Please note we are not members of, or affiliated to the Masons in any way what-so-ever.
We were asked to include the subject of Masons by Mr James Scrivener, Ontario, Canada who compiled and submitted the following details.Freemasonry does not tell anybody that they have to believe in God, only that, if they do, they meet one of the qualifications for being a freemason. The teachings expressed in the initiatory rituals and lectures of Freemasonry refer to a higher purpose and destiny in a fashion that assumes a belief in God on the part of the candidate. But nowhere is atheism condemned or belittled.
Freemasons seek no converts. Freemasonry has no dogma, cosmology, eschatology or theology. Freemasonry offers no sacraments or ritual of worship, nor does it claim to lead to salvation by any definition. Freemasonry is not a religion.
Freemasonry respects all religions and has no theology with which to teach any methods of salvation to its members. Members are not required to belong to a church. Masonry's purpose is to unite men for brotherhood, not for religious purposes. The only two subjects banned from discussions in a lodge are religion and politics.
When a freemason is being initiated into the third degree he is struck on the forhead in the dark, falling back either into a coffin or onto a coffin shape design. His fellow masons lift him up and when he opens his eyes he is confronted with the skull and cross bones of 'a mason who broke his vow of secrecy'. Under this threat of death no mason of third degree or higher can be trusted, particularly in public office. He is hoodwinked literally and metaphorically, placing himself under a curse.
There are approximately 5 million freemason members worldwide, mostly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. With adherents in almost every nation where Freemasonry is not officially banned, it forms the largest secret society in the world. There is no central Masonic authority; jurisdiction is divided among autonomous national authorities, called grand lodges, and many concordant organizations of higher-degree Masons.
In the United States and Canada the highest authority rests with state and provincial grand lodges. Custom is the supreme authority of the order, and there are elaborate symbolic rites and ceremonies, most of which utilize the instruments of the stonemason—p—the plumb, the square, the level, and compasses——and apocryphal events concerning the building of King Solomon’’s Temple for allegorical purposes.
Freemasonry is not a religion. Masons who treat it as such are mistaken. Freemasonry strongly encourages its members to belong to an established religion, although that is not a requirement for membership (only that a candidate profess a belief in a Supreme Being). Masonry is a fraternal organization that encourages morality and charity and studies philosophy. It has no clergy, no sacraments, and does not promise salvation to its members.
In the final analysis, Masons do not adjust their beliefs to fit the Bible, the Bible is adjusted to fit their beliefs. A Mason's loyalty is never to God but to the Lodge. "The prevailing Masonic opinion is that the Bible is only a symbol of Divine Will, Law, or Revelation, and not that its contents are Divine Law, inspired, or revealed. So far, no responsible authority has held that a Freemason must believe the Bible or any part of it."
Masonry's only concern is that each person must swear by the most holy book he knows, so that he will then keep the oaths of Freemasonry.
Masonry is not a religion or Cult. Religions and Cults do the following (though details vary from one to the next): Practice sacerdotal functions, Teach Theology, Ordain Clergy, Define sin and salvation, Offer salvation Perform sacraments, Publish or specify a Holy Book , Describe or define the Deity.
Cults publish books which they will claim to be the same as or superior to the Holy Writings... Most cults can be traced back to a single individual whose teachings pervade the group. Masonry does none of these.
Freemasonry has its roots in the same sources as the mystery religions of the world that brought on the wrath of the Hebrew God of the Old Testament. And the Craft is now preparing the way for the revival of the same religion of the ancients.
Freemasons can be traced back to medieval times when stonemasons formed guilds and unions, but some sources trace them back even further. Freemason legend dates their fraternity back to the building of King Solomon's temple in the Bible. The project, so legend has it, was so large that it required the stonemasons to organize themselves into groups and classes with distinct responsibilities. There is no concrete evidence of Masonry in ancient times.
The exact freemason's words of their vows are secret. That's one of the ways they recognize each other. The contents of the vows are not. In less formal language than they use in the Ritual, a Mason promises: "to treat women with deference and respect, to help a Brother when he asks for and needs help, to remember that people are entitled to dignity and respect and not to treat them as if they were things, to follow the directions of the Grand Lodge in things Masonic, and if he disagrees, to use the proper channels to express that disagreement and seek resolution, to respect the traditions of the Fraternity, and to keep secret the few things that are secret".
Freemasonry is far from indifferent to religion. Without interfering in religious practice it expects each member to follow his own faith, and to place above all other duties his duty to God by whatever name He is known. Its moral teachings are acceptable to all religions. Freemasonry is thus a supporter of religion.
Masonry (or Freemasonry) is the oldest fraternity in the world. No one knows just how old it is because the actual origins have been lost in time. Probably, it arose from the guilds of stonemasons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Possibly, they were influenced by the Knights Templar, a group of Christian warrior monks formed in 1118 to help protect pilgrims making trips to the Holy Land.
