Forward<= /i>
Few things are sadder in human affairs than unnecessary conflict, caused= by misunderstanding or the unwillingness of men and women to discuss, calmly a= nd factually, the differencees they perceive to seperate them. In recent years, Freemasons have felt especially victimized by this problem. Some people make themselves adversaries of Masonry without first finding out if a conflict really exist. Often, rather than asking a knowledgable Mason for clarificat= ion or information, they simply read books written by other anti-Masons and find their answers there. I have asked Dr. Tresner to write this pamplet because= I know that most conflicts people see with Masonry -- especially in the area = of religion -- are the result of misunderstanding rather than actual differenc= es.
Each man seeks in Masonry for himself, and each man finds for himself. E= ach man has an absolute right to interpret Masonry for himself as he sees fit. = With our long tradition of prizing intellectual liberty and individual thought, = it could not be otherwise.
But if no interpretation of Masonry is officially "right," the= re are some which are clearly wrong. When someone ascribes words to a person w= hich that person never wrote, or when someone insists that Masons believe someth= ing which has never been a part of the lessons of Masonry, it is the duty of ev= ery thinking Mason to say, "That is not what Masonry teaches!"
It is my prayer that every thoughtful Christian who wants to know more a= bout Freemasonry will read this information and review again in his heart the lessons of Him who taught it is better to love than to hate and fear, and t= hat it is our duty to cherish all mankind, to strive to be better tomorrow than= we were yesterday, and to strive to emulate the compassion and caring of the G= ood Shepherd.
Allan D. La= rge
Jim Tresner is the Director of the Masonic Leade=
rship
Institute. He holds the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, is=
the
Director of the 33rd degree Conferral Team at his
I undertake this task with considerable diffidence. Indeed, were it not = for a belief that it is sinful to be silent when misunderstandings create pain and confusion, I would probably decline. The world of Masonry is vast, complex = and rich, but it is as nothing compared to the immense sweep and scope of thoug= ht, faith, history and culture contained in the word Christianity.
As a professed and professing member of the Christian (Disciples of Chri= st) Church, I have never found any conflict between the lodge room and the sanctuary. And indeed as the Reverend Doctor Norman Vincent Peale, one of t= he best known Christian and Masonic authors of today has remarked, there can n= ever be conflict between Christianity and any other organization which constantly urges its members to live a moral life.
Following are some questions often asked by those who are not members of Masonry. The responsibility for the answers is my own, although, I have tri= ed to draw from the best known and most respected Masonic writers.
No, not by the definitions most people use. Religion, as the term is commonly used, implies several things: a plan for salvation or path by which one reaches the after-life; a theology which attempts to describe the natur= e of God; and the description of ways or practices by which a man or woman may s= eek to communicate with God.
Masonry does none of those things. We offer no plan of salvation. With t= he exception of saying that He is a loving Father who desires only good for His children, we make no effort to describe the nature of God. And while we open and close our meetings with prayer, and we teach that no man should ever be= gin any important undertaking without first seeking the guidence of God, we nev= er tell a man how he should pray or for what he should pray.
Instead, we tell him that he must find the answers to these great questi= ons in his own faith, in his church or synagogue or other house of worship. We = urge men not to neglect their spiritial development and to be faithful in the practice of their religion. As the Grand Lodge of England wrote in "Fr= eemasonry and Religion", "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." Masonry itself makes only a simple religious demand on a man--he must believe that he has an immortal soul and he must believe in Go= d. No atheist can be a Mason.
Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary provides a definition for the word "temple" which is as good an explanation as any: "a building, usually of imposing size, serving the public or an organization in some special way; as, a temple of art, a Masonic temple"
Yes, and again, it's a matter of definition. If, as some writers have, y= ou define religion as "man's urge to venerate the beutiful, serve the good and see God in everything," you can say that Masonry subscribes to a religion. But that, surely, is not in conflict with Christianity or any oth= er faith.
No.
The relationship (if any) between Freemasonry and the ancient Mysteries = is a favorite topic of speculation among Masonic writers. Unfortunately, just as Mathematicians tend to write for other Mathematicians ahd Historians then to write for other Historians, Masonic writers tend to write for other Masonic writers. Many things are never explained, simply because it is assumed the = reader already knowns them.
