impressed me then was the fact that they had come to the realization that they were failing miserably in their objectives because in part they had not recognized the cultural realities they were faced with. In attempting to teach the locals how to become better farmers they spent a lot of time and money on teaching new skills to the men only to find out later that the men did not work in the fields because culturally it was women's work. The men they paid to go to school never applied the new skills they had been taught and by in large the money they were paid, was wasted on themselves instead of their families.
Once CIDA came to the realization that they first need to understand the culture, they redirected their aid to the women and they discovered that not only did the women benefit form the training and the training salary, the money the women received made its way into the family in the form of food clothing etc. for the children! They and other aid organizations have learned that by helping the women they benefit the children because in many communities the women will ensure that their children are cared for (food clothing and education) whereas too many men will squander the money and skills.
The title may be insulting to some but the reality is that the future of not only Africa rests in empowering women. We males in our comfortable cultures need to recognize that women in most of the world are oppressed and in many case are little more than property. The fact that most women put their children first is undeniable and in too many cultures the man is little more than the sperm donor! I say to Freemasons, if we espouse the virtues of charity we should recognize the cultural realities of how charity is used and abused and take an active role in ensuring it gets to those who will help themselves and more importantly their children rise above poverty, disease and become educated.
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Post by redcoat on Jul 1, 2011 10:10:33 GMT
I am not convinced one way or the other, but as far as "most historians" opinions on this topic I have to ask what are they basing their opinions on? The thing that I find compelling is the aspect of the odds of probability offered in this program. I am not a statistician but you have to scratch your head and say the odds combined with fact that for many people because of their own religious bias do not want to consider the possibility that this could be real, has to make you wonder.
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Post by redcoat on Jun 26, 2011 11:05:59 GMT
Being new to this forum got me wondering if there had been a discussion on the documentary/book "the Jesus Family Tom"b by Simcha Jacobovici. I could find nothing in search so decided to start this post.
When a Mason first views this documentary they cannot help but note the square over the tomb entrance. Essentially the documentary and followup book present a very strong case that this tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem contained the remains of not only Jesus but most of his immediate family.
Wikipedia provides the following:
The film describes the finding of the Talpiot Tomb during a housing construction project, and posits that it was the family tomb of Jesus. The film states that ten ossuaries were found in the cave, of which six are the subject of the film. Further, it claims that one of the ten ossuaries went missing years ago, presumably stolen.
The excavation report for the predecessor of the Israel Antiquities Authority was written by Amos Kloner, now professor of archaeology at Israel's Bar-Ilan University. Kloner dissociated himself from the claims made in the documentary. He said it was incorrect to call it "never before reported information" and that he had published all the details in the journal Antiqot in 1996. He had not said it was the tomb of Jesus' family.[1] "I think it is very unserious work. I do scholarly work…," Kloner said. "[This film] is all nonsense."[1]
The inscription described as Yeshua` bar Yehosef is the most disputed.[2][3][4]
Six of the nine remaining ossuaries bear inscriptions. The Lost Tomb of Jesus posits that three of those carry the names of figures from the New Testament.[5] The meanings of the epigraphs are disputed.[6] The makers of the documentary claim that four leading epigraphers have corroborated their interpretation of the inscriptions.[7] As translated in The Lost Tomb of Jesus and The Jesus Family Tomb, they read as follows: Yeshua bar Yehosef' -- Aramaic for "Jesus son of Joseph" Maria -- written in Aramaic script, but a Latin form of the Hebrew name "Miriam" ("Mary")[8] Yose -- a diminutive of "Joseph" mentioned (in its Greek form ιωσης "Joses") as the name of one of Jesus's brothers in the New Testament (Mark 6:3) Yehuda bar Yeshua -- possibly Aramaic for "Judah son of Jesus" Mariamene e Mara -- according to the filmmakers this is Greek for "Mary known as the master." The similar name "Mariamne" is found in the Acts of Philip. Francois Bovon, professor of the history of religion at Harvard University has said, based on his study of that work, "I do not believe that Mariamne is the real name of Mary of Magdalene. Mariamne is, besides Maria or Mariam, a possible Greek equivalent, attested by Josephus, Origen, and the Acts of Philip, for the Semitic Myriam."[9] Matya -- Hebrew for 'Matthew'—not claimed to be Matthew the Evangelist but "possibly a husband of one of the women in an unmarked ossuary."[7] The filmmakers claim that there is evidence that Mary mother of Jesus had many relatives named Matthew.[8] Four leading epigraphers have corroborated the ossuary inscriptions for The Lost Tomb of Jesus, according to the Discovery Channel.[10] William G. Dever, a retired professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona who has been excavating ancient sites in Israel for 50 years, said that some of the inscriptions on the Talpiot ossuaries are unclear, but that all of the names are common.[11]
