kreg said:

No way dude, God is definitely definitely real in some form that is beyond all words we have. I dont care what other people believe but personally Im done trying to throw out my empathy for life and the universal consciousness. Also both of those groups participate and give to charity organizations.  Feeemasonry is practically a self help fraternity now geared towards being a kinder person

---

What's the "no way dude" about? I didn't say you had to be an atheist or a satanist to join the groups I mentioned,I just said you didn't have to commit to a particular religious doctrine or deity in order to be q member.. Isn't modern theosophy OK with having members that do not believe in the official texts and beliefs of theosophy, with the one binding thing being a pursuit of universal brotherhood with humanity? Isn't that basically how I described The Satanic Temple?

And are you talking about the traditional Anglo-american Freemasons or the Continental Freemasons, because one is pretty conservative, demands a belief in a monotheistic Supreme being, requires that you make oaths on the religious texts of your monotheistic beliefs, requires dome form of religious text to be open in the lodges during meetings, and allows absolutely not women, nor are lodges allowed to associate or interact with mixed lodges, and makes up the vast majority of lodges in the US. The other flavor of freemasonry removes most of these restrictions, and is basically the same thing as modern theosophy, the Satanic Temple, pastafarianism, etc.

It sounds like if you are considering theosophy, then you're probably looking for the more relaxed version of freemasonry, so I'm not sure why I'm getting the "no way" response. I'm not a member of either, so I might be mistaken here, idk.

spirit_shadow said:

kreg said:

No way dude, God is definitely definitely real in some form that is beyond all words we have. I dont care what other people believe but personally Im done trying to throw out my empathy for life and the universal consciousness. Also both of those groups participate and give to charity organizations.  Feeemasonry is practically a self help fraternity now geared towards being a kinder person

---

You don't have to join a cult to believe in God kreg

---

You don't even have to join a religion. Your spiritual relationship with whatever God or God's you believe in is a very personal and unique thing. A lot of people mistake a belief in a higher being or higher power means for having to choose a mainstream religion or not-so-mainstream cult that best fits your beliefs, when in fact you can get by just fine without any of that organized religious mob mentality.

Popular religions and their teachings can cover topics that maybe you haven't considered, and help spark internal reflections on your own spiritual relationship in order to build a more comprehensive spirituality, even if you haven't committed to the dogma of those religions.

I've found that organized religions and religious groups tend to force one's beliefs in lock-step with that group, stifling free thought and embedding the bias and politics of the leaders of that group. It's generally a toxic culture that breeds brainless followers rather than confident, free-thinking, and wise spiritual individuals.

Just on the matter. Either way, I hope you find what your looking for. I know plenty of masons who are very happy with their choice to join. I can't say I've ever knowingly met a theosophist, but I imagine they would also be a neat group to join based on what I've read, and if you're into that sort of thing.

kreg said:

I can say no to it, jeez.

---

That's the key, as long as you know your values and your boundaries, and can stay in that mindset of "I can leave whenever this gets weird", you'll be good with any of those groups.

I'd be interested to know how the masons feel about using illicit substances. 

Data said:

            I'd be interested to know how the masons feel about using illicit substances. 

---

kreg said:

anyone elses mail from usps fucked up?
i been watching the comments on watcher sites live, kinda funny kinda alarming people got shit missing for weeks now

---

Yep. Couple gifts are late

Jenny said:

---

spirit_shadow said:

Jenny said:

---

You feel like an old man?

---