Freemasonry, Truth, and Postmodernism – Truth is a reoccurring theme in Freemasonry.
In a world in which ‘fake news’ and AI-generated deep-fakes of politicians speaking untruths seem acceptable, truth seems to be a priceless commodity. For Freemasons, though, it is essential.
The word ‘truth’ occurs at least eleven times in today’s Masonic ritual:
Initiation, JW Lecture
“It is but the summing up of what has been intimated in this explanation, to say that the tenets or fundamental principles of Ancient Freemasonry are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.”
Initiation, Charge
“From the very commendable attention you appear to have given this charge, I am led to hope that you will duly appreciate the excellence of Freemasonry, and imprint indelibly on your mind the sacred duties of truth, of honour, and of virtue.”
Passing, Sign.
“And Moses also, when he came down from the Mount, hailed his brethren with this Sign, as a signal to them to attend to what he about to deliver, and as a pledge of his sincerity and truth.”
Passing, South East Charge.
“I shall content myself with observing that, as in the former Degree, you had an opportunity with making yourself acquainted with the principles of moral truth and virtue,”
Passing, Working Tools
The infallible Plumb Rule which, like Jacob’s Ladder, forms a line of union between Heaven and Earth, is the criterion of moral rectitude and truth.
Passing, Charge
“Geometry or Masonry, originally synonymous terms, is of a divine or moral nature enriched with the most useful knowledge, so that while it proves the wonderful properties of nature, it demonstrates the more important truths of morality.”
Raising, Retrospect
“Proceeding onward, and still guided in your progress by the principles of moral truth,”
And,
“The secrets of Nature and the principles of intellectual truth were then unveiled to your view.”
And,
“Of this great truth the annuals of Freemasonry afford….”
Raising, Exemplification of the Signs.
“It is thus, my brother, that we are bound together in one indivisible chain of sincere affection, lawful support, relief, fidelity and truth.”
Raising, Charge
“Duty, honour and gratitude now bind you to your trust; let no motive, therefore, ever make you swerve from your duty, but be true and faithful …”
Based on the foregoing examples one can surmise that to every Brother it is made clear that, within Freemasonry, truth is an essential part of its underlying philosophy.
Truth:
“What is truth?” Most famously asked in the Bible, it is a question that has puzzled philosophers for centuries.
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 1976 states meaning of the word ‘truth’ is this:
Truth: State of being the case: Fact, the body of real things, events, and facts.
Dictionary definitions of morality and intellect are also relevant to the foregoing passages.
Morality: The principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, or good and bad, behaviour.
Intellect: The ability to reason objectively; to understand.
Historically, Freemasonry has strong connections with education in general, and the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment, and the Royal Society in particular.
These connections are well documented and have resulted in advancement of mankind’s knowledge and wellbeing.
People study arts and humanities so that we can better communicate and understand each other.
We study mathematics and the hard sciences to improve our wellbeing. Advancements of knowledge are largely a result of reason, but also the application of the Scientific Method.
The Scientific Method:
Simply put, the Scientific Method involves making a hypothesis, deriving predictions from the hypothesis as logical consequences, and then carrying out experiments based on those predictions to determine whether the original hypothesis is correct.
Freemasonry provides the Freemason with ‘Working Tools’ for the purpose of testing hypotheses and finding truth.
The Working Tools:
The collection of ten Masonic working tools of the Moderns and Antients may be divided into two distinct groups: those that provide instant fact or truth, and those that require many hours of use to achieve a level of skill that would deem the user competent in their use, as follows:
24-inch gauge instant fact
The common gavel developed skill
The chisel developed skill
The square instant fact
The level instant fact
The plumb rule instant fact
The skirret instant fact
The compasses instant fact
The pencil developed skill
The trowel developed skill
The working tools that provide instant fact are those tools that repeatedly provide a truth about size, or whether something is square, level, or plumb, and provide the basis for all measurement in such areas as building construction and navigation.
