Saint Joseph Lodge No.78

2012-02-19T09:30:00.087-06:00

Submitted By The Secretary
A New "Quantum" Paradigm In Our Perception of Deity?
AN EVOLUTION IN CONSCIOUSNESS
TOWARD THE NEXT AGE
(The Entered Apprentice's, 2nd Lesson)

We are becoming more and more aware
that,"We Are Each Of Us,
Both Reflection and Cause,

Of The Whole Of The Universe".

It Is All Too Obvious And Understated To Say, Secular and Cleric or Religious Fascism Is The Cause Of Many A Death in Spirit.

Woodcut from Harmann Schedel Liber chronicarum Nuremberg, 1493.

AN EVOLUTION IN CONSCIOUSNESS
How exactly do we explain an evolution of consciousness through a history of humanity? One way would be to show how the Hierophant, or Holy Logos inspiring humanity, has evolved through an awareness of its "Self" as humanity perceives the inspired teaching and evolves in a sacred or Holy relationship living in the universe through time. An example would be to compare the cosmology of early Greek philosophic / scientific thought with contemporary philosophic / scientific thought, showing relationships of Masonic Pythagorean and Quantum perceptions of the universe.

"Our perception of our "Self" individually, is directly connected with the collective "Self" of the universe in total. There is a "Common Consciousness" that connects all living things in the universe".

THE FREEMASON AND THE MYSTIC TEACHINGS
The Mystic is an observer seeking wisdom and truth and the only secrets are secrets the mystic doesn't see through his own blindness. This can be most easily recognized when viewing the art of academic Medieval/Renaissance illustrations before the 1700s and Masonic Tracing Boards through to today. For example. To the mystic, the classic experience of a Vision, is not recognized as something understood through our senses or experienced in the physical, rather through our consciousness coming through an awareness that is non-physical or transcendental. As mentioned in my previous article for the "Entered Apprentice, Lesson One", physical phenomena are not defined as Visions by the Mystic. Also, the student of the mystics must be extremely careful to interpret transmitted knowledge from writings and lectures that may in fact be wrong. There are sources that should not be considered credible and should not be made part of reading especially in the beginning of one's study. Particularly in the beginning, the student need not be concerned with dates, events or interpretation of visions, rather the student should focus on his own purity, clear conscience and release of past and present entropy or anxieties through subjective experiences as a result of daily living. Details will be included in future installments containing specifics. It is necessary for the student of the mystics to seek a trusted and qualified adept who can lead the student toward sucess. For example,Taro Card reading, Palm reading, reading tea leaves, Ouija Boards and forms of magic used as tools for visions are abominable to the spirit and can only doom the student toward failure. Stay clear! Adepts are few in number but for the Freemason studying the mystics, there is greater opportunity for success as the adept should also be a Freemason so that both student and adept may have common trestle boards from which to share and transmit their knowledge and experiences. A study of the great parables of The Christ is important. Through the Christ teaching there is redemption through the grace of forgiveness. It is through The Christ, that one gains an awareness of the transcendental or spiritual (quantum) Self through the "Second Birth" through the Christ teaching. Whether one professes salvation by the blood of the lamb or through the resurrection of the spirit, or skeptical of holy doctrine or papal see, the Christ teaching most important because through The Christ, we are taught the holy redemption through forgiveness and Grace.

A Vision is not something experienced with sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, or through dreams. A Vision is experienced as an intovertive thought not experienced with the senses rather through the mystic's consciousness most often during or after meditation or contemplation. Physical phenomena, or extrovertive thought, are experienced and recorded at times by the Mystic but are not to be considered by the student of the mystics until becoming adept in practice. To the student of the Mystics, there is a rather long period of purification of the soul and training how to discern the experience of the vision. To the Mystic, a vision is as a great thought or epiphany emerging as wisdom or enlightenment. The mystic may also have a theophany experience, initially however, visions may not be what one expects. The mystic experience may be good, bad, indifferent or unrecognized as a vision, requiring much discipline and continuity in practice and study. A course on meditation and contemplation on the Masonic Trestle Boards is necessary for the Freemason who is a student of esoteric mystic teaching. It is through the Trestle Boards and degree lectures that Freemasons are taught the ritual for Lodge and the esoteric teachings for inner vision. This article is preparatory for a course of instruction. First I will basically explain meditation and contemplation.
What is meditation? What is contemplation?
Meditation:
Meditation is an inward outward movement between our outer surface levels of consciousness and our inner deeper levels of consciousness. As there is a most outward physical reality of life there is also a most inward or absolute reality of life. The relationships between the material and non-material realities in life was most recently discovered by physisists Louis de Broglie and Max Planck. Now known as Planck's Constant, Max Planck, divided the constant in the "energy frequency wave-form relationship" that makes up all of physical matter, and together with Louis de Broglie, founded Quantum physics. The material (manifest) and non-material (unmanifest) realities of life exist simultaneously and are present in all life everywhere. We experience the levels of consciousness through our thoughts. A “knowing” or "Gnosis" that these two realities in life exist simultaneously while understanding how they complement each other brings about a greater awareness that liberates us from the confines of experiencing only the finite, physical manifest reality of life. As a result of this liberation one experiences more balance, harmony, and wholeness in life.
When meditating alert and in a waking state of consciousness, the conscious mind expands to embrace deeper levels of thinking. During meditation, thoughts are realized and released to make way for new thoughts that occur randomly as a result of entropy in the form of memories or impressions collected in the mind associated with only a material reality of life. Releasing thoughts that surface randomly without concentrating or analyzing them during mediation eventually quiets the mind and it becomes calm. As the mind becomes more calm there are moments when it realizes there are periods of no thoughts. As more thoughts are released the mind becomes more aware of its inward (unmanifest) reality of life and realizes its True Infinite Self.
Contemplation:
Contemplation is that which is experienced consciously and then reflected upon with both the absolute and finite conscious mind. When we contemplate we analyze certain states of mind by concentrating upon an object. The object creates an impression causing certain feelings or emotions. We contemplate by reason and the experience draws forth understanding using intuitive infinite and finite conscious thought as a reference.

As pictured in the above illustration, the now archaic Pythagorean explaination of the structure, "Woodcut from Harmann Schedel Liber chronicarum Nuremberg, 1493", Pythagoras divided all things into their proper balance through harmony. "The Harmony Of The Spheres". The Neo-Platonic Christian authorities adopted the Pythagorean definition of the universe casting-out the metaphysical sciences until it became impossible for them to refute the research of Nicolaus Copernicus that earth is not the center of our planetary system rather the sun, through the science of Issac Newton who understood that gravity is constant and through the science of Galileo Galilei, known as the "father of modern science".

As W Kirk MacNulty 32' published in "Seeking More Light", A Philosophical Background For Masonic Symbolism, Published in Vol 5, Year 1996:
"Medieval scholars had been interested in classical philosophy from the point of view of reconciling it to Christian doctrine... Three fundamental ideas seem to characterize this philosophical view. First, the Deity was considered to be limitless. This resulted in a view of all existence as a single, tightly integrated unity centered on the Deity. A particularly clear statement of this comes from the Hermetica: " ...for God contains all things, and there is nothing that is not in God, and nothing which God is not. Nay, I would rather say, not that God contains all things, but that, to speak the full truth, God is all things.: Second, earthly experiences reflected events in the heavenly realms; the succinct statement of this is, "As above; so below." THis epigram is a conscequence of the integrated view of the world. In a universe regarded as a single, consistent, and Divine Entity, there must be a correspondence between that which occurs in the higher (heavenly, causal) levels and that which occurs at the lower (earthly) ones. Third, knowledge of the "higher", or more subtle, aspects of the Universe was available only by personal experience. (i.e. by one's own revelation); certainly not by logical argument, or, ultimately, by faith in the authority of another's revelation. I suggest that Masonic Symbolism, as represented on the tracing boards, reflects these principles of the world view of the Renaissance."

It was through the sacrifices and efforts of the great scientists, philosophic and biblical scholars of the Renaissance through the Enlightenment periods up to the mid 1900s, that the "New Scientist" today, views life etymologically with a "Quantum View" of reality. That is to say a Quantum or Transcendent view of the universe reflects more a continuum that has no beginning or end rather evolves from moment to moment. Reality and the consciousness of reality evolves in a continuum that is not linear in nature and trans-mutates from one photon to other photons or species virtually through a medium of "Free Space" also known as "Aether", that is not completely understood at this time by modern scientists. There is speculation that Dark Matter will replace the term Aether in the future.

It was the famous physicist James Clerk Maxwell, who discovered that electric and magnetic fields travel through space in the form of waves and at a constant speed of light. Using this discovery, defining that wave form and energy have a constant velocity relative to frequency, it has become known as Planck's Constant. Max Planck, divided this constant in the "energy frequency wave-form relationship" that makes up all of physical matter, and together with Louis de Broglie, founded Quantum physics. These Metaphysical physics principles however were taught in the mystery schools for millennia through the escoteric teachings of Pythagoras, the Hermetic Science of Hermes Trismegistus and even earlier teachings of Patanjali in India. The Christ teachings from his sermons and parables teach the salvation of the soul through redeeming Grace.

Entered Apprentice Tracing Board,
based on the 1845 J. Harris designs
for the Emulation Lodge of Improvement (London),
donated by J. Wylie Donaldson. 20.833" x 34.139".

A NEW PARADIGM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
The Pythagorean perception of Freemasonry and its symbols taught to initiates for centuries through the Tracing Boards, is becoming more and more misunderstood because the adepts are not alive to teach us, or we didn't listen well enough when they were with us. Also, as humanity evolves and shifts into a "New Paradigm Of Consciousness" toward the next Age, it is the Adepts of the past with their evolved consciousness through the Hierophant or Holy Logos that brought us to this point in time and place. And even today their knowledge and awareness continues to enlighten us.

