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119-635: The building was completed by the Selma Fraternal Lodge No. 27 of the Free and Accepted Masons in 1847. The organization had it built at a cost of $ 15,000 to serve as a school for orphans and the children of indigent Masons. It first opened its doors in October 1848 as the Central Masonic Institute . The school was not a success, and within a few years the mortgage on the property was lost by

238-541: A Freemason to explore Masonry further through other degrees, administered separately from the basic Craft or "Blue Lodge" degrees described here, but generally having a similar structure and meetings. There is much diversity and little consistency in Freemasonry because each Masonic jurisdiction is independent and sets its own rules and procedures while Grand Lodges have limited jurisdiction over their constituent member Lodges, which are ultimately private clubs. The wording of

357-514: A Mason, he is qualified to join various "Concordant bodies" which offer additional degrees. These organisations are usually administered separately from the Grand Lodges who administer the Craft degrees. The extra degrees vary with locality and jurisdiction . In addition to these bodies, there are further organizations outside of the more traditional Rites of Freemasonry, that require an individual to be

476-714: A Master Mason before they can join (such as the Rosicrucian Society of England ). Throughout its history, Freemasonry has received criticism and opposition on religious and political grounds. The Catholic Church, some Protestant denominations, and certain Islamic countries or entities have expressed opposition to or banned membership in Free-Masonry. Opposition to Freemasonry is sometimes rooted in anti-Semitism or conspiracy theories , and Freemasons have historically been persecuted by authoritarian states. The Masonic lodge

595-645: A given country, state or geographical area (termed a jurisdiction ). There is no single overarching governing body that presides over worldwide Freemasonry; connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition. Estimates of the worldwide membership of Freemasonry in the early 21st century ranged from about two million to more than six million. The fraternity is administratively organised into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent ) Lodges. The United Grand Lodge of England remains

714-507: A god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference". Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old. Some theologians, such as Alister McGrath , argue that

833-648: A higher power or God after the experience. About a quarter of those afflicted by temporal lobe seizures experience what is described as a religious experience and may become preoccupied by thoughts of God even if they were not previously. Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran hypothesizes that seizures in the temporal lobe, which is closely connected to the emotional center of the brain, the limbic system , may lead to those afflicted to view even banal objects with heightened meaning. Psychologists studying feelings of awe found that participants feeling awe after watching scenes of natural wonders become more likely to believe in

952-432: A hospital, as it may have appeared while in use as Vaughan Memorial Hospital. Additionally, the museum has mid-19th century antique furniture, a collection of Native American artifacts, meeting rooms for clubs and civic groups, and parlors for social events. Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry ) or simply Masonry includes various fraternal organisations that trace their origins to

1071-504: A lecture, which is usually on some aspect of Masonic history or ritual. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Lodge may hold a formal dinner , or festive board , sometimes involving toasting and song. The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies. Candidates for Freemasonry are progressively initiated into Freemasonry, first in the degree of Entered Apprentice . At some later time, in separate ceremonies, they will be passed to

1190-421: A means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups. Johns Hopkins researchers studying

1309-509: A non-theistic religion, Buddhism leaves the existence of a supreme deity ambiguous. There are significant numbers of Buddhists who believe in God, and there are equally large numbers who deny God's existence or are unsure. Chinese religions such as Confucianism and Taoism are silent on the existence of creator gods. However, keeping with the tradition of ancestor veneration in China , adherents worship

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1428-547: A precedent for "shared jurisdiction" between mainstream and Prince Hall Grand Lodges, effectively modifying the traditional interpretation of Exclusive Jurisdiction. By 2024, most U.S. Grand Lodges have recognized their Prince Hall counterparts, establishing a new norm where two Grand Lodges can legitimately operate within the same geographical area, provided they maintain mutual recognition and amity. The evolution of this practice demonstrates how traditional Masonic principles can adapt to accommodate social progress while maintaining

1547-400: A supernatural being and to see events as the result of design, even when given randomly generated numbers. Theistic religious traditions often require worship of God and sometimes hold that the purpose of existence is to worship God. To address the issue of an all-powerful being demanding to be worshipped, it is held that God does not need or benefit from worship but that worship is for

1666-410: Is omnipotent , omniscient, and benevolent. This belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Dystheism , which is related to theodicy , is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil . Omnipotence (all-powerful) is an attribute often ascribed to God. The omnipotence paradox

1785-553: Is "beyond" being and is both the source of the Universe and the teleological purpose of all things. Aristotle theorized a first uncaused cause for all motion in the universe and viewed it as perfectly beautiful, immaterial, unchanging and indivisible. Aseity is the property of not depending on any cause other than itself for its existence. Avicenna held that there must be a necessarily existent guaranteed to exist by its essence—it cannot "not" exist—and that humans identify this as God. Secondary causation refers to God creating

