I suspect a certain man is a mason, so how do I get him to slip up and let me know?
Is there some question I could ask him that would reveal it? some secret handshake? How do I KNOW if someone is a mason or trick them into revealing it? Ideas?
Masons generally don't hide their affiliation.
Just ask him. If he is a Mason, he'll be happy to tell you.
BUT, if he's heard you ranting against Masons or putting Masons down just because they are Masons, then he might hide it from you.
For many years, Masons have been the targets of a lot of abuse. Masons have been exterminated in every fascist and Communist nation in history. Masons have also been persecuted by the Catholic church and many modern fundamentalist Christian and Muslim churches.
I can speak from personal experience that people can let their imaginations run wild when they hear I'm a Mason. Here on GLP, I've been called everything from a "shill" to a Satan-worshipper to much worse.
If your friend is a Mason and he thinks that you will start arguing with him about it, then he might hide it. Technically, we're forbidden from being drawn into arguments about the craft and it's not our place to defend the craft. To the anti-Masons, they have no reason to believe us anyway because you can't understand what Masonry is unless you're a Mason. We are just supposed to lead by example and represent Masonry by being just, neat and clean, charitable and devoted to the Lord.
