At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast

the Reddit Files Ep. 96: Questions, Videos & Deep Thoughts

• At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast • Season 2026 • Episode 96

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Welcome back to the At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast
In this episode of the Reddit Files on At Refreshment we find questions on reddit such as "Is Freemasonry compatible with Christianity'?", the commonality of "the Lodge Of Sorrows?", are any of the rituals in Freemasonry preparing you for an encounter with the Divine?, Maxa's sailor knowledge, and Wes's Judas penalties??? You'll just have to watch and listen to find out if anything the freemasons of the At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast have any idea of what they are talking about.

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The  At Refreshment Masonic Video Podcast is a lighthearted and educational series focused on
the world of Freemasonry. The hosts, who are Masons themselves aim to dispel myths about the fraternity while offering a glimpse into their rituals and traditions. They create a casual, fun atmosphere by sharing drinks and humorous discussions about Masonic life, often recorded in laid-back settings like after lodge meetings.
 The podcast blends comedy with education, making it accessible to both Masons and those curious about the fraternity. Episodes feature special guests from Masonic circles often diving into personal experiences and community contributions of members. The podcast highlights that Freemasons are regular people working to improve themselves and their communities.
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 They are known for a relaxed "at refreshment" style, emphasizing that this is not a formal lodge.
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SPEAKER_07

You can't gain wisdom without participating in something.

SPEAKER_05

I was actually raised Methodist, um, you know, with a little bit of Catholic um influence in there. Guilt. Yeah, guilt, guilt.

SPEAKER_08

Right, mystic ties use symbolism to teach masons, to achieve union, with to divide. Do you guys agree with that statement?

SPEAKER_07

A actual Freemason and chapter companion, right? Yeah. Is he sitting in clandestine lodge with Chinese Freemasons? Even though they're not really Freemasons.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08

Basically, everyone knows everyone knows when birds don't go anywhere in the air, it's the Matrix.

SPEAKER_00

The music question is presentation by those of the host and guests can do not represent the music of the live grandma to anybody or any other personal person to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_08

Welcome everyone to the refreshment and topics video podcast. Red shirt. Yeah, well, we forgot to all wear red shirts like that last episode. So but that was that was a weird coincidence. Yeah. No, it wasn't. So uh what we're gonna do is just I don't know, I guess find uh interesting things we find on Reddit that is about Freemasonry. And is that what we're doing?

SPEAKER_09

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08

I mean, just the interesting things we find uh on Freemasonry on Reddit, because everybody's got well, because everybody's got an opinion on Reddit, uh, you know, from yeah, I'm prepared, I'm prepared to lose four hours of my life and feel like it's ten minutes. Yeah, if you haven't noticed, Reddit is filled with a lot of varying opinions on a lot of the world is filled with a lot of varying opinions on different subjects. Yeah, I'm being nice, I don't know why, but you know, people just think of the most screwy as shit and put it on fucking Reddit. That's that's pretty much what it is. And that's how I lose four hours a day pooping. Because like Marty, he even found that uh one thing about Rosa Parks being a time traveler or some shit like that, too. She was. That was on Reddit. So yeah, she was. All right. Well, Mark, what do you have for it? Birds aren't real.

SPEAKER_05

Okay. Um, yeah, bird, birds aren't real. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_08

Well, well, okay. Well, they might not be because when we were driving back from Louisiana, Brock, do you remember? It was so damn cold driving back, and uh it was so windy, there was a bird up in the air, just like stuck, flapping its wings, not going anywhere. Uh duh. It was cold and it was frozen. No, it was the matrix.

SPEAKER_06

It was gliding frozen.

SPEAKER_08

Everyone know, everyone knows when birds don't go anywhere in the air, it's the matrix. So, anyways, Mark.

SPEAKER_05

Um, so the the first one I have here, I I honestly don't remember why I put this on here, but let me let me share my screen here. And um, I I think yeah, it's one of those things I made I'm making obviously making sure my um my subreddit that I've subscribed to is not being shown.

SPEAKER_08

Oh no, no, this is this is the Reddit files. Anything goes. Someone's been looking at 4chan.

SPEAKER_05

All right, so so here's a here's a fresh one.

SPEAKER_08

We could switch it to 4chan. No, please don't.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, seriously. All right, so it's basically like how compatible is Baptist Christian Christianity with fear Freemasonry. Um, I I honestly I put it on there. I'm not gonna deny that. I just don't know remember why I threw it up, threw it up on there. You know, I I don't know if it's because I know we always hear the the Catholics, you know, fighting basically within with amongst themselves, inside, you know, inside themselves, that you know, how compatible Freemasonry is to um to Catholicism, but I've never heard of anything really with the Baptist Church. Um, you know, for the record, I'm not a Baptist. Um I was actually raised Methodist, um, you know, with a little bit of Catholic um influence in there.

SPEAKER_07

Guilt.

SPEAKER_05

Guilt Catholic guilt. I mean, I am Filipino, so there's you know, somewhat kind of Catholic in me, but I'm just not entirely sure why I have it here.

SPEAKER_07

Is it a priest? Please don't let it be a priest.

SPEAKER_08

Well, I yeah, I when I first read the the first part, I'm like, okay, that's weird. I thought they had an issue from the beginning with Freemasonry. Yeah but according to this, they weren't sure if they did, or at least this particular sect of Baptists.

SPEAKER_07

The way I'm reading this and the way I have read things like this is that it depends on what viewpoint you're looking from. If you're looking from the Baptist side, it kind of doesn't favor, but if you're looking from the Freemasonry side, we all know, as we are Freemasons, that we don't believe in a singular supreme being.

SPEAKER_09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Right? It's a it's a it's a fraternity of all faith.

SPEAKER_08

I I think after reading this again, I I think they set this guy up. They just wanted him gone, they wanted him excommunicated. I mean, I could believe that. And this was the perfect, you know, this was the perfect thing to get rid of him. I I'm proud, I wouldn't doubt it. No, not at all.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, and and like as much as I love our Baptist brethren, I know some of it can get some of them can get really, really like, I guess fundamental for lack of a better term.

SPEAKER_06

I was gonna say passionate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

They're very passionate.

SPEAKER_07

They're very passionate. We're supposed to be learning to subdue our passions.

SPEAKER_05

We are, we are. But and but I think what what scares people is the fact that you know we're calling of men of different faiths under basically one house, you know, whether it's you believe in God or Allah or Buddha or you know, whatever whatever your your faith is, I think it's just I think it scares just like the normies.

SPEAKER_07

But see, the thing is, is like if you look at how we do things from our perspective, we don't call upon faith unless it's making a pact or a covenant with something. And usually that's with yourself and your God, right? If you're you're swearing something to your God, your belief in that God is what holds that that truth. Okay. Other than that, we really don't encourage politics or religion inside of masonry.

SPEAKER_09

No, no.

SPEAKER_08

Well, let's read this so everyone knows what we're talking about because we kind of just read it on our own and started talking about it. So this was only two months ago by well, Chuck I, I guess the guy's name is. All right. Years ago, the Southern Baptist Convention tasked one of their members to investigate, well, that question.