Many Masonic writers say that Freemasonry uses the tradition of the Mysteries. (Others, meaning the same thing, say that Masonry is the success= or to the Mysteries.) By that, we simply mean that Masonry also seeks to find = men and help them develop in thought and understanding to seek enlightment. The principles of goodness (not to be confused with the principles of salvation) compassion, concern, love, trustworthiness, integrity, a sense or "connectedness" with history-- these are the elements of the Mysteries, along with other schools of thought, preserved by Freemasonry. A= nd they are not in conflict with any faith.
Masonry has nothing to do with the religion taught in the Mysteries. Rat= her, we are concerned with the ethics and morality taught there-- ethics and morality which have been ratified by Christianity and every major religion = or mankind.
Perhaps the best answer is that most of us are, at least in the United States. The ranks of Masonry have been and are distinguished by many of the outstanding religious leaders of America. A quick scan throught the book "10,000 Famous Freemasons", gives us these names from history, am= ong many others.
It is useful on this question, to let some of America's most honored Cle= rgy speak for themselves.
Carl J. Sanders, Bishop of the United Methodist Church and holder of the highest honor conferred by the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, writes: "= My Masonic activities have never interfered with my loyalty to and my love for= my Church. Quite to the contrary, my loyalty to my Church has been strengthene= d by my Masonic ties. Good Masons are good Churchmen."
Dr. James P. Wesberry, Executive Director and Editor of the Baptist publication "Sunday" writes: "It is no secret that Masons lo= ve and revere the Bible nor is it a secret that Masonry helped to preserve it = in the darkest age of the Church when infidelity sought to destroy it. The Bib= le meets Masons with its sacred message at every step of progress in its vario= us degrees."
The Reverend Louis Gant, 33rd degree, Mason and District Superintendant = of the Methodist Church writes: "Let no one say you cannot be a Christian= and a Mason at the same time. I know too many who are both and proud to be both."
But we are proud, as Masons, that members of all faiths have found value= in the fraternity. Rabbi Seymour Atlas, 32nd degree, and holder of some of the highest Masonic honors, writes of what he finds in Masonry: "I was bro= ught up in a religious home, a son of a Rabbi with seven generations of Rabbis preceding me... I am proud to be a Mason who believes in the dignity of God= 's children and opposes hatred and bigotry, and stands for truth, justice, kindness, integrity and righteousness for all."
No, Masonry is not anti ANY religion. This charge is raised by some anti= -Masonic writers. Quoting Matthew 12:30 ("He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad."), they claim th= at, since Masonry does not require its members to be Christian, we are actively anti-Christian.
First of all, of course, a reading of the entire passage makes it quite clear that Jesus was answering the Pharisees who were criticizing Him; it is not a passage which relates to the present discussion at all. Most people wouldn't agree that there are only two positions in the world-- Christian a= nd anti-Christian. The government of the United States, the city library, even= the natural gas company, all serve and employee Christians and non-Christians alike-- but no reasonable person would say they were, therefore "anti-= Christian." Masons encourage their members in their individual faiths, we do not oppose= any faith.
No, The religious position of Freemasonry is stated often and openly, and we've already mentioned it above. A Mason must believe in God, and he is actively encouraged to practice his individual faith. Masonry has no "god" of its own. Some anti-Masons have said that we are not allo= wed to mention the name of God in Lodge. That isn't true-- in fact that is one = of the two meanings of the "G" in the square and compasses logo (the other meaning is "geometry"). It is true that we generally use so= me other term, "Grand Architect of the Universe" is most common, to refer to God. That is done only to avoid giving religious offense to anyone whose faith refers to God by another name. But the God to whom Masons pray = is the God to whom all Christians pray.
Again, it's a matter of Masonic writers writing for those they assume ha= ve a background knowledge. Another way we say the same thing is "Masonry is= a progressive science, revealed by degrees." There's nothing astonishing, and certainly nothing sinister in that. ALL knowledge is gained bit by bit,= and this is especially true in ethics and morality. A minister, who gave a new member of the church a copy of the works of, for example, Cyprian, Clement = of Alexandria, and Origen, and said "When you've mastered those, let me know," would do very little good. Instead, Masonry introduces the idea= of ethics and morality, and gives some practicle instruction in each. But then= it says to the Mason, "We teach by symbols because symbols can be constan= tly explored. Think about these things, read what others have written. Only in = that way can you make the knowledge and insight really your own." Masonry t= ries very hard to raise questions, and to help its members acquire the tools for thought-- but we do not try to give answers.
