masonic matters
Truth and Tolerance
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
“Does our ferocity not derive from the fact that our instincts are all too
interested in other people? If we attended more to ourselves and became the
centre, the object of our murderous inclinations, the sum of our intolerances
would diminish.”
E. M. Cioran, Philosopher
“Intolerance is a form of egotism, and to condemn egotism intolerantly is to
share it.” George Santayana, Philosopher
“No human trait deserves less tolerance in everyday life, and gets less, than
intolerance.” Giacomo Leopardi, Scholar
Truth and Tolerance
Brother W.H Rylands in the late 1800’s once remarked something to the effect
that symbolism is the happy hunting ground for the imaginative. However, Masons
shouldn’t let a remark like that dissuade them from learning from the symbolism
of Masonry.
What do you think of when you see a cross with one upright and two crossbars,
such as on the cap of a 33° Mason of the Scottish Rite? It reminds me of two
T’s, which gets me thinking of Truth and Tolerance, two very important lessons
in Freemasonry.
A community is a society; masonic lodges are a community just as houses of
worship are a community; people banded together for a common cause are a
community and society of like minded people: Author Harry G. Franfurt in his
book “on Truth” says “No society can afford to despise or to disrespect the
truth.” He further remarks that a society must provide encouragement and support
for capable individuals [Masonic and truth students ] to devote themselves to
acquiring and exploiting significant truths. The society of Freemasons has been
doing that for centuries.
Freemasonry as a community and society certainly respects and teaches the
importance of truth; in fact ‘Truth’ is one the three principle tenets of
Freemasonry: What other society has that as a tenet? Freemasons are known as
seekers of truth; we are truth students. Seeking the truth and adhering to truth
is sacrosanct among Masons. Freemasons are also a tolerant society of men;
tolerant people naturally seem to be respecters of truth. Truth and Tolerance go
hand-in-hand.
Possibly this is one reason why Freemasons find it so repugnant when we see
truth being abused by so many of the anti-this and anti-that in the world. We
know all too well about the falsities spread about Freemasonry among members of
some religions. It is always surprising to learn that there are clergy and other
religious people who deliberately disrespect the truth enough to bend and break
it to serve their purposes.
I was nose-to-nose with some men recently who were practicing religious
intolerance by bashing the Muslim religion. It was a sad episode. There is
always some good that comes from bad situations; the good was I remembered how
fortunate I’ve been to be a Freemason, and how thankful I am that the Brothers
of my ‘home lodge’ elected me to receive the degrees and then conferred them on
me; these were milestone events in my life. You may feel the same sense of
thankfulness that I do, and possibly that is a reason why Masons are so
reluctant to demit from the ‘home lodge’ when we move throughout the world as
our lives progress; our ‘home lodge’ might represent to us our first love of
Masonry.
The incident that I referred to above happened, of all places, in a church
building over coffee after the church service. Houses of worship are not only
for the righteous or the perfect, they are for the rest of us who struggle day
by day to live up to the teachings of our various religions. However, when in a
house of worship, as in a Masonic Lodge, we should do our best to keep the
lessons taught close at hand, so we can learn them, and demonstrate this by
being on our best behavior.
This sad episode of Islam bashing happened after church in the fellowship hall
of a church Sharon and I were visiting while we were traveling. Had we sat at a
different table we would have had a much more enjoyable experience. After the
hello’s I could hardly believe what transpired between these other two men; it
was obvious that they were not Masons.
The conversation of the two men over coffee reminded me of something my late
friend and brother, Most Worshipful Brother Rodney Larson, once said; ‘Masons
should always be ready to defend any religion against attacks.’ A statement like
that speaks the truth, and I agree with him. I try my best to stay out of
disagreements but there are times when the truth needs to be pointed out, (in a
kind way, of course,) when false information about a religion is being taught
and then used in a mean way, which religion bashing is.
I’m no expert on the Qur'an, which I spell as Koran, but I do read in it from
time to time. The Talmud says a wise person learns from everyone; I think there
is something to learn from the Koran as well as the Talmud, and the Holy Bible.
The bashing of Islam I heard included, of course, totally false information
about Islam and the Koran. These two men were repeating many of the false
statements that were circulating about Islam after the September 11th attack by
terrorists, of which some of the same falsities resurfaced this past election
season here in America.
I read an E-Koran at http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/qr/index.htm. One of the
more knowledgeable men I know on the Koran and Islam is our good brother,
Worshipful Brother Rashied Bey, who has always been a great resource for
questions relating to Islam.
One of the myths about Islam is how the Koran teaches hatred of other religions,
in particular Christianity and Judaism. In an email a few years back (June 2005)
Brother Rashied answered such a charge by citing two passages from the Koran.
The E-Koran I read on http://www.sacred-texts.com is the 1876 translation by
J.M. Rodwell.
One of the passages cited by Brother Rashied is Surah 2: verse 62 (Surah 2:62)
“Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish, and the
Christians, and the Sabians; any who believe in G-d and the Last Day, and work
righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no
fear, nor shall they grieve.” If you go to www.sacred-texts.com to view the
E-Koran I read you will see this translation: “Verily, they who believe
(Muslims), and they who follow the Jewish religion, and the Christians, and the
Sabeites, whoever of these believeth in God and the last day, and doeth that
which is right, shall have their reward with their Lord: fear shall not come
upon them, neither shall they be grieved.” You will see that while the
translations differ slightly they convey the same message; the message is not
about hatred but of tolerance and understanding.
The other passage from the Koran Brother Rashied shared in his email is from
Surah 2:136 “Say ye: 'We believe in G-d, and the revelation given to us, and to
Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses, and
Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord: we make no difference
between one and another of them; and we submit to G-d.”
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are three distinct and separate religions, but
they do have many similarities, and their adherents are all children of the same
creator.
As Freemasons, seekers of truth who embrace the tenet of truth and the principle
of tolerance, we know that societies that honor truth survive; religions, such
as the three I have mentioned, have survived; they each honor and respect truth,
and they are tolerant of each other, which is evidenced by the many Interfaith
groups throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and many
other countries. We as Freemasons need to keep letting our friends and families
know that Freemasonry embraces Truth and Tolerance.
“Nothing dies so hard, or rallies so often as intolerance.” Henry Ward Beecher,
Preacher
From the Great light of Masonry = “But first I will tell you what is written in
the book of truth.” Daniel 10:21 NIV
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