In the future, a new Freemason's, Quantum Perception of the Tracing Board will be quite different when compared to his Pythagorean ancestor. The challenge for the student of the Mystic Masonic teaching is to understand the harmony found when realizing the inner and outer realities of life and understanding the Vision as a form of consciousness or thought rather than physical phenomenon. Understanding the Vision this way will bring the Mystic Freemason a foundation of understanding to begin the escoteric and metaphysical teachings of Hermes Trismegistis and Patanjali and the science of Maxwell, Planck, de Broglie and Einstein. Hence, we will begin a study in the esoteric mysteries through meditation and contemplation on the Masonic Tracing Boards, as understood through the Mystic teachings.

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2012-02-04T22:54:00.044-06:00

CHRONICLES
OF ST. JOSEPH LODGE NO.78
BEFORE A.D. 1900,
PAST MASTERS SERVING
IN THE CIVIL WAR
Submitted by the Secretary, Copywrite February 4th 2012.
The Constitution of the United States was only 58 years of age and the Missouri Territory only 44 years old when the petition for a dispensation issued May 11th 1841 under the name of Katseel Lodge, created the first Masonic Lodge in Buchanan County applied through Liberty Lodge No.31, Missouri. In its charter, which was issued October 8th of the same year, the name was changed to Sparta Lodge No.46. St. Joseph Lodge No.78 was the offshoot of this, the mother Lodge of the County. Chartered in 1846, St. Joseph Lodge at the period of its organization was the most northern on the Missouri River and the most western in the United States, its jurisdiction extending thousands of miles west and northwest. From 1845 to December 1859, its meetings were held in the third story of a building in the store of Joseph C Hull, on Main Street.
Recorded in the Minutes of the Lodge on Oct. 11, 1856 pg.23, "Resolve that this Lodge take 200 shares of stock in the building known as the "Odd Fellows Hall" about to be built in this city. And that said resolution stand, until next regular meeting." In January 1859 St. Joseph Lodge relocated and shared its meeting space with the Odd Fellows, in a large 3 story building on the corner of Fifth and Felix until June 1873 moving to the spacious hall in the third story of a building on the northwest corner of Fourth and Charles streets and met there through 1881.
William R Penick, a pharmacist by profession, petitioned St. Joseph Lodge No.78 on January 5th 1856, Passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft February 16th, was Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason March 1st of the same year and was elected Worshipful Master in 1858. WB Penick became the 21st Grand Master of Missouri in 1861.

In America, 1861 is known as the "Year Of The Rebellion", and the beginning of the Civil War. In St. Joseph, Missouri from the first Post Office located at the Patee Hotel, the Pony Express carried President Lincoln's Inaugural Address west to Sacramento, CA., men with Confederate and Union sympathies, some being Masonic brethren, battled in the Streets of St. Joseph and citizens watched as the American Flag was torn from the Post Office flag pole by an angry mob. RWB Penick, entered the Union Army in 1862 as a Colonal in the 2nd Regiment, Missouri Militia and wrote his address to the Annual Grand Lodge of Missouri Communication from the battle field. Some members of the same Lodges fought each other as political and cultural beliefs outweighed moral and fraternal obligations made in the fraternity. Two such brothers were RWB William R Penick and WB William H Carpenter.
Worshipful Brother Carpenter, born in Luray, Virginia, had come to the new frontier by river boat on the Missouri River in 1854. The following spring the family moved to a farm in Marion Township where they lived for many years. At the outbreak of the war in 1862 now a resident of St. Joseph and prominent in financial circles, enlisted in the Confederate Army serving in Company H, 1st Missouri Cavalry under Col. Elijah Gates. WB Carpenter, participated in the battle of Pea Ridge, Ark, where he was made a prisoner by the Federals, and was paroled the following Summer. After returning to Company H the next year engaged in battle at Baker's Creek, Champion Hill and Black River, and was engaged in the siege of Vicksberg and the battle of Kenesaw Mountain where General Polk was killed. Taking part in the siege of Atlanta and the battle of Jonesboro, at the battle of Franklin he was wounded with grapeshot and recovered in a hospital as a prisoner for six months. His regiment surrendered in April 1865. Returning from the Confederate Service, he went to Green County, Arkansas, bought a farm, engaged in raising cotton and taught school for two years. In 1868 he began traveling for an agricultural implement firm and returned to St. Joseph, Missouri.

He served as Worshipful Master at St. Joseph Lodge78 in 1886. In 1889 he organized the "Phoenix Loan Association, with a capitol of $4,000,000 and was president located near the present German American Bank at Fifth and Francis Streets, St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1891 he was a member of a Knights Templar excursion party which visited important places in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, England and Wales. Upon his passing from this earth in March 1916, WB Carpenter was permanently interred at Mount Mora Cemetery in St. Joseph Missouri. WB Carpenter is pictured on the left with two other visiting Brethren to Europe.

The Carpenter's Theorem

2012-01-31T20:04:00.042-06:00

The Mystical Freemason,
Walking The Mosaic Pavement
(The Entered Apprentice's 1st Lesson)

"All that man has externally here

in multiplicity is One.

Here, all blades of grass, wood and stone... All Things Are One.
This Is The Deepest Depth."

Meister Eckart, 1260 - 1329

"The first act of a mystical teacher is to introduce the idea that the world we think we see is only a view, a description of the world. That the mystic is an observer. Every effort of a teacher is dared to prove this point to his apprentice. But accepting it seems to be one of the hardest things the apprentice can do.
We - complacently caught in our particular view of the world - are compelled to feel and act as if we knew everything about he world. A teacher, from the very first act he performs, aims at stopping that view. Mystics call it stopping the internal dialogue, and they are convinced that it is the single most important technique that an apprentice can learn.

"Tales of Power", Carlos Casteneda

As an apprentice in the Mystical teachings there was a book from my youth. "The Teachings Of The Mystics", Walter T Stace. A Mentor Book published 1960. I found and read it in the early 70s. What I would call a great primer on Mysticism particularly Christian Mysticism. One of the best explorations into the history and experience of Christian Mysticism I ever read.

He writes, " there is no good reason for supposing that Jesus was a mystic in the sense of a person possessed the mystical consciousness as described in the Gospels and defined by classical definitions today. Before the Pentecost "Quickening", as expressed in 1st - 3rd century texts, Mary Magdalene, The Apostle Paul, The Apostle John and others experienced the resurrected Christ in the form of physical manifestations and visions. Mary's description of Jesus at the Tomb is explained as a vision. Seeing two "men in shining clothing" standing next to them in Luke. In Luke the disciples are described as perplexed which of course means they could not understand what they were experiencing. After Pentecost, as described in the book of Acts and in the Gnostic texts, the multitudes experienced the resurrected Christ Jesus as a physical manifestation and in visions.

Is there a case for believing that Christian Mystical teaching originates with the Apostle Paul? The famous vision and voices on the road to Damascus do not constitute a mystical experience - because visions and voices, involve sensuous imagery, whereas the mystical consciousness is non-sensuous. A physical manifestation or a vision, as defined by the Mystic, is not something that is experienced with our senses. A vision is not experienced as something we see, a sound, a taste, or a touch. We don't have visions in dreams. A vision is experienced as an introvertive thought without senses.

There are however, one or two passages in Paul's writings that seem to have something of the genuine mystic ring and render it probable that he had some degree of mystical consciousness. The most famous is "I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me." Although a bit vague and ambiguous, the phrase is evidence of an introvertive mystical consciousness.

2012-01-22T22:05:00.030-06:00

CHRONICLES OF
ST JOSEPH LODGE NO.78
1846 - 1946
100 YEARS OF SERVICE TO FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND FREEMASONRY

This article is the second in a series on the history of St. Joseph Lodge No78. To read the first article go to:
St. Joseph Lodge No.78 Chartered Oct. 14th 1846
This is Copywrited material. No reproduction is authorized without the written permission of the Secretary of St. Joseph Lodge No78.

The following paragraphs are from, "Centennial Celebration 1846 - 1946", written and published in 1945 upon the first 100 years of the Lodge.

"It is coincident that the history of St. Joseph Lodge No.78 A.F. & A.M., and of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri began at practically the same time. Many of the members who ruled and governed in the Lodge also ruled and governed the affairs of the city. St. Joseph Lodge had its beginning under dispensation in 1845, and the first municipal Government of the city was formed in 1843.

Both have passed the ravages of more than 5 wars and both have contributed men to both. To each - and in the Civil War to both the Blue and the Gray. Together they passed through good times and bad, through sunshine and rain, through prosperity and depression.

For the above reasons the most important events of both the Lodge and the city are recorded here, as one has a strong bearing upon the other.

Unfortunately there are no records of St. Joseph Lodge No78, for the first ten years of its existence. This is regrettable, for no doubt they would have revealed many things that we would like to know, but it is feared they are forever lost.

Many notations are made, not for their historical value, but for the quaint manner of expression.

The records of the Lodge show that unselfish service has been rendered throughout the century.

The reason for this history is not only to record events of the Lodge, but also that the living today may not forget, but will know, understand and appreciate the service of those who lighted the Light of Intelligence, which upholds the principles of free speech, free education, liberty and equality to all; the Light that has existed for One Hundred years, and still burns brightly in the Lodge.

Those who first lighted the Light have passed into the Great Beyond, but their good work lives after them.

May the principles and teachings of Freemasonry live forever, and may we have a grateful memory for those who have made possible this Centennial Celebration".