Because there isn't such a thing. We've already mentioned everything Mas= onry has to say officially on the topic. To go further, as an official position would deny a man his right to think for himself and his right to follow the dictates of his own faith. Each Mason has a right to seek Masonry for what = he wants to find. It is his right to believe as he wishes; BUT is is not his r= ight to force that belief on others.
Yes. As is clear from his writings, however, Pike using the word in its original Greek sense of "that which I think is true." or "th= at which has been thought to be true," not in the modern sense of "t= his is what you are required to believe."
And the question of "Morals and Dogma" brings up an important point. Anti-Masonic writers are forever "discovering" something t= hey find shocking in the book, largely because they don't understand what kind = of book it is. Pike was attempting the almost impossible task of surveying and condensing the whole history of human thought in philosophy into one volume= . He writes about things which were believed in ancient Egypt, China, Persia-- a= ll over the world. It's easy to take a paragraph out of context-- as one writer does with Pike's comment about the ancient Egyptian belief in Osiris-- and = then insist that Masons teach and believe that all good comes from Osiris. But a history lesson is not a statement of theology.
Some of the anti-Masonic writers seem almost to deliberately twist thing= s to make them say what they want. As an example, the same writer, takes a passa= ge in which Pike in contrasting the immortality of the soul with the temporary nature of earthly things. To illustrate the impermanence of the body as app= osed to the sould, Pike notes that, when we die, our bodies resolve again into t= he earth. The minerals of which it was compossed may scatter far. Those minera= ls may be picked up again by the roots of plants, grow into food, and be eaten= by other men. This, the anti-Masonic writer suggests, is pagan Masonic communi= on-- eating the dead! A simple illustration is distorted into a cannibal feast. =
None, if you mean "authoritative" in the sense that they speak= for the fraternity or that what they say is "binding" upon Masons. Ea= ch Mason must think for himself, and each is entitled to write whatever he wis= hes.
It's like the situation is studying government. If a person really wants= to understand American Government, he or she almost has to read Madison's and Hamilton's "Federalist Papers" as well as de Toqueville and the History of the Constitutional Convention. But none of those things are the law-- they are just commentaries on the way the law was made, and the think= ing of the people who wrote the Constitution.
It's like that with Masonic writers. Some have a lot of value to say-- s= ome are useless (each man can write whatever he wants, after all)-- but none of them "speaks" for Masonry. He can only speak for himself.
No. The Bibles sometimes called "Masonic Bibles" are just Bibl= es (usually the King James Version) to which a concordance, giving the Biblical citations on which the Masonic Ritual is based, has been added. Sometimes reference material on Masonic history is included. Anyone is welcome to read one.
No. A secret society tries to hide the fact that it exists. Masonic Lodg= es are marked with signs, listed in the phone book and their meeting places and times are usually listed in the newspaper. Members identify themselves with pins and rings. The only secret in Masonry relate to the ways we can recogn= ize each other. The ritual of Masonry, the Monitor, is in print and anyone can = read it. Interestingly, the anti-Masonic writers who condemn us for being a secr= et society are always quoting from the Monitor. If is's a secret, it isn's a v= ery well-kept one.
The first and most important kind is the ability to keep confidences. Al= l of us value those friends whome we can talk, "blow off steam," really open ourselves to, and still know without any question that the friend will never tell anyone else or use those moments of sometimes painful honesty against us in any way. As it says in Proverbs 11, 13 "a talebearer revealeth secrets, but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter." Masons are taught it's important to be such a friend.
The second kind of secrecy we teach is the idea of "doing good in silence." One of the degrees says it this way: "Be careful that y= ou do not contribute to showy charities in order to have the reputation of bei= ng a charitable man, while sending away from your door the Poor whom God has sen= t to test you."
Secrecy, in those senses, is a virtue, and it is in those senses it is taught in Masonry.
