Usenet FAQ Version 1.1 October 20, 1994 _________________________________________________________________ 0. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, INTRODUCTION, AND TABLE OF CONTENTS (1) Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Roger Ingersoll, whose Masonic FTP archives provided substantial portions of this FAQ. Where possible, I have included specific credits to the authors of those files, though several are anonymous. Note that one of the sources credited here is FMBITS.TXT, which has the following disclaimer as its preface: "With apologies, the original source for the following information has been lost. It probably came from either the Philatethes or the Southern California Research Lodge. The file has been stored in my Computer for a couple of years. Enjoy! William N. Wine (Sysop) #72435,1512 [ Masonry Forum Compuserve 07/11/93]". Many people have worked on this FAQ, by writing suggestions, pointing out errors, offering corrections, and help of other sorts. Honors are due to Ron Boutwell, Steven Cranmer, Earl K. Dille, Bob Dixon, Ed Greenberg, Bill Hickey, Joy Leavy, Paul Leger, Stephen Morris, Tom Schnorrenberg, Michael Shelby, Robert H. Starr, David R. B. Walker, Catherine Yronwode. I'm sure someone somewhere is reading this right now and saying "that @#$@#$A$ forgot me!" If so, my deepest apologies! Please speak up and you'll be added to the honor roll in the future. Several other people have offered to lend a helping hand with this FAQ, and while their work does not appear in this edition, it most likely will in future versions, so I offer them thanks in advance. Finally, thanks to the Grand Lodge of Michigan, whose lectures provided the basis of the "Famous Freemasons" list. (2) Introduction This FAQ is version 1.1, which includes a number of revisions, suggestions, and reactions to version 1.0. It is still not complete and final, though we are slowly getting there. One of the major changes is that it is now split into parts, to make distribution easier. Also, some newsreaders can't handle large articles, so this should alleviate the problem. Any question you see marked with an asterisk should be considered incomplete. If you take issue with something or want to help out in authoring any part of this FAQ, please drop me a line. Even catching (gasp!) spelling errors would be a great help. Also note that there are some areas that are not asterisked, but should be thought of as "permanently asterisked" because their information may change or could always be added to. For example, do you know of any other names to add in the famous Freemasons section? Are you aware of other FTP sites? Any books you would recommend? Etcetera. Finally, it should be stated without fail that no Mason, no Master, no Grand Master can speak for all of Masonry. The answers provided herein are not "authoritative" in the sense that they are universally true for all Masons everywhere and reflect the beliefs of all Masons. There are differences between each jurisdiction, and in general there are differences between US Grand Lodges and Grand Lodges in other countries. Of course, the high ideals and noble principles of Masonry remain the same the world over, but some of the fine points and details may vary. So remember: nothing here is "gospel". This FAQ is intended to provide a summation of commonly-given answers to commonly-asked questions on the net. Andrew Fabbro afabbro@umich.edu Ann Arbor Fraternity Lodge No. 262 Free & Accepted Masons, Grand Lodge of Michigan (3) Table of Contents Each Roman numeral is a separate file. I. MASONRY ON USENET AND THE INTERNET (1) Where is this FAQ available? (2) Is there a mailing list? (3) Are there any FTP sites? (4) Are there any Wide World Web Masonic resources? *(5)* What about CompuServe, AOL, Prodigy, GEnie, Delphi, and other commercial services? (6) What is alt.freemasonry for? (7) What is alt.masonic.members for? (8) What is alt.masonic.demolay for? (9) Hey! Somebody just posted some nonsense about how Masons worship Satan and sell their soul to the Reverend Moon! What should I do about it? II. WHO/WHAT ARE MASONS? (1) What is Freemasonry? (2) What is the Scottish Rite? (3) What is the York Rite? (4) What is the Shrine? *(5)* Are there other appendant bodies? (6) What is the Eastern Star? *(7)* What is DeMolay/Rainbow? *(8)* What is Co-Masonry? *(9)* What is Prince Hall Masonry? (10) What is a 33rd degree Mason? (11) Are there any Masonic functions that I can attend as a non-Mason? (12) Who is the head of the Masons? (13) Are there dues, fees, etc. associated with being a Mason? (14) I hear Masons refer to