Fraternally Yours,
CLAUDE MADISON,

The New Lodge Cornerstone, set in place on

October 22nd, A.D. 1910

DEDICATION

This booklet is dedicated to every member, living or dead,

who has contributed to the success of

St. Joseph Lodge No.78, A.F. & A.M.

Although no record has been found as to where WB Sinclair K Miller received his Masonic degrees records show that he signed a petition for a dispensation for DeWitt Lodge in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1845 and was named Worshipful Master under the dispensation. At the session of the Grand Lodge in 1846 a charter was granted, dated October 14 and the name of the Lodge changed from DeWitt Lodge to St. Joseph Lodge No78. WB Miller was also named Worshipful MAster under the charter and served as Master in 1846-48-49-50. On May 5th 1845 WB Sinclair K Miller was elected on the first Board of Trusties for the City of St. Joseph and was a member of the St. Joseph City Council in 1851. In 1850 he was elected State Representative of the District that included St. Joseph, Missouri at the time. He became superintendent of the Maryville, Palmetto & Roseport R.R. in 1860.

As reported in an earlier article, in 1845 several members withdrew from Sparta Lodge No46, and with others formed DeWitt Lodge U.D. at St. Joseph. With the petition for dispensation approved through the Grand Lodge of Missouri, this was the first year St. Joseph had a municipal Government, and Joseph Robidoux was the first President of the Board of Trustees. The first newspaper "The Weekly Gazette" was issued April 25th,; subscriptions $2.00 per annum if paid in advance. $3.00 if paid at the end of the year. The first Fourth of July celebration was held. Some of the prevailing prices were: corn 10c per bu., coffee 9c per lb., bacon and ham 7c per lb., butter 7c., molasses 40c per gal., eggs 6c per doz. The first three-story brick building was build, the Edgar House, on the northwest corner of Main and Francis streets. Br Samuel C Hall was the first Justice of the Peace.

St. Joseph Lodge No78, Chartered October 14th 1846

2012-01-14T08:26:00.004-06:00

The First Masonic Lodge in Buchanan County U.S.A.

The Constitution of the United States was only 54 years of age when the petition for a Dispensation to create the first Masonic Lodge in Buchanan County was applied through Liberty Lodge No.31, Missouri, issued May 11th 1841 by RWB. Joseph Foster, Deputy Grand Master, Secretary ProTem, Grand Lodge of Missouri U.S.A., named Katzell Lodge to be located in the village of Sparta.

Eli Hubbel was elected by the Brethren to be the first Worshipful Master, John Browning, Senior Warden; R. Duncan, Treasurer; Frederick Waymore, Secretary; and J. Selsil, Tiler. James Highly was also a charter member. Eli Hubbel was originally a member of Wisdom Lodge located in Massachusetts, John Browning from Liberty Lodge No.31 Missouri, Simeon Kemper from Montgomery Lodge No.23 Kentucky, Frederick Waymore from Lipton Lodge No.33 Indiana. Also chartered with this first Dispensation were John Edgar from Libery Lodge No.31, Cornelius Gilliam from the Lodge at Jefferson City, Missouri and S.K. Waymore from Lipton Lodge No.33 in Indiana. Katzell Lodge, met in regular stated communications until a Charter was issued and its name changed to Sparta Lodge No.46 at the next Grand Lodge proceedings October 8th 1842.

Fifteen years earlier in 1827, there was a Trading Post along the Missouri River at the mouth of Blacksnake Creek, owned and operated by Joseph Robidoux, who traded with the Native Americans in the region including the Pottawatomie, Musquakee, Kickapoo, Iowa and Otto. Robidoux made an arrangement with the American Fur Company a few years before to operate a business called Blacksnake Hills, and for many years Robidoux was the only evidence of European settlement as far North as Council Bluffs, Iowa and South to Independence, Missouri. With a large log house surrounded by a stockade built by Robidoux himself he conducted his business.
There were no cameras with which to record a picture of the Blacksnake Hills Trading Post but the journal of Richard Hayes McDonald from Kentucky wrote a description at the time. The journal is now kept in the Library of Commonwealth of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia: "From his cousin's home, Richard went to where the city of St. Joseph is now located, and where the only occupant and owner of a business house was a Frenchman named Robidoux who had lived there a number of Joseph Robidoux years as an Indian Trader, and who was at that time still engaged in the occupation. He was moving around dressed in an old, red flannel shirt, his trousers strapped around his waist, on his head a slouched hat, and so tanned and weather-beaten that is was difficult to tell whether he was a white man, a mulatto, or an Indian. his establishment consisted of three log-cabins, one or more of which were filled with furs of otter, beaver, buffalo, deer, bear, and other skins; in the other buildings were stored provisions, trinkets and supplies for the Indians, the latter chiefly in whiskey, tobacco, and liquors. The old man seemed to be a very energetic and enterprising shrewd business manager. He was familiar with several dialects of Indian language, and was highly respected by all the natives who dealt with him...' 'From this Trading Outpost grew the city of St. Joseph, in many respects, perhaps, the most promising city west of St. Louis and East of the Rocky Mountains.

St. Joseph Lodge No.78
Chartered October 14th 1846
In 1842 Robidoux contracted two surveyors to create plats for a town he had proposed to build next to his Outpost in the area previously named Saint Michael's Meadow by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804. Meriwether Louis, in his journal on July 7th 1804, wrote that where they camped along the Missouri River that day reminded him of the woodland prairies of his home in Virginia. Brother Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper, both members of Sparta Lodge No.46 surveyed plats for the new town. Smith named is plat Saint Joseph after Robidoux's Patron Saint and Simeon Kemper named his plat Robidoux. Frederick Smith's plat was selected and was recorded at St. Louis, Missouri in July 1843. The population at the time was about 200.
The above picture is an Artist's view of St. Joseph in 1858 looking toward Wyeth Hill, the Missouri River and the site of the Court House built in 1871.
By 1845 St. Joseph was called "Queen of the Riverboat Towns" North of St. Louis for its beautiful bluffs and prairies and also because it was a main starting point for those heading West to California and Oregon. Situated on the East bank of the Missouri River, about 75 miles North from Fort Leavenworth, St. Joseph had grown to a population over 600. St. Joseph had become the "Bright Light" of civilization in the new world and within the plat for his new town, Robidoux himself donated land for Masonic use. A Dispensation was created in the name of DeWitt, for a new Lodge to be located at St. Joseph petitioned through Savannah Lodge No.71 located to the North in Andrew County that is still active today and in 1846 the County Seat was moved from Sparta to St. Joseph. DeWitt Lodge met in regular stated communications for the remaining year until the Charter was granted as a Masonic Lodge under the name of St. Joseph Lodge No.78 at the annual Grand Lodge Communications on October 14th 1846. Sinclair K. Miller was the first Worshipful Master; Simeon Kemper, Senior Warden; and James Highly first Junior Warden. Within the first year Samuel E. Sinclair K. Miller Love would be the Lodge's first Secretary. Although Joseph Robidoux was not known to be a Freemason, one of his 6 sons Felix, was a charter member of St. Joseph's first Masonic Lodge.

William R. Penick, Worshipful Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.78 in 1858, was the 21st Grand Master of Missouri in 1861. 1861 is also known as the year of the "Rebellion", and the beginning of the Civil War. From the first Post Office, the Pony Express carried President Lincoln's Inaugural Address west to Sacramento, CA. and Confederate and Union men, some of whom were Masonic Brethren, battled in the streets of St. Joseph and citizens watched as the American Flag was torn from the Post Office flag pole by an angry mob. R.W.B. Penick entered the Union Army in 1862 as a Colonel in the 2nd Regiment, Missouri Militia and wrote his address to the Annual Grand Lodge Communication from the field.

Such is the beginnings of Freemasonry and its travel to the town of St. Joseph, Missouri in the United States of America.
William R. Penick
Click Here To Read The 2nd In This Series On The History Of St. Joseph Lodge No.78

NEWSLETTER: Fall 2011

2012-01-10T09:32:00.044-06:00

Elected and Appointed Officers Installed for 2011-2012

Tuesday September 15th 2011, the 166th year of its charter,

the elected and appointed officers were installed

at St. Joseph Lodge No78.

Pictured above in the first row beginning at left are:

Tiler, WB Timothy J Conard;

Junior Steward, WB John C Keys and Lodge Education Officer, RWB Dennis A Bonjour.

Middle row from left Senior Deacon, Br David J Hawkinson;

Senior Warden, Br LeRoy H Maxwell III and Senior Steward,

WB Arthur F Haynes.

Beginning top row from left Junior Warden, Br Nighram M Johnson;

Treasurer, WB Carl C Jennings and Marshall, Br D Brian Carroll.

Not pictured due to conflicts in scheduling are the installed

Worshipful Master, WB Marion H Boydston;
Junior Deacon, Br Ryan S Gerster;
Chaplain, RWB Larry R Crawford;
Secretary, RWB Wesley F Revels.

