Not my photo, but worth sharing.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Musings on Faith
Recently on Ask MetaFilter somebody asked the question,
"How to secularists deal without the comfort of religion?"
I thought the discussion thread that follows was quite interesting, and so I forwarded it to my longtime friend J, with whom I've had stimulating conversations about religion and spirituality in the past. The last time we got onto the subject was about 5 years ago, and at the time I remember that he said he identified most with Scientific Pantheism, even if he wouldn't go so far as to call himself a Scientific Pantheist. I don't remember what I said at the time... Then as now I would have had a difficult time describing my personal sense of faith, which has evolved from my upbringing in the United Church of Christ.
Were I put on the spot and commanded to declare a religious affiliation, I would have to say Christian, even though I have not regularly attended a congregation since I was in high school, nor is my personal construct of a supreme being of the "old guy with a white robe and long beard" type. The more I have learned about other religions, the more nebulous my sense of "God" has gotten; there are so many similarities from faith to faith that I cannot subscribe to the notion that the monotheistic God I was raised to believe in is somehow fundamentally different, or more or less valid than the monotheistic Gods other people are raised to believe in.
During our renewed discussion on this subject, I found out that J. has moved beyond pantheism to atheism; I had made a comment to the effect that I tend to feel sorry for militant atheists - not because I believe they are going to hell, or that they're bad people, or that they're somehow inferior to me, but because they so often give me the impression that they find little joy or wonderment in the world around them. J. countered that he knew very few atheists who didn't feel some kind of awe when presented with a beautiful sunset or stunning vista... or, for that matter, an elegant mathematical formula or piece of software code. It's just than an atheist doesn't make the added distinction of attributing those things to a supreme being.
The thought that keeps rattling around in my head is, then, how is being in awe of nature itself --or the raw physics and geometry of the universe, to put it more fundamentally-- not a kind of faith unto itself? I understand the desire to decouple it from the notion of a singular deity or formalized system of worship, but it seems like that's a semantic distinction, and that everyone is dancing around two sides of the same coin. I think people get hung up on semantics, and always approach the topic of religion with their own baggage (good or bad) and prejudices - I know I felt sheepish reading J's response after I had painted atheists with such a broad brush.
When I petitioned to join the Freemasons, I didn't have to grapple with the 'Supreme Being' question at all, but the modern, skeptical, analytical, 21st century part of me felt like I ought to... I don't often sit down and question my faith, but when I do I'm a little bit surprised to find how strong it is.
"How to secularists deal without the comfort of religion?"
I thought the discussion thread that follows was quite interesting, and so I forwarded it to my longtime friend J, with whom I've had stimulating conversations about religion and spirituality in the past. The last time we got onto the subject was about 5 years ago, and at the time I remember that he said he identified most with Scientific Pantheism, even if he wouldn't go so far as to call himself a Scientific Pantheist. I don't remember what I said at the time... Then as now I would have had a difficult time describing my personal sense of faith, which has evolved from my upbringing in the United Church of Christ.
Were I put on the spot and commanded to declare a religious affiliation, I would have to say Christian, even though I have not regularly attended a congregation since I was in high school, nor is my personal construct of a supreme being of the "old guy with a white robe and long beard" type. The more I have learned about other religions, the more nebulous my sense of "God" has gotten; there are so many similarities from faith to faith that I cannot subscribe to the notion that the monotheistic God I was raised to believe in is somehow fundamentally different, or more or less valid than the monotheistic Gods other people are raised to believe in.
During our renewed discussion on this subject, I found out that J. has moved beyond pantheism to atheism; I had made a comment to the effect that I tend to feel sorry for militant atheists - not because I believe they are going to hell, or that they're bad people, or that they're somehow inferior to me, but because they so often give me the impression that they find little joy or wonderment in the world around them. J. countered that he knew very few atheists who didn't feel some kind of awe when presented with a beautiful sunset or stunning vista... or, for that matter, an elegant mathematical formula or piece of software code. It's just than an atheist doesn't make the added distinction of attributing those things to a supreme being.
The thought that keeps rattling around in my head is, then, how is being in awe of nature itself --or the raw physics and geometry of the universe, to put it more fundamentally-- not a kind of faith unto itself? I understand the desire to decouple it from the notion of a singular deity or formalized system of worship, but it seems like that's a semantic distinction, and that everyone is dancing around two sides of the same coin. I think people get hung up on semantics, and always approach the topic of religion with their own baggage (good or bad) and prejudices - I know I felt sheepish reading J's response after I had painted atheists with such a broad brush.
