Tyson, Wayne

3TE2
“How did the freemasonry affect Rizal?”

1. How did freemasonry originate?

Freemasonry originated in a sacred temple 1000B.C. with a person called Hiram Abiff as the
heart of the freemasonry. His role was the master builder of King Solomon’s temple. According
to freemasonry legend, the design of the temple was sent by God and Hiram knew the secrets of
the said plan. This resulted to jealousy from other workers which lead them to extorting the
information from Hiram himself, thinking there was a secret word that will allow them to know
God’s plan. But it did not last long that those workers used violence to extract information from
Hiram which lead to his death. The workers continuously asked for the secret word but Hiram
never said a word except the infamous cry for help of freemasons, “who will help the widow’s
son”

2. How did freemasonry reflect the liberties fought by the reformists like Rizal?
Freemasonry are know to be a supporter of changes for the better. Just like Isaac Newton, who
discovers the possible origins of life through science. During his time, people only believed in
what their religions taught them, but the studies and research conducted by Newton opened
new possibilities about the world. Reformists like Newton and Rizal are recognized by the
freemasons as these known individuals dedicated their lives for what is true and right. They
were not afraid of challenging the normal but rather willing to explore new things that will be
vital for the development of our society. In addition, one of the enemies of freemasonry is
ignorance. They cannot afford being ignorant towards something that has a possibility of major
developments like knowing the origins of the world.

3. What are the enemies of freemasonry?

It was mentioned in the documentary that the enemies of freemasonry are ignorance,
fanaticism and tyranny. They despise these because it goes against their beliefs and values. They
are against ignorance because ignorant people are usually unreasonable and does not
understand logic. They also deliberately disregard and shy away from facts and relevant
information as oppose to freemasons. They are also hateful towards fanaticism because these
usually involves devotion towards a certain religion or political stance. Being dedicated to a
certain something can result to biased ideologies which then results to being ignorant of what is
right and true. Being a fanatic of something will sometimes force someone to look the other way
when things are getting out of hand. Lastly, they are against tyranny, because like what was
mentioned earlier, they opposes anything and anyone that are ignorant. Tyranny is a major
example of why freemasonry goes against the government and the Church, because they expose
the cruelty and unjust leadership of this organizations. Tyranny like dictatorship, absolutism and
totalitarianism are unacceptable for many especially to freemasons which why they consider it
as their enemy.

4. Why does the Church considers freemasonry evil?

 There is a theory that they worship Satan and that they are the secret society that controls the
world and its government. The church also said that the freemasons are a threat to the peoples’
souls and command all Catholics not to join or support the brotherhood. One of the major
reason why the Catholic Church opposes the freemasons is that, the brotherhood is responsible
for multiple allegations against the Church. This is because freemasons condemns the Church
for their wrongful acts throughout the years. They expose the illicit activities involving the
Church and these tarnished the Church’s reputation which resulted to them treating the
brotherhood as hostile and are evils of the world.

5. Which principles of freemasonry affected Rizal.

The freemasonry principles that affected Rizal was integrity, friendship, respect and charity that
helped him in his life. These principles build a foundation for who he was until his execution.
Most of his works were accompanied by these principles which later played a major role in his
life that allowed him to serve his country. It is evident from his family, relationships, values,
works, beliefs and how he lived his life that these principles served as his guide to fulfill his
purpose. These principles encouraged him to join Acacia, Masonic Lodge in Madrid, Spain.
Because just like RIzal, freemasons believed that the wrongdoings of the government must be
stopped. Freemason are also being criticized and scrutinized by huge organizations, they
question and defy the principles and rituals of the brotherhood because freemasons confronts
what they believe is wrong regardless if it is the government or the church. Just like how Rizal
opposed the Spanish government and made reformation.