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March 3, 2004

.The Different Currents in .Freemasonry:

.Better Humans
.for a Better Society

.A Broadcast from Chris Mathieu

..Goethe, escor-
..ted by Schiller
..on a monument
..in Weimar, was
..a Freemason
....................................
..(Foto: AP)

“Somewhere you notice that you do want to experience more from the world, a song from Wolf Biermann comes to my mind here, a line: “ That cannot have been all, that little gogglebox and football-happiness, there must be something more.” And these people who are about 45-50 years old and have their lifes in order, they discover a hunger and they notice: the churches dont give them this satisfaction, nor the other unions, they are disappointed in the political parties, and these people are the real searchers, they go and look for more. And then it is a happy coincidence when they come across Freemasonry, because there an answer can be given to them.” (M.H.)

Mike H. is a Freemason since 22 years. Surrounded by a nearly unpenatrable cloak of silence, the Freemasons have their own language, symbols and rites. Their unions are called Obediencies, they call themselves Brothers, and they meet in Lodges and work there on the rough ashlar to form it for the Temple of Humanity. Famous German Freemasons were Frederik the Great, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Kurt Tucholski, or Carl von Ossietzki, to name a few. The creation of freemasonry is surrounded with many myths. From the pyramids of the Ancients, to the cathedralbuilders of the Middle Ages, into eigtheenth century England, we can see the legends emerge. Jean Rhein is Freemason in Luxemburg :

“Fact is, that nobels and representatives of the upper classes came together at the start of the eigteenth century, who were convinced of the necessity to come over the 200-300 years of Religion wars, in order to bring the philosophic discussions onto a higher level. Concretely, this were people around Isaac Newton, nobels, protestant and catholic referends who searched for a new common philosphical basis in England - beyond religious dogmas.” (J.R.)

Heinrich K. is a freemason since 48 years. The bond of Brothers he describes as a value based society :

“It is about these values which nearly all countries across the golbe have enacted. Namely the basic rights of the equality of people before the law. People are not equal, but the community of the un-equals and the equality befor the law is a very important idea. Secondly: a social obligation, that one should not prviledge a certain group of the population, of a certain standing, but that one should try to create as far as possible, a certain righteous equality in a human Society. The great ideas of Humanity, already mentioned, are French ideals: Freedom, Equality, Fraternity, what we could translate in this modern age as a obligation of solidarity towards everybody, these limbs of a community, which are to be found also across the borders of course.” (H.K.)

The Freemasons work firstly at them selves. They want to make better people. Yves Jacob is a Freemason for over 15 years. He is one of the officers of the French obedience “Grand Orient de France” and lives in Metz, and is responsibe for the Lodges in the Elzas, Lorraine , the Champagne, the Ardennes , and for the French Lodges in Germany :

“Mankind can understand the world around it from two points of view. At one point he can understand the world with his brains, and may let grow this knowledge with his logic. That is the ratio, the intellect, as it was already described by Descartes. And there is also the possibility to reach this knowledge from feeling, with intuition, that is the realm of the spirit, that is symbolism. We reach both: the ratio and the Spirit.” (I.J.)

Freemasons mostly meet twice a month in their lodges for the mutual templework. Here a mysterious ritual will be practised :

“If you want to look at it this way: the ritual is a tool. We take part of the ritual, that has many connections with the mason from the mediaeval cathedral-building. We call lodges also “bauhuetten” (workplaces) which have been ateliers beside the cathedral. And the ritual is a tool, in this sence, because we share experiences there, and use symbolic tools, which have specially this meaning that it goes beyond the visible. And during the ceremonies, we experience the meanings of those tools.” (M.H.)

