Corey,
While Bro. Tony has a valid point with respect to the Masonic Oaths, I believe there is a strong case of heresy in other aspects of Freemasonry. You asked for the heresy and I presented it several pages ago, which you were unable to biblically refute.
I will re-visit one aspect again, which in my opinion is the greatest Masonic heresy of ALL. The Masonic concept of God as described by Larry Kunk of Ephesians 5:11, Inc.:
The Masonic Paradigm
Freemasonry is able to accept the Christian’s faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as faith in the existence of "A Supreme Being." Similarly, Freemasonry is able to accept the Mormon’s faith in a god who was once a man living on another planet as faith in the existence of "A Supreme Being." Freemasonry likewise accepts the Moslems faith in Allah, a god who has no son, as faith in the existence of "A Supreme Being." The Hindu is also able to satisfy the Masonic requirement of faith in the existence of "A Supreme Being" with his faith that everything that exists is part of Brahman.
How is Freemasonry able to accept these different, incompatible concepts of God as expressions of faith in the existence of A (SINGULAR) Supreme Being? Freemasonry is able to do this essentially because the Masonic paradigm of God holds that all men worship the same God, simply using a variety of different names. Somewhat like Hinduism, Freemasonry holds that all of the various gods, along with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are all in essence the same God, viewed from the different vantage points of the many world religions. Freemasonry rejects the concept of a false god, as well as the concept of false religion. These Masonic teachings are clearly explained in Masonic Monitors, Masonic Code and other Masonic materials published by the authorities of Freemasonry, the Grand Lodges. Consider the follow excerpts:
"There never was a false god, nor was there ever really a false religion, unless you call a child a false man." - Max Müller
Quoted in Louisiana Masonic Monitor, 1949
Not only does Freemasonry teach that all false gods are actually God by another name, Freemasonry applies teachings of eternal life to all Masons, with or without faith in Jesus Christ:
"As Masons we have one faith, one hope, one charity. We believe in, and depend upon the same God, have the same hope of eternal life, and that same charity which is of an enduring and uniting nature, which will enable all the good and true to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and in righteousness of life."
Kentucky Monitor, p. 169
The Masonic concept of monotheism is much like the Hindu concept of monotheism, rather than the Christian view which dictates that there is One God and many false gods. Hindu monotheism views all of the various Hindu deities and all gods of other religions as merely extensions of Brahman and therefore actually the same deity. Masonic monotheism holds that all of the various gods of all false religions are the same God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Freemasonry requires that its members believe in one God.
Additionally, Freemasonry requires that its members accept the Masonic doctrine known as the Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of man. This last requirement is not stated verbally, but rather is implemented by acceptance of organizational requirements.
"The first of the universally recognized Landmarks of Freemasonry states that ‘monotheism is the sole dogma of Freemasonry. Belief in one God is required of every initiate, but his conception of the Supreme Being is left to his own interpretation. Freemasonry is not concerned with theological distinctions. This is the basis of our universality.’"
Indiana Mentor’s Manual, p. 19
"Masonry has no religious dogma other than that it requires a belief in Deity. Any man, good and true, whether he be Christian, Jew, Mohammedan, Parsee, Buddhist, Brahman or Deist may be admitted to Masonry because all these religions require a belief in Deity."
Masonic Code of Alabama, p. 141, 1963
"To the altar of Freemasonry all men bring their most votive offerings. Around it all men, whether they have received their teachings from Confucius, Zoroaster, Moses, Mohammad or the founder of the Christian religion--just so long as they believe in the universality of the fatherhood of God and universality of the brotherhood of man--meet upon a common level. The Jew returns to his synagogue, the Mohammedan to his mosque and the Christian to his temple--each better prepared for the solemn duties of life by the associations in this universal brotherhood."
Louisiana Monitor, p. 150, 1988
The Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of man doctrine embodies the foundation of Masonic teaching. It holds that there is one God who is the Father of all men and is worshiped by men of any and all religions. Freemasonry teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the same spirit which the Hindus worship as Brahman, the Moslems worship as Allah, the Mormons worship as Elohim, and the Zoroastrians (Parsees) worship as Ahura Mazdah.
All Masons implicitly embrace the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of man; they put it into practice when they participate in Lodge. Freemasonry prohibits a "discussion of religion" within the Lodge. When a candidate is brought before the Lodge to be voted into membership, no one is allowed to ask if the candidate is a Hindu, Moslem, Mormon, Buddhist, or if he claims to be a Christian. By voting to admit men who may not have faith in Jesus Christ as God into membership, or by sitting in Lodge with such men, the "Christian" Mason and all other Masons put the Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of man doctrine into practice.
By sitting in Lodge, or recognizing other men as Masons, a man implicitly agrees that the other men have met the key requirements for membership. Those requirements are that they believe in the existence of "A Supreme Being" and that they believe that there is only one God. Scripture states that anyone who does not abide in the teachings of Jesus does not have God. (2 John 9) Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father but by Me. (John 14:6) Freemasonry disagrees.
