de laude novae militae

Posted on 16th February 2011 by mikebertelsen in history,society - Tags: , ,

In 1192 A.D., 5192 A.L. St. Bernard wrote a spiritual direction of what was a new order of knights. The Knight Templars were pristine in their commitment to Christ, and they were willing to protect all that was sacred for Christianity in the Holy Land.

They were an organized force of agreeable persons who decided to defend the Church of God from attacks. This Knighthood still exists and the spirit of victory inspires them today. This Order may not be against a foe whom goes after the Church, but this foe is out to conquer people who have no way to defend themselves. This enemy uses sheer terror to dominate and destroy those who stand in their way.

This Knighthood may not be members of the Knights Templar proper, but the mission of the Knights Templar is alive in these modern-day warriors.

From De Laude Novae Militae:

“Go forth confidently then, you knights, and repel the foes of the cross of Christ with a stalwart heart. Know that neither death nor life can separate you from the love of God which is Jesus Christ; And in every peril repeat, “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

“I do not mean to say that the pagans are to be slaughtered when there is another way to prevent them from harassing and persecuting the faithful, …”

If the modern knight serves under the flag of a secular nation, it does not matter. If such a knight serves privately, it does not matter. What does matter is service up to the standards set by St. Bernard and what is in mind and heart of every such knightly person.

Such a knighthood cannot flourish in an unjust society. The new knighthood must look to our own society as to instilling justice and morality.

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two modes of instruction

Posted on 11th February 2011 by mikebertelsen in freemasonry,philosophy - Tags: , ,

We are interested in two modes of instruction, legends and symbols. Legends differ from the historical narrative in only one way – that it is without documentary evidence of authenticity. It is the offspring solely of tradition. The object of the masonic legend is not to establish historical facts, but to convey philosophical doctrines. Freemasonry legends are the expression of a philosophical idea.

Legendary narratives have a distinct meaning of internal significance and we learn the illustration of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. We are content with that interpretation. Philosophic doctrines are a method by which esoteric instruction is communicated. The student accepts them with reference to nothing else except their positive use and meaning as developing masonic dogmas.

No science is more ancient than that of symbolism. Nearly all learning of the world, at one time, was conveyed in symbols. Freemsonry still cleaves to the ancient method and has preserved it in its primitive importance as a means of communicating knowledge. A symbol is the expression of an idea that has been derived from the comparison or contrast of some object with a moral conception or attribute.

There are not radical differences between the legendary and symbolic modes of instruction in Freemasonry. The symbol is visible and the legend audible.

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