When I petitioned to join the Freemasons, I didn't have to grapple with the 'Supreme Being' question at all, but the modern, skeptical, analytical, 21st century part of me felt like I ought to... I don't often sit down and question my faith, but when I do I'm a little bit surprised to find how strong it is.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
An important distinction
I was over at The Burning Taper a moment ago and noticed a small declaration in the sidebar:
The Examined Life, too, is not a Masonic blog. Most, if not all of the posts I have made here are related to Freemasonry, but (and I should put a disclaimer somewhere in my template to this effect) the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own, and should in no way be interpreted as representative of the views of my lodge or grand lodge, nor should they be interpreted as claiming to be somehow authoritative. Not that anyone (to my knowledge) has received them as such.
When common sense is exercised, such a disclaimer should be implicit, but in light of some of the incivility I have witnessed in the Masonic blogging community over the last couple of months, I want to say it again:
This is not a Masonic blog.
This is a blog by a Free Mason.
Part of the reason that I have posted so little since the summer has been that after all of the voluminous thinking out loud that I did back in June and July, I have worked things out for myself and feel like I have a pretty good sense of what to expect when I am finally made a Mason.
In June I spent many hours scouring the internet for information about Freemasonry, trying to find the elusive answer to the big question, "What the hell do you guys Do?"
Early on I latched on to the more spiritual, esoteric answers to that question, excited by the thought of joining a venerable group of free-thinkers and taking part in centuries-old rituals to help further the fraternity.
Later on I realized that the much maligned Potluck-and-Cribbage-Tournament aspect of Freemasonry holds its own appeal. After years of living in one community, working in another, and not making many friends in either, good fellowship is something I am very much looking forward to.
As flamewars erupted over last year's events in West Virginia and Ohio, I also realized that I am just as likely to find disagreements, sometimes acrimonious, inside the lodge as I am in the PTA, in a church congregation, or on an amateur softball team. Freemasons should aspire to subdue their passions, but they aren't Vulcans.
In other words, it comes back to another saying you often hear applied to Freemasonry: You get out of it what you put into it. For me this is best summed up by this excellent diagram (and accompanying article) by Bro. John Belton. That unique overlap of social, spiritual, ritual, and intellectual is what drew me to Freemasonry, and it seems like Masons who work at balancing these aspects will have the best experience (and make the best experience for their Brothers.)
I should point out again, however, that I have drawn all of my conclusions on second-hand experiences of American Freemasonry in the 21st century; once I am actually inducted and begin participating in my own lodge, I may find myself singing a drastically different tune... or not. I don't want to speculate, hence my relative silence as I await the first degree.
This is not a Masonic blog.
This is a blog by a Free Mason.
The Examined Life, too, is not a Masonic blog. Most, if not all of the posts I have made here are related to Freemasonry, but (and I should put a disclaimer somewhere in my template to this effect) the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own, and should in no way be interpreted as representative of the views of my lodge or grand lodge, nor should they be interpreted as claiming to be somehow authoritative. Not that anyone (to my knowledge) has received them as such.
When common sense is exercised, such a disclaimer should be implicit, but in light of some of the incivility I have witnessed in the Masonic blogging community over the last couple of months, I want to say it again:
This is not a Masonic blog.
This is a blog by a Free Mason.
Part of the reason that I have posted so little since the summer has been that after all of the voluminous thinking out loud that I did back in June and July, I have worked things out for myself and feel like I have a pretty good sense of what to expect when I am finally made a Mason.
In June I spent many hours scouring the internet for information about Freemasonry, trying to find the elusive answer to the big question, "What the hell do you guys Do?"
Early on I latched on to the more spiritual, esoteric answers to that question, excited by the thought of joining a venerable group of free-thinkers and taking part in centuries-old rituals to help further the fraternity.
Later on I realized that the much maligned Potluck-and-Cribbage-Tournament aspect of Freemasonry holds its own appeal. After years of living in one community, working in another, and not making many friends in either, good fellowship is something I am very much looking forward to.
As flamewars erupted over last year's events in West Virginia and Ohio, I also realized that I am just as likely to find disagreements, sometimes acrimonious, inside the lodge as I am in the PTA, in a church congregation, or on an amateur softball team. Freemasons should aspire to subdue their passions, but they aren't Vulcans.