The history of Freemasonry is well documented, and its major players include a vast number of contributors to society--men such as Washington, Truman, and Churchill in politics, Goethe, Schiller, and Conan Doyle in literature, Burl Ives, Ernest Borgnine, Gene Autry in the performing arts, Mozart, Haydn, and Irving Berlin in music, and on and on. Freemasons played essential roles in the civilization of the New World, taming the west (Kit Carson was a Freemason), freeing Latin America (Bolivar was a Mason, as was Bernardo O'Higgins), and so on.
Freemasons have established a vast array of charitable activities, primarily focussing on the health field, such as the famous Shriners' Children's Hospitals for treatment of orthopedic problems and burns, the Scottish Rite speech disorder clinics, the Masonic cancer centers, the Tall Cedars' activities for muscular dystrophy, and many others.
Modern speculative Freemasonry, as we know it today, owes its structure to the Grand Lodge. The first Grand Lodge under our present system of speculative Masonry was organized in London in 1717 and is known as the United Grand Lodge of England.
With the exception of a few lodges, every regular Masonic lodge today was granted a charter or warrent from a Grand Lodge. Every Grand Lodge has a certain jurisdiction or area over which to preside. In the United States, the boundry of each state is that area governed by a separate Grand Lodge.
Masonry or Free Masonry, is the name given to one of the largest and oldest fraternal organizations in the World. It has been reported that one in every sixteen adult American males is a Mason. Its full title is Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
It aims to promote the welfare and dignity of mankind through brotherhood and to foster morality among its members. the Masons and their various organizations spend millions of dollars annually for hospitals; homes for widows, orphans and the aged; relief for people in distress; and scholarships for students.
Masonry stems from the period of cathedral building from the 900's to the 1600's. At that time, stonemasons formed associations called guilds in various European cities and towns. Free Masons were stonemasons that traveled from community to community. With the decline of cathedral building, the guilds or lodges became purely social societies and began accepting members who had neve been stoneworkers, and called them Speculative Masons.
In 1717, four fraternal lodges united under the Grand Lodge of England. The Masons of today consider the formation of the Grand Lodge of England to be the beginning of their society.
Throughout its history, Masonry has brought together men of varied beliefs and opinions. It does not sponsor any political, economic creeds or particular denomination of faith. Masonry refrains from solicitation of members.
All who enter must do so of their own free will and accord. To be eligible for membership, the petitioner must be a man, twenty-one years of age, of good moral character and believe in a Supreme Being.
Masonry impresses its members, through ritual, with the duties they owe to their God, their country, their family, their neighbors and themselves. Truth is Masonry's objective and freedom is its goal. To Be One; Ask One.
In the 19th degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, the initiate is told that attachment to Masonry's "statutes and rules of the order" will make him "deserving of entering the celestial Jerusalem [heaven]." In the 28th degree, he is told that "the true Mason [is one] who raises himself by degrees till he reaches heaven" and that one of his duties is "To divest [him]self of original sin ..."
Masons clearly teach a salvation by works, or character development, not a salvation by faith in Christ alone. Even in the 32nd Degree, a Mason never can nor will find the "light" he is looking for.
One of Freemasonry's customs is not to solicit members. However, anyone should feel free to approach any Mason to seek further information about the Craft. Membership is for men, 21 years of age or older, who meet the qualifications and standards of character and reputation, who are of good moral character, and who believe in the existence of a supreme being.
A man who wants to join a lodge must be recommended for by two members of that lodge. He must understand that his character will be investigated. After approval by the members of that lodge, he will be accepted as an applicant for membership in Freemasonry. The doors of Freemasonry are open to men who seek harmony with their fellow man, feel the need for self-improvement and wish to participate in making this world a better place to live.
Any man who becomes a Mason is taught a pattern for living - reverence, morality, kindness, honesty, dependability and compassion. He must be prepared to honour his country, uphold its laws and respect those in authority. He must be prepared to maintain honourable relations with others and be willing to share in Masonic activities.
No one should enter Freemasonry in the hope of some material gain or advancement. To do so will only lead to disappointment. Membership is entirely voluntary. The rules require an intending member to be motivated by his own desire to join the Craft. He will be accepted if the members feel he has the qualities making for happy and successful participation in their Lodge.
The first lodge in the United States was founded in Philadelphia (1730); Benjamin Franklin was a member. Many of the leaders of the American Revolution, including John Hancock and Paul Revere, were members of St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston. George Washington became a Mason in 1752.
At the time of the Revolution most of the American lodges broke away from their English and Scottish antecedents. Freemasonry has continued to be important in politics; 13 Presidents have been Masons, and at any given time quite a large number of the members of Congress have belonged to Masonic lodges.