The Freemason goes through three steps which are called degrees in freemasonry: Entered Apprentice, Fellow-craft, and finally Master. Hans J. N. is a freemason since 20 years and has his master-degree :

“The apprentice looks around himself, the Fellow-craft looks inside himself and the Master looks at the above. That is very shortly put what freemasonry is about.
Every degree has its own special symbols:
The circle for example is the symbol of the Master, the square is the symbol of the Fellowcraft, and the 24-thumb ruler is the symbol of the apprentice. And with these simple tools, our former Cathedralbuilders have accomplished these fantastic buildings, and because of that, we measure ourselves today in our thoughts to gain also certain growth.” (H.J.N.)

The road of the Freemason goes from the straigth lines of the ruler of the apprentice, via the rightenousness of the square of the fellowcraft, to the circle of the master :

“The circle gives various possibillities concerning its radius. I can make the radius very narrow, but I also can broaden it. You could almost say that if I have to do with the circle, at the same time, I have to do with a cosmic awareness, but more with a earth/planetaric way, then with a cosmic one. I have with the circle everything in my hand, and if I can widen the circle, I can also widen my heart, my perspectivs. So, not only the rightenousness of the straight square I have to labour upon, but also with the reason and wisdom of the circle.” (M.H.)

Apart from the rather difficult symbolic values of freemasonry, secretivity of the union has also contributed to the Myths-making. However, freemasons are not at all difficult to approach, as Jean R. says :

“Basicly, there is no secret of freemasonry. There are thousands, tens-of tousands books about freemasonry, in a lot of different languages, about the various rites, and so-called secrets. They are printed and you can read them. When you can speak about a secret in freemasonry, then it is the secret of experiencing it in a very individual way, and one can not share that. The individual freemason experiences during the templeworks, during the rituals things, and the basic secret of freemasonry is to experience just this.”

But also security questions contributed to a discrete attitude of freemasons, Guenther L. is a freemason since 25 years :

“These secrets were lifesaving important in various countries, because nobody should forget, that in strict katholic countries – for instance Spain, but also Portugal – freemasonry always has been threatend with death.” (G.L.)

Freemasons also had to be carefull in Germany after the war, even when it was not a matter of life and death anymore, like in the naziperiod. Here follows a example of Heinrich K. from Saarland (western region of Germany) :

“At that time, it was not without danger to be a freemason, that means to say, you were not prosecuted if you were a freemason, but if a public servant of the Saar-government happened to be a Freemason, he never became promotion. He was just forgotten in that respect. It was not good fashion to be a freemason. But that has changed here during many years now, thank goodness.” (H.K.)

In June, last year, in Lyon, the 275th anniversary of freemasonry was memorated with festivities. Several currents has developed during masonic history, Jean R. :

“Indeed, there are various currents inside freemasonry. One trend is basicly religious, another one, which is somewhat broader, has some protestant aspects into it.
There is a current for example, that asks total freedom of the consience, in the center of there workings. It is good that there are these various currents, which have from time to time contact with eachother, but at the same time are against these contacts.” (J.R.)

Specially between the so-called Roman Freemasonry, as it is known in France, and the Anglo-Saxon school, like there is in Germany, it crackles enormously.

“There is a very basic difference: our members dont need to firmly believe in God. Our priciple is the freedom of concsience. We have nothing against religions, we have members from all sorts of religions, but also atheists. And that, is the difference between us, and the Anglo-Saxon freemasonry.” (J.R.)

The believe in God plays an important role in German freemasonry, God is here the great buildingmaster of the world, i.e. the “architect” :

“In our own Grand Lodge, the Bible lies on the Altar. Mostly together with some other book, for example, with us, also the Quran, we have also Muslims as members, you see. In this point of view, the Bible is not laying there as the Book of faith of the Christian confession or religion, but lies there as symbol of the Book of the sacred Law: it means, this book reminds us, that behind our known many variations of this world, there must be a meaningfull concept, a principle, after which the world is constructed and is going round.
Another basic point of friction between the obediences is the question about the presence of women. There exist more obediences who are only masculin, just as there are obediences who only consist of women. But surely the domindant tendency of our time is the one of mixed lodges.” (G.L.)