Yes, with the exception of a very few denominations. If a Christian belo= ngs to a denomination which forbids all vows, such as the Oath of Office of the President of the United States or the common oath of the law courts, "I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the trut= h, so help me God," then he probably could not take the obligation. Any Christian, whose denomination does not forbid the Presidential or the court oath, or the oath taken when entering the Armed Services could take the Mas= onic obligation. Some anti-Masonic writers have complained about the so-called "penalties" in the Masonic obligations. Those penalties are purely symbolic and refer to the pain, despair and horror which which any honest m= an should feel at the thought that he had violated his sworn word.
No. Masonry uses many symbols-- it's our primary way of teaching, as it = has been the primary way of teaching from ancient times (just try teaching arithmatic without number symbols)-- but there is nothing satanic about the= m. Symbols mean what the person uses them to mean. X may be a St. Andrew's Cro= ss, ancient symbol of Scotland, or it may mean "multiply two numbers together" (or "10" in Roman Numerals, or "unknown"= in algebra, or "don't do this," or "truce," or "Xenon" in chemistry, or "by" as in 2 x 4 board, or "this is the spot," or even "railroad crossing"). It de= pends on the meaning in the mind of the person using it.
It's the same for Masonic symbols. We sometimes use the five-pointed sta= r, for example. Some people chose to see that as a symbol of withcraft. It's t= heir right to use it that way in their own thinking if they wish. But we use it = as a symbol of man, because that is its oldest meaning (the five points refer to= the head, the hands and the feet). The five-pointed star, with one point downwa= rd, is used by the Order of the Eastern Star. Some anti-Masons like to see it a= s a symbol of the devil. But it's also known as the "Star of the Incarceration," with the downward-pointing ray representing that moment when God came down from Heavan and was Incarnate by the Holy Ghost. And it = is in that meaning it is used by the Eastern Star ("We have seen His star= in the East, and are coming to worship him").
Some anti-Masonic writers have said that, but it isn't true. First of al= l, they mistake a stage-set for a sanctuary. The Degrees of Masonry are plays, some set in the Lodge room and some using full stage settings. The message = of the 30th degree is that man should think about death, (not avoid the thought fearfully), and realize that death is not frightening but a natural process= . So the setting contains traditional symbols of death, like black curtains and = the drawing of a mausoleum.
But the material which these writers quote as coming from the 30th degree doesn't. They generally quote from the anti-Masonic book "Scottish Rite Masonry Illuminated". The anonymous author of the book wildly changed materials wherever he wished-- even some of the names of the degrees are wr= ong.
Although the book is presented as a ritual of the fraternity, you need o= nly read through his introductory notes or end notes to realize that he intends= it as an attack of Freemasonry, which he calls "a tissue of fearful falsehood."
The book is generally quoted by writers who insist that, instead of quot= ing anti-Masonic materials, they are using only material, written by and/or published by Masons for Masons." Perhaps they have not read the notes.=
And proud of it! It seems a strange accusation, but anti-Masonic writers often charge that we accept people with many different religious viewpoints= as Brothers. They are correct. Jesus did not say to us, "A new commandmen= t I give unto you, that you love one another-- as long as he goes to the same church you do, or belongs to the same political party." Yet one anti-Masonic writer claims that this toleration is the blackest sin of Maso= nry. Toleration, he says, "springs from pits of hell and from the father of lies, Lucifer." When you consider what intolerance has produced in the world-- the Inquisition, the burning or Protestants at the stake, the horro= rs of Hitler, the mass murders of Stalin, the "killing fields" of Cambodia, the massacre of the inhabitants of Jerusalem by the Crusaders-- i= t is hard to believe that toleration springs from the devil.
That charge is sometimes leveled against us by anti-Masons who mistake b= oth the nature of Masonry and the meanings of its ritual. Salvation is not a gr= ace which Masonry can or does offer. As the Reverend Christopher Haffner points= out in his book, "Workman Unshamed: The Testimony of a Christian Freemason", "Withing their Lodges, Freemasons are not concerned w= ith salvation and conversion, but with taking men as they are and pointing them= in the direction of brotherhood and moral improvement. Insofar as the Order is successful in this aim, it is content, and leaves the member to devote hims= elf to his own religious faith to receive the grace of salvation."
