The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

840
Chapter 10 - Conclusion
adhered to the dogmas of the Immortality of the Soul, and the belief in a
Supreme God. This will sound rather novel to American Masonic ears:
that a Mason should dispute the existence of God, and the immortality
of the Soul is such an anomaly that one can scarcely believe it possible
that such a thing could be, and yet it is true, "and pity 'tis true." 2059
He denounces "those demagogue clap trap words, "Liberte, Fraternite,
Egalite, [sic]" which have usurped the "old orthodox and fundamental laws of
Masonry," 2060 and expresses his disappointment at the degeneration of French
Masonry in its doctrines and teachings, which is proven by the fact that the
question whether the belief in God constitutes a part of the Masonic creed is
openly discussed in Masonic bodies. Another American Mason goes even further
by saying that the French Masons cannot be seen as brethren any more:
To further acknowledge them as brethren, is to make ourselves
particeps criminis in their default, and to forswear every title by which
we have been bound as members of the institution. It can not be done,
and until the gentlemen who control affairs in France shall recover from
their insanity, it seems to us that, so far as Masonry is concerned, France
must be considered as a blank space on the map of the world, and
French Masonry extinguished in the dark night of infidelity. 2061
Even worse than the fact that the separatist expressions "French Masonry,"
"American Masonry," and the like are used is the fact that, as the last statement
shows, little tolerance exists between the Masons of different countries,
especially so far as the spiritual conception is concerned. The metaphor "a blank
space on the map of the world" signifies that the French brotherhood is to be
erased from the universal map, because it has sunk into the "dark night of
infidelity."
10.6 The System as a Whole: The Rites,
Higher Degrees and Side Degrees
The original three degrees did not stand alone for long; higher degrees and
side degrees have evolved in order to satisfy the needs of new generations and to
fit into the social and political environment of new ages. Such, female and
androgynous orders have developed with the emancipation of women, and Prince
Hall Masonry came into being with the growing self-consciousness of the
2059 Ibid; italics as in the original.
2060 Ibid, p. 271.
2061 Moore, Masonic Review, N° 36, 1869, article by J. W. Simons, p. 83.