Masonic Education
Freemasonry emphasizes the life long pursuit of knowledge. To that end, here are some interesting items we have come across recently with may be of interest.
We recommend signing up for email notifications of V.W. Bro. Norm McEvoy’s The Educator
For prospective Freemasons who may be trying to find out what Freemasonry is about, here is short video from the Grand Lodge of Maryland which explains the basic ideas quite well. We have included more videos on our Becoming A Mason page.
Here are some academic these and lectures we found online which deal with Masonic history:
- Architects of 18th Century English Freemasonry 1720-1740, Richard Andrew Berman, University of Exeter, 2010 {note: PDF]
- Lecture on Jews In English Freemasonry by Professor Aubrey Newman, University of Leicester, 2015
Here are some other recommended websites on Masonic Education:
- The Educator (written by V.W.B. Norm McEvoy of Victoria, B.C.)
- Masonic World
- Pietre Stones Review of Freemasonry
- Grand Lodge of B.C. & Yukon – History Index Page – Websites of Masonic Interest;
- FreemasonInformation.com;
- Masonic Dictionary.com;
- Masonic World.com;
- United Grand Lodge of England;
Here are some links to various topics of interest we have found online:
First, information about some commonly queried topics:
- Anderson’s Constitutions – 1723: (1);
- Aprons: (1);
- Brotherly Love: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Cable Tow: (1) ;
- Cardinal Virtues: (1);
- Catholicism & Freemasonry (changing attitudes?): (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
- Charity: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Checkered Flooring: (1);
- Circumambulation: (1)
- Compasses: (1);
- Corn, Wine & Oil: (1)(2) ;
- Cowan: (1) ;
- Deacons: (1);
- Entered Apprentice Degree: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Euclid’s 47th Proposition: (1) ;
- Fellow Craft Degree (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) ;
- Five: (1)
- Four Cardinal Virtues: (1);
- Four Tassels: (1)(2);
- G, Letter “G”: (1);
- Geometry: (1)(2);
- Hiram Abif (1) (2) (3) (4 .pdf) (5) (6)(7)(8)(9)(10) ;
- Holy Saints John: (1)(2)(3)(4);
- Holy Royal Arch, aka York Rite: (1)
- King Solomon: (1) ;
- Kipling, Rudyard: (1)
- Knights Templar: (1)(2) ;
- Liberal Arts: (1)(2) ;
- Lodge Furniture (1) ;
- Lost Word of a Master Mason: (1)(2) ;
- Master Mason Degree (1)(2)(3)(4) ;
- Mozart and Freemasonry: (1)
- Music In Masonic Lodges: (1)(2)
- North East Corner: (1);
- Pillars: (1);
- Plumb, Plumb Line: (1)(2);
- Pythagorus: (1) ;
- Regius Poem / Regius Manuscript: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7);
- Royal Arch, aka York Rite: (1)(2) ;
- Rudyard Kipling: (1)
- St. John the Baptist & Freemasonry: (1)(2)(3) ;
- St. John of Jerusalem: (1);
- St. John the Evangelist & Freemasonry: (1)(2)(3);
- Scottish Rite:
- Secrets of Freemasonry: (1) ;
- Seven: (1)(2) ;
- Seven Liberal Arts & Sciences: (1)(2)(3) ;
- So Mote It Be; (1)
- Square: (1) ;
- Symbolism (see “Masonic Symbolism” below and our webpage on Masonic Symbols and Symbolism;
- Temple of King Solomon: (1) ;
- Tyler: (1) ;
- U.S. Founding Fathers – Freemasons: (1);
- Volume of the Sacred Law: (1);
- Wages of a Fellow Craft: (1)(2);
- Winding Stairs: (1)(2) ;
- Working Tools – (1) (2) (3) (4)
- York Rite – aka Holy Royal Arch
Anti-Masonry – Responding To Our Critics:
- Burning Taper;
- bessel.org;
- Grand Lodge of B.C. & Yukon;
- Anti-Masonry FAQs;
- mastermason.com;
- Trestle Board Forum;
- Pietre-Stone;
Architecture:
- Ashlars: (1) ;
- Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City: (1);
- Doric, Corinthian & Ionic: (1) (2);
- Geometry: (1) ;
- Manitoba’s Legislature building and its Masonic Influence: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5 note: poor audio) (6);
- Pillars: (1);
- U.S. Capitol Building – George Washington (a Freemason) laid the cornerstone with Masonic ceremonies on 18 September 1793.;
- Washington Cathedral: (1) ;