Notable European Masons included Voltaire, Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Franz Joseph Haydn, Johann von Goethe, Johann von Schiller, and many leaders of Russia's Decembrist revolt (1825).
Freemasons rely heavily on the architectural symbolism of the medieval operative Masons who actually worked in stone. One of their principal symbols is the square and compasses, tools of the trade, so arranged as to form a quadrilateral.
The square is sometimes said to represent matter, and the compasses spirit or mind. Alternatively, the square might be said to represent the world of the concrete, or the measure of objective reality, while the compasses represent abstraction, or subjective judgment, and so forth (Freemasonry being non-dogmatic, there is no written-in-stone interpretation for any of these symbols).
The compasses straddle the square, representing the interdependence between the two. In the space between the two, there is optionally placed a symbol of metaphysical significance. Sometimes, this is a blazing star or other symbol of Light, representing Truth or knowledge. Alternatively, there is often a letter G placed there, usually said to represent God and/or Geometry.
Freemasons started some of the first public schools in both Europe and America. They supported legislation to make education universal. In the 1800s Masons as a group lobbied for the establishment of state-supported education and federal land-grant colleges. Today the Mason's give millions of pounds in scholarships each year.
They encourage their members to give volunteer time to their local schools, buy classroom supplies for teachers, help with literacy programs, and do everything they can to help assure that each person, adult or child, has the best educational opportunities possible.
You must be a man, at least 19 years old. You must reside in the state of Michigan for at least one full year. (six months for military personnel) You must have a belief in a Supreme Being of any faith. (No particular religion or faith is required or excluded; all are welcome.)
You should be someone who does, or wants to learn to, enjoy the company of other men from all different social classes, faiths, backgrounds, races, countries, etc. Masonry is universal in its ideals. You should be coming to Masonry "of your own free will and accord", to learn to improve yourself and to enjoy the company of other good people, not because someone keeps pestering you to join or because you think it will help you "get ahead" in business.
You must be loyal to our country, a law abiding citizen and of good character. You must ask to join. Many Masons whom you may come in contact with, may think you'd make a good Mason, but they will not ask you to join, you must ASK them
A Mason is obliged to obey the moral law; and if he rightly understands the art, he will never be a stupid atheist, nor an irreligious libertine. But though in ancient times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, yet ’’tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves; that is, to be good men and true, or men of honour and honesty, by whatever denominations or persuasions they may be distinguished; whereby Masonry becomes the centre of union, and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance.
Albert Pike intended the degrees leading up to the thirteenth degree to serve as a training school to gradually condition and prepare the candidate for the ultimate acceptance of Luceriferic initiation.
In Masonry, every thing has a double meaning. Thus, the candidate is practicing occultism throughout his degrees without knowing it. False interpretations are given to keep him from suspecting the institution to be anything less than noble and upright in purpose. This deception, this false interpretation is called allegory.
Allegory is defined as; something where the language is one thing and the meaning is another. (Source) Encyclopedia of Freemasonry p. 62 Dr. Albert Mackey
Masonry teaches that each person has a responsibility to make things better in the world. Most individuals won't be the ones to find a cure for cancer, or eliminate poverty, or help create world peace, but every man and woman and child can do something to help others and to make things a little better.
Masonry is deeply involved with helping people -- it spends more than $1.4 million dollars every day in the United States, just to make life a little easier. And the great majority of that help goes to people who are not Masons. Some of these charities are vast projects, like the Crippled Children's Hospitals and Burns Institutes built by the Shriners. Also, Scottish Rite Masons maintain a nationwide network of over 100 Childhood Language Disorders Clinics, Centers, and Programs.
Each helps children afflicted by such conditions as aphasia, dyslexia, stuttering, and related learning or speech disorders. Some services are less noticeable, like helping a widow pay her electric bill or buying coats and shoes for disadvantaged children. And there's just about anything you can think of in-between.
But with projects large or small, the Masons of a lodge try to help make the world a better place. The lodge gives them a way to combine with others to do even more good.
Freemasonry is not a religion and promotes no doctrine, dogma, or converts. Freemasonry has no cosmology, eschatology or theology. Freemasonry offers no sacraments nor does it claim to lead to salvation by any definition.
Freemasonry has not, nor has it ever claimed the prerogatives of religion. Freemasonry believes that men of all faiths can dwell together in peace. Freemasonry requires its members to believe in God but will not dictate those beliefs except insofar as they coincide with the teachings of Freemasonry.
The teachings of Freemasonry are built on the virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. The "search for light" found in Freemasonry is a reference to a quest for knowledge, not salvation.