The Following Annual Report Was Submitted To The Grand Lodge Of Missouri

Total Number of Members: 223

Total Number Exempt 50 Year Members: 39

New 50 year members this past year

RWB William J Bowser

Br Dean F Proffit

WB Donald E Cox

Br Robert E Bushman

Total Number Exempt Endowed Members: 31

Total Raised To The Sublime Degree Of Master Mason: 8

From Sept-2011 To Jan-2012

Br David J Hawkinson

Br Ryan S Gerster

Br Christopher J Olinger

Br Michael T Olinger

Br Todd A Sprague

Br Frank A Leone

Br David W Standiford

Br John A Fulkerson

Affiliate As Multiple Members:

Rev WB John E Johnson Sr

Transfer From Other Lodges:

Br Wayne R Welch

Deceased:

From Jul 2010 - Jan 2012

Br James L Rockwell Jr, 7-10-2010

Br Kenneth H Hawk, 11-4-2010

WB Jerry L Burris Jr, 1-9-2011

WB James B Clark,2-20-2011

RWB Carroll E Henson,4-11-2011

Br Edward G Hautzenroeder,4-20-2011

Rev WB John E Johnson Sr, 7-20-2011

Br Gerry L Cortner, 10-16-2011

WB A.C. McCool, 10-23-2011

Br James M Hower Sr, 11-1-2011

Our Mosaic Work

"A Candid Disquisition", of the Principles and Practices of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons. From Past Master, Wellis Calcott's "Masonic Manual, New York 1855", Argument VI. p.47-50, "Of The Masonic Work As A Symbol And The Virtues Of Faith, Hope Charity, Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth Of The Masonic Institutions".

As the steps of man are attached by various and uncertain incidences of life, as our days are chequered with a strange contrariety of events, and our passage through this existence, though sometimes blessed with prosperous circumstances, yet often beset by a multitude of evils, hence is the Lodge furnished with MOSAIC WORK, to remind us of the precariousness of our state on earth. Today our feet tread in prosperity, yet tomorrow we totter on the uneven paths of weakness, temptation and adversity. Whilst this emblem is before us, we are instructed to boast of nothing, to have compassion, and give aid to those who are in adversity, to walk uprightly and with humility; for such is our existence that there is no station in which pride can be stably founded.

All men are similar by nature, yet some are born to more elevated stations than others, but when in the grave all are upon a level - death destroying all distinctions. Whilst we tread on the MOSAIC WORK, let our ideas return to the original which it copies and let every Freemason act as the dictates of reason prompt him; to live in Brotherly Love with all mankind especially a brother Freemason; Faith as a foundation of justice being the chief support of society for we live and walk by faith; Hope and Charity for Hope is the Anchor of the soul; And charity - oh, how lovely is it's theme! Charity is the brightest gem that can adorn our Masonic profession; it is the best test and the surest proof of altruism. Benevolence, attended by heaven-born Charity, is the honor to the nation from whence it springs, it is nourished and cherished reminding humanity of the common bond by which we share our existance. Happy is the man who has sowed in his heart the seeds of benevolence, the produce thereof is love of peace; he envieth not his neighbor; he listeneth not to a tale when reported by slander; revenge or malice has no place in his heart; he forgives the injuries of men, and endeavors to blot them from his recollection. Let us therefore, as Freemasons, remember that professing our faith in GOD, we listen to GOD who craveth our assistance, and from want never withhold a liberal hand; so shall a heartfelt satisfaction reward our labor, and the produce of liberality most assuredly follow after.

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2012-01-08T12:21:00.039-06:00

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2010-10-24T12:37:00.103-05:00

Freemasonry's Heritage,
and Its Connection With Christianity

Submitted By The Secretary

Masons, historians and theological critics alike have wrestled with the question how masonry as we know it today came into being. Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, describes a group called "Culdees", Christian priests distinguished for their pure and simple apostolic religion. The Culdees trace their traditions originating when Joseph of Arimathea, the Virgin Mary's uncle, traveled to Glastonbury Britain from Israel around 63A.D., and there introduced Christianity to the Gaelic speaking people. Joseph of Arimathea passed from this earth at Glastonbury on July 27th A.D. 82. On his tombstone reads "After I had buried The Christ, I came to the Isles of the West, I taught; I entered into my rest".
The word Culdee is an Anglicization of the word "Ceili De" meaning, client/companion of God. To the Ceili De, the Christ path is rooted largely in a contemplative search for the Divine Reality with deep reverence for the creations of God leading toward Christ Consciousness fulfilling itself in unconditional love. Mackey's report states that the chief seat of the Culdees at the Island of Iona in Ireland was St. Columba, who came with 12 Brethren in the 5th century establishing a Christian monastery in Scotland. The monastery exists to this day. The Royal Order of Scotland (ROS), a Masonic order from Iona is its descendant and Freemasonry as we know it today through the Grand Lodge of England, is descended from the Royal Order of Scotland.
The two patron saints of the Culdees are Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Divine. Saint John the Baptist was primarily known as the person who conducted the initiation ceremony of Baptism to new Christians. Saint John the Divine was the person who declared Jesus The Christ, the "Logos" or "Word" which is found in the Holy Bible New Testament Book of John:
(KJV) John 1: 1-9, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

An early account of Hiram Abiff and the building of King Solomon's Temple, the archetype for building the Spiritual Temple of man, is found in the writing of 4th century Christian Mystic, John Cassian. In his 11th book "The Conferences" he writes in detail about symbolism in the 3 Degrees of monks. Throughout the Ages, Masonry has professed two sciences, one being Speculative or Symbolic and the other being Operative. The path here described in this very short preface being Speculative, fore it would not be possible to write at any reasonable length a description of them together although both Operative and Speculative being intertwined throughout history in the "Old Charges" of Operative Freemasonry.

Reference to Operative guilds in antiquity are found in the Holy Bible. In Mark 6:3 we find, "Is not this the [Tekton], the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" The English word "carpenter" in Hebrew is Tekton meaning construction worker or stone cutter. Justin Martyr, A.D.165, wrote that Jesus made yokes and ploughs. This verse also clearly refers to the family of Jesus. In 2 Samuel:5-11, "Hiram king of Tyre sends Masons to King David to build him a house." Also Amos:7-7. "Thus he shewed me. And the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand...".

The histories of the old and new charges of Masonry evolve through the teachings that include King Solomon and Prophets of the Old Testament, The Christ Jesus, his family and Disciples, Euclid and Pythagoras, and the ancient philosophies of Egypt, Persia and India. Indeed Masonry spans the entire evolution of human culture. But with the Industrial Age, Operative Masonry fell into decline, and officially came to a close by edict during the construction of St. Paul's Cathedral at London in A.D. 1703 when Christopher Wren, then Grand Master resolved, "That the privileges of Masonry shall no longer be confined to Operative Masons, but be free to men of all professions, provided they are regularly approved and initiated into the Fraternity." The Edict was instituted four years later in 1721. Manuscripts of Operative Masonic Fraternities are mentioned throughout antiquity. Surviving documents resembling what we recognize today as Speculative Craft Masonry in Britain include among others the Regius Manuscript dating to not before A.D. 1390 and the Matthew Cooke M.S. dating not later than the fifteenth century current era. Both the Regius and Matthew Cooke Manuscripts are prototypes of Masonic Ritual recognized today. Written in poetic form, they are Codes of Moral Duties, using Pythagoras, Euclid and Geometry in symbol, presenting the Points and Articles for the well governed Rule of a Heavenly School in the guise of a Philosophic Trade Guild on Earth.

In A.D. 1717, in London, after the suppression of the first Jacobite uprising, with the resolution declared by Christopher Wren, (at left) four Old Lodges met to reestablish Freemasonry under new Charters. The Goose and Gridiron Ale-house, Crown Ale-house in Parker's Lane, Apple Tree Tavern and Rummer and Grapes Tavern, with Lodges meeting at the Apple Tree Tavern forming a Grand Lodge. "Some old Brothers met at the Apple-Tree, and having put into the Chair the oldest Master Mason, constituted themselves a Grand Lodge pro Tempore and forthwith revived the Quarterly Communication of the Officers of Grand Lodges, resolved to hold the Annual Assembly and Feast, and then to choose a Grand Master from among themselves, till they should have the Honor of a Noble Brother at their Head."

In 1721, George Payne, being the current Grand Master, compiled from ancient charter documents a series of charges and regulations based on the "Charter of York", a constitution written previously in A.D. 926 by Edwin, the grandson of Alfred the Great, and Grand Master of the fraternity prefaced with a history saved from the fires and pillage of the invading Danes of Scandinavia. Payne submitted his document to a committee of 14 containing the body of law and doctrine for use in Lodges of England. Dr. James Anderson (at left) a Presbyterian, born in Aberdeen, having a Master's in the liberal Arts at Marischal College, under the direction of the committee wrote "Anderson's Constitutions", and included a telling of the legendary history of the Old Charges of Masonry.

It is important to note that Operative Masonry developed over the globe throughout the millennia of time, separating Itself from religion and politics. The New Charges making Freemasonry more accessible to the masses however brought new challenges to the fraternity. As with any human endeavor to exemplify the supreme perfection of our Creator, there also is the corruption of humanity's failing when individuals or groups develop oligarchies to elevate their egos or control humanity under the cover of politics and religion. May we ever remember that Freemasonry's Moral Tenets have always been Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. "It may be said that Truth is the Column of Wisdom, whose rays penetrate and enlighten the inmost recesses of the Lodge of society; Brotherly Love, the column of strength, which binds us as one family in fraternal affection in the world; and Relief, the column of Beauty, whose ornaments, more precious than the lilies or pomegranates that adorn the pillars of the porch, are the widows tear of joy and the orphan's prayer of gratitude." It is the interior and not the exterior quality that is important to Freemasons.

Saint Joseph Lodge No.78 Chartered October 14th 1846

2010-10-08T09:44:00.027-05:00

The Petition for the first Masonic Lodge in Buchanan County was applied through Liberty Lodge No.31, issued May 11th 1841 by R.W.B. Joseph Foster Deputy Grand Master, Secretary Protem, Grand Lodge of Missouri U.S.A. The name given was Katzell Lodge. Chartered members were Eli Hubbel, Worshipful Master; John Browning, Senior Warden; Simeon Kemper, Junior Warden; R. Duncan, Treasurer; Frederick Waymore, Secretary; and J. Selsil, Tiler. James Highly was also a charter member .