SPEAKER_05

Okay, I think the question is just how compatible is Baptist Christianity. It's not just the title. Okay, yeah, so Chuck I responded.

SPEAKER_08

And uh, well, they want to investigate that question, which this sounds very vague, so who knows? All right, anyways, he did his due diligence and came to the conclusion that there was no conflict and that Freemasonry could be beneficial to Baptist men. The church buried his report and fired him and his wife. Well, that's very kind of them. They had the answer they wanted to hear, and it wasn't the one he gave them. He later became a Mason and was elected Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Georgia. The thing is, is that I I can't confirm this. I didn't I really have no idea. It's it's a very vague story. Hearsay. It would I guess it would be pretty cool if it is true, but uh let's see, there's an edit here. Please see my thoughts in the comments below. I don't know if I want to read a whole thing. Yeah, you're about to fall into the Reddit trap. Yeah. So I don't know. Um so let's just take this story at face value. All right. A Baptist convention. Oh okay. It it tasks one of its members. Well, that could be anybody, but then they claim it's a grandmaster. Well, who could this be? Georgia. Yeah, and I I I I don't know. I've never heard this story before. I I am gonna question it, but somehow I don't doubt this because well, I'm go just going off my gut. I no, just the Catholic knowledge, the Catholic Church not liking us, and everyone usually fall in suit with with them. Oh Masons are bad, so we're you know, what the hell with them. So I wouldn't doubt it. But why wouldn't they know this after all these years? Is my question. So the story is just kind of I don't know.

SPEAKER_07

In general, I think you know, we don't push faith because each individual person's faith may guide them in their own direction, but each uh Mason's journey is his own. Right. It it's it's not up to me to make Mark's journey, it's not up to Mark to make Brock's journey, it's not up to Brock to make Wes' journey, but it is up to Wes to make all of our journeys.

SPEAKER_05

And our journey leads us here to uh to to Riverside.

SPEAKER_07

Riverside. No, but all in all in all, I think that's the the the most important part of why uh I think Freemasonry doesn't push religion down everyone's throat is because it is up to the individual Mason to form his own journey.

SPEAKER_09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08

Well why would we force anybody to believe something? I mean, everybody comes on their own. You have to ask to be a Freemason, or at least that's how it's supposed to start. Okay, you have to ask. Everything is a free will and volition. We don't we don't teach dogma. Why would we? You know, we're not actively looking for for followers, we're for members.

SPEAKER_07

What was that, Brock?

SPEAKER_06

Well, all right, you're kind of supposed to be already religiously kind of established before you come with a belief in a supreme being kind of thing.

SPEAKER_07

Well, and that again, that falls into I b I believe the reasoning behind having to have an established faith coming in is because when you take your tenants, your oath, yeah, you're doing it under the guise your obligation is with your supreme being that you follow. That's why we have the Bible on the altar is to represent that great light. It's a it's a it's a a rule of a sacred law.

SPEAKER_06

Does everybody do like we do in Illinois when you come in, you have to like do a kneel and a prayer kind of thing, you know? I mean it's not an out loud prayer. People do it silent or out loud or whatever, but I mean um at which at which point like the third degree?

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, Indiana's it when I saw Indiana's.

SPEAKER_06

Oh, first of all. Oh, yeah, the first state probably does that. Yeah, yeah. You're talking about in the first degree.

SPEAKER_05

Okay. Um I saw I remember seeing Wisconsin, I think they did, and I believe Iowa did as well, too.

SPEAKER_08

Well, you know, Max, I'm gonna I'm gonna argue that uh point. The established religion. Here in Illinois, it it just says, Do you have do you believe that there's a supreme being or do you have faith or however it's worded in a supreme being? And that's that that's the end of it. We don't ask.

SPEAKER_06

It's very basic, tricky. It is basic to establish religion.

SPEAKER_07

It it it also ties in to the fact that we don't approve you can't be a Mason if you're an atheist. It's in the opposite.

SPEAKER_08

No, no, you can't, but yeah, I I'm gonna go with establishes uh religious conviction. Okay. You subscribe to a religious conviction. We don't tell anybody that you have to this faith or the other.

SPEAKER_07

It also supplants that you probably come up with that during the investigation.

SPEAKER_08

But uh I'm gonna say we we will take the the guys that aren't established in a religion and they find a home with us, or even if they are in uh in an established religion, they still find a home with us. So I'm gonna say I don't think it's just for the established guy of faith. I think it's for the guy that believes, but he's just not sure where his place is.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, you can have faith in a supreme being and not be subscribed to a particular ridge. Right. But again, that also probably plays into when you're doing your investigation, something like that might come up where you're the lodge that you're intending to partake of would ask what your religion is or what your faith is or what your belief is, possibly, and if they're accepting of that, then they'll approve, you know. But again, if you don't have a uh if you don't believe in a supreme being and you're taking a compact with nothing, there's nothing holding you to that tie.

SPEAKER_05

There isn't.

SPEAKER_07

Um I forgot.

SPEAKER_06

So, like that's like when people choose the holy book they like on the altar, you know, that's another kind of conversation for that to be had, you know. Uh correct. During, you know, that um, you know, when you're interviewing the candidate, you know, to inform them on that and ask them what would you like to have on there or is there, but you know, so they're not you get there and they're like, uh yeah, can I put like uh say two city can I put the tale of two cities on there?

SPEAKER_07

Because I don't believe in a guy.

SPEAKER_06

Big Iran fan. Can I throw that on there?

SPEAKER_08

You just did. I don't know. All right, what else you got for us, Mark?

SPEAKER_05

All right, uh so next one here is let me share the screen again.

SPEAKER_07

But you do get you did make a good point, Wes. I I I understand what you're talking about where a person could be faithful without having a specific faith.

SPEAKER_08

Right. Uh I you know, and I will say for myself, I kind of fall into that now with all the stuff that I've been talking about on our show about my ex-Mormon faith now.

SPEAKER_05

So all right, next one here is Lodge of Sorrows. This is from Dark Upcork. Uh Lysic's pastmaster, junior warden, uh four letters from the Grand Lodge of Nebraska, I believe. G-L-N-E. I want to say Nebraska. Uh wondering if uh Lodge of Sorrows, wondering if um our practice is common. We open Lodge of Sorrows in January, then next January, read names and pray for deceased brethren from past year, closed lodge from previous year, then open for the next.

SPEAKER_07

So their lodge meeting is a whole year?

SPEAKER_05

I don't I I'm not entirely sure how this works. Um but I'm thinking, like I know for us for Illinois, it's just more of, or at least I re um one of the lodges you know I was part of is basically during the annual, we read everybody who was deceased between um the last annual and and the uh that annual.