The Society is governed by three Grand Master Masons who traditionally hold their offices ad vitam, but waive that right. The 1st Grand Master Mason retires after a tenure of five years and the 2nd Grand Master Mason after a period of three years (although both are eligible for reappointment), whilst the office of 3rd Grand Master Mason terminates annually with the enactment of the Ancient Drama one year after his appointment.
The three Grand Masters are the sole members of the VII degree Lodge, all others being said to be members of the VII degree honoris causa.The minimum qualification for the VI degree is to be an Installed Master in good standing in both the Craft and Mark degrees of speculative Freemasonry.
The first four degrees are conferred in an Assemblage of Lodges IV to I, each degree beyond the first being conferred when the Assemblage is appropriately opened as a Lodge of that degree. The V, VI and VII degree are conferred in separate Lodges of those degrees. To quote from its introductory publication:
'The Society has ordinarily generated considerable loyalty and affection among its members and, in addition to the merits of its ceremonies and practices, one reason is that the Society fills a notable gap in the masonic structure. Speculative masons are happy to trace their origins to the practices of the ancient stone masons, but many then tend to forget all about them'. The Operatives exist to ensure that we do not all forget!
Freemasonry refers to the principles, institutions, and practices of the fraternal order of the Free and Accepted Masons. The largest worldwide society, Freemasonry is an organization of men based on the "fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man," using builders' tools as symbols to teach basic moral truths generally accepted by persons of good will.
Their motto is "morality in which all men agree, that is, to be good men and true." It is religious in that a belief in a Supreme Being and in the immortality of the soul are the two prime requirements for membership, but it is nonsectarian in that no religious test is used.1 The purpose of Freemasonry is to enable men to meet in harmony, to promote friendship, and to be charitable.
Its basic ideals are that all persons are the children of one God, that all persons are related to each other, and that the best way to worship God is to be of service to people.
I tell you now that Freemasonry is one of the most wicked and terrible organizations upon this earth. The Masons are major players in the struggle for world domination. The 33rd Degree is split into two. One split contains the core of the Luciferian Illuminati and the other contains those who have no knowledge of it whatsoever." [Behold A Pale Horse , p. 78]
The names used for the Supreme Being enable men of different faiths to join in prayer (to God as each sees Him/Her) without the terms of the prayer causing dissension among them. There is no separate Masonic God; a Freemason's God remains the God of the religion each member professes.
Masonry leaves it up to the individual Mason to choose his pathway to God. The Mason is expected, quite properly, to get that spiritual guidance from his own denomination, which he is encouraged to support with both his energy and his personal finances.
Free Masonry has on occasion been accused of being atheistic simply because the accusers have defined any belief other than their own as such. In fact, regular Freemasonry has always restricted its membership to men who express a belief in Diety. But this does not make Freemasonry anti-atheistic.
Not one person ever joined Masonry because George Wshington was a Mason. Not one person ever joined Masonry because Harry Truman was a Mason. Not one person ever joined because of any of our great Masonic heroes. Joining doesn't make you any of those people. Not one person ever joined in order to give a million dollars a day to charity, or homes, or crippled children. You don't have to be a member to give money.
Not one person ever joined because our ritual is outstanding, or our minutes are accurate, or a hundred other things we worry about. They don't know about our ritual. They joined because someone they knew and admired was a Mason. It could have been a father,a friend, a man down the street, or someone a thousand miles away.
Who, it didn't matter. They admired him and wanted to do the things he did, and they did it by the millions.
Masons are men who have decided they like to feel good about themselves and others. They care about the future as well as the past, and do what they can, both alone and with others, to make the future good for everyone.
Freemasonry is known for its ornate rituals. One of the most interesting is the ceremony in which an initiate becomes a Master Mason. In the first phase of the ceremony the initiate must swear to many things including allegiance to God and his fellow Masons.
When he thinks he has completed the ceremony and become a Master Mason, his real initiation begins. He is blindfolded and has to act out the part of Hiram Abiff, the murdered master in a legend of the building of King Solomon's temple.
There is much action wherein the initiate must refuse to divulge the secrets of the Masons (as Hiram did) and is murdered (hit down) and wrapped in a sheet. At the end, the five points of fellowship are explained to him, along with many Masonic symbols.
How can a Christian Mason say he is lost in darkness and seek to join the Lodge, because he needs the light of Freemasonry?
The Bible says if you are a Christian and say you are in darkness, you are living a lie, and the truth is not in you. Because, if Christ lives in your life, you have "The Light". The second thing The Christian Mason must ask himself is this: "If you are going to join the Lodge how can you come before a man called The Worshipful Master, and bow before him in a religious ceremony (remember the altar in the center, with the single light from above shining down on it) and say you are lost in darkness? "
Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon." (Matt. 6:24)
Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters. You can't claim to be a follower of Christ and then bow before a man you accept as your Worshipful Master any more than you can bow before a Buddha.
