From the East – April 2022
Greetings Brethren,
I would like to offer some thoughts primarily for discussion and not as deep insight. I find the teaching that “Freemasonry is a progressive science” especially thought provoking. Dr. Albert Gallatin Mackey offered his opinions on this subject in his 1924 edition of the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. He indicates that our landmarks are not changeable but every science undergoes changes, including Freemasonry. Freemasonry like any science is constantly growing and advancing.
I would like to offer some thoughts primarily for discussion and not as deep insight. I find the teaching that “Freemasonry is a progressive science” especially thought provoking. Dr. Albert Gallatin Mackey offered his opinions on this subject in his 1924 edition of the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. He indicates that our landmarks are not changeable but every science undergoes changes, including Freemasonry. Freemasonry like any science is constantly growing and advancing.
The process of gaining knowledge involves a “Big K” and a “little k.” Let me explain, the “Big K” is ultimate knowledge, the ideal knowing that we all strive towards through deep thought and scientific research. In other words, what we accept as current knowledge is really “little k”, which at best is an approximation of True Knowledge or “Big K.” True Knowledge by definition is multifaceted and of great depth and breath. It is so complex, in fact, that we barely scratch its surface.
However slow our progress, each “little k” step brings us closer towards the “Big K.” Those “little k” steps are not insignificant and can have a huge impact on science, on technology, on Masonry, and on our lives. Every advance we make in “little k” is a step closer to True Knowledge or “Big K.”
The process I am describing can in part explain the connection between the “G” of Geometry and the “G” of Deity. By learning geometry, we gain knowledge or “little k” in mathematics and in the process, we get a glimpse into the complexity of things. Through continued effort we move ever closer to True Knowledge or “Big K.” So, by extension, our attempts to understand the depth of Masonry and the universe through mathematics and science brings us closer to True or ultimate Knowledge, which in reality is the “G” or Deity.
A more profound view indicates that nature or the universe displays a formal geometric and numerological order, which is evidence of a “G” or Deity. The proof of the 47th problem of Euclid can then be considered a confirmation of the existence of “G” or Deity.
Fraternally,
WM John Quintana