The working tools that require skill development have provided us with the following: the common gavel or hammer in the work of the blacksmith permitted robust horseshoes and steel tires for carriage wheels; the common gavel and the chisel, the works of Michelangelo Buonarroti; the pencil (and its cousin, the pen), the contents of galleries and libraries that include the works of Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Adam Smith, and too many others to list; the trowel, in the hands of operative masons, the many brick, stone, masonry and concrete buildings that we inhabit.
All together, practically and symbolically, these tools allow a Freemason to test and measure his world and what he finds in it.
Postmodernism:
Postmodernists are “skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person”.
This philosophy considers “reality” to be a mental construct.
How does Freemasonry and the truth provided by such tools as the square, the level, and the plumb rule relate to relative truth and reality being a mental construct?
Tools like these are needed in today’s world; a world that has raised issues of truth that previous generations had not considered. Following, are two examples of Postmodernist flexible truths, both of which must be considered by Freemasons.
Gender Fluidity:
Gender fluidity is non-fixed gender identity that shifts over time, or depends on situation. Regular Freemasonry relies on their membership being men, while the Honourable Fraternity of Antient Masonry relies on their membership being women.
Those genders have been considered absolute until very recently, so how does “regular” Freemasonry or women’s Freemasonry deal with the concept of gender fluidity and its relative truth?
Critical Race Theory (CRT):
Scholars of CRT view race as a social construct with no biological basis. One tenet of CRT is that racism and disparate racial outcome are the result of complex, changing, and often subtle social and institutional dynamics, rather than explicit and intentional prejudices of individuals.
CRT scholars argue that the social and legal construction of race advances the interests of White people at the expense of people of color, and that the liberal notion of US law as “neutral” plays a significant role in maintaining a racially unjust social order, where formally color-blind laws continue to have racially discriminatory outcomes.
Such flexibility in considering matters once considered inflexible raises a question about whether it is reasonable to expect Freemasonry to accept the concept that there should be different standards to measure merit and ability for different individuals.
A relative who is associated with a small company, when asked about applicants or potential employees who support and espouse Postmodernist theories such as gender fluidity and CRT, and who wish to access any washroom any time they feel so disposed, or wish to be judged on their ability according to their race, said bluntly, “They are trouble makers, who instantly make themselves unemployable.”
It is doubtful that this opinion would be considered politically correct, but it does give one food for thought as to the role Postmodernism and its associated theories might have in the world of today and tomorrow.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, one can say that Freemasonry is based on the assumed solidity of the truths of the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment, as embodied in the Scientific Method.
Postmodernism espouses caution regarding reason, and by extension, truth, thereby questioning the basis of Freemasonry and, thus, Freemasonry itself.
The question one has to ask is whether Freemasonry and what it built yesterday, builds today, and builds tomorrow, as built with the square, level, plumb, and with truth tested by the Scientific Method, can continue to weather the ravages of time, or must it succumb to the relative truths of Postmodernism?
Footnotes
Reference
The Work, Canadian Rite, Grand Lodge of Alberta A. F. & A. M.
The Work, Ancient York Rite, Grand Lodge of Alberta A. F. & A. M.
Scientific Method: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
Postmodernism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism
Gender fluidity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_fluidity
Critical Race Theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_race_theory
Article by: Chris E. Batty
Chris E. Batty was born in the spring of 1945 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK.
He immigrated to Canada early in 1965 with just $45 in his pocket and very little education.
Chris’s interest in Freemasonry stems from his father, who was a member of Bostall Heath Lodge No. 4492, English Constitution.
He has been a Freemason since 1975, served as Worshipful Master of Saskatchewan Lodge No. 92 GRA for the Masonic Year 1982; appointed the Grand Pursivant for the Masonic Year 2001 – 2002; elected as the District Deputy Grand Master for the Northern Lights District for the year 2005 – 2006.
Elected to the Masonic Higher Education Bursary Committee in 2006 and served as the Chairman from 2007 to 2014.
Elected Junior Grand Warden in 2012, and served as SGW, DGM, and the Grand Master for the year 2015 – 2016.
He was appointed as an Honorary Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan in 2015.
And subsequently, an Honorary Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba in 2017.
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