In most Masonic rituals, the candidate is reminded of that even before he steps into the Lodge room for the first time. A typical example reads: "You are aware that whatever a man may have gained here on earth, whet= her of titles, wealth, honors, or even his own merit, can never serve him as passport to heavan; but previous to his gaining admission there he must bec= ome poor and destitute, blind and naked, dependent upon the sovereign Will of G= od; he must be divested of the rags of his own righteousness, and be clothed in= a garment furnished him from on high.
No. Except, perhaps, in the sense that, for a Christian, EVERY act is an= act of worship. Our meetings open and close with prayer, Masons are encouraged = to remember that God sees and knows everything that we do, and the Bible is al= ways open during a Masonic meeting. But it is a meeting of a fraternity, not a worship service.
And that brings up one of the most ridiculous charges sometimes made aga= inst us-- that our members are "really" worshiping a demon or some pag= an god such as the Baalim, Bel, Osiris, Mendes, Pan, etc..-- only they don't k= now it! But you cannot worhsip something with out knowing it. The act of worshi= p is an act of full concentration, knowledge, and devotion-- "with all thy heart and with all thy sould and with all thy mind." We honor and vene= rate GOD, not the Adversary.
One example will serve to show the complete lack of foundation of these kinds of charges. The charge of worshiping a demon usually involves one nam= ed "Baphomet." Historians know the origin of the story.
In brief, during the middle ages, a military monastic order known as the Knights Templar, grew very wealthy. King Philip the Fair of France and the Pope, wanting to confiscate their treasure, had them thrown into prison and accused of heresy (the only charge that would allow for the confiscation of= the property) in 1307. Philip, fearing that the Inquisition would be too gentle= (!) had his own commissioners involved. After years or horrible torture, some of the knights signed confessions-- of anything their tortureers wanted.
They were burned at the stake.
A standard part of the pre-written confessions was worshiping an idol na= med Baphomet (language scholars tell us that "Baphoment" was a term f= or "Mohammed" in the Middle Ages). You can read the full story in any good historical account of the period.
So, "Baphomet" wasn't the name of a demon, the Knights Templar= did not worship him/it, their "confessions" were obtained under tortu= re and, at any rate, a false charge used to steal from and murder military mon= ks in A.D. 1307 has nothing to do with Freemasonry.
No. In many anti-Masonic books you'll see what is supposed to be a quota= tion from Pike, saying that all Masons of the "Higher Degrees" are sec= ret worshipers of Lucifer or that we reguard Lucifer as God. The historical fac= t is that those words were written in 1894, three years after Pike's death. They were written by a notorious athiest and pornographer named Gabriel Jogand-Pages, but better known by his pen name, Leo Taxil. Taxil was engage= d in an elaborate hoax to discredit both Freemasonry and the Church of Rome, and made up the Pike quotation out of thin air. He then "discovered" = the letters, and revealed them to the world. He was highly praised by the relig= ious authorities-- showered with honors and listed as a defender of the faith for having revealed the "true evil purposes of Masonry."
Then, just as he was being acclaimed all over
Rive's book, "La Femme et l'Efant dans la Franc-Maconnerie Universelle", (Woman and Child in Universal Freemasonry) was quoted by Edith Starr Miller in 1933, in her book, Occult Theocrasy. She translated t= he "quotation" into English.
Since that time, several writers of anti-Masonic books have simply repea= ted the "quotation" without checking on its source or authenticity. Taxil's pubic confession and Rive's subsequent retraction of his book notwithstanding, it continues to shadow the name of Pike, who was, to his death, a sincere and devoted Trinitarian Christian.
Yes. The Grand Lodge of almost any state can provide information and lis= ts of books which explain Freemasonry in detail. They are the same books that Freemasons read and study to learn more about the fraternity. And I hope th= at this short discussion may help resolve some doubts. We have neither horns a= nd tails nor halos. Masons are simply your neighbors, joined together in a fraternity which tries to help men become better people as it tries to help= the world become a better place through its charities. It is, so to speak, a "support group" for men who are trying to practice ethics and morality in a world which does not always encourage those ideals.
Freemasonry's teachings are acceptable to all religions-- upholding the values of faith in the secular world-- an organization for thoughtful Christians-- and all men of good will.