SPEAKER_08

Oh, okay. We used to do something the Scottish Right does the class the land. We used to do something for my lodge when when Herb oh uh years ago, Herb used to do uh we he didn't call it a Lodge of Sorrow or a Lodge of Remembrance or anything. It was just um I forgive memorial. It was just a lodge memorial for the guys that have passed away in the last 10 years that may have been forgotten or that were special to lodges. And most of the districts would participate and we'd sit down a rose for each name for uh a brother or a lady of the lodge that that had passed away. Uh it was a nice thing, it was it was pretty neat, but I haven't seen it in years. We'd just called it a memorial, we didn't call it Lodge of Sorrows. So I don't know if it's the same thing.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, I've I've never seen the the Lodge of Soros performed or opened or anything like that. That's my first experience with Lodge of Soros. Do I think it's a good idea? I think it's a great idea. I just I've never seen it performed.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, I've just heard of it, but I didn't know it was open for a year and then closed and then reopened for I I mean, I guess that does make sense.

SPEAKER_06

Well, I f I but just like I think it's open that way you don't open every time and then close every time, you know, right? Because like how we uh hang the the black shroud and stuff like that, would you open it then and then read the name and then close it again? And like how's the alternative way of doing it? I am not sure.

SPEAKER_05

I I'm I'm thinking it's like I was I was think I I'm thinking it's more of like, hey, let's just um you know read the names and then we'll just leave the the drape open. I I I don't know.

SPEAKER_07

I I I'm gonna probably ask uh one of the McCarthys next time I see them, which would be Yeah, that's that's interesting.

SPEAKER_08

Um you know, I wonder if it was ever practiced here in Illinois and just forgotten about or just never was practiced in Illinois. Because I know at Raven we do put um a black drape over the uh lodges, not constitution, what is it? What am I thinking? Charter. But I don't recall every lodge doing that because not every lodge will have the ability to do that. Our charter's on the wall. Well, yeah, because if you were if you have a building and you have a couple lodges that meet there, some guys don't have their charter up. Like, okay, for Azure Lagrange, since we meet at Riverside Lodge, our charter is a in a tube, in a stainless steel tube, and we bring it out every meeting. So we can't we can't drape it.

SPEAKER_07

Oh, okay. I understand. So it's pretty much it would be s kind of a restricted practice to lodges that own a building. I would think so. But I don't know for sure.

SPEAKER_08

I mean obviously it is restricted because if you don't have your charter up on the wall, what can you do? Right. So I don't Mark is uh speaking of which, Mark, what do grottos do?

SPEAKER_05

Oh, for for Passway Prophets?

SPEAKER_08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Um honestly I do not know uh because I mean thankfully in Shail we haven't really had anybody pass away. Uh I don't remember I don't remember what we did when I was in El Jala. I think it was more of we had a black drape and then we just read their name and then just like did a moment of silence. Shroud.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah. If there's any grotto members out there watching this or listening, uh let us know what your grotto does. His name was Robert Polson. Yeah, I'm interested. I thought it was on Doyle. Bob's got bitch tits.

SPEAKER_09

Yeah. Never mind.

SPEAKER_05

All right. Uh so here's a couple more quick ones uh that I'm gonna share.

SPEAKER_07

My dad loved that movie because he actually had a friend named Robert Paulson. Did he awesome? Yeah. Did he look like Meat Love?

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Nice.

SPEAKER_05

All right. Uh so another quick one here. Uh Manny Pacquiao uh got initiated as entered apprentice. Um, I actually was talking to the Grandmaster of Hawaii and Arkansas, and I guess like it's not really like a conspiracy. It was just more of like, I guess, just the way he joined, because obviously Freemasonry in the Philippines is big. And it's it's like you gotta pay um a lot of money just to turn in your petition and then work for being basically from a petitioner to your first degree and then obviously second, third or whatever. So I mean, like um, you know, it's a very dedicated thing. It's not just any, you know, Joe Schmo walking off the street that you know um that gets an apron in the Philippines. It's um, you know, like you guys actually have to have money for this. So um but I in the talking with the Grandmaster of Hawaii, there was just some reason why like there it was like one of those things where it's just like man. Manny kind of like did it backwards way, but he's in the fraternity.

SPEAKER_08

So, you know, Manny. You're on a first name basis with him.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I know, right?

SPEAKER_07

When Manny went through and it was So my question, this this post says it's from two.

SPEAKER_09

When he coming in the show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah. Yeah. So this Manny coming out. Has Pacquiao finished his degrees or has he only gone through his first degree?

SPEAKER_05

I think it's just his first degree so far.

SPEAKER_07

Because this was created October 8th, October 2008.

SPEAKER_05

Which one? Really?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, it says right there, created October 1st.

SPEAKER_05

No, no, no, no, no. This is this is the Freemasonry subreddit was created 2008.

SPEAKER_07

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. This is just 2008. So no. I was like, this guy's a time traveler, man.

SPEAKER_06

He looks younger now.

SPEAKER_08

I'm like, right? Um, some insiders told me, and I don't know how true it is, that he actually was on the waiting list for like three years.

SPEAKER_05

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_08

I don't know how true that is. Um, again, that's just so um next post here.

SPEAKER_05

Uh Grand Lodge of Arkansas. Just uh decided, um, just voted to uh recognize Prince Hall. You know what? Kudos.

SPEAKER_07

Arkansas. Arkansas, okay. Yeah, 79 for 21. Good, good. Not Mississippi.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, it says two states left, so I honestly don't know which other two states. Let me see if there's any um 20% nay. How is this still a thing? Yeah, okay, yeah. Here's yeah, Mississippi. Uh let's see if we can find the other state. Oh, here you go. Oh, South Carolina. I knew it. Okay.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08

I um I had So how many states are uh dissenting from recognizing Prince Hall?

SPEAKER_05

Two. Mississippi and South Carolina.

SPEAKER_08

That's it?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08

No more.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, basically. Uh so Mississippi just had theirs yesterday or whatever, and they voted no. And I'm not sure about South Carolina. Um, I actually had a past master um excuse me, move out to South Carolina, and he wanted to join a lodge. So he's like, okay, yeah, there's 10 minutes away from it.

SPEAKER_07

Go down, go down two more, and it says West Virginia and Louisiana, too.

SPEAKER_05

No, but here, but look at this guy. He says both states recognize Prince Hall Masonry, but not the local most worshipful grand uh Prince Hall Grand Lodge of their state.

SPEAKER_08

Wait, wait, wait. I gotta put on this.

SPEAKER_05

Read that again, because I gotta put on the both of these states recognize Prince Hall Masonry, but not the local most worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of their state.

SPEAKER_07

So they're they they they recognize PHA, but they don't recognize the PHA of their state. Okay. Which I think is still ass words, but Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

So no, but anyways, so the Grandmaster basically, or not Grandmaster, my pastmaster was like, hey, I want to join some lodge here in South Carolina, and he didn't know anything about the history. And um they were talking about which I guess came up with Prince Hall and they said, Yeah, we don't recognize him, and he's like, peace up.

SPEAKER_09

And everyone went back.

SPEAKER_05

So uh so I got actually a couple uh TikToks here. Uh let me know let me know if this you can hear the sound here.

SPEAKER_07

Where's your where's your glasses, brock?