The mammon that Christ warned us about fits right into the lodge. What is it if it isn't the prestige, wealth, power and position among men promised by lodge membership?
Freemasonry has been denounced over the age by the Christian community, which maintains Masonic rituals and tenets conflict with Christian beliefs. Members defend Freemasonry, saying it is a religious organization seeking human betterment and service to God.
Freemasons meet in common respect for the Supreme Being as He remains Supreme in their individual religions, and it is no part of Freemasonry to attempt to join religions together. The Bible, referred to by Freemasons as the Volume of the Sacred Law, is always open at every Masonic meeting.
A widespread occult order, of Free and Accepted Masons, swearing oaths to secrecy and mutual aid. Claims to have been founded in London in 1717. Development of medieval Craft Masons, retaining secret signs and passwords by which itinerant workers in the guild recognised each other.
Masonry has nothing to do with the Bible; it is not founded upon the Bible, for if it were,it would not be Masonry, it would be something else." [The Digest of Masonic Law, p. 207-209]
Masonry teaches moral lessens through allegorical plays, and the use of symbols with the tools of the operative masons. Masons seek to improve themselves and help others by showing them a way to improve their lives.Freemasonry is many things
Resistance towards the Wicked
Courtesy in Society
Forgiveness for the Penitent
Concern for the unfortunate
Reverence for Supreme Being
Honesty in Business
Kindness in the Home
Love for one another
Help for the Weak
Fairness in Work
Freemasonry is the oldest and largest world wide fraternity dedicated to the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of a Supreme Being. Although of a religious nature, Freemasonry is not a religion. It urges its members, however, to be faithful and devoted to their own religious beliefs.
The organization of Freemasonry is based on a system of Grand Lodges, each sovereign within its own territory. There is no central authority governing all Grand Lodges. However, to be acknowledged by others, acceptable traditions, standards and practices must be maintained.
Masonic members recite oaths to tear open their left breast or have their bowels taken out and burned to ashes should they reveal Masonic secrets. Mason handbooks threaten members who disclose confidences with curses of throat slashing, tongue removal, and burial at the edge of a lake or pond. Third-degree Masons, called Shriners, utter oaths to be penalized for violating rules by having their eyeballs spread and their feet flayed.
Free Masons believe in honesty, justice, love, fidelity, respect, and brotherhood, among other virtues. They are taught that people should be decent human beings and respect their elders, and that God would not send good, virtuous people to hell, and that anyone who is basically a good person will go to heaven. Masonry was not a religion, but a fraternal group helping good men get better.
No one knows just how old freemasonry is because the actual origins have been lost in time.Probably, it arose from the guilds of stone masons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Possibly, they were influenced by the Knights Templar, a group of Christian warrior monks formed in 1118 to help protect pilgrims making trips to the Holy Land.
People wonder, "Well, what about the Shriners? We hear about the Shriners Hospital, about Masonic homes for Masons, about all the good works they do. Everyone knows about the Shrine Circus and the many people who are helped by them. Why is it that so many are criticizing them? Are you saying that they have something to hide from the world"
All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and personal merit only; that so the lords may be well served, the brethren not put to shame, nor the royal craft despised; therefore no Master or Warden is chosen by seniority, but for his merit.
It is impossible to describe these things in writing, and every Brother must attend in his place, and learn them in a way peculiar to this Fraternity: only candidates may know that no Master should take an Apprentice unless he has sufficient imployment for him, and unless he be a perfect youth, having no maim or defect in his body that may render him uncapable of learning the art, of serving his Master’p’s lord, and of being made a Brother,and then a Fellow Craft in due time, even after he has served such a term of years as the custom of the country directs; and that he should be descended of honest parents; that so, when otherwise qualified, he may arrive to the honour of being the Warden, and then the Master of the Lodge, the Grand Warden, and at length the Grand Master of all the Lodges, according to his merit.
There is an Elite group of Freemasons in England over whom the United Grand Lodge has no jurisdiction. These are the brethren of the so-called Higher Degrees, and even the majority of Freemasons have no idea of their existence.
Most Freemasons who have been raised to the 3rd Degree to become Master Masons believe they are at the top of the masonic ladder. As novices they were Entered Apprentices. They were then 'passed' as Fellow Craft Masons and finally 'raised' as Masters.
The very name Master has connotations of supremity. If Master Masons have ambition it will usually be to achieve office within their Lodge - eventually, with good fortune and the passing of years, to become Worshipful Master of their mother Lodge (the Lodge to which they were first initiated into Masonry). Those who have their eyes fixed on higher office will aim for rank in their Provincial Grand Lodge or in the United Grand Lodge itself.