The film further claims that the tenth ossuary, which went missing years ago, is the James Ossuary purported to contain the body of James, the brother of Jesus.[12]
In The Jesus Family Tomb, Simcha Jacobovici claims the James Ossuary would have been a part of this tomb, but was removed by artifact dealers, and thus discovered separately.[13] The James Ossuary's authenticity has been called into question, and one of its past owners has been charged with fraud in connection to the artifact. Ben Witherington III, who worked with Jacobovici on a Discovery Channel documentary on the James Ossuary, denies this connection on two grounds:
"The James ossuary, according to the report of the antiquities dealer that Oded Golan got the ossuary from, said that the ossuary came from Silwan, not Talpiot, and had dirt in it that matched up with the soil in that particular spot in Jerusalem." "Furthermore, Eusebius reports that the tomb marker for James's burial was close to where James was martyred near the temple mount, indeed near the famous tombs in the Kidron Valley such as the so-called Tomb of Absalom. Talpiot is nowhere near this locale."[14]
Another consideration was that the measurements of the James Ossuary did not match the measurements listed for the tenth ossuary, which is no longer stored with the rest of the collection. The James Ossuary was listed as being approximately 50 centimeters long by 30 centimeters wide on one end, and 25.5 centimeters on the other end.[15] The tenth ossuary in the Talpiot collection is listed as 60 centimeters long by 26 centimeters by 30 centimeters.[16] Furthermore, Amos Kloner has stated that the tenth ossuary had no inscription. Also, Joe Zias, former curator of the Rockefeller Museum who received and catalogued the ossuaries, refuted this claim on his personal site.[1]
New information has now shown that the discrepancy in the measurements had to do with measuring the base of the ossuary, which is indeed 50 centimeters, rather than the length. The top length of the James ossuary, not the base, which is trapezoid in shape, according to the latest remeasurement carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority, is 57.5 centimeters. However, this does not prove that the James ossuary is the missing tenth Talpiot ossuary.[17]
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Post by redcoat on Jun 25, 2011 11:55:52 GMT
It's been 30 years since my big night and it seems like yesterday! Enjoy.
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Post by redcoat on Jun 25, 2011 11:50:05 GMT
Not all legitimate Masonic jurisdictions include the Holy Saints John as part of their ritual. That does not make their ritual wrong. Rituals do vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and in some cases such as British Columbia & Yukon in Canada there are four "official rituals" within the same jurisdiction (Canadian, Ancient (American), Emulation and Australian) of which I believe only the Ancient refers to the Holy Saints John. Masons around the world need to recognize that the ritual practiced in their community is not the "official" standard for the rest of the world.
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Post by redcoat on Jun 25, 2011 11:39:35 GMT
The lectures related to the globes in relative terms are modern and do relate to the terrestrial and celestial. The actual globes found on pillars in lodges vary in design. Understandably some have stars while others signs of the zodiac. Try not to read too much into what you see, but with that said the ancients did relate the stars to the zodiac as both points of reference and for astronomy.
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Post by redcoat on Jun 25, 2011 10:23:26 GMT
It looks clear enough to me. I read Duke of Connaught Grand Master.
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Post by redcoat on Jun 25, 2011 10:16:22 GMT
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Post by redcoat on Jun 25, 2011 10:10:03 GMT
There are many topics that one can collect. We collect both stamps that honour Freemasonry and stamps that feature men who were Freemasons or events related to a Freemason. So far we have identified offer 7000 stamps.
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Post by redcoat on Jun 22, 2011 19:54:47 GMT
Greetings from Ottawa Canada.
I publish a free near monthly newsletter "the Watermark" for the Valley of Ottawa Masonic Stamp Club. If anyone would like a copy or would like to be on the distribution list just send me an email and I will add you to the list.
Larry
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