1904-508: Is 18, but university lodges are given dispensations to initiate undergraduates below that age.) Additionally, most Grand Lodges require a candidate to declare a belief in a Supreme Being (although every candidate must interpret this condition in his own way, as all religious discussion is commonly prohibited). In a few cases, the candidate may be required to be of a specific religion. The form of Freemasonry most common in Scandinavia (known as

2023-476: Is Regular and what is Irregular (and the definitions do not necessarily agree between Grand Lodges). Essentially, every Grand Lodge will hold that its landmarks (its requirements, tenets and rituals) are Regular, and judge other Grand Lodges based on those. If the differences are significant, one Grand Lodge may declare the other "Irregular" and withdraw or withhold recognition. The most commonly shared rules for Recognition (based on Regularity) are those given by

2142-457: Is a historically African-American branch of Freemasonry that maintains its own separate Grand Lodge system parallel to the state Grand Lodge system. Together, these two systems - the conservative Grand Lodges and Prince Hall Grand Lodges make up for a total of 97 UGLE recognized Grand Lodges, sharing jurisdictions in the United States. They represent the main bodies of Masonic governance in

2261-664: Is a system of 33 degrees, including the three Blue Lodge degrees administered by a local or national Supreme Council. This system is popular in North America, South America and in Continental Europe . In America, the York Rite , with a similar range, administers three orders of Masonry, namely the Royal Arch , Cryptic Masonry , and Knights Templar . In Britain, separate bodies administer each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join

2380-550: Is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh, and often sees usage by Jews and Christians in the interjection " Hallelujah ", meaning 'praise Jah', which is used to give God glory. In Judaism , some of the Hebrew titles of God are considered holy names . Allāh ( Arabic : الله ) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews meaning 'the God', while ʾilāh ( إِلَٰه , plural `āliha آلِهَة )

2499-475: Is an extraordinary intervention by God, such as miracles . Deism holds that God exists but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it, such as answering prayers or producing miracles. Deists sometimes attribute this to God having no interest in or not being aware of humanity. Pandeists would hold that God does not intervene because God is the Universe. Of those theists who hold that God has an interest in humanity, most hold that God

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2618-476: Is beginningless. Some interpretations and traditions of Buddhism can be conceived as being non-theistic . Buddhism has generally rejected the specific monotheistic view of a creator deity . The Buddha criticizes the theory of creationism in the early Buddhist texts . Also, major Indian Buddhist philosophers, such as Nagarjuna , Vasubandhu , Dharmakirti , and Buddhaghosa , consistently critiqued Creator God views put forth by Hindu thinkers. However, as

2737-424: Is contradictory as that would entail opposing himself. Omniscience (all-knowing) is an attribute often ascribed to God. This implies that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, either their free will might be illusory or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient. Open Theism limits God's omniscience by contending that, due to

2856-605: Is derived from the Proto-Germanic *ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form *ǵhu-tó-m was probably based on the root *ǵhau(ə)- , which meant either "to call" or "to invoke". The Germanic words for God were originally neuter , but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism , the words became a masculine syntactic form . In English, capitalization

2975-521: Is in amity with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut, the principle of Exclusive Jurisdiction does not apply, and other Grand Lodges may recognise both. Likewise, the five distinct kinds of lodges in Germany have nominally united under one Grand Lodge in order to obtain international recognition. The concept of Exclusive Jurisdiction has been significantly challenged in the United States with

3094-414: Is most often framed with the example "Could God create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?" as God could either be unable to create that stone or lift that stone and so could not be omnipotent. This is often countered with variations of the argument that omnipotence, like any other attribute ascribed to God, only applies as far as it is noble enough to befit God and thus God cannot lie, or do what

3213-730: Is no deity except God." In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity describes God as one God in Father , Son ( Jesus ), and Holy Spirit . In past centuries, this fundamental mystery of the Christian faith was also summarized by the Latin formula Sancta Trinitas, Unus Deus (Holy Trinity, Unique God), reported in the Litanias Lauretanas . God in Hinduism is viewed differently by diverse strands of

3332-456: Is not allowed. There are many reasons one Grand Lodge will withhold or withdraw recognition from another, but the two most common are Exclusive Jurisdiction and Regularity . Exclusive Jurisdiction is a concept whereby normally only one Grand Lodge will be recognised in any geographical area. If two Grand Lodges claim jurisdiction over the same area, the other Grand Lodges will have to choose between them, and they may not all decide to recognise

