Intellectual Freemasonry is not dead!

The Spirit of Intellectual Freemasonry lives in Canada, if Bro. R. J. Hayes's blog Areopagiticus is any indication.

Two of his recent blog entries caught my attention. In "On Robert Heinlein and his copious Masonic work," Bro. Hayes questions the Masonic "need" for legitimacy by latching onto the names of famous men who were once Masons. He wrote:

It seems to me that Freemasons are seemingly desperate to lend some legitimacy to the Craft, to this organization which at first and second glance seems rather odd. And to do it, we/they latch on to any man who has managed to make a name for himself in the outside world of politics or entertainment, and call him brother and spend a lot of time telling ourselves what good men we Masons are. How important we are. How the world ought to be beating a path to our doors because of this impressive list of men with whom we notionally share brotherly affection.

Except that sharing brotherly affection is not about name dropping 50 years after a guy is dead so as to lure some acquaintance into parting with some cash and undergoing an odd ceremony, probably seldom to come back after those three meetings. No. It's about something completely different.

The science fiction writer Robert Heinlein, by the way, was not a Freemason; he just wrote and sometimes thought like one.

In "Politics and Religion in Lodges," Bro. Hayes relates having a rousing yet polite discussion over the Middle East situation over drinks at a pub, but notes that the same discussion in a lodge would not have been allowed, not because the topic would have been inflammatory, but because there are so few Masons in attendance capable of holding an intellectual conversation.

I look forward to Bro. Hayes' future blog postings.

The photo is of Robert Heinlein.

Science Fiction | Robert Heinlein | Famous Freemasons