Already in the 18th century women in France found entrance to the masonic Lodges. Also in Germany, you can find women freemasons in some places, like Ulrike L. :

“As I feel very well to labour at the rough ashlar, this makes somehow more fun and joy together then alone. Every member personally sees his or her as a stone, to be made for the building of humanity which is still to be completed.” (U.L.)

In the big German Obedience, The Grand Lodge of the Antient Free and Accepted Masons from Germany, in short GL of A.F.A.M., women are not allowed. Guenther L. :

“As you know, there are in society different groups to whom belong only women or only men, and I personally think, that the worst what could happen to me, is if I were to live in a society in which I was forced by Law to do everything together with women.” (G.L.)

The various opinions of the Roman and Anglo-Saxon freemasonry have made a almost impenetrable wall between the French Grand-Orient and the AFAM of Germany :

“I must say that the relation between the French and German lodges is very difficult, even when there are lodges who have a jumelage since 40 years.
Since 1993 it is forbidden to the German freemasons to visit the French lodges, or to receipt French Brethern. That is why we think of the German freemasonry to be dogmatic, it takes to many freedoms from its members, and that is for freemasons like us, really impossible to accept. A tendence that I also feel alive amongst young German freemasons.”

Mike H. belongs to these so-called younger German freemasons :

“Today, we have in Germany about 10.000 -11.000 members. And I see in this number exactly that what has irritated me since many years: namely in a certain way we are too introvert, freemaons are satisfied to stick to themselves, there is too little knowledge to go and meet the outside society and to answer questions from that outside society. Something that functions much better in France. There, many lodges are like laboratories where also problems of our time are gathered and reflected and then as an answer are published once a year in a white book and presented to the president of the republic.” (M.H.)

In the twenties or thirties, the number of freemasons in Germany has been estimated to be of ca. 80 to 90.000, From the standpiont of today, this is a loss of 800 percent. Because of this negative developments, even the elder German freemasons let hear critical opinions, thus Heinrich K. :

“I also feel that the German freemasons are a bit too arrogant today. We rest on the grand names of the masonic history in Germany. All big names from the Renaissance, the great culture of the 18th and 19the centuries are rich in important persons who all of them habe been brothers in freemasonry. But that is a bad cussion to lay your head upon. One has to prove his right of existance today again, but apparantly it does not succeed, to mediate this to a more broader public. The freemasons in Germany is disappearing into meaninglessness: “So, the German public has nothing to fear from freemasons, but on the other hand the public has nothing to expet from it”.” (H.K.)

Guenther L. does not have such kind of questions :

“I cannot see that discussions, debates about such subjects, as they are moving around in the present politics of every day, that that can draw people ideologicly , such conversations we already have enough outside the lodge. If we differ ourselves somewhere from the outside world, then it is the spiritual realm of the Lodge, which has absolutely nothing to do with politics.” (G.L.)

In France the present estimation is about 120 till 130.000 freemasons, more then ten times as much as in Germany. The “Grand-Orient” de France strives after the betterment of humankind and also society. That is why French freemasons like to mix in with the political scene of today. For example with the Editing Office of the European community :

“We just could not accept, that in the preamble of the European Community was going to be written that Europe was built with Christian values. The European thought is not only to be fed with christian values, also other religions have had their influences. Like for example in Spain, where the Islam playd a very major part.
Why should this not be mentioned therefore? The same goes for the Jews, they have plaid an important role in Europe. All religions put a stemple on Europe. And last, but not least, we should not forget that in our society there are also people who do not believe in God. What we have wished for, we could realise in some ways. We do not attack the religious values in the preamble of the European Community, but they should not forget about the other values either. And what is in the preamble today, this answers more to this claim, because now also humanitic and cultural values are mentioned which gives a far better picture from the historical reality of Europe.” (I.J.)

.Translation by Betty Langenberg