3451-518: Is now the administration building at the United Methodist Children's Home on North Broad Street. The trustees then converted the space into a new hospital, Vaughan Memorial Hospital , in 1911. The hospital occupied the building until 1960, when a new hospital building was completed on West Dallas Avenue. The building sat vacant and neglected until 1969, when the City of Selma, Dallas County, and

3570-499: Is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance. Sacrifice for the sake of God is another act of devotion that includes fasting and almsgiving . Remembrance of God in daily life include mentioning interjections thanking God when feeling gratitude or phrases of adoration , such as repeating chants while performing other activities. Transtheistic religious traditions may believe in

3689-614: Is often conceived as the greatest entity in existence. God is often believed to be the cause of all things and so is seen as the creator, sustainer , and ruler of the universe. God is often thought of as incorporeal and independent of the material creation, while pantheism holds that God is the universe itself. God is sometimes seen as omnibenevolent , while deism holds that God is not involved with humanity apart from creation. Some traditions attach spiritual significance to maintaining some form of relationship with God, often involving acts such as worship and prayer , and see God as

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3808-485: Is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology , which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems. Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries. Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of

3927-501: Is only one deity, referred to as "God" (with uppercase g ). Comparing or equating other entities to God is viewed as idolatry in monotheism, and is often strongly condemned. Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic traditions in the world. Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhid , meaning 'oneness' or "uniqueness'. The first pillar of Islam is an oath that forms the basis of the religion and which non-Muslims wishing to convert must recite, declaring that, "I testify that there

4046-434: Is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry and entrusted with grips, signs, and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The degrees are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. These three degrees form Craft (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry, and members of any of these degrees are known as Free-Masons , Freemasons or Masons . Once the Craft degrees have been conferred upon

4165-415: Is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim, however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science and without invoking divine beings. A deity, or "god" (with lowercase g ), refers to a supernatural being. Monotheism is the belief that there

4284-468: Is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the chosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally through revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is religious pluralism . A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. The view that all theists actually worship

4403-476: Is that each candidate must be "free and of good reputation". The question of freedom, a standard feudal requirement of mediaeval guilds, is nowadays one of independence: the object is that every Mason should be a proper and responsible person. Thus, each Grand Lodge has a standard minimum age, varying greatly and often subject to dispensation in particular cases. (For example, in England the standard minimum age to join

4522-544: Is the Lodge . These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level (usually coterminous with a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate. Lodges are found around the world and on all populated continents; however due to anti-Masonry and laws that effectively ban

4641-453: Is the annual installation of the Master of the Lodge and his appointed or elected officers. In some jurisdictions, an Installed Master elected, obligated, and invested to preside over a Lodge, is valued as a separate rank with its own secrets and distinctive title and attributes; after each full year in the chair the Master invests his elected successor and becomes a Past Master with privileges in

4760-424: Is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. The Lodge meets regularly and conducts the usual formal business of any small organisation (approve minutes , elect new members, appoint officers and take their reports, consider correspondence, bills and annual accounts, organise social and charitable events, etc.). In addition to such business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree or receive

4879-484: Is the term used for a deity or a god in general. Muslims also use a multitude of other titles for God. In Hinduism , Brahman is often considered a monistic concept of God. God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God , with early references to his name as Krishna - Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari . Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa

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4998-567: Is the term used in Balinese Hinduism . In Chinese religion , Shangdi is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it and constantly bringing order to it. Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism . "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā- , nominative Mazdå , reflects Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh (female) . It is generally taken to be the proper name of

5117-489: Is the universe and the universe is God and denies that God transcends the Universe. For pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza , the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature. Pantheism is sometimes objected to as not providing any meaningful explanation of God with the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer stating, "Pantheism is only a euphemism for atheism." Pandeism holds that God

5236-459: Is the view that the truth values of certain claims—especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether God , the divine or the supernatural exist—are unknown and perhaps unknowable. Theism generally holds that God exists objectively and independently of human thought and is sometimes used to refer to any belief in God or gods. Some view the existence of God as an empirical question. Richard Dawkins states that "a universe with

5355-676: Is to the Wonderful Lord." Baha , the "greatest" name for God in the Baháʼí Faith , is Arabic for "All-Glorious". Other names for God include Aten in ancient Egyptian Atenism where Aten was proclaimed to be the one "true" supreme being and creator of the universe, Chukwu in Igbo , and Hayyi Rabbi in Mandaeism . The existence of God is a subject of debate in theology , philosophy of religion and popular culture . In philosophical terms,