In other words, it comes back to another saying you often hear applied to Freemasonry: You get out of it what you put into it. For me this is best summed up by this excellent diagram (and accompanying article) by Bro. John Belton. That unique overlap of social, spiritual, ritual, and intellectual is what drew me to Freemasonry, and it seems like Masons who work at balancing these aspects will have the best experience (and make the best experience for their Brothers.)
I should point out again, however, that I have drawn all of my conclusions on second-hand experiences of American Freemasonry in the 21st century; once I am actually inducted and begin participating in my own lodge, I may find myself singing a drastically different tune... or not. I don't want to speculate, hence my relative silence as I await the first degree.
Monday, December 31, 2007
It's Been Quite a Year
December has been a crazy month - even crazier than December usually is for those of us who observe Christmas.
My wife and I had been invited to my lodge's holiday dinner in the middle of the month, but unfortunately it was canceled due to a snowstorm. It would have been a welcome distraction from our main concern, which was the house we had been in the process of buying since the end of October.
We actually closed on the place on Christmas eve - probably the most expensive Christmas present we'll ever buy for ourselves.
Back in September I alluded to "other factors at work" in the context of wishing Summer would last just a little bit longer. At that time we had determined that we were ready to take the plunge and buy a home, but given our budget and the type of property we really wanted (A house with several acres, but not too far from civilization, and staying in New England) it looked like we were going to wind up moving to Maine. (That's why I was driving around Maine in October; doing reconnaissance.) Although I love Maine, I was not thrilled with the prospect of moving several hours away from family and our few local friends. I was also not crazy about the fact that a move to Maine would probably mean taking the degrees from my mother lodge and then skipping town.
Within days after returning from Maine, however, we found a few listings much closer to home in Massachusetts... they were all "fixer upper" properties, but they generally met our criteria, including budget. One in particular grabbed us; a 19th century post and beam home with plenty of land, a pond, and apple trees. It's now ours... there are several months of hard work ahead of us before we can actually move in, and many more months/years of hard work after that before it's done (as "done" as old places like this ever are), but in the long run it's going to be well worth it.
What's especially pleasing is that it's not much further from my mother lodge than where we live now, so I needn't worry about breaking off that fellowship before it's hardly begun... and at the same time, our new house is only a few miles from another lodge, which I will be petitioning once I get my dues card.
Speaking of my mother lodge, it's looking like the next round of degrees will be starting in February. If you had told me *last* February that I would be joining the Freemasons a year hence, I would probably have scoffed. The seeds of getting involved in my community had been planted by a couple of co-workers, (one in the Knights of Columbus and numerous other organizations, the other in the Elks), but given my grueling commute at the time there was no way I would have considered taking on any additional commitments.
Happy new year - it promises to be another interesting one for me!
My wife and I had been invited to my lodge's holiday dinner in the middle of the month, but unfortunately it was canceled due to a snowstorm. It would have been a welcome distraction from our main concern, which was the house we had been in the process of buying since the end of October.
We actually closed on the place on Christmas eve - probably the most expensive Christmas present we'll ever buy for ourselves.
Back in September I alluded to "other factors at work" in the context of wishing Summer would last just a little bit longer. At that time we had determined that we were ready to take the plunge and buy a home, but given our budget and the type of property we really wanted (A house with several acres, but not too far from civilization, and staying in New England) it looked like we were going to wind up moving to Maine. (That's why I was driving around Maine in October; doing reconnaissance.) Although I love Maine, I was not thrilled with the prospect of moving several hours away from family and our few local friends. I was also not crazy about the fact that a move to Maine would probably mean taking the degrees from my mother lodge and then skipping town.
Within days after returning from Maine, however, we found a few listings much closer to home in Massachusetts... they were all "fixer upper" properties, but they generally met our criteria, including budget. One in particular grabbed us; a 19th century post and beam home with plenty of land, a pond, and apple trees. It's now ours... there are several months of hard work ahead of us before we can actually move in, and many more months/years of hard work after that before it's done (as "done" as old places like this ever are), but in the long run it's going to be well worth it.
What's especially pleasing is that it's not much further from my mother lodge than where we live now, so I needn't worry about breaking off that fellowship before it's hardly begun... and at the same time, our new house is only a few miles from another lodge, which I will be petitioning once I get my dues card.