Eli Hubbel was a member of Wisdom Lodge from Massachusetts,
John Browning from Liberty Lodge No.31 Missouri,
Simeon Kemper from Montgomery Lodge No.23 Kentucky,
Frederick Waymore from Lipton Lodge No.33 Indiana.
Also chartered with this first dispensation were John Edgar from Liberty Lodge No.31 Missouri,
Cornelius Gilliam from the Lodge at Jefferson City Missouri and S.K. Waymore from Lipton Lodge No.33 in Indiana. Katzell Lodge met in regular stated communications until a Charter was issued as Sparta Lodge No.46 at the next annual Grand Lodge proceedings October 8th 1842.

(The above picture is an Artist's view of St. Joseph in 1858 looking toward Wyeth Hill, the Missouri River and the future site of the Court House built in 1871.)

Earlier in 1827, there was a Trading Post along the Missouri River at the mouth of Blacksnake Creek named Blacksnake Hills, owned and operated by Joseph Robidoux, who traded with the Native Americans. For many years the only evidence of European settlement within a 50 mile radius was a large log house surrounded by a stockade built by Robidoux to conduct his business. There were no cameras with which to record a picture of the Blacksnake Hills Trading Post but the journal of Richard Hayes McDonald from Kentucky wrote a description at the time. The journal is deposited in the Library of the Commonwealth of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia:

"From his cousin's, Richard went to where the city of St. Joseph is now located, and where the only occupant and owner of a business house was a Frenchman named Robadoux [sic], who had lived there a number of years as an Indian trader, and who was at that time still engaged in the occupation. He was moving around dressed in an old, red flannel shirt, his trousers strapped around his waist, on his head a slouched hat, and so tanned and weather-beaten that is was difficult to tell whether he was a white man, a mulatto, or an Indian. his establishment consisted of three log-cabins, one or more of which were filled with furs of otter, beaver, buffalo, deer, bear, and other skins; in the other buildings were stored provisions, trinkets, and supplies for the Indians, the latter chiefly in whiskey, tobacco, and liquors. The old man seemed to be a very energetic, enterprising, shrewd business manager. He was familiar with several dialects of Indian language, and was highly respected by all the natives who dealt with him...', 'From this trading outpost grew the city of St. Joseph, in many respects, perhaps, the most promising city west of St. Louis and this side of the Rocky Mountains. Many of its handsome streets are named after Roubadoux or some members of his family, and their foreign sound might surprise a stranger unacquainted with the origin of the nomenclature.' (From "Old Saint Joe, Gateway To The West, 1799 - 1932, Sheridan A. Logan, copywrite 1979, John Sublett Logan Foundation).

Mr. Robidoux contracted two Surveyors to create plats for a town he had proposed to build next to his Post in the area named Saint Michael's Meadow. This area was mentioned by Meriwether Louis, in his journal on July 7th in the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804. Brothers Frederick W. Smith and Simeon Kemper, both members of Sparta Lodge No.46 surveyed plats for the settlement. Brother Frederick W. Smith named his plat Saint Joseph after Mr. Robidoux's, Patron Saint and Simeon Kemper named his plat Robidoux. Frederick Smith's plat was selected and was recorded at St. Louis, Missouri in July 1843. The population at that time was about 200.
In 1845 a Dispensation was created for a new Lodge to be located at Saint Joseph. It's name was DeWitt Lodge. In 1846 the County Seat for Buchanan County was relocated from Sparta to Saint Joseph and a Charter was granted for St. Joseph Lodge No.78 October 14th 1846 with Sinclair K. Miller, Worshipful Master; Simeon Kemper, Senior Warden; and James Highley, Junior Warden. Within the first year Samuel E. Love was elected Secretary. Joseph Robidoux's son Felix was a charter member. there were a total of 22 members by October 2nd 1847.
Picture from: "The Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery"
http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/lewisclark2/circa1804/StLouis/blockinfo/Block6ARobidoux.htm

St. Joseph Lodge No.78 A.F. & A.M. Installs Officers For The Upcoming Year

2010-09-19T10:26:00.037-05:00

On Tuesday September 7th, the 165th year since St. Joseph Lodge #78 was chartered, the elected and appointed officers were installed for 2010 - 2011. Pictured below in the first row from left to right are:
R.W.B. Larry Lambing, Installing Officer and Past Master of Charity/Zeradetha Lodge and Past District Deputy Grand Master.
Nighram M. Johnson, Junior Stewart,
W.B. Marion H. Boydston, Senior Warden,
R.W.B. Dennis A. Bonjour, Worshipful Master,
LeRoy H. Maxwell III, Junior Warden,
D. Brian Carroll, Tiler
R.W.B. Virgil Simpson, Installing Chaplain and Past Master of Charity/Zeradetha Lodge and Past District Deputy Grand Master.
In the second row are pictured left to right:
W.B. Timothy J. Conard, Senior Deacon,
W.B. Carl C. Jennings, Treasurer,
R.W.B. Wesley F. Revels, Secretary,
W.B. John C. Keys, Junior Stewart,
W.B. Arthur F. Haynes, Marshal,
Junichiro Ichikawa, Junior Deacon,
R.W.B. Jim Brown, Installing Chaplain and Past Master of Brotherhood Lodge. R.W.B. Dennis A. Bonjour, serving as Worshipful Master, was initially raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on October 6th 1989 at Brotherhood Lodge #269, and is affiliated with and Past Master of all but three of the eleven Lodges in this 7th Masonic District of Missouri, U.S.A. Dennis also served as District Deputy Grand Master in 1998.

W.B. Marion Boydston, this year's Senior Warden, moved from Adelphi Lodge at Camdon Point, Missouri to St. Joseph Lodge in 2006 and has served as Junior and Senior Deacon and Junior Warden. W.B. Boydston was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in 1992, served three times as Worshipful Master and was also Treasurer at Adelphi Lodge. LeRoy H. Maxwell III, serving as Junior Warden and Junichiro Ichikawa, Junior Deacon are two of our newest Brothers and we are proud to have them as officers of our Lodge. W.B. Timothy J. Conard, was last year's Worshipful Master and W.B. Carl C. Jennings is a Past Master from 2008 and 2006. R.W.B. Wesley F. Revels is a Past Master of St. Joseph No.78 in 2004 and has duel membership with Lincoln Lodge No. 138. Brother Revels, also served District 7 as Deputy Grand Lecturer in 2004. To his left is W.B. John C. Keys, Past Master in 2007.

Report Submitted To The Grand Lodge Of Missouri

Number of Members: 236

Number Living Endowed Members: 29

Number 50Yr Members: 38

Members Raised to the Sublime Degree of Mastermason:

Marc M Pournazari, 7-Jul-2009

Nighram M Johnson, 21-Aug-2009

Richard L Phillips, 4-Aug-2009

Junichiro Ichikawa, 16-March-2010

Thomas M Curtain, 17-April-2010

Members Deceased:

From September 2009 - May 2010

Lester L Einbender, 7-Aug-2008

John D Schildknecht, 11-Sep-2008

Billy D Browning, 18-Sep-2008

Donald E Schuler, 10-Oct-2008

Gerald G Lieppman, 10-Nov-2008

William E Hurst Jr, 9-Jan-2009

Raymond K Alt, 11-Jan-2009

Mickey R Gill Sr, 8-Feb-2009

Ben Rich, 27-May-2009

Charles W Pettit, 13-Aug-2009

Gilbert E Vogel, 11-Sept-2009

Henry C Kirschner, 28-Nov-2009

Darrell W Casey, 20-Dec-2009

Harold W Cole, 28-Dec-2009

Guy D Saxton, 12-Jan-2010

Harold E Schaeffer, 21-Jan-2010

Leo Shanks, 22-Feb-2010

Steven F McGuire, 19-Mar-2010

Elmer E Bosley, 20-Mar-2010

LeRoy R Walker, 29-Mar-2010

John T Duncan, 21-May-2010

The Carpenter's Theorem

2010-09-11T07:34:00.112-05:00

Submitted by the webmaster.
This is a Third Installment in a Series on Freemasonry and its Meanings.
This article is Copywritten and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the Secretary of St. Joseph Lodge No78

The Holy Grail of Speculative Freemasonry, Unity in Duality. Reaching Out To Find God's Presence.

Probably one of the most illusive symbols in Freemasonry is the "Point In A Circle". No one is able to date exactly when it came to be used as a tool for plane geometry much less know how the symbol came to be used in spiritual teaching, which means it was probably in use before the last cataclysmic ice-age(1) which would place it before the great flood of Noah.

In recent history, Euclid (323-283 B.C.E.), included it in Book I Postulate 3 of his book "Elements". Defined as drawing a circle with a compasses, there is a certain point in the center of the circle such that all straight lines from the center to the boundary are equal. That is. "all radii are equal". In his Book III Proposition 18, Euclid teaches that a line drawn from the center intersects with a tangent and for Freemasons there are two parallel tangents. One represented as Saint John the Baptist and the other Saint John the Divine. It is a tradition among religions that Saint John the Baptist is celebrated on the Summer Solstice and Saint John the Divine celebrated on the Winter Solstice. Traditionally in Sacred Geometry, the ancient Gnosis teaches that the point or "inmost center" is described as the Pre-manifest Creator "Deity" from which all things originate thus uniting humankind with the "Eternal Source" from which all things are manifest. Thus the expression, "Unity In Duality". The circle circumventing the point being the divine nature or lens through which all things are created in material form with the Word or "Logos" personified as Christ Incarnate, proclaiming God's Word or "Logos", through the Holy Text. As The Christ Jesus, taught to his disciples as told in the book of Matthew 6th Chapter Verse 10, "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done In Earth, As It Is In Heaven".