5474-432: Is upon candidates to ask to join; while they may be encouraged to ask, they may not be invited. Once the initial inquiry is made, a formal application may be proposed and seconded or announced in open Lodge and a more or less formal interview usually follows. If the candidate wishes to proceed, references are taken up during a period of notice so that members may enquire into the candidate's suitability and discuss it. Finally,

5593-404: Is used when the word is used as a proper noun , as well as for other names by which a god is known. Consequently, the capitalized form of god is not used for multiple gods or when used to refer to the generic idea of a deity . The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions,

5712-428: Is wise, but can say that God is not ignorant (i.e. in some way God has some properties of knowledge). Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that one has to understand a "personal god" as an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe." Pantheism holds that God

5831-523: The Bible , the Quran , or other religious scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a Supreme Being , that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics do not take place within the lodge; and Continental Freemasonry , which consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions. The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry

5950-609: The Holy Royal Arch , which is linked to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland, but completely separate in England. In England, the Royal Arch is closely associated with the Craft, automatically having many Grand Officers in common, including H.R.H the Duke of Kent as both Grand Master of the Craft and First Grand Principal of the Royal Arch. The English Knights Templar and Cryptic Masonry share

6069-537: The Landmarks of Freemasonry , which elude any universally accepted definition. Candidates for Freemasonry will usually have met the most active members of the Lodge they are joining before being elected for initiation. The process varies among Grand Lodges, but in modern times interested people often look up a local Lodge through the Internet and will typically be introduced to a Lodge social function or open evening. The onus

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6188-497: The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a continuity from an operative lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative Lodge. It is reputed to be the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world. Alternatively, Thomas De Quincey in his work titled Rosicrucians and Freemasonry put forward the theory that suggested that Freemasonry may have been an outgrowth of Rosicrucianism . The theory had also been postulated in 1803 by German professor; J. G. Buhle . The first Grand Lodge,

6307-585: The Nordic countries , the Swedish Rite is dominant; a variation of it is also used in parts of Germany. Freemasonry describes itself as a "beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols". The symbolism is mainly, but not exclusively, drawn from the tools of stonemasons – the square and compasses , the level and plumb rule, the trowel , the rough and smooth ashlars , among others. Moral lessons are attributed to each of these tools, although

6426-473: The Swedish Rite ), for example, accepts only Christians. At the other end of the spectrum, "Liberal" or Continental Freemasonry , exemplified by the Grand Orient de France , does not require a declaration of belief in any deity and accepts atheists (the cause of the distinction from the rest of Freemasonry). During the ceremony of initiation, the candidate is required to undertake an obligation, swearing on

6545-588: The United Grand Lodge of England . The Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland were formed in 1725 and 1736, respectively, although neither persuaded all of the existing lodges in their countries to join for many years. The earliest known American lodges were in Pennsylvania . The collector for the port of Pennsylvania, John Moore, wrote of attending lodges there in 1715, two years before

6664-737: The United States , Masonic membership is organized in two systems, first through 51 Conservative Grand Lodges - one for each state plus the District of Columbia . While these Grand Lodges once boasted over 4 million members in 1957, membership has declined sharply. According to the Masonic Service Association of North America, current combined membership across these jurisdictions stands at approximately 875,000 members. Additionally, there are 46 Prince Hall Grand Lodges in amity with UGLE, operating across various U.S. states. Prince Hall Masonry

6783-401: The anthropic principle , and so would not learn of, for example, life on other planets or of universes that did not occur because of different laws of physics . Non-theists have argued that complex processes that have natural explanations yet to be discovered are referred to the supernatural, called god of the gaps . Other theists, such as John Henry Newman who believed theistic evolution

6902-524: The second world war from 33,000 in 1960 to 53,000 in 2023. Relations between Grand Lodges are determined by the concept of Recognition . Each Grand Lodge maintains a list of other Grand Lodges that it recognises. When two Grand Lodges recognise and are in Masonic communication with each other, they are said to be in amity , and the brethren of each may visit each other's Lodges and interact Masonically. When two Grand Lodges are not in amity, inter-visitation

7021-404: The "craft" by being progressively "initiated", "passed" and "raised" into the three degrees of Craft, or Blue Lodge Masonry. During these three rituals, the candidate is progressively taught the Masonic symbols, and entrusted with grips or tokens, signs, and words to signify to other Masons which degrees he has taken. The dramatic allegorical ceremonies include explanatory lectures and revolve around

7140-467: The Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England , was founded on St John's Day , 24 June 1717, when four existing London Lodges met for a joint dinner. Over the next decade, most of the existing Lodges in England joined the new regulatory body, which itself entered a period of self-publicity and expansion. New lodges were created, and the fraternity began to grow. During

