A Lutheran Approach to Ritual Part 3: Principle of Analogy

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Scott S. Dueball

In the first two installments (part 1 & part 2) of this series I introduced a method that I use when approaching our ritual and texts. Part 3 proved to be more challenging than the first two, primarily because our work deals heavily in allegory which is distinct from analogy. Allegory is when characters or events are used to portray certain lessons. An analogy is a comparison between two items which are similar in some way. As such, it would be incorrect for me to elaborate on what the tyrians represent in our daily lives (as my first draft of this post did). Instead, analogy encourages us to look at the ritual themes for modern ways which they may be applied to our lives.

The ‘Principle of Analogy’ asks and answers the question, "Are there modern situations which are comparable to those which are historically portrayed in the ritual?" The Principle of Analogy is applied when you have scenarios from a historic text or texts that might not exist perfectly the same today but we can still apply the lessons to similar situations. Thus, analogy is less about "What can this teach?" and more about "How can this be applied?"

Often our Masonic education tends toward having an obvious connection to Masonry. Many topics either have the word *Mason* in it, are about a famous Mason, or touch directly and specifically on our symbols. In applying the Principle of Analogy we can significantly expand that which is Masonically necessary to teach. What can we be teaching and discussing within our halls to expand our understanding of the world? Topics that may not be obviously Masonic in nature, could present serious value to our order.

Our degrees address relief. What does that look like in 2017? Could we be developing the hearts of our Brethren by evaluating injustices surrounding us: human trafficking, access to clean water, or institutionalized classism. The tools presented in our degrees should enable us to recognize that these are not political issues; they are matters affecting humanity likely in our own backyards. This analogy discourages our participation in divisionary activity and encourages actions which cement all men together in the bonds of Brotherly Love and Affection.

Another example is Preston’s inclusion of the sciences in our degrees. His intent was to encourage both critical thinking and a sense of wonder in the Great Architect's creation. When the lectures were written, many of these topics were revolutionary but 200+ years later they no longer ought to be considered as such. Shouldn’t we be expanding our education beyond basic history to include anything that might expand the intellect of our Brothers? Analogous topics could be string theory, psychology, and Fibonacci. Each of these subjects can be justified through the Principle of Analogy and understanding the context in which the ritual was written. What else does the Principle of Analogy expand our teachings to include? How can we use this to approach the text with new insight?

Next we will discuss the big picture and its contextual role in our ritual.

~SSD

WB Scott S. Dueball is the Worshipful Master of D.C. Cregier Lodge No. 81 in Wheeling, IL and holds a dual membership in Denver Lodge No. 5 in Denver, CO. He currently serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois as the State Education Officer. Scott is also a member of the Palatine York Rite bodies and the Valley of Chicago A.A.S.R.-N.M.J. He is passionate about the development of young masons, strategy and visioning for Lodges. He can be reached at SEO@ilmason.org

A Lutheran Approach to Ritual Part 2: Contextual Examination of the Ritual

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Scott S. Dueball

Previously, I introduced an approach that my church teaches when reading the Bible and suggested that applying each element of this approach to our ritual studies could provide value to our understanding of the philosophy. In this piece, I will expand on the first element, Contextual Reading. Contextual reading is giving regard to the historical and literary situation during the period of composition. This means we must first understand when the ritual was composed, what it was composed of, who composed it and how it was composed.

Of course, this is a large subject consisting of far more than 30 texts and documents. It would be impossible to give a just explanation here. I recently submitted a piece to the Philalethes where I addressed a question primarily rooted in the contextual examination of the ritual. I was interested in the word "condescending", as it is used in the 3rd Degree Charge of present-day Preston-Webb ritual in the United States. If we hear condescend only in our own, present-day, context then it sounds as if we are charged to be condescending toward our superiors. I understand that to mean that we are to sarcastically patronize our leaders based on my understanding of the modern use of the word. This seems like an odd thing to teach Masons. In first applying the literary contextual reading, I looked at dictionaries and etymological resources to determine if the definition of the word has evolved. Surprise: it has! Condescend did not always mean what it means today. Then the question is, “When did it change?” I applied the historical context to see how other sources used the word during the same period (late 18th early 19th century). Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice is a notorious example of this use of condescend. This gave me a clue to which definition of condescend was employed during the period of interest. This allowed me to better understand that what was meant was for a man of superior station to lower himself and speak on the level with any other as an equal.