"Each Mason, at one point in our ceremonies, expresses a belief in the existence of a Supreme Being. To refuse or decline to do so would have denied him the privileges of Freemasonry. We welcome to our doors and admit to our privileges Worthy men of all faiths and creeds who possess the indispensable qualifications, and bar none because of their faith or creed."
Masonry and the Mason, Grand Lodge of Texas, p.7, 1997
If a particular Mason were to believe the teachings of Christianity and understand the Christian paradigm which holds that the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons rather than God, he could not knowingly accept a man who has faith in a false god as one who has faith in the existence of "A Supreme Being." To do so would be to take the inconsistent position that demons are Supreme Beings.
The difficulties in joining men of incompatible religions around the altar of universal religion becomes obvious when the issue of prayer is considered. Freemasonry cannot choose the god of any well known false religion as the object of worship, as even immature Christians would recognize the error immediately. Similarly, they cannot choose Jesus Christ, or the Holy Trinity as the object of worship because Jews, Moslems and others in the Lodge would be offended. The obvious solution is to to keep Jesus out of the Lodge and attempt to cause all present to believe or pretend that they are praying to the same spirit they worship when they meet congregationally with others who practice their particular religion. Freemasonry solves this problem with the Masonic paradigm that all men worship the same God, simply using different names.
Freemasons offer prayer to a god who is known as the Great Architect of the Universe (GAOTU.) Freemasonry defines the nature of the GAOTU with adherence to the Fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of man doctrine. The GAOTU is implicitly defined as Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Allah, the Mormon Elohim, Ahura Mazdah, Baal, Molech and all other false gods which have ever been named by man. When Freemasonry causes pagans to join in prayer to the GAOTU, are they then worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? No, they are still worshiping demons, as would be any Christian who would join with them. Participation in Freemasonry ensnares a man in idolatry.
In the Lodge, prayer is offered by one man for all present. Grand Lodges confirm the nature of Masonic teachings and prayer:
"A Mason offering prayer in the Lodge may pray to his God -- observing his own conception of Deity. . . . None should take umbrage because he addresses his prayer to his own conception of Deity. He must use prayer in the Ritual in all ritualistic ceremonies. Any other prayer is out of order in such ceremonies."
Masonic Code of Alabama, p. 141-2, 1963
"When addressing the Deity in prayer it should never be done in a way that excludes Brothers of other faiths and of necessity should be inclusive and universal, not sectarian or denominational."
Masonic Manual of Minnesota, p109, 1998
"Masons believe that there is one God and that people employ many different ways to seek and to express what they know of God. Masons primarily uses (sic) the appellation, "Grand Architect of the Universe," and other non-sectarian titles, to address Deity. In this way, persons of different faiths may join together in prayer, concentrating on God rather than on differences among themselves. Masonry believes in religious freedom and that the relationship between the individual and God is personal, private, and sacred."
Masonic Manual of Minnesota, p16, 1998
The Grand Lodge of Indiana reveals that the object of prayer in the Lodge, the GAOTU is not actually God, but rather merely a symbol:
"One fundamental of Freemasonry is its non-sectarian character. Any man may offer his devotions to the Deity he reveres, under the Masonic title, no matter what name he may use in his religious worship. Thus, Great Architect of the Universe (or any of its variations) is a symbol of Deity as named and worshiped in all religions."
Indiana Mentor’s Manual, p. 49
Christians who accurately understand the Masonic paradigm concerning God will never become a Mason. Those who become aware of the Masonic paradigm after joining the Lodge will renounce Freemasonry. Genuine Christians will not knowingly worship at a pagan altar, be it a Masonic altar or any other.
Church leaders should include teaching about false concepts of God as part of the church’s educational program. Some have claimed that we should simply preach the Gospel and ignore error. That is not a sound position for two very obvious reasons. First, addressing error is Scriptural. Paul wrote:
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Tim 4:1-5)
John clearly explained how to recognize the heresies of the Gnostics:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)
We should recognize the spirit behind Freemasonry for what it is. Freemasonry does not confess Jesus. Second, simply preaching the Gospel will not keep church members from becoming ensnared in paganism. Proof of this is present within many churches and often within leadership.
Many church members are Masons and members of other pagan fraternal orders, such as the Elks, Eagles, Moose, Odd Fellows, etc. If all church members understood the Masonic paradigm, they would be able to instantly recognize the same heresy when it is taught in other fraternal orders. Freemasonry is the archetype for virtually all other fraternal orders.
Dialog with "Christian" Freemasons has provided evidence that many of them not only understand the Masonic paradigm concerning God, but are willing to defend it. Very few men who are active in Freemasonry over a period of time are ignorant. It is generally the new Mason, or the inactive Mason who is misled. (END)
Corey, this is NOT misinformation, these are the FACTS. How can you biblically defend these Masonic quotes from Grand Lodge authorities from which your Grand Lodge fully recognize as fellow Masonic brethren in the Craft? Can you show us anything different from your Grand Lodge of Tennessee? More importantly, can you provide verses of Scripture to support such HERESY?
[ May 26, 2004, 10:36 PM: Message edited by: O.F.F. ]