Anyway, now that Apprentice Tyler is convinced of the power of dialog, he explained the meaning of the third degree of Freemasonry. Apprentice Tyler explained that the three ruffians are in reality children and they kill their father. Apprentice Tyler further said that the burial did not conceal the crime and the ruffians should have ate the Master (I assume he was channeling the myth of Cronus in a garbled form) so there would be no physical evidence. ("I'm not making this up", to quote Dave Berry.)
With my head still swimming with "WTF"s, Apprentice Tyler conceded that, maybe, this not the correct interpretation and that a better interpretation could be that it is antagonistic towards the patriarchal system. The second explination is as reasonable as the first explanation. Although reason is absent, arbitrariness is rampant.
Apprentice Tyler and I know there is no accepted interpretation of the degrees or symbols of the Lodge. We, and others who are not member of the Brotherhood, are free to speculate. However, the speculation must be based either in Reason or upon facts; preferably both.
At the end of the written degree, Hiram Abif is reburied near the unfinished temple. This reburial means Hiram Abif can not stand for any mythological character that dies and is reborn or rises again. This conclusion is based on the fact of the ritual.
Since we have dismissed any resurrecting gods, we look towards reality to understand the meaning of the third degree.
The following table shows the parallels between Hiram Abif and Saint James.
Individual Hiram Abiff Saint James | First Attach Throat Fall from Temple | Second Attack Chest Stoning | Fatal Attack Head Fuller's club, head |
Fantastic theories, absurd ideas and irrational feelings are the stuff of legends and fodder for conspiracy theories, not legitimate research.
Post Script- I inquired of Apprentice Tyler how he segued to this topic and he said that he was researching the Jacobin Terror. I asked why it was called "Jacobin" and we found that the Dominicans in Paris were housed on Rue St. Jacques.