7259-465: The Greek Revival-style that was popular at the time of its construction. It is most notable for its centrally placed tetrastyle portico , utilizing monumental Ionic columns. The exposed brickwork of the seven bay facade utilizes the stretcher bond, with a belt course between each floor. The pedimented portico covers the three central bays, with balconies at each upper level stretching

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7378-583: The Lodge and Grand Lodge. In other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, and no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the Lodge. Most Lodges have some sort of social functions, allowing members, their partners, and non-Masonic guests to meet openly. Often coupled with these events is the discharge of every Mason's and Lodge's collective obligation to contribute to charity. This occurs at many levels, including in annual dues, subscriptions, fundraising events, Lodges and Grand Lodges. Masons and their charities contribute for

7497-427: The Lodge takes an officially secret ballot on each application before a candidate is either initiated or rejected. The exact number of adverse ballots ("blackballs") required to reject a candidate varies between Masonic jurisdictions. As an example, the United Grand Lodge of England only requires a single "blackball", while the Grand Lodge of New York requires three. A minimum requirement of every body of Freemasons

7616-750: The Mark Grand Lodge offices and staff at Mark Masons Hall. The Ancient and Accepted Rite (similar to the Scottish Rite), requires a member to proclaim the Trinitarian Christian faith, and is administered from Duke Street in London. Conversely, the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia is a fully independent esoteric organization that requires members be United Grand Lodge of England Master Masons . In

7735-607: The Masons. The structure was next used as a Confederate hospital during the American Civil War . It survived the Battle of Selma near the end of the war and served as a Freedman's Bureau Hospital for a short time following it. It was then purchased by local civic leaders in an effort to lure the Dallas county seat from Cahaba to Selma. The effort was successful, with Selma becoming

7854-543: The Premiere Grand Lodge had adopted. As an insult, the self proclaimed "Antient Grand Lodge" coined the term "modern" to designate the Premiere Grand Lodge (historians now use Premiere Grand Lodge and Antient Grand Lodge – to differentiate the two bodies). These two Grand Lodges vied for supremacy until the Premiere Grand Lodge made a compromise with the antient Grand Lodge to return to a ritual that worked for both Grand Lodges. They re-united on 27 December 1813 to form

7973-467: The Punjabi language. Vāhi (a Middle Persian borrowing) means 'wonderful', and guru ( Sanskrit : guru ) is a term denoting 'teacher'. Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all description. The most common usage of the word Waheguru is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other— Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh , "Wonderful Lord's Khalsa , Victory

8092-581: The Selma Housing Authority purchased it for $ 82,500. This was done under the leadership of Joseph T. Smitherman , the mayor of Selma at the time. The facility reopened as the Historic and Civic Building on May 16, 1971. It was renamed in honor of Smitherman by the Selma City Council in 1979, for his role in preserving and restoring the building. The three-story red brick structure is built in

8211-629: The United Grand Lodge of England in 1929: Blue Lodges, known as Craft Lodges in the United Kingdom, offer only the three traditional degrees. In most jurisdictions, the rank of past or installed master is also conferred in Blue/Craft Lodges. Master Masons are able to extend their Masonic experience by taking further degrees, in appendant or other bodies whether or not approved by their own Grand Lodge. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

8330-454: The United States, though both have experienced significant membership declines since their mid-20th century peaks. Grand Orient de France , the largest jurisdiction in Continental or Liberal Freemasonry in terms of membership, is over 53,000 members spread across approximately 1,381 lodges for an average of 38 members per Lodges. The Grand Orient de France has been growing in membership since

8449-432: The argument from morality is the argument from conscience which argues for the existence of God given the existence of a conscience that informs of right and wrong, even against prevailing moral codes. Philosopher John Locke instead argued that conscience is a social construct and thus could lead to contradicting morals. Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. Agnosticism

8568-414: The assignment is by no means consistent. The meaning of the symbolism is taught and explored through ritual, and in lectures and articles by individual Masons who offer their personal insights and opinions. According to the scholar of Western esotericism Jan A. M. Snoek: "the best way to characterize Freemasonry is in terms of what it is not, rather than what it is". All Freemasons begin their journey in

8687-449: The atheist J. L. Mackie agreed that the argument is valid, they disagreed with its premises. David Hume argued that there is no basis to believe in objective moral truths while biologist E. O. Wilson theorized that the feelings of morality are a by-product of natural selection in humans and would not exist independent of the mind. Philosopher Michael Lou Martin argued that a subjective account for morality can be acceptable. Similar to