Speaking of my mother lodge, it's looking like the next round of degrees will be starting in February. If you had told me *last* February that I would be joining the Freemasons a year hence, I would probably have scoffed. The seeds of getting involved in my community had been planted by a couple of co-workers, (one in the Knights of Columbus and numerous other organizations, the other in the Elks), but given my grueling commute at the time there was no way I would have considered taking on any additional commitments.
Happy new year - it promises to be another interesting one for me!
Monday, November 26, 2007
EA Dream
I had an interesting dream last night, in which I was about to take the Entered Apprentice degree. I don't believe I've had any Masonic dreams before, at least none that I remembered.
You'd expect that a dream about an initiation ceremony would concern itself with the actual ceremony, but that wasn't the case. For me, it was all about the preparation. It's all a bit hazy this morning, but key details were:
You'd expect that a dream about an initiation ceremony would concern itself with the actual ceremony, but that wasn't the case. For me, it was all about the preparation. It's all a bit hazy this morning, but key details were:
- I was expecting to change into the one-sleeved, one-legged getup, but to my dismay the lodge had no such garments, and I was told that I'd have to just undergo the degree in my boxers and t-shirt.
- Having dutifully stripped to my undergarments, I was asked to step out of the lodge for a few moments, which was inexplicably in a labyrinthine shopping-mall type complex that was totally unfamiliar to me.
- My parents were in some sort of assembly in a nearby room, and greeted me enthusiastically as they left. I had the impression that they had been watching a "So someone in your family has decided to become a Freemason" presentation, kind of like the pamphlets new petitioners get.
- When the time came for me to go back into the lodge, they flicked the lights on and off intermission style. It was at this point that I realized I was lost, and I kept trying fruitlessly to find the entrance to the lodge. The sense of urgency grew with each wrong turn and dead end, until finally I woke up from anxiety/frustration.
- Clearly, a variant on the classic "naked in front of class" dream.
- Big labyrinthine spaces have always been a pretty common dream element for me, which is probably why I liked Doom and Quake so much.
- At Thanksgiving my grandfather asked if I had been initiated yet. My dad, aunt, and brother were within earshot, and I felt vaguely uncomfortable. As excited and supportive as Grampa is, I think that deep down I'm still concerned about other family members' impressions of this whole adventure.
- I'm anxious about either slipping through the cracks or not being able to make another EA degree ceremony as happened back in September.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Soooooo.... How did the whole Masons thing turn out?
My good friend J. and I have known each other since 9th grade. My family moved away after 10th grade, but we stayed periodically in touch by letter through the rest of high school and early college. We lost touch for a few years in the mid-nineties, but when I looked him up again and dropped him a line via e-mail we picked up the threads quite naturally, and in many ways our renewed e-mail correspondence was just like the messages we used to exchange on local BBS systems in the late eighties.
Nowadays it's pretty common for several months to go by between e-mail exchanges, and there's never any reproach or apology necessary... as with the first email, we just pick up where we left off.
Our last exchange this year was back in June, not long after I petitioned my lodge... I told him why I had decided to join, citing most of the reasons listed in early posts of this weblog, and I was curious to see what he thought. The idea of joining a fraternal/service organization is "not his cuppa," but he understood what I'm looking for and was very curious to see what my experience was.
The other day I got a very brief e-mail from J., simply saying
I was a little bit chagrined to have to tell him "I'll let you know when I find out!"
It's interesting how perspectives and priorities change - over the last month or so I have been preoccupied with the purchase of my first house, and as a result I have withdrawn from obsessing over Masonic minutia, going back to something more like my perspective as a total "outsider" early this summer. That's not to say that I'm not still very much looking forward to joining... just that most of my mental energy is going somewhere else right now.
The recent news about Halcyon Lodge #2 (Formerly #498 under the G.L. of Ohio) is very interesting. From a Masonic perspective, I think it's too bad that the brothers ultimately felt that they had no choice but to sever their ties from the Grand Lodge. I also think it's too bad that the only thing critics of the split seem to have to say is, "If these men would just be good Masons and listen to their Grand Lodges then they wouldn't be discontented!"
