Basic Requirements to become a freemason:
* according to the United Grand Lodge of England: The essential qualifications for admission is that you have a belief in a Supreme Being. It is usual for candidates to be "mature men of 21 years and over", but in some circumstances candidates between the ages of 18 and 21 can be admitted; it is also understood that you have to be male.
* Freemasonry is NOT a religion, it is a social fraternity that teaches moral lessons through symbol, ritual and allegory; you can read about the Earth being populated by aliens that founded Atlantis on Google to, its not necessary the most reliable source of information.
* You will receive instruction on the "rules" once you become a Freemason, however, being a moral, social fraternity they deal with brotherhood, service to humankind, morality.
* There are no secrets in Freemasonry, you can read all of it online (as well as all the anti-mason rhetoris too). check out :www.masonicinfo.com (run by a Freemason) and www.freemasonrywatch.org (very anti-masonic) for some more info)
* yes, the anti-masonic folks have done a great job getting their sites at the top of all the search engines
* do a google search on "grand lodge of [your area]" and you should be able to find one for your area --- go to http://www.grandlodge-england.org/ and click on the information for freemasons link and they have a listing of all the lodges in the world...
* also, the Shriners are an appendant body of Freemasonry, you need to join a Blue Lodge and once you reach the 3rd degree, which despite what any anti-mason (informed or uninformed), is THE HIGHEST degree in Freemasonry. once you reach the 3rd degree, at least in the USA you can become a Shriner, in some places you may need to go through the Scottish (or York) rite which are also appendant bodies of Freemasonry and despite having degrees up to 33 (33 is an honorary degree you are awarded after years of exceptional service) are NOT higher than the 3rd degree of the Blue (a.k.a. craft, symbolic) Lodge
to some other points made:
* when someone uses "shadowy figure" it pretty much tells you where they are coming from and how reliable their opinions are likely to be; the "shadowy figure" was not the devil, in fact there was no "shadowy figure" and you cannot be a Freemason if you worship the devil. what is an 'electro-mason'? your personal experiences with freemasons should help guide you to the truth of who and what they are
* you only need to be 21, and in some jurisdictions, or if you are the son of a mason, 18 will do.
* every american president has NOT been a mason, here is a listing for you: http://bessel.org/presfmy.htm
* they are not the opposite, or anti-, christ...
* Neither Freemasonry nor the Shriners are a religion
* the oaths/obligations are symbolic and not literal, the only punishment you'd receive is being demitted (i.e. kicked out); but even that is highly unlikely, they should be taken seriously, but symbolically. to understand this, you will need to become a freemason (you can also look into some books by Carl Claudy)...
* freemasons do not embrace stalin, not sure where this came from...
* Christ's message was about peace and love and so is freemasonry; --- this from someone who calls himself/herself "spiritual GUNslinger"
* the link that Rux gives is to someone who claims to know all the political truths we all somehow miss, but there's nothing there about Freemasonry....
* freemasons are a very good group, performing over $1 billion of charity work in the USA each year, including free hospitals, as you know
* again, they do NOT worship satan; the ARE NOT and NEVERY HAVE been associated with the Illuminati; the Illiminati have not existed for almost 200 years
* the red cross is not associated with Freemasonry, but its not a bad organization either
* there are no lower level / higher level conspiracies where you learn the truth about freemasonry when you reach the "higher levels" don't believe this garbage
* there are no secrets in freemasonry
* columbus did not have the Templar logo on his sails...
* the bit about the 12 tribes of Israel, Lucifer and the Templars can go in with the same group that talks about aliens settling the Earth at Atlantis
* skull and bones are not associated with the freemasons, never have been
* the shriners have lots of hospitals all over the country, not just one burn hospital
* the bit about Leo is true, but he did this becase he was in France at the time and would have been killed by the French King had he not done so
* the freemasons are not demonic/satanic/secretive. again, don't listen to this uninformed mumbo jumbo
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