But even the Grand Master of all England is only a Freemason of the 3rd Degree. The three Craft degrees form the entire picture of Masonry for most of the 600,000 'uninitiated initiates' of the Brotherhood in England and Wales.
When I was initiated into Freemasonry, I was led to believe that my involvement would not interfere with my duty to God. Yet, I was led through three blood oaths in the three degrees of the Blue Lodge which are in direct violation of the commandment of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 5:33-37.
PB.
Assertions about "pagan" material in Masonry may stem from the study of material from the ancient world in some of the degrees. But this is not paganism (the worship of idols, natural objects, or polytheistic human-like deities).
In fact, many of the early teachings of the Church depended heavily on the works of such "pagan" philosophers as Plato and Aristotle; Christianity has absorbed such pagan elements as the Christmas tree, the name Easter (from a pagan fertility goddess), and the actual date of Christmas (pre-empting the Roman's pagan winter solstice festival of the Saturnalia).
Indeed, the mythos about the fall of Lucifer from heaven to the underworld is of pagan origin, derived from the Graeco-Roman legend of Hephaestus (Vulcan) who fell from Mt. Olympus to the nether regions, where his forges were located, and in ancient art is depicted as lame from the fall.
There have been many thinkers and learned men in cultures other than that of the West in the Judaeo-Christian era, and it is not "paganism" to study them.
Most Freemasons are shocked to disbelief when they are told that women can become full-fledged Freemasons, as they have been led to believe that only men can become Masons. However, a dirty little secret is that women can become Co-Masons, joining as full-fledged members, usually along with their husbands. Co-Masonry has produced some really important leaders in the New World Order movement.
Masons take good people and tries to make them better, by showing then how they should act, and live their lives. Masons give 2 million dollars a day to charity. Masons help their family, their friends, their neighbors, their community, and even strangers when they are in need.
Masons have the Shrine Hospitals, Burns Hospitals, Children's Hospital; support Cerebral Palsy; Dentistry for the Handicapped, College Scholarships, Special Olympics, help the Salvation Army, and on and on and on. Masons make sure that crippled children have the proper equipment like wheelchairs, and braces at no cost.
Masons generally help their community without any recognition. What more could you ask.
Most Masons join Freemasonry to be part of what they view as a prestigious, socially influential organization. However, their society is based on misrepresentations and false explanations. Masons refer to their 33rd degree Masons as "Worshipful Master" and believe Jesus was only a man and teacher.
The Bible clearly states that salvation can be attained only through Jesus, God's beloved Son. The brotherhood Masons advocate is false. The only brotherhood spoken of the Bible is the one entered into the blood of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3).
Albert Pike, the noted Masonic scholar, said that "it is the universal, eternal, immutable religion, such as God planted it in the heart of universal humanity." Pike's statement is a good example of Masonic double speak. The Christian can interpret what is said as being in reference to the personal God of Christianity who created the universe.
However, when one takes Pike's statement together with the balance of his worldview it becomes apparent that he is referring to the impersonal god of Freemasonry.
Philosophers are by no means agreed with respect to the scope and subject matter of philosophy. Nor are Masonic scholars at one with respect to the scope and purpose of Freemasonry. Hence one may not expect to define and delimit Masonic philosophy according to the easy method of Dickens' editor who wrote upon Chinese metaphysics by reading in the Encyclopedia upon China and upon metaphysics and combining his information.
It is enough to say at the outset that in the sense in which philosophers of Masonry have used the term, philosophy is the science of fundamentals. Possibly it would be more correct to think of the philosophy of Masonry as organized Masonic knowledge--as a system of Masonic knowledge.
The Masonic oaths are taken on the Holy Bible, which the Masons are told is only one of the "three great lights of Masonry." Yet that very Bible contains the commands of God that should stop any Christian Mason in his tracks and drive him to his knees in repentance.
Jesus has commanded us to "Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’’s throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." (Matt.5: 34-37) KJV
There are three basic degrees of Masonry—p—Entered Apprentice (First Degree), Fellowcraft (Second Degree) and Master Mason (Third Degree)——which are conferred at three separate meetings over a period of several weeks or months.
The solemn process is an enlightening and interesting experience for the candidate with no embarrassing moments. Between meetings he is given further instruction concerning the meaning of the ritualistic ceremony in which he has participated. He will also be asked to memorize a few key passages of the ritual.
The Masonic ritual dramatizes its philosophy of the importance of a moral life. It uses the tools of ancient stonemasons as symbols to teach these ideals. A Mason promises to build his life and character with the same care and precision that stonemasons used to construct the great cathedrals centuries ago.
Standards in the Mason's have been falling for twenty or thirty years. It is too easy to enter the Craft, so many men of dubious morals have joined. The secrecy and power attract such people, and when they come the decent leave.