8806-568: The benefit of the worshipper. Mahatma Gandhi expressed the view that God does not need his supplication and that, "Prayer is not an asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is a daily admission of one's weakness." Invoking God in prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Depending on the tradition, God can be viewed as a personal God who is only to be invoked directly while other traditions allow praying to intermediaries, such as saints , to intercede on their behalf. Prayer often also includes supplication such as asking forgiveness . God

8925-501: The construction of the Temple of Solomon , and the artistry and death of the chief architect, Hiram Abiff . The degrees are those of "Entered apprentice", "Fellowcraft" and "Master Mason". While many different versions of these rituals exist, with various lodge layouts and versions of the Hiramic legend, each version is recognizable to any Freemason from any jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions,

9044-588: The course of the 18th century, as aristocrats and artists crowded out the craftsmen originally associated with the organization, Freemasonry became fashionable throughout Europe and the American colonies . Between 1730 and 1750, the Grand Lodge endorsed several significant changes that some Lodges could not endorse. A rival Grand Lodge was formed on 17 July 1751, which called itself the " Antient Grand Lodge of England " to signify that, in their opinion, these lodges were maintaining older traditions and rejected changes that

9163-487: The degree of Fellowcraft ; and then raised to the degree of Master Mason . In each of these ceremonies, the candidate must first take the new obligations of the degree, and is then entrusted with secret knowledge including passwords, signs and grips ( secret handshakes ) confined to his new rank. Although these symbols and gestures are nominally secret, they are readily found in public sources, including those published by Masonic organizations themselves. Another ceremony

9282-455: The doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism , mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement. Fideism is the position that in certain topics, notably theology such as in reformed epistemology , faith is superior than reason in arriving at truths. Some theists argue that there is value to

9401-470: The effects of the "spirit molecule" DMT , which is both an endogenous molecule in the human brain and the active molecule in the psychedelic ayahuasca , found that a large majority of respondents said DMT brought them into contact with a "conscious, intelligent, benevolent, and sacred entity", and describe interactions that oozed joy, trust, love, and kindness. More than half of those who had previously self-identified as atheists described some type of belief in

9520-434: The existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method . Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argued that science and religion are not in conflict and proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called " non-overlapping magisteria " (NOMA). In this view, questions of the supernatural , such as those relating to the existence and nature of God, are non - empirical and are

9639-399: The existence of at least one god is called theism . Conceptions of God vary considerably. Many notable theologians and philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God . Atheism rejects the belief in any deity. Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of God is unknown or unknowable . Some theists view knowledge concerning God as derived from faith. God

9758-415: The existence of deities but deny any spiritual significance to them. The term has been used to describe certain strands of Buddhism, Jainism and Stoicism . Among religions that do attach spirituality to the relationship with God disagree as how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view

9877-589: The existence of other deities. Transcendence is the aspect of God's nature that is completely independent of the material universe and its physical laws. Many supposed characteristics of God are described in human terms. Anselm thought that God did not feel emotions such as anger or love, but appeared to do so through our imperfect understanding. The incongruity of judging "being" against something that might not exist, led many medieval philosophers approach to knowledge of God through negative attributes, called Negative theology . For example, one should not say that God

9996-399: The existence of ugliness in the universe. This has also been countered by arguing that beauty has no objective reality and so the universe could be seen as ugly or that humans have made what is more beautiful than nature. The argument from morality argues for the existence of God given the assumption of the objective existence of morals . While prominent non-theistic philosophers such as

10115-463: The first Masonic lodge in Canada at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia . God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator , and principal object of faith . In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the universe or life, for which such a deity is often worshipped". Belief in

10234-457: The first evidence of ceremonial regalia. There is no clear mechanism by which these local trade organisations became today's Masonic Lodges. The earliest rituals and passwords known, from operative lodges around the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, show continuity with the rituals developed in the later 18th century by accepted or speculative Masons, as those members who did not practice the physical craft gradually came to be known. The minutes of

10353-406: The fundamental aims of regular Freemasonry. Some jurisdictions have formalized this arrangement through written agreements that specifically outline the terms of shared jurisdiction. Regularity is a concept based on adherence to Masonic Landmarks , the basic membership requirements, tenets and rituals of the craft. Each Grand Lodge sets its own definition of what these landmarks are, and thus what

10472-645: The ground of all being, immanent in and transcendent over the whole world of reality, with immanence and transcendence being the contrapletes of personality. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation , and the "greatest conceivable existent". These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides , Augustine of Hippo , and Al-Ghazali , respectively. Jainism has generally rejected creationism , holding that soul substances ( Jīva ) are uncreated and that time

