Robert Lomas - Freemasonry For Beginners

by Gordon Echlin

Y ou are holding a very dangerous book in your hands! How is that, you ask?

As a non-Mason, you are reading a brief but comprehensive overview of a mysterious organization whose most superficial aspects have not historically been open to inspection. It is an organization with a reputation for power and ruthlessness. No doubt you will learn some insidious and frightening secrets that might put you on a list of persons marked for innocuous accident. Better not let anybody see you reading this book! And remember, the walls have eyes!

Or ... on the other hand ... you may be disappointed to learn the truth of the matter: that the ideals and intent of Freemasonry are ennobling and altruistic, that it is neither a sinister religion nor an organization plotting a New World Order. Really?

If perhaps you are already a Freemason, this book may turn aspects of your world upside down. You are being introduced to a well-researched, definitive history of the Craft. This history is different from the constructed party linethe one that says four lodges met in London in 1717 and magically precipitated the fraternity out of thin air. It also rains on the glorious legendary chivalric links to the Knights Templar. Say it isn't so!

But keep reading. You may find the real history of Freemasonry more fulfilling than the one you knew. The mundane view of your own hobby may be turned on its head to reveal a pathway to enlightenment that you have been obstinately ignoring, despite the constant exhortations to higher ideals. What? It's not all about dressing up, play acting, pompous rank, and a good night out with the boys? How bothersome!

Dr. Robert LomasBrother Dr. Robert Lomas to fellow Freemasonshas been upending the world of Freemasonry since the mid-1990s, beginning with his book The Hiram Key (co-authored with Christopher Knight). Both Masons and the rest of the world have been all the better for it. My own introduction to his writing was probably similar to the kind of clandestine first experience of many Masons-to-be. It began with a book containing information I thought I shouldn't have and morphed into a recognition this ancient society is a tonic for the malaise of superficiality, materialism, and social isolation that grips today's world of the Internet, social media, and video gaming.

From that point on, the true nature of Freemasonry began to reveal itself to me. And it was on my very doorstepindeed everybody's doorstep in the Western Hemisphere, with a Lodge in almost every small community and multiple Lodges in large metropolitan areas. After some consideration, I eagerly joined with a friend. Neither of us has waned in enthusiasm ever since. That is not necessarily a given, as there are shoals in Freemasonry on which one can easily become stranded. Throughout, I have always had a secret weapon in my pocket: the books of Robert Lomas.

And so, from those early days, Dr. Lomas's books have helped me understand and appreciate Freemasonrya tradition and set of beliefs that don't reveal their true nature easily. He is a renaissance man of sorts, a lettered physicist with an abiding interest in archaeology, history, and symbology. He is even rumored to be the archetype for Dan Brown's globetrotting symbolist sleuth, Dr. Robert Langdon (without the pyrotechnics), in The Da Vinci Code (2003) and succeeding novels. But Dr. Lomas's academic background and scientific perspective are what have most struck a chord with me, allowing me to reconcile ancient philosophic mystery teachings with a modern worldview defined by quantum physics. There is a certain poetry in this, as the two worlds are now converging more than diverging. If you don't know that, well, here is another reason to read Dr. Lomas's books.

In recent years, Dr. Lomas and I have been introduced via the fraternal bonds we share and a similar view of the Craft, as we call it. It is truly a global network that allows members from far-flung lands to connect on the same level, with a shared understanding, no matter their social status.

So I hope I have piqued your interest in this topic and this book! Freemasonry is rich and deep, and Dr. Robert LomasBrother Robert Lomasis just the person to introduce its many facets in a way that MUST matter to the inquiring mind in the 21st century.

One last caution. Perhaps the greatest danger of Freemasonry For Beginners is that you read it, think you understand it all, and move on. You will never really understand Freemasonry until you experience it firsthand and engage with it fully. If you don't join, don't think you understand it, even if you read every book written on the subject. Freemasonry is an experiential science.

Gordon Echlin is a Past Master of St. John's Lodge, No. 63
on the Grand Registry of Canada; Past First Principal,
Maple-Granite Chapter No. 61; and a Grand Officer in the
Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Canada in the
Province of Ontario.

M ANY PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF FREEMASONRY, but few have any idea what it is, what it does, or why it exists. This book will tell you all the basic facts about what Freemasonry is, what it does, and why it remains active today.

Freemasonry is older than the United States. It played an important role in the pursuit of independence and in the writing of the American Constitution. The Craft of Masonry teaches a peculiar symbology and carries out secret rituals in closed and guarded rooms that only members may enter.

It is thought to be a male-dominated organization, but there are branches that allow only women to be members. A Woman Freemason is still called a Brother, which does seem odd at first. There are other branches (called Co-Masonry) that allow both men and women to join the same group.

A group of Freemasons is called a lodge. Each lodge has a name and a number and meets at regular times. The lodge number is given by a central organization of the branch of Freemasonry in the area where the lodge was formed. This central group, which keeps a roll of all the lodges created in its name, is called a Grand Lodge. Regular lodge meetings may be held on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. In them, members perform teaching rituals and meet socially. After the meeting, they often they share a meal called the Festive Board.