The numbers of people who would never have been considered for membership in the fifties are getting larger all the time. If only five per cent of Freemasons use - abuse - the Craft for selfish or corrupt ends it means there are 25,000 of them. The figure is much closer to twelve or thirteen per cent now.'
Masonry believes that everyone has a choice, that the golden rule should be followed, and that your religion and politics is your business. The principal object of Freemasonry has always been to perfect the individual and to guide mankind toward a better, more harmonious development.
The individual Mason is a Builder on the Temple of Human Brotherhood; a Mason is both the trowel and the cement which combine the units of society. The brotherly love he extends to others is the trowel; the appreciation and affection he arouses are the cement which helps to bind people closer to each other.
Albert Pike, the noted Masonic scholar gives concrete evidence of Freemason's worship of Satan/Lucifer on the very front of the cover of Morals and Dogma ! Below the round seal of "God", Pike writes a phrase written in Latin, which proves to be a typical Satanic phrase. One look at this phrase would alert any Satanist that the contents of this book are Satanic!
A Satanist would also understand immediately that all of Freemasonry is Satanic.
What is this phrase? "DEUS MEUMQUE JUS" The literal meaning is "God and My Right" Doc Marquis says this statement is a very typical one within Satanism. It has two meanings,one within the other.
First, this phrase means that the Freemason can depend upon their God to determine their Right and Justice. Secondly, since the God of Freemasonry is Lucifer, Masons are saying that they are "using occult methods", through Lucifer, to achieve their Rights and Justice.Marquis says that this phrase is very powerful and very dangerous within Satanism.
The second a Satanist sees this phrase in Latin on Pike's book, he knows the material within is Satanism, without reading a word!
Albert Pike is popular with anti-masons for three reasons. First, Leo Taxil falsely accused him of claiming that the God of Freemasonry was Lucifer (Note his public confession); secondly, Susan L. Davis and Walter L. Fleming, without documentation or proof, claimed him as a leader of the Ku Klux Klan; and thirdly, Pike's extensive writings are easily quoted out of context to demonstrate pagan or occult leanings.
In the 861 page book Morals and Dogma, Albert Pike makes a total of four references to Lucifer [pp. 73, 102, 321, 324]. In each he uses the word lucifer in the popular usage as a synonym for Satan; on page 321 he points out the paradox of the Latin root meaning of the word as the bringer of light.
Although we may disagree with his personal beliefs, he is clearly not exalting Satan. In context he also makes it very clear that his book is a treatise on comparative religion and is not a book of masonic instruction.
Masonry has as its Commandments, which is as a law to its Initiates.
These are its Ten Commandments.
1. God is the Eternal, Omnipotent Immutable Wisdom, Supreme Intellligence and Exhaustless Love. Thou shalt adore, revere, and love him! Thou shalt honor him by practicing the virtues!2. Thy religion shall be, to do good because it is a pleasure to thee, and not merely because it is a duty. That thou mayest become the friend of the wiseman, thou shalt obey his precepts! Thy soul is immortal! Thou shalt do nothing to degrade it!
3. Thalt shall unceasingly war against vice! Thou shalt not do unto others that which thou wouldst not wish for them to do unto thee! Thou shalt be submissive to thy fortunes, and keep burning the light of wisdom!
4. Thou shalt honor thy parents! Thou shalt pay respect and homage to the aged! Thou shalt instruct the young! Thou shalt protect and defend infancy and innocence!
5. Thou shalt cherish thy wife and thy children! Thou shalt love thy country, and obey its laws!
6. Thy friend shall be to thee a second self. Misfortune shall not estrange thee from him! Thou shalt do for his memory whatever thou wouldst do for him, were he living!
7. Thou shalt avoid and flee from insincere friendships! Thou shalt in everything refrain from excess! Thou shalt fear to be the cause of a stain on thy memory!
8. Thou shalt allow no passions to become thy master! Thou shalt make the passions of others profitable lessons to thyself! Thou shalt be indulgent to error!
9. Thou shalt hear much; Thou shalt speak little; Thou shalt act well! Thou shalt forget injuries! Thou shalt render good for evil! Thou shalt not misuse either thy strength or thy superiority!
10. Thou shalt study to know men, that thereby thou mayest learn to know thyself! Thou shalt ever seek after virtue! Thou shalt be just! Thou shalt avoid idleness of thought and deed!
But the great commandment of Masonry is this}
"A New Commandment give I unto Thee; That ye love one another! He That saith he is in the Light, and hateth his brother, remaineth still in the Darkness!"
Charity is the most visible Masonic activity. Each year Masons give many millions of dollars to charity. Some are large projects, some are small. Among the hundreds of local projects, they sponsor large programs such as Children in Crisis, and Blindness Prevention programs, testing thousands of school children and senior citizens for vision problems.