10591-448: The increasing recognition of Prince Hall Grand Lodges , a branch of Freemasonry created for African Americans. Historically, many "mainstream" or conservative U.S. Grand Lodges refused to recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodges operating in their states, citing Exclusive Jurisdiction. However, this began to change in 1989 when the Grand Lodge of Connecticut extended recognition to its Prince Hall counterpart. This initial recognition created

10710-419: The largest Masonic jurisdiction worldwide. However, its membership has declined dramatically - from about 500,000 members in the 1960s to approximately 175,000 in 2021. The organization is structured into various Provincial Grand Lodges at the local level. Similarly, the Grand Lodge of Ireland has experienced a steep decline, with membership falling from 100,000 in 1960 to around 19,000 members currently. In

10829-547: The law. In most Lodges, the oath or obligation is taken on a Volume of Sacred Law , whichever book of divine revelation is appropriate to the religious beliefs of the individual brother (usually the Bible in the Anglo-American tradition). In Progressive continental Freemasonry, books other than scripture are permissible, a cause of rupture between Grand Lodges. Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have sought

10948-430: The laws of the Universe which then can change themselves within the framework of those laws . In addition to the initial creation, occasionalism refers to the idea that the Universe would not by default continue to exist from one instant to the next and so would need to rely on God as a sustainer . While divine providence refers to any intervention by God, it is usually used to refer to "special providence", where there

11067-425: The local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Freemasonry is the oldest fraternity in the world and among the oldest continued organizations in history. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry , which insists that a “volume of sacred law”, such as

11186-536: The main themes of each degree are illustrated by tracing boards . These painted depictions of Masonic themes are exhibited in the lodge according to which degree is being worked and are explained to the candidate to illustrate the legend and symbolism of each degree. The idea of Masonic brotherhood probably descends from a 16th-century legal definition of a "brother" as one who has taken an oath of mutual support to another. Accordingly, Masons swear at each degree to support and protect their brethren unless they have broken

11305-478: The manner they find most satisfying. Some will simply enjoy the dramatics, or the management and administration of the lodge, others will explore the history, ritual and symbolism of the craft, others will focus their involvement on their Lodge's sociopolitical side, perhaps in association with other lodges, while still others will concentrate on the lodge's charitable functions. Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent and sovereign bodies that govern Masonry in

11424-455: The nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future and process theology holds that God does not have immutability , so is affected by his creation. Theologians of theistic personalism (the view held by René Descartes , Isaac Newton , Alvin Plantinga , Richard Swinburne , William Lane Craig , and most modern evangelicals ) argue that God is most generally

11543-485: The needs of humanity at different points in history and for different cultures, and as part of a scheme of progressive revelation and education of humanity. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is supersessionism , i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism , where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism :

11662-433: The origin of the universe to argue for the existence of God. The teleological argument , also called "argument from design", uses the complexity within the universe as a proof of the existence of God. It is countered that the fine tuning required for a stable universe with life on earth is illusory, as humans are only able to observe the small part of this universe that succeeded in making such observation possible, called

11781-519: The origins of the movement in a series of similar documents known as the Old Charges , dating from the Regius Poem in about 1425 to the beginning of the 18th century. Alluding to the membership of a lodge of operative masons , they relate it to a mythologised history of the craft, the duties of its grades, and the manner in which oaths of fidelity are to be taken on joining. The 15th century also sees

11900-502: The proper domain of theology . The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world. Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their 2010 book, The Grand Design , that it

12019-554: The putative formation of the first Grand Lodge in London. The Grand Lodge of England appointed a Provincial Grand Master for North America in 1731, based in Pennsylvania, leading to the creation of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania . In Canada, Erasmus James Philipps became a Freemason while working on a commission to resolve boundaries in New England and, in 1739, he became provincial Grand Master for Nova Scotia ; Philipps founded

12138-497: The question of the existence of God involves the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being or existence ) and the theory of value (since some definitions of God include "perfection"). Ontological arguments refer to any argument for the existence of God that is based on a priori reasoning. Notable ontological arguments were formulated by Anselm and René Descartes . Cosmological arguments use concepts around

12257-533: The relief of need in many fields, such as education, health and old age. Private Lodges form the backbone of Freemasonry, with the sole right to elect their own candidates for initiation as Masons or admission as joining Masons, and sometimes with exclusive rights over residents local to their premises. There are non-local Lodges where Masons meet for wider or narrower purposes, such or in association with some hobby, sport, Masonic research, business, profession, regiment or college. The rank of Master Mason also entitles

12376-406: The religion, with most Hindus having faith in a supreme reality ( Brahman ) who can be manifested in numerous chosen deities. Thus, the religion is sometimes characterized as Polymorphic Monotheism . Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god at a time while accepting the validity of worshiping other deities. Monolatry is the belief in a single deity worthy of worship while accepting