What I find even more interesting, though, is what the whole situation must look like to a total outsider who has no stake in Freemasonry. I mean no disrespect to the brothers of Halcyon #2 and wish them great success in their endeavor, but you have to admit that a profane who has seen the beloved "Homer the Great" episode of The Simpsons would immediately point out that Halcyon #2 has pretty much just established the Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers.
Nowadays it's pretty common for several months to go by between e-mail exchanges, and there's never any reproach or apology necessary... as with the first email, we just pick up where we left off.
Our last exchange this year was back in June, not long after I petitioned my lodge... I told him why I had decided to join, citing most of the reasons listed in early posts of this weblog, and I was curious to see what he thought. The idea of joining a fraternal/service organization is "not his cuppa," but he understood what I'm looking for and was very curious to see what my experience was.
The other day I got a very brief e-mail from J., simply saying
Soooooo.... How did the whole Masons thing turn out?
I was a little bit chagrined to have to tell him "I'll let you know when I find out!"
It's interesting how perspectives and priorities change - over the last month or so I have been preoccupied with the purchase of my first house, and as a result I have withdrawn from obsessing over Masonic minutia, going back to something more like my perspective as a total "outsider" early this summer. That's not to say that I'm not still very much looking forward to joining... just that most of my mental energy is going somewhere else right now.
The recent news about Halcyon Lodge #2 (Formerly #498 under the G.L. of Ohio) is very interesting. From a Masonic perspective, I think it's too bad that the brothers ultimately felt that they had no choice but to sever their ties from the Grand Lodge. I also think it's too bad that the only thing critics of the split seem to have to say is, "If these men would just be good Masons and listen to their Grand Lodges then they wouldn't be discontented!"
What I find even more interesting, though, is what the whole situation must look like to a total outsider who has no stake in Freemasonry. I mean no disrespect to the brothers of Halcyon #2 and wish them great success in their endeavor, but you have to admit that a profane who has seen the beloved "Homer the Great" episode of The Simpsons would immediately point out that Halcyon #2 has pretty much just established the Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers.
Friday, November 2, 2007
On to November
It's hard to believe it's been about five months since I began reading up on fraternal/service organizations. It didn't take me long to zero in on the Freemasons, and five months later I'm still positive I made the right decision, especially after hearing my father and uncle talk about their brief experiences with the Rotary (My dad joined briefly while living in western New York in the 1960's or 70's, and my uncle thought about joining in southern Connecticut) and the Lions (my dad was a guest of a member at a few Lions club meetings in southern New Hampshire in the 1990's).
Apparently the Rotary had a policy where missing a meeting or luncheon meant having to pay extra fees on top of your annual dues. Similarly, what my dad saw at the Lions club was the singling out and ridicule of anyone who had missed a meeting or two in front of the whole assembly. My dad didn't spend long with the Rotarians, and never even bothered to join the Lions with the kind of attitude he saw there.
Disclaimer: this is obviously a second-hand and a very small sampling of experiences with the Rotary and Lions clubs. However, of all the complaints I have heard about the Freemasons, absentee fines and the harassment of infrequent attendees were not among them. While it may be true that the currently low annual dues make brothers value their membership less (which in turns leads to people paying their dues but not attending lodge, or drifting away altogether), I can't imagine wanting to belong to a club that hits me with a fine if I can't get to a meeting one week, or razzes me about it the next time I show up.
Hopefully things in my district will get back on track after October's official visits and installation of officers, and I'll get the chance to take the first degree I missed in September. I know it will be worth the wait.
Apparently the Rotary had a policy where missing a meeting or luncheon meant having to pay extra fees on top of your annual dues. Similarly, what my dad saw at the Lions club was the singling out and ridicule of anyone who had missed a meeting or two in front of the whole assembly. My dad didn't spend long with the Rotarians, and never even bothered to join the Lions with the kind of attitude he saw there.
Disclaimer: this is obviously a second-hand and a very small sampling of experiences with the Rotary and Lions clubs. However, of all the complaints I have heard about the Freemasons, absentee fines and the harassment of infrequent attendees were not among them. While it may be true that the currently low annual dues make brothers value their membership less (which in turns leads to people paying their dues but not attending lodge, or drifting away altogether), I can't imagine wanting to belong to a club that hits me with a fine if I can't get to a meeting one week, or razzes me about it the next time I show up.
Hopefully things in my district will get back on track after October's official visits and installation of officers, and I'll get the chance to take the first degree I missed in September. I know it will be worth the wait.
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