Whilst I cannot comment on what happens the further in/up you go, rank and file do not deserve the labels.
If there is (and I admit it's likely been infiltrated) corruption further up/in, then that isn't Freemasonry itself (which I believe was set up for good purposes) but rather a club within a club which Freemasonry itself provides a cover for.
If I ever find out for sure, you can be sure I will be the first to try and tear it down and get it back on track, but when you hear comments about 'The Freemasons are behind x, y and z' I always think, those people might be Freemasons, but that does't mean Freemasonry stands for that, they're just using it for cover (which I freely admit is something that needs to be addressed).
For example, as a brit foreign nationals might hate me because of the decisions the uk government makes, but that doesn't mean I am responsible. Our government goes against the wishes of the public all the time.
The only part of the oath I have taken that involves those kind of penalties are the ones that pertain to revealing the secrets of freemasonry, and it is made perfectly clear that they are the symbolic penalty - although they obviously were once taken a mite more seriously.
In fact, I know there is so much information online that I had to deliberately avoid it so that my initiations weren't spoiled by foreknowledge, so I know the oath has nothing to do with keeping the ceremonies actually secret - it's more about whether or not you are a man of your word.
If I were to ever come across anything the least bit Satanic I would expose it immediately, but I have not found anything so far, and believe me, I am on my guard.
I actually joined to try and find out for myself.
Whilst I cannot comment on what happens the further in/up you go, rank and file do not deserve the labels.
If there is (and I admit it's likely been infiltrated) corruption further up/in, then that isn't Freemasonry itself (which I believe was set up for good purposes) but rather a club within a club which Freemasonry itself provides a cover for.
If I ever find out for sure, you can be sure I will be the first to try and tear it down and get it back on track, but when you hear comments about 'The Freemasons are behind x, y and z' I always think, those people might be Freemasons, but that does't mean Freemasonry stands for that, they're just using it for cover (which I freely admit is something that needs to be addressed).
For example, as a brit foreign nationals might hate me because of the decisions the uk government makes, but that doesn't mean I am responsible. Our government goes against the wishes of the public all the time.
The only part of the oath I have taken that involves those kind of penalties are the ones that pertain to revealing the secrets of freemasonry, and it is made perfectly clear that they are the symbolic penalty - although they obviously were once taken a mite more seriously.
In fact, I know there is so much information online that I had to deliberately avoid it so that my initiations weren't spoiled by foreknowledge, so I know the oath has nothing to do with keeping the ceremonies actually secret - it's more about whether or not you are a man of your word.
If I were to ever come across anything the least bit Satanic I would expose it immediately, but I have not found anything so far, and believe me, I am on my guard.
I don't.
Update, ok so now I've read a few overviews of what it is, but I'm not sure how it is relevant here?