an "apron". What is that? (15) What is a "Masonic Funeral"? III. RESPONSE TO COMMON NEWSGROUP FLAMES & TROLLS (1) Do Masonic rituals have Pagan elements? (2) Do Masonic rituals have Satanic elements? (3) Do Masons have to swear terrible oaths? Are people killed when they break them? (4) Does Masonry teach magic(k)? (5) Masons believe in a special heaven for Masons only, don't they? IV. PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS & MYTHS (1) Are Masons just a bunch of old men? Isn't Masonry dying out? (2) Aren't Masons racist/elitist? (3) Isn't Masonry just a place where businessmen make deals? (4) I see titles like "Worshipful Master" and "Senior Deacon"-- is this some kind of cult? (5) Masonry is a secret society, right? (6) Masonry is a religion, right? (7) Are Masons really controlling the world/meeting with the Bavarian Illuminati/members of the Trilateralist Commission/etc? (8) Masons are anti-Catholic, right? (9) Masonic rituals are demeaning or embarrassing to the candidate, right? (10) I heard/read a Mason talking about a "Masonic Bible". Do Masons have their own Bible? (11) I see that Masonic buildings are called Temples. Does that mean that Masons worship there? V. HOW DO I BECOME A MASON? (1) What are the requirements for becoming a Mason? (2) Can s be Masons? (3) Can homosexuals be Masons? (4) I have a physical disability. Can I be a Mason? (5) Can be a Mason? (6) Can Catholics be Masons? (7) Can Wiccans be Masons? (8) What if my religion does not allow the swearing of oaths? (9) Do I have to be invited? (10) OK, I'm interested-- how do I proceed? VI. HISTORY (1) Where did Masons come from? (2) What US Presidents have been Masons? (3) Was Thomas Jefferson a Mason? Patrick Henry? Abraham Lincoln? (4) What famous people have been Masons? (5) What famous buildings in the US have been laid Masonically? *(6)* What's the difference between AF&AM and F&AM? (7) Was Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, a Mason? (8) What is the oldest Lodge Room in the world? In the US? (9) Is it true that all of George Washington's generals during the Revolutionary War were Masons? (10) Is it true that all the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons? The Articles of Confederation? The Constitution? (11) George Washington turned down the title of "Grand Master of the United States"-- true? (12) Why do some Lodges meet on a certain day of the week "following the full moon"? Are Masons some kind of moon worshippers? (13) Did Masons suffer at the hands of the Nazis? *(14)* Are Masons connected to Greek-letter college fraternities? *(15)* I want information on Masonic history. What books would be good introductions? (16) My local Library doesn't have any books on Freemasonry, where can I find them? *(17)* What movies/books feature Masonry? I. MASONRY ON USENET AND THE INTERNET (1) Where is this FAQ available? (2) Is there a mailing list? (3) Are there any FTP sites? (4) Are there any Wide World Web Masonic resources? *(5)* What about CompuServe, AOL, Prodigy, GEnie, Delphi, and other commercial services? (6) What is alt.freemasonry for? (7) What is alt.masonic.members for? (8) What is alt.masonic.demolay for? (9) Hey! Somebody just posted some nonsense about how Masons worship Satan and sell their soul to the Reverend Moon! What should I do about it? (1) Where is this FAQ available? This FAQ is available by FTP from Roger Ingersoll's FTP archives (see question 3 of this section). It is available on the AFS file system, in the /afs/umich.edu/users/a/f/afabbro/Public directory. This FAQ is also available by e-mail request to afabbro@umich.edu. It is posted monthly to alt.freemasonry, alt.masonic.demolay, and alt.masonic.members. (2) Is there a mailing list? Yes. Send e-mail to freemasonry-list@sacsa3.mp.usbr.gov with a message asking to be subscribed (e.g., "Please subscribe me. My name is Benjamin Franklin and my e-mail address is bfranklin@cont.congress.gov"). The exact syntax of your request is not important, as it will be read by a human. (3) Are there any FTP sites? Yes. Roger Ingersoll maintains a large collection of Masonic material at ftp.netcom.com, in the /pub/rogeri/freemasonry directory. (4) Are there any Wide World Web Masonic resources? Yes. Try http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/dryfoo/Masons/Main-page.html *(5)* What about CompuServe, AOL, Prodigy, GEnie, Delphi, and other commercial services? On CompuServe, type GO MASONRY to reach the Masonry forum. (The answer is also yes for AOL and GEnie, and possibly the others-- more information as ...
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