SPEAKER_02

When I jack off, I think about your body.

SPEAKER_07

Oh, I can hear now. Oh yeah?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Well if I was in a fucking room with you, Hitler and Saddam Hussein with three bullets and a gun, I shoot you twice, then shoot myself and you have a fucking dude. Hey, what's going on, man? Hey, uh so that friend of yours. Tell me about him. Yeah, he's uh he's a great man. He's a great father. I've known him for so long. He's he's genuinely a good guy. Great even, I would say. There's there's not much in this world I wouldn't do for him. I'd actually take a bullet for him.

SPEAKER_07

Um it's just that's how I talk about Wes.

SPEAKER_08

I can't hear it.

SPEAKER_02

Alright, y'all, I'm gonna get the fuck out of here. You don't know how to do it. Why can't you not hear it? I can't hear it. I don't have I have no idea, but I cannot hear it at all. Oh yeah? Well, guess what? When I jack off, I think about your mama and your granny. Oh yeah? Well, if I was stuck in a room with you, Hitler, and Saddam Hussein with three bullets in a gun, oh my god, shoot you twice, then shoot myself even fucking knowing you. Wow. They've captured us so well. Hey, uh, so that friend of yours. You should probably pause it.

SPEAKER_08

All right, let me uh let me stop.

unknown

All right.

SPEAKER_05

No, so I put that on there because I mean, like I mean, I've got to be.

SPEAKER_07

How do they capture our chat?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I know, right? Jersey, but I mean, like, it it's true, because I mean, like, it's it's the way we talk to each other, and I always just joke. I'm like, listen, like, if I'm making fun of you, I love you, but if I'm actually being cordial, like be careful, tread like that. Yeah, then be careful. You know, because I mean, hell, like, look at look at the way that um we we always talk about Yoshi.

SPEAKER_07

Oh the things we do to Yoshi.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, seriously. You know, so so I I I always just thought that was this kind of um poetic, and just that that guy captures our our our group chat.

SPEAKER_07

It's true, it's true. We uh we to each other's faces, we will talk most disparagingly. Yeah. We will we will just trounce on each other and just keep going. But if anybody outside this group asked, I would just talk endearingly about every one of you. Oh, yeah. You know, Wes to everyone to everyone outside our group that I talk to on a daily basis who actually sometimes watches our podcasts because I make them, it's good to be the boss. Um I wasn't listening to Dave. You are one of the most trying to listen to the TikTok. Oh.

SPEAKER_08

But you can you can continue.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, I was like to everybody else that doesn't know us, uh, you are one of the most wise and humble people I've ever met. Oh wait, what? Who's who's telling me these things? No, no, no. I'm telling this to people outside the group, but to your face, you look like Obadiah.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah. Oh uh yeah, that TikTok was pretty funny. I don't know why you guys could hear it and I couldn't. I had to watch it. Okay.

SPEAKER_09

I heard it. I heard it.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, I couldn't hear it. Yeah, Brock, did you hear it?

SPEAKER_09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08

Sounds like grandpa West needs to turn up his hearing aid. Yeah. No, well, so I was watching it while you guys were talking at his jerking off to your grandmothers.

SPEAKER_05

I'm like, all right. Brock just got it. All right, so play play this next one. It's actually pretty um it it kind of goes with just like us life in general, uh and how time seems to really go by real quick. And um, I think I just uploaded this not too long ago. And um, yeah, just go go ahead up go ahead and play it, and I'll you know, I'll do my commentary afterwards. All right, give me a second.

SPEAKER_09

Let me try and reset this. You got red. It's not bad. It's getting better.

SPEAKER_07

The belly's gone down a bit.

SPEAKER_01

The older you get, the faster time moves. What if it's actually not just a feeling? Okay, so when you're 10 years old, one year is 10% of your life. When you're 50, it's just like 2%. Your brain doesn't measure time in seconds, rather, it measures it in proportion to how long you've been alive. So basically, every year literally feels shorter than the last. But there also is a second reason time accelerates. And this one is kind of worse to be honest with you. Okay, so your brain only encodes memories when something is new. I mean, the first time you drive to work, it's a rich detailed memory. The 500th time, your brain doesn't even bother recording it. And this is called a chunking, which is essentially your brain compressing routine into nothing. So when you look back at last year, there's not much there. This is why childhood felt endless. Everything was new, every day was worth remembering. But as an adult, routine really has killed perceived time. The weeks that are together because your brain is literally deleting them. So here's something kind of the uncomfortableness of it all. I mean, you have about 4,000 weeks to live and they're accelerated. So if you want to slow it down, you need to break the pattern. New experiences force your brain to pay attention again. Which is kind of funny because the irony of it all is the more efficient your life becomes, the faster it actually disappears. Comment what you're going to do this year to get out of this routine. Something crazy. You want to travel somewhere crazy. Where should I travel? Share this with someone who loves tech and loves understanding how it works.

SPEAKER_07

Have you ever noticed the anybody else get depraved in their mental thoughts really quick?

SPEAKER_05

I mean, I haven't appeared to be a good idea.

SPEAKER_07

Share something new that you're gonna try this year.

SPEAKER_05

Oh baby. I mean, you know, me and my blondes, anyways. No, so I I brought that up and I thought it was cool because I mean, like, you know, it we always always say, like, oh my gosh, I can't believe you know Christmas came so quick this year, or hey, here's 4th of July again. Um, you know, so I mean, yeah, it makes sense that you know it's the brain's just like what we're gonna do this year.

SPEAKER_07

We're gonna use that claymore that Joe's got to behead somebody for real.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

I think you're also more aware never forget your first betting.

SPEAKER_08

I think you're more aware of time and what to expect because the older you get, the more you're aware of, oh things need to be done. I gotta do this, I've got these things going on. When you're a kid, it's just like, oh, what's going on today? It's a new adventure.

SPEAKER_05

Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, if you if you think about it, it's like you know, if you think about it, you know, it's like you're almost kind of like sectioning it to each holiday, you know, where like, hey, here comes, you know, here's New Year's, and then Valentine's Day, and then St. Patrick's Day, and then like you gotta do tax day, and then you know, May comes around, you know, all this stuff. So, you know, when when she's talking about the new experiences, I think that's what I see what what a lot um I could really relate to it with Freemasonry is just because it's like, okay, you know, if you really challenge yourself in Freemasonry, uh, whether it's like learning a new ritual or floor work, uh joining a new body, uh, you know, whatever it is, that really does break up the monotony.

SPEAKER_07

It does. It does. I can see that. You know, when you see a degree for the first time and it's all new, that that is a very memorable moment.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, that's all I heard from that lady was like, keep joining dependent bodies, keep joining buy more pendants. There's more degrees out there. You gotta catch them all.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, seriously. Go to a third degree in every state.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah. Go go go and travel, something new. Yeah, I wonder if there's a lodge nearby wherever I'm going. More of the same. I wonder if they're fighting over green beans.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, basically. Could be so so yeah, no, I I I I just think it's just cool and it it really does inspire us because I mean, yeah, like as we become older adults, um, you know, time does really go.