The symbol as taught in the lectures of Freemasonry I'll leave for you to experience personally through the ritual as it is through your own experience that establishes its value.

Through a knowledge of this higher plane of consciousness immediately above, or rather within, being infinitely more real than the physical world alone there is Unity In Duality. This is the potential divinity of every human-being in the power of the Indwelling Christ or Christos Principal that Jesus the Christ and his Disciples show through the Holy Texts. And this is how the early Christian sects taught until they were suppressed by those who did not understand. The individual must have a knowledge (Gnosis) as well as faith (Pistis). For is it not ignorance that is the cause of humanity's great pain? Yet the great attraction which is for the Christian to live by "faith" alone or a matter of belief in certain dogmas of the Church any different than the belief of the Moslem who rushes to death against the bayonets and bullets of the "infidel" believing there is assured of all the sensual joys of the Paradise described in the Koran?

It is through a higher plane of consciousness that we recognize the Indwelling Christ Principal. There are numerous references to the Indwelling Christ in Holy Scripture which I will expound upon in future installments. Although some cultures identify this point of origination for creation differently, there is a commonality to all Monotheistic belief systems. For example in Brahman teaching, Vedic spiritual texts explain that the root or "Cause" of the universe is actually the reality underlying it. The principal is the same. Some cultures anthropomorphize or deify the "Point In A Circle" attaching attributes that are really human character traits. Vedic scholars however in the Shankaracharia tradition recognize the Ultimate Cause as neither an object or subject but rather a Supreme Self or Atman underlying both that is Self-realizing and Non-personal. One Infinite Cause interweaves the two without personal attributes recognized as emotions in the human consciousness. Therefore there is Unity In Duality. For this reason, although Yin and Yang are traditionally interpreted as positive and negative, they are actually without emotions we humans perceive as being good or bad, right or wrong.

The symbol of the "Point In A Circle", alluding to mathematics dates long before the Christian Scriptures or even Pythagoras and Euclid for that matter. In Egypt about 3,600 years ago the Egyptian mathematician Ahmes, formulated a rule for determining the area of a circle corresponding to 3.16. In ancient China Liu Hui, approximated Pi up to 6 digits by approximating the areas of polygons to determine the area of a circle.

By measuring the outside circumference of a circle and dividing the number by the circle's diameter, the answer obtained is irrational or what is called a transcendental number 3.1415926 >. Pi, is not an exact number because it cannot be duplicated or constructed in a material form therefore is transcendent meaning it continues into infinity. To more understand the concept of the transcendental number, the human consciousnesses must transcend the material and conceive the non-material pre-existant. This is the goal of all who study Gnosis or Transcendentalism. And this is the central theme taught in the symbol being studied. [The concept of a transcendent reality relative to the material universe will be described in greater detail in future installments.] The "Point" within the circle, is pre-existent, meaning it is unmanifest or infinite and the "Cause" of that which is manifest or finite or material in the universe.

In consciousness, the finite (manifest) world cannot be self-aware or "self-operative" because it does not have the binding force or "Cause" (unmanifest) and therefore there is no absolute order either singularly or jointly. This explains the constant change in nature or what would be called the cycle of life and death of all that is created. In Dualism the manifest and unmanifest realities of life are only reflections of each other. We can realize this when seeing a reflection of ourselves looking at a pool of water or in a mirror. We see our self but it is only a reflection. Our real Self is the underlying cause of the reflection. Both are separate but still one reality. A conscious understanding in the relationship between that which is the Cause and its' reflection is needed if one is to transcend the material reality of life and integrate the two in daily life. Therefore, when we become Self-aware as a component of the "Cause" we become aware that we are a part of and have a relationship with all that is the Cause and there is "Unity In Duality", or what Pythagoras would call, "The Harmony Of The Spheres". Becoming aware of this Cause and the process people have used since before recorded time to become aware of this Cause will be the subject of my next installments.

To read the first installment click here.
To read the second installment click here.

(1) Reference for cyclical climate changes in pre-history from the research of Dr. Louis A. Frank, "The Big Splash", Copyright 1990 Carol Publishing Company.
and Dr. Paul A. LaViolette PHd., Subquantum Kinetics, The Starburst Foundation.

HEROES AND PATRIOTS REMEMBERED

2010-08-27T15:23:00.124-05:00

Submitted by the webmaster

As new members of the fraternity we come to a meal and sit in fellowship, greeting each other with open hands of friendship. A new member may not know anyone else in the Lodge except maybe a relative or close friend. As we grow in Freemasonry we also become friends with long time members many who have contributed greatly to the fabric of our neighborhoods, communities and country. With this article I am writing about one such person who many call a true friend within the fraternity. His name is Rupert Patterson. Lodge records show Brother Patterson, was Initiated as a Freemason September 3rd 1957, Passed to the degree of Fellow Craft November 5th of the same year, Raised to the sublime degree of MasterMason February 4th 1958 and Worshipful Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.78 in 1975. WB Patterson, received his 50 year certification February 4th 2008.

Worshipful Brother Patterson served in the 2nd World War, landing on Omaha Beach in July 1944 in the Normandy Invasion and witnessed the liberation of Germany during Nazi occupation in 1945. It has always been a great honor and pleasure to sit in Lodge with Rupert. Words can not express the thanks I feel when ever I am in his presence.

A local newspaper reported at the time that, "Later in April 1945, as the allied forces pushed into Germany,18 young infantrymen using small arms fire and two heavy mortars including Pfc. Patterson, from the 320th Regiment of the 35th "Yoo-Hoo" Santa-Fe Division, broke up a determined German counterattack at Trabitz, near the Elbe river. Having set up a defensive position at the edge of town, shortly after dawn, they saw an outnumbering force of Germans approaching. Waiting until the Germans were about 450 yards from their position, the 18 infantrymen created tremendous fire power with their rifles, automatic weapons and mortars. The enemy continued to advance slowly under the heavy fire, but after several mortar shells were laid in on them, with many casualties and fatalities on both sides, the remaining Germans withdrew."

Top: The 35th Division, crossing the Saar river at the Elbe.
Below: A captured Vengeance-2 Rocket, originally being transported for launch from Northern France toward England.

The 35th Infantry Division was activated on December 23rd 1940, as the National Guard Division from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska and departed for Europe on May 12th 1944. After receiving further training, the division landed on Omaha Beachhead, Normandy, early July 1944 and entered combat on July 17th fighting in the Normandy hedgerows North of Saint-Lo. The division beat off 12 counterattacks at Emelie before entering Saint-Lo by July 18th located about 30 miles South of Normandy beachhead, then continued by taking part in the offensive action Southwest of Saint-Lo pushing the Nazi Germans across the Vire river on August 2nd, breaking out of the Cotentin Penninsula en-route to the Mortain-Avranches corridor. The 35th Infantry Division helped rescue the 30th Division's "Lost Battalion" August 7th - 13th 1944.

After successfully overcoming the enemy across France through Orleans and Sens, the 35th Division attacked across the Mosseile. September 13th - 15th captured Nancy and by October secured Chambray driving the Nazi Germans to their border. After some rest and rehabilitation , the 35th Division moved to Arlon in Belgium and in December 25 - 26th took part in the fighting to relieve Bastone by eliminating four German divisions. By early 1945 after successfully engaging in many more battles traveling South from Belgium, reached the Rhine at Wesel, and smashed across the Herne Canal, reaching the Ruhr river in early April and was ordered to cross the Elbe. The 35th continued occupation until VE-day and arrived in New York City , September 10th 1945.

In his official report, Maj. Norman C. Carey reported that on April 12th, Gen. Baade received orders for the 35th Division to join the assault on the Elbe river, disengaging along the Rhine-Herne Canal, and turning over its sector to the 75th and 79th Divisions and pulling out units as soon as they could be released. Gen. Baade ordered the Division to move by combat teams as soon as they were able to do so, beginning with Combat team 137 on April 12th, followed by Combat team 320 on the 13th and Combat team 134 on the 14th, accompanied by attached tanks, tank destroyers. engineers, and anti-aircraft units, the 35th G.I.'s loaded into 2 & 1/2 ton trucks, 1/2 ton trucks and jeeps and barreled along the Autobahn through farmland, timber and scattered towns along the way. The 137th Combat team met no serious organized resistance as it closed into positions along the West bank of the Elbe. But the 320th Division was not so fortunate. After reaching the Elbe river South of Magdeburg and near Barby they were joined with the 83rd Division and on arrival ordered to attack at their position immediately across the Saale river where it joined the Elbe river and drive the Nazi Germans from the West bank of the Elbe. This action helped secure the bridgehead and permit the engineers to put up a second pontoon bridge across the Elbe without being under fire and supplementing the Harry Truman Bridge built in the initial crossing. This became the last coordinated major attack for the 35th Division and the last river crossing for the war.

Credits:

Click here
for more in formation
about the 35th Infantry Division.

Video: 1944 La France Libre - "France Free!" Uploaded by "oscarello" onto U-Tube, June 8th 2007
War Photographs: From the 35th Infantry Division website, "The Campaign For Central Europe". Portrait from Rupert Patterson

The Carpenter's Theorem

2010-08-21T19:03:00.100-05:00

Euclid's 47th Proposition and the Golden Mean.
The Holy Grail of Speculative Freemasonry. Beyond Euclid's 47th Proposition and Plane Geometry.

Submitted by the webmaster. This is the second installment in a lecture series on Freemasonry and its meanings.