12495-404: The religious volume sacred to his personal faith to do good as a Mason. In the course of three degrees, Masons will promise to keep the secrets of their degree from lower degrees and outsiders, as far as practicality and the law permit, and to support a fellow Mason in distress. There is formal instruction as to the duties of a Freemason, but on the whole, Freemasons are left to explore the craft in

12614-476: The risk in having faith and that if the arguments for God's existence were as rational as the laws of physics then there would be no risk. Such theists often argue that the heart is attracted to beauty, truth and goodness and so would be best for dictating about God, as illustrated through Blaise Pascal who said, "The heart has its reasons that reason does not know." A hadith attributes a quote to God as "I am what my slave thinks of me." Inherent intuition about God

12733-519: The ritual, the number of officers present, the layout of the meeting room, etc. varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Almost all officers of a Lodge are elected or appointed annually. Every Masonic Lodge has a Master, two Wardens, a treasurer and a secretary. There is also always a Tyler , or outer guard, outside the door of a working Lodge, who may be paid to secure its privacy. Other offices vary between jurisdictions. Each Masonic Lodge exists and operates according to ancient principles known as

12852-479: The same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism, and Sikhism. The Baháʼí Faith preaches that divine manifestations include great prophets and teachers of many of the major religious traditions such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Zoroaster, Muhammad, Bahá'ú'lláh and also preaches the unity of all religions and focuses on these multiple epiphanies as necessary for meeting

12971-402: The same one. (In 1849, for example, the Grand Lodge of New York split into two rival factions, each claiming to be the legitimate Grand Lodge. Other Grand Lodges had to choose between them until the schism was healed. ) Exclusive Jurisdiction can be waived when the two overlapping Grand Lodges are themselves in amity and agree to share jurisdiction. For example, since the Grand Lodge of Connecticut

13090-622: The seat of government for the county in 1866. The building served as the Dallas County Courthouse until 1902, when a new courthouse was built at the corner of Alabama Avenue and Lauderdale Street. The trustees of the Henry W. Vaughan estate purchased the building for $ 5,025 in 1904 and leased the former courthouse to a new school, the Selma Military Institute . The military school used the building until 1908, when it moved to what

13209-519: The source of all moral obligation . God is sometimes described without reference to gender , while others use terminology that is gender-specific. God is referred to by different names depending on the language and cultural tradition, sometimes with different titles of God used in reference to God's various attributes. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus . The English word itself

13328-514: The spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā means 'intelligence' or 'wisdom'. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā- , from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh 1 , literally meaning 'placing ( dʰeh 1 ) one's mind ( *mn̩-s )', hence 'wise'. Meanwhile 101 other names are also in use. Waheguru ( Punjabi : vāhigurū ) is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God. It means 'Wonderful Teacher' in

13447-513: The spirits of people such as Confucius and Laozi in a similar manner to God. Some atheists have argued that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined and embellished over generations. Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons

13566-473: The term remains an English translation common to all. El means 'god' in Hebrew, but in Judaism and in Christianity , God is also given a personal name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin possibly the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh . In many English translations of the Bible , when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Jah or Yah

13685-656: The tradition, it does not have a presence in every country. In the spirit of brotherhood and hopefulness, however, Freemasons usually presume that clandestine lodges may nonetheless exist in those countries in which it is banned, even if they may not actually exist. The degrees of Freemasonry are the three grades of medieval craft guilds : Entered Apprentice , Journeyman or Fellow of the craft (now called either “Fellowcraft” or “Fellow Craft” in English speaking jurisdictions, and “Companion” in non-English speaking jurisdictions), and Master Mason . The candidate of these three degrees

13804-468: The width and depth of the covered area. The wrought iron balcony railings utilize a design with an open diamond pattern, also known as a crowfoot baluster . The building is now home to the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. The first floor contains the museum's Civil War collection and documents relating to slavery . The second is dedicated to a political collection. The third floor is set up as

13923-430: The world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father. Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as

14042-402: Was a separate entity but then became the universe . Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. God is often viewed as the cause of all that exists. For Pythagoreans , Monad variously referred to divinity, the first being or an indivisible origin. The philosophy of Plato and Plotinus refers to " The One ", which is the first principle of reality that

14161-474: Was acceptable, have also argued against versions of the teleological argument and held that it is limiting of God to view him having to only intervene specially in some instances rather than having complex processes designed to create order. The argument from beauty states that this universe happens to contain special beauty in it and that there would be no particular reason for this over aesthetic neutrality other than God. This has been countered by pointing to

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