SPEAKER_07

It makes a lot of sense what she was saying, you know, that that chunking part where it's like your brain is not really remembering. Not that Wes. No, never mind, never mind. You know, but if you look at like think about it, like you said, we're really traveling from holiday to holiday, and you don't remember anything in between.

SPEAKER_09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

You go from family party to family party, or yeah, you throw everybody's birthdays and stuff, family parties, and then your whole year is already planned out where you already know what your year is gonna look like and what you're gonna do. So, you know, it's nice to add a little few new things, you know. If you can hit a new uh Masonic event or join an appendant body that, you know, and then that year you have something new to get into. But yeah, shoot. Uh yeah, it's really easy to get lost in the monotony of the daily life, man, and just you're doing the daily grind and you do it every day, and weeks go by and a month goes by, and it feels like days go by.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah. Well, dude, yeah, week after week, I can I can already like in between lodge meetings feels like nothing now. I feel like there's not enough time in the in the year for me to do everything I need to do. And it's one of those things like, yeah, it's like I feel like I just had a meeting last week. Why am I having a meeting this week?

SPEAKER_08

Especially when you're meeting once a month and you know, you're worshipful master, like you you definitely don't have enough time. I mean, even if you did have that second meeting all the time, you would still feel like I don't have enough time to get everything I want done.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, no, and we're meeting twice a we're meeting twice a month. Uh and it's not even Oh, you are? Because usually you guys are just once a month. So Villa Park, uh our stated meeting is once a month, but we I've introduced this year is um like a fellowship fellowship meeting basically. It's a fellowship meeting, but it mostly we've been using it to practice ritual or to do uh discussion on specific topics or whatever it might be. Um and on top of that, I'm having I'm having officer meetings uh once a month. So it's like I'm having three meetings a month just for my lodge, then I've got grotto. I don't go to high 12 anymore, and it's unfortunate because I just don't have time. I haven't been to uh Keystone in forever. Yeah, you're worshipful, so that's that really just is um, you know, yeah, but in general, like I I've I've abandoned other things to make it feel like I have more time for something that I already feel like I don't have enough time for.

SPEAKER_05

No, but I mean, but you get it though, because I mean you are in the east of you know of a body, and um, you know, like for me, you know, as I get up in the line for grotto, and especially when I'm grand monarch, goodbye guys, I ain't gonna be seeing you guys for a whole fucking year.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, but that year's gonna go by so quick for us, not for you, because it'll be an all-new experience.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08

Which is a good and a bad thing. Well, wait, wait, what do you mean only one year? I I'm guessing once you get closer towards like five years away, we're not gonna be seeing a lot of you.

SPEAKER_05

No, um, from from what I've been seeing, and obviously I've I'll probably just like um, you know, um I'll I'll probably eat crow when I when I say it or you know, or whatever, but like I know like just kind of like the bottom half of the line, you know, you're just there, whatever, and then once you get kind of like four years out, okay, a little bit more is expected from you, three um two three years out, same thing. I feel like once you become deputy grand monarch, then you know you you you really start needing to ramp up, and then obviously grand monarch, yeah.

SPEAKER_07

No, but in general, like your your duties to the grand body will still lead you around us.

SPEAKER_09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

You know, you just may not be here on the podcast as much or you know, whatever it might be, but in general, like your your path of what you're traveling still takes you through the grotto. You still have a home grotto, you know, whatever that might be. You may not be around as much, but we'll still see you.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, yeah. You'll have to phone in from whatever hotel you're in, from whatever state, from somewhere, dude. You're gonna be doing a shit ton of travel, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_07

Or you know, we'll just have we'll just have Amanda on. It's fine. Yeah, yeah, that's fine.

SPEAKER_06

We'll just have Amanda on.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, I'm gonna yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah. Is there um talking to Amanda? I've noticed she's more depraved than Mark is.

SPEAKER_05

She is. But she keeps on the the appearances. She does. So um uh last one here that I'll I'll share is I thought it was just kind of funny.

SPEAKER_07

Um, Mark thought it was funny.

SPEAKER_05

The Chinese Freemasons. What the f yeah basically, I mean, like it if you read around the thing, it says Philippine Tick Lam Grand Mason Incorporated Northern Manila branch. Yeah, and I think it's just basically um this guy.

SPEAKER_06

Is this like Chinatown Freemasonry?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Basically.

SPEAKER_06

So Quincy the nicest clandestine manner, possibly.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah. It it it's it's nice clandestine, not like, you know, um Stony Island clandestine. Yeah. But basically Quincy M. A. Brewer says they are fraternal secret society that chose the name Freemasons to distance themselves and their reputation from Sun Yetsen. I don't know what that is. They have nothing to do with the Freemasons other than taking the name and sometimes using the square and compasses symbol, from what I can tell. It was used mostly as a way to making uh as a way of making the organization seem more palatable to West Western opinions. One of my Lodge brothers, also a chapter companion, is also a member of the Chinese Freemasons in Boston's Chinatown as an active percent participant of their lion lion dance team.

SPEAKER_07

So uh I have a question for you. So this is straight up go back down, uh Mark. Go back down to so if this guy is a actual Freemason and a chapter companion, right? Yeah, is he sitting in clandestine lodge with Chinese Freemasons, even though they're not really Freemasons?

SPEAKER_05

I don't know. That's the interesting that's a weird, that's a weird gray area. If you think about it.

SPEAKER_08

Or if he ran into one of the members, like you know, hey, they're wearing a they maybe the guy had that in his hand and he started asking questions, the guy just spilled the beans.

SPEAKER_06

Could be like in Chicago, man, it the Chinatown Lodge is right there. I've seen it, I've taken pictures of myself sitting on the steps of it before.

SPEAKER_07

Like, but see, and that's the thing, is like so uh from what I understand, like these they they they're an organization that's not really Freemasonry, but they call themselves Freemasons to make it more paddle to the Western culture, right? Yeah, if it's not actual Freemasonry, but they're calling themselves Freemasons, is it clandestine masonry?

SPEAKER_05

I think, in my opinion, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_07

Say that again then. So if Matt Ronald McDonald if they're if they're if they're calling themselves Chinese Freemasons, right? If they're not participating in anything that is even close to Freemasonry, and the only thing tying them to Freemasonry is the name, are they considered clandestine Freemasons?

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, because they're not under the uh auspices, uh the butcher.

SPEAKER_07

But they're not gonna be able to do it. But they're not performing any ritual or any dispensing degrees or anything like that.

SPEAKER_05

They're not trying to collect money.

SPEAKER_08

They're okay, and technical terms no, but if they're calling themselves Freemasons, because according to none of them are, then in our terms, one of the Lodge brothers is a brother of a fratern of a Masonic fraternal lodge, right?