From ancient times up to the Renaissance period and the development of modern science, Alchemy was the dominant study that linked the physical and spiritual realms. In fact, it wasn't until modern science that we were able to quite literally prove the common relationships within the physical and spiritual realms. And it was Euclid of Alexandria's, verification of mathematical equations through "proof" that ultimately led to modern science. To Euclid of Alexandria, like the Pythagoras school, it wasn't enough to "know" through gnosis. Euclid required a rigorous study of "proof" outside the subjective experience of thought which is unique to the experience of the Alchemical Initiate. Each Initiate reaches a conclusion specific to the experiences of the Initiate's study and therefore there could be no proof as Euclid defined proof, because each initiate's experience was unique.

In ancient times, Gnosis, the study of the Mysteries, was the basis of all wisdom teachings throughout the world. Gnosis is a Greek word (γνῶσις) meaning knowledge obtained through spiritual or mystic insight. there is much confusion about the word gnosis and gnostic. Gnostics argued the identity of The Christ and were branded heretics by the Church at Rome. But the word Gnosis is simply a word denoting an intuitive, mystic or transcendental understanding of the relationship between the unity of the seen and unseen universe. The final goal or objective of all the Initiate's study is the full realization by the Initiate's divine nature in its oneness with the Creator of the Universe in all its phases and in its wholeness and completeness. And here we have a teaching consistent with Speculative Freemasonry. Gnosis transcends specific religious doctrine finding "proofs" that are universal throughout the Theophany experience. Okay, what does that mean? Theophany simply refers to G*d revealing or manifesting G*d's self to humanity. G*d's presence is revealed! There are many examples of the Theophany experience in Holy Scripture. It was a custom in the ancient Christian Church to baptize catechumens at the Vespers of Theophany, so that Baptism is also revealed as the spiritual illumination of humankind.

The reference for Baptism as the Theophany experience in the ancient Church to humankind through scripture comes from Galatians 3:23-29 Galations 3:23-29, 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

There are many examples of the Theophany experience in Bible Scripture:

The Angel of G*d speaks to Abraham, Genesis 22:9-11 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said: 'Abraham, Abraham.' And he said: 'Here am I.'

Moses at Mount Sinai, Exodus 19:19-20 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. 20 And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

Isaiah's first vision of G*d, Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. 2 Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.

John the Evangelist speaks of G*d manifested on earth as Jesus The Christ, John 1:14 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

A Spirit of G*d speaks at Jesus' Baptism, Mark 1:9-11 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Paul's conversion, Acts 9:3-7 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Early modern physics in the 1800s focused in the study of matter and its motion and force as it exists in the form of wave frequencies. Physicists now recognize motion and force as a continuous fabric of consciousness in all of life everywhere. But it was the Alchemy of the ancients that morphed into what would be called Aether Theory in modern times. It seemed that through Aether Theory, modern science had bridged the gap that had for so long caused so much angst within the religious and scientific communities and then along comes Einstein and his Mass Energy Equivalence Theory. Suddenly, it became popular to define matter and its motion and force described through particles rather than wave frequencies. This led to a schism in the scientific community.

Like Euclid of Alexandria, and his search to prove reality by creating objective mathematical constants in plane geometry, Einstein proved that units of mass and units of energy are actually manifestations of the same thing with his famous E=mc2 equation. This was and still is to many people an unfamiliar concept. Einstein's equation states that energy consistently exhibits mass in what ever form of energy it takes. Being consistent with Newton's laws of thermodynamics and angular momentum, and Euclid's "Elements", Einstein's new theory launched a new direction in science. But there was one BIG problem. Energy does not always express its self in the form of mass. As Einstein admitted the flaw his equation became so popular that Aether theory was basically forgotten until Quantum Theory.

To read the first installment click here.
To read the third installment click here.

(To Be Continued)

The Bill Of Rights. A Nation Born Of An Idea. The United States Of America

2010-08-19T21:07:00.013-05:00

Freemasonry Is More Than A Fraternity. It Is An Expression Of Freedom.

The 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

The 2nd Amendment: The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The 3rd Amendment: there shall be no quartering of soldiers in a citizen's home without consent of the owner during times of peace or according to the strict letter of the law during times of war.

The 4th Amendment: The right of the poeple to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The 5th Amendment: The right of "Due Process of Law" to all citizens. No person can be prosecuted twice, "double jeopardy".

The 6th Amendment: the right to a "speedy and public" trial before an "impartial" jury.

The 7th Amendment: No civil case decided by a jury may be reexamined in any court of the United States.

The 8th Amendment: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusuall punishments inflicted."

The 9th amendment: We can not know the conditions of future generations, therefore we each must do our part, through giant steps, to carry freedom one stage farther than where we found it.

The 10th Amendment: Powers not delegated expressly by the Constitution of the United States nor prohibited by the states are reserved to the states and to the people.

Saint Joseph Lodge #78 Celebrates 50 Year Member

2010-08-18T19:01:00.025-05:00

Dean F Proffitt and wife Shirley were the center of attention at our last meeting Tuesday September 17th. Dean received his award for being a member in good standing for 50 years at St. Joseph Lodge #78. Retired from the St. Joseph Light and Power company after 37 years, Dean was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on August 16th 1960. Dean served in the military and was engaged in the Korean Theater.

Standing at Shirley's left is Timothy J. Conard our current Worshipful Master and to Dean's right is Junichiro Ichikawa originally from Japan and member of St. Joseph Lodge #78. Directly behind Shirley standing is Rite Worshipful Brother William J. Bowser, Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge in 1991 and current District Deputy Grand Master of the 7th District. Standing directly behind Worshipful Brother Timothy Conard is Alan Evans, Past Master of Beeville Lodge #261 in Beeville Texas. Standing in the center in the rear is Rite Worshipful Brother Jim Brown, Past Master of several Lodges in the district and Past District Deputy Grand Lecturer. Jim presided over the ceremony presenting Dean with his certificate and 50 year pin.

The Carpenter's Theorem

2010-08-14T19:20:00.063-05:00

Speculative Freemasonry, Pythagoras and Euclid's 47th Proposition

Submitted by the Webmaster. This is the first installment in a lecture series on Speculative Freemasonry and its meanings.

Euclid's 47th proposition is commonly used as the symbol of a Master Mason but few masons have been taught the meaning underlying the symbol denominating their achievement. It can be argued that understanding the relevance of Pythagoras and Euclid's 47th Proposition to Speculative Freemasonry is nearly as enigmatic as Pythagoras and the now ancient Order that claimed his name. Why would an exercise in plane geometry be used in Speculative Freemasonry? And why would Speculative Freemasonry find it necessary to explain an ethical principal referencing Pythagoras and Euclid's 47th Proposition? Could it be that Speculative Freemasonry as we know it today has evolved from earlier attempts from age to age, to form virtues that mirror or understand more perfectly the miracles of its creator, the One God Of Love And Peace? The One Great Architect Of The Universe?

332B.C. to 276B.C.
The Great Conquest
And Creation Of The Library
At Alexandria, Egypt

As every story involving humanity usually begins with some sort of conflict so does this one. In his expedition to Egypt in 332 - 331B.C., Alexander had founded the city of Alexandria after waging a war to end all wars. At age 33 he was dead, and so was his great empire; breaking up into a heap of little empires, each of which were led by generals in competition for dominance. After his death in 323B.C., his generals fought each other over who was to get their hands on what they could. But by 306B.C. control over Egypt had firmly been established by one of them, Ptolemy I, who was succeeded by his son Ptolemy II. The Ptolomies were of Greek ancestry but adhered to many of the customs of the country. The Ptolomies ruled Egypt for many generations and it was PtolomyII who founded the museum and library at Alexandria.

Ptolemy acquired the most valuable manuscripts for the Library and had translations made of them. Ptolemy's purchasing agents would scour the Mediterranean for valued books, and even compelled travelers arriving in Egypt to give up any books in their possession which were then copied by scribes in the Library, the original retained, and the copy given to its owner. His son Ptolemy III, who decreed Leap Year, was even more tenacious. Borrowing the original copies of famous Athenian Greek playwrights, he had their manuscripts copied and return the copies forfeiting the deposit he had paid as bond for the return of the originals. Before the arrival of Caesar's thugs, the library is said to have had close to three quarters of a million books or scrolls. A standard scroll was about 15 to 20 feet in length and contained the equivalent of about ten to twenty thousand words of modern English text. Examples: Scrolls from Qumran or Nag Hammadi.

Even more impressive was the Museum which included a school or institute - in effect, a university. Ptolemy III, engaged the most celebrated scholars of his time to teach at this university, and soon it became the scientific capital of the western world. Few were the learned men of later antiquity who had not studied at Alexandria; they were taught by the finest scientists the contemporary world could muster.

Mathematics flourished at Alexandria. Eratosthenes (292 -273B.C.) chief librarian, calculated the circumference of the earth to within 5% of the correct value by observing the difference in zenith of the sun at two places separated by a known distance (Alexandria and Syene, on approximately the same meridian); in possession of ever more accurate trigonometrical tables he calculated the distance to the moon and to the sun. The method was correct, and although his imperfect measuring instruments yielded a large error for the moon, the distance to the sun, as near as we can ascertain the length of his unit, the stadium, agrees with what we know today, including measurements by radar. And this was done at a time when the philosopher Epicurus in Athens taught that the Sun was two feet in diameter!