They have strong commitments to public education. Many Lodges have programs in which they recognize outstanding students. They have essay contests, awards for outstanding teachers and even programs to help teachers get supplies. The Fraternity gives hundreds of college scholarships to students each year.
Throughout the United States, the Masons give an average of $1,500.000.00 (that is one and a half million) every day to charitable causes, most of which are not Masonic. A fact never publicized and thus hardly known.
All those things are external, and they are important. But the real things the Masons do are far more difficult to describe. In essence, they try to build themselves into better men, better fathers, better husbands and better citizens. They strive for self development and self improvement. They try to learn more about what it means to be human and what it takes to become better men.
Church views.Russian Orthodox Church.
"Any Orthodox who joins Masonry losses all the right and privileges of his membership in the Church (Acker, "Strange Altars", pag.60).Methodists.
"There is a great danger that the Christian who becomes a Freemason will find himself comprising his Christian beliefs. Methodists should not become Masons (General Assembly, London, 1985).The Church of England.
"A number of very fundamental reasons to question the compatibility of Freemasonry with Christianity (General Synod, London, 1987... and several members of the committee were Masons!)Baptist. Baptist leaders, have referred to it as "an ungodly brotherhood of satanic darkness"; "there is an inherent incompatibility between Masonry and the Christian faith"; "there is a great danger that the Christian Mason may find himself compromising his allegiance to Jesus" (The Baptist Union of Scotland, 1965).
Presbyterians.
"Masonry is a religious institution and as such is definitely anti-Christian (General Assembly, Rochester, 1942).Lutherans. Lutherans say "Masonry amounts to idolatry" (Missouri Synod, 1959).
Catholics.
Freemasons have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church by 8 Popes: In 1738 by Clement XII "In Eminenti", the first of 20 bulls against Freemasonry. Pius IX issued 6 bulls attacking Masonry. Leo XIII, in 1884, in "Humanum Genus", and endorsed the view that the Freemasons' "real supreme aim" is "to persecute Christianity with untamed hatred, and they will never rest until they see cast to the ground all religious institutions established by the Pope"... and the last one, John Paul II in 1983... you can not be a Catholic and a Mason!If you want to be a Mason, you are automatically out of the Catholic Church, excommunicated!... these are the words issued by Cardinal Ratzinger, approved and ordered by John Paul II in Nov. 1983: "The Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic associations remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden.
Catholics who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. Local Ecclesiastical authorities do not have the faculty to pronounce a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which may include a diminution of the above-mentioned judgment".
One of the Masons most basic purposes is to make good men even better. They try to place emphasis on the individual man by strengthening his character, improving his moral and spiritual outlook, and broadening his mental horizons. They try to impress upon the minds of our members the principles of personal responsibility and morality, encouraging each member to practice in his daily life the lessons taught through symbolic ceremonies in the lodge.
One of the universal doctrines of Freemasonry is the belief in the "Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God." The importance of this belief is established by each Mason as he practices the three principle tenets of Masonry: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.
A man can be called a Mason WHEN.......He finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be.
He knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellow man.
He knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.
He has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself When he loves flowers, can hunt birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child.
He can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.
He can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life.
He knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope.
He has kept faith with himself with his fellow man, and with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song; glad to live, but not afraid to die.
He can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage which is the root of every virtue.
He has found the real secret of Masonry, and that secret is to try to give to all the world.
When I was a king and a mason}
A mason proved and skilled,
I cleared me ground for a palace
Such as a king should build.
I decreed and dug down to my levels}
Presently, under the silt,
I came on the wreck of a palace
Such as a king had built.
Kipling.A part of a builder's profession
Is digging in ruins of old,
And his findings, in rapid succession,
Equip him with merits untold,
For the builder who never uncovers
The work of the centuries past
Is the builder who never discovers
Construction most certain to last.
Far back before history's pages
Did ever their stories relate
Or the sayings of eminent sages
Their quota of learning donate,
We find over lands without number
Where human achievements were felt,
Their ruins profusely encumber
The sites where the race had long dwelt.
And the study of long hidden symbols
Induces the mind to concede
That their mystical system resembles
Our own very closely indeed.
And the builders of old, laid foundations
Of ethical value so rare
That their teaching of mystic creations
With Masonry closely compare.
And we find them in cities long buried
When civilization's decay
O'er the work of the builder fast hurried
With ruthless demolishing sway.
In the temples of Indian ages
And far on the banks of the Nile
Where the work and the study of sages
Their wonderful stories compile.
And remote from all eastern persuasions
Of all known connection devoid,
In old Mexico's ancient creations
They find the same symbols employed.
'Tis the soul of the Master revolving
All lands in the universe through,
With His children of nature evolving
From light of the old to the new.
Lewis A. McConnell.
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