SPEAKER_07

A chapter companion. So he's in Freemasonry, and he's also a member of Chinese Freemasonry, which is in this person's post, he says they're a fraternal secret society that chose the name Freemasons to distance themselves from the reputation of something else and make it more palatable to Western culture, right? So the only reason that they have Freemasonry is just to say, hey, we're not so bad. But they do nothing that's actual Freemasonry, right? They're not pretending to be Freemasons, they just have Freemasonry in the name. Is that clandestine?

SPEAKER_08

Then I I would say in name only, yes, but in actuality, then no.

SPEAKER_07

So yeah, would you be sitting with clandestine Freemasonry? I don't believe sitting in a meeting for two.

SPEAKER_08

I don't believe so, because if they're not doing anything close to our ceremonies, then no. It's just like having a book name the same thing, or two movies name the same thing that are you know have two different scripts. Yeah, or songs have that. You're never gonna get away from that. It's like the seven notes in music. You're never gonna get away from it, no matter what octave you go to. Well, this just happens to be one of those kind of I don't even want to say misunderstanding, but yeah, so is it.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so basically what I'm thinking is it's like Southside, you know, um Freemasonry or the Clandys, that's that's more of a remix versus this, this isn't an interpolation.

SPEAKER_06

It's like in name only.

SPEAKER_08

It's in name only. In name only. They you know that's it. And it's just because of an odd coincidence and maybe um same same time.

SPEAKER_07

Linguistic misunderstanding. Is is the WWF the WWF or is it World Wildlife Foundation?

SPEAKER_08

Well, my understanding is Vince shouldn't have just fought that.

SPEAKER_07

He should have been okay and just WWF kind of classic thing, like it was this it was in the era. It is WWF in a different era, is a completely different thing because it's not even wrestling, right? Is that considered clandestine wrestling? No, uh WWF never was wrestling. Well, but but there there's the other thing.

SPEAKER_05

Well, well, there's the other thing though, too. Because I mean, as as a former high school wrestler, you know, um, and watching wrestler, you know, Greco Roman and Freestyle, obviously, you know, you call that wrestling, and then not you know, you got WWF and all all the other ones. Yeah, you may call it wrestling, but is it true wrestling?

SPEAKER_07

You know, listen. Nothing about wrestling, listen, the only thing about wrestling that's fake is the storyline. Your body still takes a beating.

SPEAKER_08

It it does, it does. You gotta be an athlete, you gotta be a monster, you gotta be a take anything away from them. The thing is, is that okay, at the time I'm thinking of in the 80s as a kid, WWF was the thing. But the thing was it was a show. WCW, NCW, NWA, all that. That was a show. That was more wrestling than it was what WWF was presenting. They were presenting characters, they were presenting storyline, they were doing it as early as that. You know, think of Doink, The Undertaker, all that stuff. I mean, they were doing it, and it was entertainment, but the other stuff was more like I don't want to say real wrestling because all of it's real. You know, they're taking bumps, they're getting bruises, but it's just different, different style. Yeah, so yeah, and it had nothing to do with Freemasonry, but we talked about it anyway.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. It's fine, though. Freemason and name only to your brother.

SPEAKER_08

Um, you want to get rid of this? Yeah. The screen. And this isn't on Reddit, but I I asked you guys, and Eric is uh isn't the only uh is the only one that answered me.

SPEAKER_05

So Eric, don't watch the the your ritual thing that I answered?

SPEAKER_08

He didn't. Did you answer it? Yeah, Mark you okay. Well then let's go through it again because I won't I think it will be good for you. I told you I answered it.

SPEAKER_05

Uh it's not it's not my forte.

SPEAKER_08

Well, okay. Okay, you know what? The heck whatever. I'll just read it. Yeah, go ahead. And give us your opinions in the comments too.

SPEAKER_05

Hold on. You need me to read it?

SPEAKER_08

No, my hair's making everything difficult right now. Because long flowing locks. All right. Long flowing. All right. The rituals, mystic ties okay. The rituals, mystic ties use symbolism to teach masons to achieve union with the divine. Do you guys agree with that statement?

SPEAKER_05

Well, let me go with my short answer. Let me go with my short answer with that one. And I basically said, like, I besides like the surface level stuff that I encounter with all the degrees that I've done, whether it's you know, Blue Lodge, um, Scottish Wright, York Wright, Grotto, Widow Sons, um, any of that. It's just more really surface level for me. Um, and you know, as I told you guys, it's like so you're more about the fraternal tie. I'm more about the fraternal ties than the esoteric side of things, which I'm not obviously knocking you guys, you know, if you're more into the esoteric side, it's just not my you know, not my cup of tea.

SPEAKER_07

Brock's into conspiracy theories. Yes, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I could read I could read my answer because I I don't think I would answer it same word for word, but it's that uh my my response to that question when we went through it was it depends a lot on your personal purview. One could say it prepares us to interact with the divine that surrounds us every day. When we pray to God, are we really asking God to solve our problems or are we asking for the wisdom to see the problem and the strength to resolve it? I truly believe that the divine surrounds us and the degrees and working tools are merely a lens through which we can see the acts of the divine and teachings of how to interpret and interact with it to enhance our mortal beings, to bring divine light to others. And then, Wes, of course, you uh were looking for some uh expounding on that, which you said uh which part gives or alludes to that teaching. And I said, as far as the divine surrounding us, that's more religious teachings, but through the working tools, we are taught to divide evenly amongst the rest, our univocation, service, it forms better, more rounded individuals that can think and act more clearly. In that clarity, we can see what we need to work on in ourselves. When we receive the square, we're taught to act uprightly on our actions toward mankind. These interpretations of the working tools lead me to believe that through our workings with the divine that surrounds us all, we are able to allow that light to shine brighter on mankind through our actions. I believe it that we how we act in public as Masons really bring our own divide line divine light to the world, and our teachings and ritual are meant to brighten our light. It's rudimentary, but it's a it's I'm a simple kind of guy. So um overall, I think honestly, our uh what we learn in the esoteric part of our rituals, um it's not for everybody, it's not the public, obviously. It's not a tiled lodge, so I can't really speak too uh widely of it. But with our working tools and our our rituals, I want to say that gives us the building blocks to create a better mortal being in us, and in becoming a better mortal being in us, we can spread that ability to the world around us, which if you believe in Christian teachings, God created the heavens and the earth. Uh, the earth is divine. Uh, our actions every day can be contrived as divine actions of God. If, like you said, like I said, if somebody's praying for something, they may be praying for a million dollars or money to pay for their bills or something like that. But what they're really praying for is the ability to take care of their family. If our teachings teach us to be more charitable towards mankind, we might be answering somebody's prayers and not even knowing. Brock, do you have an opinion? Or a thought? Do you need me to read it again? No. Brock's over here like, what? I know I kind of said things a little fast.

SPEAKER_06

I was trying to I'm like, yeah, here I was trying to find it in our chat so I could go back so I could try to read it a second. Uh here, I found it.