The academic community at Alexandria was mainly Greek, Egyptian and Jewish although much of the knowledge they transmitted originated in ancient Sumer and Cydonia. And so was the city surrounding it. It was referred to as "Alexandria of Egypt" for it was considered a part of Egypt. Considered worthless as soldiers, the culture of Alexandria had a reputation fro being lively and quick-witted. Among the scholars whom Ptolemy brought to Alexandria was Euclid, a man whose place and date of birth are unknown, so today he is simply called "Euclid of Alexandria". Euclid was, among other things, a publisher's dream. His "Elements" (of Plane Geometry) are the all time best seller of any textbook ever written. More than a thousand editions have been published only since the invention of the letter-press in the 15th century and is still the standard for all school geometries.

The major part of Euclid's "Elements" was certainly known before Euclid and Pythagoras. The Egyptians "Squared Circles" to calculate the dimensions and angles of repose for the building of the pyramids and the diameters and proportional distances of the Sun, Earth and moon. (This will be a future story in this lecture series.) The importance of Euclid's work was not in what the theorems said. The great significance of the Elements was in their method. The Elements (Proofs) are the first grandiose building of mathematical architecture. There were five foundation stones, or postulates, which Euclid believed, and were so simple and obvious that everyone could accept them. Euclid's five foundation stones were thus:
1. A straight line may be drawn from any point to any other point.
2. A finite straight line may be extended continuously in a straight line.
3. A circle may be described with any center and any radius.
4. All right angles are equal to one another.
5. Given a line and a point not on that line, there is not more than one line which can be drawn through the point parallel to the original line.

Onto these foundations stones Euclid laid stone after stone with his logic, making sure that each new stone would rest firmly supported by one previously laid, until an entire cathedral stood as firmly anchored as its foundations. Euclid was not the founder of geometry; he was the father of mathematical rigor.

525B.C. to A.D.300, The Speculative School of Pythagoras

The organization or Order was, in its origin, a religious brotherhood or an association created more for the moral reformation of society rather than that of being a philosophical school. the Pythagorean Brotherhood sought by rites and abstinences to purify the believer's soul and enable it to escape from the "wheel of birth". This would be obvious since Pythagoras was initiated into virtually all the schools teaching Monotheistic and Trinitarian religious principals during his life. Founded by Pythagoras of Samos who settled in Croton in southern Italy about 525B.C., the religious order that incorporated his name held that,

1. The metaphysics of number and the conception that reality, including music and astronomy, is, at its deepest level, mathematical in nature.
2. The use of philosophy as a means of spiritual purification.
3. The heavenly destiny of the soul and the possibility of its rising to union with divine.
4. The appeal to certain symbols, sometimes mystical, such as tetraktys, the Golden Section,
and the Harmony Of The Spheres.
5. The Pythagorean Theorem.
6. The demand that members of the order observe a strict loyalty and secrecy.

Taught by akousmata (something heard) the Order passed its teachings from one initiate to another with sacred discourses that required they be memorized before ascending to the next level. And I think it to be no coincidence that this is how Freemasons transmit their knowledge today. Pythagoras was fascinated with the way the physical world seemed to have a parallel relationship with the way Nature, apparently, had a mathematical infrastructure and this mathematical infrastructure was subtler than its material counterpart in the outer world we experience. Example: A circle drawn in the sand may seem to be exactly circular and perfect but in reality is not because of its tiny imperfections by virtue of its material form. A mathematical circle is however perfect because it can only be "pictured" in the mind. Idea is Greek for "picture".

Pythagoras being both mathematician and mystic, "pictured" that all of life, particularly harmonious sounds, always vibrated at lengths in simple numeric ratios and from this conclusion he determined that a properly balanced material body would carry an equally harmonious spiritual soul, just as properly tuned strings emit equally harmonious sounds. Therefore he saw good souls as being balanced, harmonious, and rational. The Brotherhood called this speculative perception of reality, "The Harmony Of Souls". By understanding this "Attunement" with the universal laws of creation, one would have the key to understanding the process for achieving union with the divine.

the Harmony of Souls, was described as the Sacred Decad, and its significance was explained in its mystical name "tetraks" meaning "fourness". The Sacred Decad explained that 1+2+3+4=10, and was thought of as the "Perfect Triangle" as pictured in the illustration.

The idea of union with divine or "The Transmigration of Souls" was the basis for the Pythagorean way of life. As the soul is material it also has its spiritual soul. this idea was later explained in the Christian epistles bearing the name of the Apostle Paul, in 1st Corinthian's 2:11-12 and 15:37-58 for example:

"For who among men knows, the thoughts of a man, except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of G*d except the Spirit of G*d. We have not received the spirit of the word but the Spirit who is from G*d that we may understand what G*d has freely given us".

Paul is defining a G*d that exists in a pluralistic universe. Paul clearly separates the existence of G*d (infinite) with the thoughts or Spirit who is from G*d (the finite being and unity with divine) and ourselves (finite). This verse also implies a Spirit that is able to move from one place to another thus establishing the Pythagorean idea of the Transmigration of Souls. In chapter 15:37-58 Paul continues:

"When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But G*d gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kinf of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly dodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead [in spirit]. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So too is written; "The first man Adam became a living being" the last Adam, a life giving spirit. The Spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we are born the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."

Pythagoreanism & Christianity. The Unity of Opposites & The Triadic Principal

The Pythagoreans taught that the universe is composed of three fundamental properties that make it possible to exist.
1. The first was "Creation" the infinite spiritual reality. This "One" is beyond ousia, or being.
2. The second was the product of creation and was a finite material reality.
3. Third was that which brought a union, Logos, the Word that connects all things "Reunion" (A cyclical process that causes one "finite" to be united with the of other "Infinite"). This process was also called the Unity Of Opposites. Hence, Monotheism.

Sound familiar? There is one G*d, and that one G*d is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are distinct, but not separate... Therefore, G*d is everything we can conceive and more! Pythagoras is given credit with bringing Monotheism to Western thought in 525B.C. About 475 years would pass before Western cultures would accept Monotheism as the Christ experience. As the Creator Logos, Jesus is the Word which connects all things. As the personal Jesus, he is the flesh and blood of G*d who walks the earth giving sanctity to life and man. Through Christ there is a: 1. Unity Of Opposites 2. Infinite - Finite 3. Finite as Divine.

The dichotomy of G*d into divinity and humanity and his return to himself in the sacrificial act hold the comforting doctrine that in man's own darkness there is hidden a "Light" that shall once again return to its source, and that this Light actually wanted to descend into the darkness in order to deliver the Enchained One (his humanity) who languishes there, and lead him to the Light everlasting.

Squaring Our Actions

Square\'skwa(a)(ae)r,
1. An instrument with at least one right angle and two or more straight edges used to lay out or test right angles.
2. The corner or angle of a figure.
3. The product of a number or quantity multiplied by itself.
4. The guiding principal : Pattern, Rule, Standard.
5. Justness of Workmanship or of Conduct : Exact Proportion : Regularity : Quartile Aspect.
6. Squares pl. obs. Matters, Affairs, Things.

Squaring our actions is a phrase common among Freemasons. By squaring our actions with each other and G*d we free ourselves from the bondage of finite existence therefore achieve union with Divine Light. The phrase to square one's actions can easily be interpreted through Pythagorean thought. The product of the material self multiplied by its spiritual self squares its actions in both finite and infinite relationship with the unifying spirit of G*d.

A.D. 2005, Conclusion

Today, with the exception of a few elementary theorems, Euclidean geometry is of little use for modern science and engineering; trigonometry and analytical geometry being much more efficient methods of mathematics. In Euclidean thought there is also no room for science based on speculative prediction - "Quantum Probabilities". But the real significance of Euclidean geometry lies in the superb training it gives for logical thinking. A "Proof" must not contain anything that is ultimately based on what we want to prove, or the Proof, is circular and invalid. Example: "Every angle in a semicircle is a right angle". Or, "The apex of a right angle subtended by the diameter lies on the circumference". Obviously certain conditions are required for a semicircle to have only right angles. The second statement is correct, but it must be proved. And Euclidean geometry teaches the difference between truth based on conditions and truth based on absolutes.

Though having flaws, regarding what ever Quantum Probability there may be, the Euclidean Foundation Stones were and are regarded as the foundation stones of mathematics and also in a way the foundation stones of Speculative Freemasonry. Oh, with regard to Freemasonry as a "Secret Society", you can go to any book store and pick out hundreds of books that explain Euclidean and Pythagorean thought. The fact is that if Freemasonry were "Secret" there would be no books --- the society would have snuffed out all the libraries centuries ago. But then, what became of the great library in Alexandria? A story to be continued in another column...

To read the second installment click here.

To read the third installment click here.

(To Be Continued)

Video, The True Purpose of Freemasonry

2010-08-10T17:35:00.011-05:00

Includes a rare interview with Dr. Robert Lomas,
author if "The Hiram Key".

Video, Famous Freemasons

2010-08-09T14:36:00.015-05:00

Saint Joseph Lodge No.78

The Carpenter's Theorem

St. Joseph Lodge No78, Chartered October 14th 1846

NEWSLETTER: Fall 2011

Make Annual Membership Dues Payments and Masonic Contributions Here!

Saint Joseph Lodge No.78 Chartered October 14th 1846

St. Joseph Lodge No.78 A.F. & A.M. Installs Officers For The Upcoming Year

The Carpenter's Theorem

HEROES AND PATRIOTS REMEMBERED

The Carpenter's Theorem

The Bill Of Rights. A Nation Born Of An Idea. The United States Of America

Saint Joseph Lodge #78 Celebrates 50 Year Member

The Carpenter's Theorem

332B.C. to 276B.C.The Great ConquestAnd Creation Of The LibraryAt Alexandria, Egypt

Video, The True Purpose of Freemasonry

Video, Famous Freemasons

332B.C. to 276B.C.
The Great Conquest
And Creation Of The Library
At Alexandria, Egypt