Freemasons: Three degrees of revelation

Charlotte Azzopardi at The Hume Weekly in Hume, Australia reports "For years people across the world have regarded Freemasons as being part of a club shrouded in secrecy. Freemasonry is the oldest and largest existing fraternity in the world. Its members say it is neither a religion nor a cult. It has more than five million members worldwide and numbers continue to grow. Charlotte Azzopardi unravels the secrets behind the mysterious group.
"People seem to think it’s a secret, but it’s not,’’ says John Burgess, a freemason for 50 years.

‘‘There’s little bits and pieces of it that are distinctly peculiar to Freemasonry that only freemasons know. But if you go on the internet you can find whatever you like about it.’’

But it wasn’t always like that. Rumours that it was a secret cult, religion or world government were whispered behind the backs of men who gathered, dressed in identical clothing, for reasons no one knew.

Today that’s something freemasons laugh off.

‘‘It’s a shame people think like that,’’ says Darley resident Gary Vaughan. ‘‘I’ve told people I’m a freemason. Some of them are intrigued and some people say I’m in a cult. It’s not a cult. It’s nothing like that. It’s not about religion either.’’

Freemasons promote a way of life that brings like-minded men together in a brotherhood. The principles are based on tolerance, equality, charity, honour, morality and self-development..."

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