SPEAKER_08

So the rituals, the rituals, mystic ties symbolism to teach Masons to achieve union with the divine.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, I think in the chat I was asking, um, you know, what what were um I I don't think that there's anything in our degrees that are gonna teach you anything mystically divine, you know, or like um there's nothing in Freemasonry that's gonna, I don't know. I mean, there's things that you can see or do in Freemasonry or you can uh catch a certain I don't know, thought maybe that could take you somewhere, you know, but there's nothing really in the degrees that brings you divinity, you know, like that's gonna be like, oh my god, that was that like shows me, I don't know, maybe not, maybe that's not true. Yeah, it's such an introspective thing, like it can be true to on so many different levels for different shit.

SPEAKER_07

But again, that brings us to the beginning of this video when we were talking about each individual Mason's journey is his own. Yeah. So again, what Mark sees is fraternal ties could be the fraternity itself and the brotherhood. What I see as fraternal ties is my ties to manhood or mankind through the um, you know, um religion. Brack could see uh, you know, ties through however he sees it. Well, um it's all individual thought and what what you gain from it, yeah.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, like think of the lodge and like the I don't know, the magical space of the lodge room, as in like all the members have done basically the same ritual in the same building in the same spot, and then like the you know, the anxiety you feel standing before the door, and then like walking in, like so like there's certain things you can that's a tie.

SPEAKER_07

We've all done the same thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_06

Exactly. So, but but what you gain from it is your own. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So there's like things that are meant for the degree for you to have a feeling, and then you know, like when you're at the door before you knock, like there is a feeling that you have, and it's different for everybody, but it's also kind of similar for everybody, and then you go into the next thing and your brother's guiding you, and then you feel the guidance and the security of a brother holding you firmly when your feet aren't for you know, so you're like, okay, I can trust then, you know. Well, before you trust in me, you should be trusting in God, you know. So then you go through that. So as you're going through the thing, like, does that bring you to diviness, or is it teaching you, like you're saying, the working tools that you're bettering yourself that's making you more divine, or like, because it's not just giving it to you, but through the journey, the journey is harding you through the process, you know?

SPEAKER_07

Well, and that's part of uh if you look at the the pillars of the lodge, the the main pillar being wisdom, uh the master of the lodge. Wisdom is gained through not only experience but introspection. You have to you can't gain wisdom without participating in something, right? You're not gonna gain you could gain knowledge, but gaining knowledge doesn't make you wise. We have yeah, we have we all have more knowledge than the Library of Alexandria at our fingertips, and we have lost wisdom to time because nobody dumb people, it's not even dumb, it's it's inexperienced, it's people who haven't, you know, you don't gain the knowledge, you don't gain the wisdom. You might know that fire is hot, but you don't gain the wisdom not to touch it until you've touched it. Yeah. Right? So I think wisdom has been lost on mankind because everybody is so stuck behind a computer screen that they think they're smart because oh, I've got all this knowledge, I know it, I know it, but you don't really have the wisdom to apply it.

SPEAKER_08

Well uh to go along with that, and I'll bring it back to the question I asked. Uh I got into an argument with somebody on uh one of the at refreshment posts. Keyboard warriors. They started saying something, and I'm just like, you know, oh well, all the secrets are on the internet. I'm like, well, no kid, but whatever. And then he started going on. I erased everything because I got I got aggravated with the guy. And I'm just like, well, if you watch highlight reels of any sport or watch a game or attend a game, does that mean you're a professional baseball player or football player because you watch somebody perform something? No, absolutely not. You can't perform on the level. You can understand, you can see it, you can read everything you want, do all the analytics, but unless you've actually done it, you have no idea what you're talking about. You are an armchair warrior, you don't know what you're talking about. Knowledge of the ages, no wisdom to apply it. Right. And I think it all that stuff just makes us stupid.

SPEAKER_07

But back to the divinity thing. But that's but again, that leads us, that leads back to the where we were talking about with the lodge. You you could have all the knowledge on the internet about the secrets of Freemasonry, but until you've gone through the degrees, you're not gonna have the wisdom to apply it.

SPEAKER_06

Dude, that was me, man. I read all the books, I read all the shit, I knew what the degree was gonna be like, and then I was still fucking so nervous. I'm like, like, what dude, what if it's not? What if there's something that wasn't in the book? Or like I just don't understand how or why, what makes that like doing the ritual, I don't understand what makes that like part, you know, like and just going through it was like the uncomfortableness and like the vulnerability of everything was like oh my god. You're like touching fire. This is like, yeah, you can't read this in a book, and like, or like learning the the catechism, like it's you're going the you're going back and going through the degree, and you're you know, you're gaining that knowledge of the degree and understandment of what you did and why you did it, you know. But until you do it, you just are like I heard about it.

SPEAKER_07

It's like being a sailor, right? You could be a sailor, you could know everything about sailing from your childhood through this to the point where you start working for a company, and yet the person everybody listens to is the grizzled, scarred veteran who's been on the boat 30 years.

SPEAKER_09

Yep.

SPEAKER_07

Because he knows more about that ocean than you do.

SPEAKER_08

Isn't it funny that Max is the one that brings up sailors? Hey, I'm not drinking this time. I love you. I love you guys. I love you.

SPEAKER_07

Sorry, bye.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, well, yeah, just say up. Well, but you get a port of potty, Wes. You don't there's no there's nothing in our ritual that hints to me that this is a saving ordinance, right? Like taking sacrament or doing communion. Those are ordinance that you're doing because you're hoping to be saved by by divinity, right? In this case, Jesus Christ. Okay. We don't try to convince anybody that nor does any of our rentual uh ritual hint at you will be saved or you have the potential of meeting God. It's hoped for. It is alluded that it is hoped for because at the end of the ser uh I'm sorry, the um funeral. The funeral ritual at the end of it, we mentioned the lodge on high. Well, because one of the the other things we don't ask in the petition is do you believe in an afterlife? Not built, you have to not believe in an afterlife. Right. So the lodge on high. That's the only thing that I can think of that would signal divinity to me or being one with divinity. But heaven or lodge on high doesn't specify a creator or notes which creator it is, or if there is one in the lodge waiting for you. We just say lodge on high, and there's nothing more to it other than that. Unless I'm wrong, unless there's something else in another ritual in another state that I'm not aware of, which is definitely possible.

SPEAKER_05

No, yeah, I you know, actually, to kind of go along with that, I think if anything, um, I feel like Masonry actually kind of got me more into my faith than anything else. Um, you know, like beginning of this video, um, you know, I said like Methodist, you know, with the with the hint of Catholic. Um Eric and Brock, I, you know, I don't think you guys are, but I mean, um, Wes, I know, you know, both of us are our commandery. And, you know, like, especially like in the commandery degree, like the um the Order of the Temple, you know, they talk about Golgotha, the place of the skull, you know, um Simon Cyrene, you know, who who took the um who took the um the burden of Christ's cross, you know, stuff like that where you're just like, oh, okay, you know, you're kind of like really getting in deeper into you know um into Christianity, and like I felt like, okay, I heard that in Commander. Then when I heard it in the Bible, I'm like, oh, you know, my ear ears perked up, or like, oh, okay, okay, like, you know, this is I can see where this is, you know, the commander space itself is not core Freemasonry, though.

