Yesterday (Sunday) I finished reading Dan Brown's new book, "The Lost Symbol" which was released on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009. On its first day, the book sold over one million copies and the betting is it will outsell Brown's last effort, "The Da Vinci Code," which sold over 81 million copies and was turned into a blockbuster movie.
"The Lost Symbol" is an incredibly important book for all Masons to read as the fraternity is at the center of the plot. Actually, I'm not a big fan of Dan Brown's work, but the reality is this book is going to generate a tremendous amount of interest in Freemasonry and, as such, all Masons should read it in order to answer general questions that will inevitably rise from the general public.
After reading the book, it appears to me that Brown knows enough about the fraternity to be dangerous. There is considerable references to Masonic protocol and symbolism in the book. No, Dan Brown is NOT a Mason, and consequently he misinterprets a lot of what we do, but the average person will not know the difference. However, it does appear he did a lot of research on the subject via the Internet. The good news is, he debunks a lot of myths about the fraternity and describes Freemasons as good people who work towards the common good of man and are trustworthy. This will not go unnoticed by the public.
Pursuant to the release of the book, I noticed quite a few Grand Lodges around the globe were trying to capitalize on the book by making members available for interviews, presentations, and allowing public tours of Masonic facilities. I consider this to be an excellent idea for my own Lodge and implemented a Dan Brown page on our Lodge's web site whereby we will also make ourselves available for interviews, presentations, and tours. If all Lodges did likewise, this could become a public relations coup for us and our ranks would grow.
How effective is Brown's book going to disseminating our message? Consider this, on Saturday I received our first inquiry regarding membership. That's just four days following the general release of the book.
"The Lost Symbol" is an incredibly important book for all Masons to read as the fraternity is at the center of the plot. Actually, I'm not a big fan of Dan Brown's work, but the reality is this book is going to generate a tremendous amount of interest in Freemasonry and, as such, all Masons should read it in order to answer general questions that will inevitably rise from the general public.
After reading the book, it appears to me that Brown knows enough about the fraternity to be dangerous. There is considerable references to Masonic protocol and symbolism in the book. No, Dan Brown is NOT a Mason, and consequently he misinterprets a lot of what we do, but the average person will not know the difference. However, it does appear he did a lot of research on the subject via the Internet. The good news is, he debunks a lot of myths about the fraternity and describes Freemasons as good people who work towards the common good of man and are trustworthy. This will not go unnoticed by the public.
Pursuant to the release of the book, I noticed quite a few Grand Lodges around the globe were trying to capitalize on the book by making members available for interviews, presentations, and allowing public tours of Masonic facilities. I consider this to be an excellent idea for my own Lodge and implemented a Dan Brown page on our Lodge's web site whereby we will also make ourselves available for interviews, presentations, and tours. If all Lodges did likewise, this could become a public relations coup for us and our ranks would grow.
How effective is Brown's book going to disseminating our message? Consider this, on Saturday I received our first inquiry regarding membership. That's just four days following the general release of the book.
Stay tuned!
Until next time.
All the Best,
Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M.
http:/www.dunedin192.org/
Dunedin, FL, USA
"For the Good of the Order"
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading Dan Brown's youngest and came back impressed and dejected at the same time. What impressed me was the refreshing and openly positive portrayal of Freemasonry. Uptil now I'd thought of the Freemasons as an uppity, male chauvinistic orgn. courtesy my father who regaled the "Masonic Lodge" as an organization that wilfully (almost vehemently) rejects women for membership. But I'm sure he is not the only one to have taken away only this apparent misogyny as the lasting image of Freemasonry. How often do people ask you about the disclusion of women (esp. in today's age when genders are fast becoming homogenous on many levels) from the Lodges and do you think Sato's example would be enough?
I live in India where masonry or no masonry, women are excluded from most of the mainstream; the ones who are visible are those who have made immense, immense sacrifices.
Richa
Richa -
ReplyDeleteThanks for your note. Actually, I don't get too many questions about the exclusion of women (I can't remember the last time somebody asked me). There are Masonic bodies that practice what is called "Co-Masonry" for both men and women, but my jurisdiction doesn't subscribe to it. I suggest you do some Internet searches for "Co-Masonry". I'm sure you will find something.
All the Best,
Tim Bryce