History of Freemasonry:
- Anderson’s Constitutions – 1723: (1)
- Christianity and Freemasonry: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) ;
- Bible and Freemasonry: (1);
- Catholicism and Freemasonry: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10 – there are a lot of incorrect statements and many errors in the historical interpretations presented in this one, but we’ve included it as an example of what many Catholics are saying about Freemasonry) (11)(12)(13)(14)(15):
- Catholicism & Freemasonry (changing attitudes?): (1)(2)(3)
- Cowan: (1) ;
- Famous Freemasons: (1) ;
- Freemasonry In Pennsylvania;
- Sermons To Freemasons By Anglican (Episcopalian) Clergy In The 18th, 19th and Early 20th Centuries: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9) ;
- Holy Bible in Freemasonry: (1);
- Origins of Freemasonry: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Papal Pronouncements on Freemasonry: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) ;
- Royal Arch Masonry, aka York Rite: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Scottish Rite:
- Tyler: (1) ;
- U.S. Founding Fathers – Freemasons: (1)
Symbolism (Masonic Symbols and Symbolism):
- Acacia: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Aprons: (1);
- Ashlars: (1) ;
- Cable Tow: (1) ;
- Cardinal Virtues: (1);
- Checkered Flooring: (1);
- Circumambulation: (1)
- Compasses: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Corn, Wine and Oil: (1)(2);
- Entered Apprentice Degree: (1);
- Euclid’s 47th Proposition: (1)(2) ;
- Eye In The Pyramid: (1) ;
- Four Cardinal Virtues: (1)(2);
- Four Tassels: (1)(2);
- G, Letter “G”: (1);
- Gavel: (1)(2) ;
- Geometry: (1) ;
- Holy Saints John: (1)(2)(3)(4);
- Jacob’s Ladder: (1)(2);
- Level: (1) ;
- Lost Word of a Master Mason: (1)(2) ;
- Mozart and his Music in Masonic Symbolism: (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
- North East Corner: (1);
- Pillars: (1);
- Plumb, Plumb Line: (1)(2)(3);
- Point Within A Circle: (1);
- Pythagorus: (1)(2)(3) ;
- Ruffians: (1) ;
- Seven: (1)(2) ;
- Square: (1) ;
- Stone: (1) ;
- Virtues: (1)
- Volume of the Sacred Law: (1);
- White Gloves and Aprons: (1);
- Winding Stairs: (1)(2) ;
- Working Tools: (1)(2)(3) ;
Some Miscellaneous Online Material From Around The Net:
- A Philadephia, PA. TV station’s news coverage of a Masonic ceremony (installation of a D.D.G.M.): (1);
- The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown novel in which Freemasonry is central to the plot): (1) (2) ;
- Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown novel which alludes to Freemasonry): (1)
- Knights Templar (some theorize – emphasis on “theorize” – that Freemasonry evolved from the Knights Templar): (1)
- Rudyard Kipling: (1) ;
- Shaquille O’Neal discusses his “profession”, (1) (2);
- A rap song about Shaquille O’Neal and Freemasonry:
- Frequently Asked Questions: (1)
Anti-Masonry -Some Examples::
We have included a separate page on Masonic Education Videos. here are a few samples.
Here are some videos we found interesting:
This is an excellent NOVA documentary called Building The Great Cathedrals. It has a lot of fascinating information but check out the Biblical based proportions of Solomon’s Temple on which the documentary says these cathedrals were based:
This is episode 1 of a documentary series, called Secrets of the Castle, about a 25 year project to build a medieval castle. Among other things, it contains some very interesting Operative examples of stone masons’ tools and techniques upon which some Masonic allegories are based.
Here’s Episode 2
We have posted Episodes 3, 4 and 5 in the past but they keep being removed from YouTube, leaving us with blank screen on this page. If you want to find them, search on YouTube.
This is an excellent video called Great Cathedral Mystery about the construction of Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence:
Would you like to leave a comment or question about anything on this page?