SPEAKER_07

No. You know, that's that's an appended body where you choose to follow your faith.

SPEAKER_09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Right. Um, but that's not core like core Freemasonry does not deal with religion unless you deal with it.

SPEAKER_06

I agree with you though, Mark, on that though. Uh I when I did join Commandry, I thought the same thing you did. The cool thing of the Christianity, yeah, that whole part and like, yeah, that was a whole really cool element of all that. That yeah, it was really cool. Which I thought was gonna be like super overpowering and something weird by what everybody always says about it, but it was like very subtle and like very elegant the way that they do it all, and it's like very respectable to Christianity. So it was like, yeah, this is cool. Yeah, this is very cool.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah. Now there's one thing it doesn't a large degree is why.

SPEAKER_07

I have not I have not gotten my I've I've not headed towards Commandery as of yet. I do plan on doing it. I just it's personally I'm I'm kind of I I I I found myself getting a little bit too far over my head with all the things I joined right away, becoming a Freemason, that I decided to, hey man, I really need to stop and enjoy what I have and understand things before I start moving forward with more things.

SPEAKER_06

Well, that's what I thought when you were talking about uh being master and having to step back from all the appended bodies. I'm like, dude, you're a super mason, you're on this show. Of course, you're in every appendant body.

SPEAKER_07

Of course you're I'm not part of listen, I'm in New York, right? I'm in the grotto, I'm in high 12. When I got to I got to the point where I joined chapter and Marty's like, yeah, join cryptic council. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There's there's more.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Like, hey man, I can only afford the things I got right now. Let me let me get out, let me work on this first.

SPEAKER_08

Well, I'll I'll say this and then we can uh uh uh end this uh Reddit thing. So I don't know if you heard me say it before, but I it doesn't point to divinity, but our first, well, especially the third degree, definitely alludes to uh like a Christian faith. Okay. I can agree with that. It it uh it was written that way specifically because at the time Freemasons were obviously being accused of not being compatible with Christianity even before 1717. And it was one of the reasons why they came up with a third degree according to uh Christopher Earnshaw. But uh anyways, so the way I see it, and I may have to cut this out, but I believe that our penalties coincide with uh what happened to Judas Iscariot.

SPEAKER_09

I always thought he was hungry. That's all I that's all I thought.

SPEAKER_08

Well there's four accounts in the the Bible, okay. Judas hung himself, okay? So he's hanging, okay. I'll definitely cut this out. All right, he's hanging. Then he goes, but before that he kisses Christ. And Christ says, Would you know you would you betray me with a kiss? And later on, he went back with the 30 pieces of silver and told them that he was wrong, that he couldn't help himself, he had to give the money back, he did wrong, he needed to uh repent of his sins. They told him to get out, and he left the silver and they took the they took the silver. What happened? He all right. There's also an account where he hangs himself, and it says that his bowels fell from that.

SPEAKER_09

I got two passages here.

SPEAKER_05

Uh Matthew twenty seven, five, it says, He then threw down a piece of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself. And then Acts 1 18 says, Now this man purchased the field with the wages of in inequity. And falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.

SPEAKER_08

Right. Now the second degree, like I said, he went back when he gave them the thirty pieces of silver, he was heartbroken. He by giving up Christ. That's the way I see it. I could be completely wrong and just region, but to me it makes sense. It alludes to the penalties of giving all these secrets up, you will be a Judas. And just a margin, just a West North. Yeah, yeah. So you know, all that. That's just my take on it. But um with that, I think we're gonna call it a night and say goodbye to everyone. Oh, you want to do shots out? Okay, we can do that as well. Alright. Well I bet it.

SPEAKER_05

Um let's see. Who's who's a good shout out to this this time? Yeah, I you know, for somebody who says we should, I have nobody. So breaking out the good stuff. Oh, you know what? I actually no, I do have somebody. I do have somebody. So um today is a February 26th of 26th, 2026. Uh, tomorrow is Friday, and tomorrow is actually gonna be my wife Amanda's first meeting as worthy matron. So shouts out to her.

SPEAKER_07

Oh, nice, shouts out, congratulations, congratulations, Miss Victoria. Mrs. Victoria. Uh, Proc, do you guys? Anybody or Eric or yeah, you know what? Uh he may never see this, and you know, who knows if he'll ever get shown this. But uh for the religious uh people in my life, uh, Pastor Bill. The gentleman who married us, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He was associated with Freemasonry. He was he was in D Molet, uh, and he even gave a nice spiel. He gave a whole nice spiel about why Somoti B makes whatever sense uh during my wedding vows. So Petin's. Excellent.

SPEAKER_08

Nice, nice. Are you good?

SPEAKER_06

Uh let's do a shout out to the guys from Time for Fellowship. Thank you guys for letting me uh crash your guys' booth at uh the conference of Grandmasters. Oh, yeah, shout out to those guys.

SPEAKER_07

I totally thought he was gonna say crash the couch.

SPEAKER_06

No, dude, I just lurked their booth. Anytime I had free time and I was down and uh there wasn't like something I need to be photographing, I was hanging out with them, shooting the shit, and I went out to dinner with them both nights. So thank you guys for your great hospitality. I had an awesome time. Um, and shout out to any new listeners from the conference of Grandmasters. Thank you guys for watching our show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah, thank you. Um, well, this one's gonna go out to Marty because we're gonna be. I'm sure by the time this comes out, we're gonna well his event, wrestling announcer uh event, will be filmed, uh, which we're doing this coming Saturday. So, Marty, uh, congratulations and shout out to you. Cheers, Marty.

SPEAKER_06

Cheers, Marty. Congratulations, Marty. Yeah, I can't wait for that show, dude. It's gonna be awesome.

SPEAKER_08

It's gonna be fun. Uh, we're gonna kind of I think we're trying to do it documentary style as much as we can with um the limited time.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, you should do the um you should do a car cast like what we did when we went to Indiana.

SPEAKER_08

We're going to Origin History. Um I'm we're gonna do that, but I told him if that doesn't work out, we can still do the interview thing later on. Oh, nice. I I I just got a feeling that that might not because there's just gonna be so much going on. Yeah, he's not gonna have time to think and probably be going over things.

SPEAKER_05

So no, I I think it's like best if you like record them before, like maybe you know, up until like maybe about 12, 20 minutes afterwards. Afterwards, and then afterwards when he's like finally decompressing, you know. Record the nerves.

SPEAKER_06

It'll be like, dude, that'll be awesome. Dude, I can't I dude, it'd be so badass to see Marty up there, dude, just powering house and dude controlling the room, dude. I bet it's just the crowd going wild, the rest, I bet it's awesome. I hope it takes a bump.

SPEAKER_07

I hope it takes a bump. Let me add this and we'll talk about it. And not the Marty bump.

SPEAKER_08

Or the Yoshi bump. All right, everyone. That's our episode. Again, this is gonna be part of the Reddit files things. These things are gonna be coming out sporadically. Hope you enjoy it. Let us know in the comments. And thanks again.