You can perform a very similar review because almost all of the documents I used for that project are available online via archive.org or other sources. It will be necessary to begin with the litany of questions I ask above. You need to know about the world the authors grew up and lived in to understand what they were writing about. You need to understand how the fraternity viewed the various documents and what stage the fraternity was in as it was being formed. These things offer clues to help us understand the language that sometimes sounds archaic to our modern ears.

What are we possibly missing from the ritual if we don’t dig into the elements that are unclear to us? Our modern minds forget that the sciences displayed in the Fellowcraft’s lectures composed the sum total of agreed upon science at the time. A recently article in the Rocky Mountain Mason explained that some of these ideas were the very things that Giordano Bruno was executed for. Those facts (globes, senses, architecture, geometry) no longer represent all that we know but at the time were revolutionary. One example of our continued learning in my field is that we now understand that we have at least 6 senses (adding proprioception). That doesn’t invalidate the lecture but one could deduce that there is an additional lesson that we must be interested in understanding the world around us to our fullest ability by constantly remaining open to new scientific theory and research.

These are just a few examples of how contextual examination of the ritual can deepen your understanding of our ritual and philosophy. I will address the use of analogy in ritual in the next edition in the series.

~SSD

WB Scott S. Dueball is the Worshipful Master of D.C. Cregier Lodge No. 81 in Wheeling, IL and holds a dual membership in Denver Lodge No. 5 in Denver, CO. He currently serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois as the State Education Officer. Scott is also a member of the Palatine York Rite bodies and the Valley of Chicago A.A.S.R.-N.M.J. He is passionate about the development of young masons, strategy and visioning for Lodges. He can be reached at SEO@ilmason.org

A Lutheran Approach to Our Ritual: Introduction

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Scott Dueball

When I was taking new member classes for my current congregation, we were provided a handout titled, A Lutheran Approach to Interpreting Scripture. This guide concisely describes the unique, scholarly approach that the Lutheran sect of the Christian church takes in reading the bible (ok, if you are a serious Lutheran you know there are nuances, but let’s not get caught up in the minutia). I am not suggesting that anyone else read the Bible this way; it works for me while I continue to admire the sundry of religious ideology within our Gentle Craft. However, as I look back at my Masonic writing, I notice that I take this same approach in regards to our ritual and philosophy. It is ingrained into how I experience the world. What I want to address here is how we might use this in the examination of our Masonic teachings. There are four points to this approach:

• Contextual Examination-both literary and historical
• Principle of Analogy
• ‘Scripture in light of Scripture’- remaining faithful to the broader message of the text rather than picking a choosing the parts that support our position
• Assigning value-Some elements of the text are given more value than others

Some of these points are supremely important to our present understanding of the ritual and others open up some of the deepest questions I have ever pondered. When we are examining the ritual do we give consideration to the language, world understanding, and political climate that each section was written in? To that end, do we (the larger fraternity) understand when and how the ritual was composed? It seems obvious that analogy and allegory play a role in our ritual but do we explore new ways to apply the ritual to our modern lives? Do we zoom out and examine the entire body of ritual text(s) to better understand the broader themes or do we piecemeal the parts that specifically fit within our current worldview? Lastly, how do we assign value to the various elements of our ritual? Over a series of posts, I will expand on these techniques for use in our reading of the ritual and hope to incite some deeper reflections within each of you. Each piece in this series will address new ways to use this approach to develop our understanding of the ritual.

~SSD

WB Scott S. Dueball is the Worshipful Master of D.C. Cregier Lodge No. 81 in Wheeling, IL and holds a dual membership in Denver Lodge No. 5 in Denver, CO. He currently serves the Grand Lodge of Illinois as the State Education Officer. Scott is also a member of the Palatine York Rite bodies and the Valley of Chicago A.A.S.R.-N.M.J. He is passionate about the development of young masons, strategy and visioning for Lodges. He can be reached at SEO@ilmason.org