Here is some information from my collected files on Freemasonry:
http://www.ephesians5-11.org/
http://www.saintsalive.com/freemasonry.html
http://user.icx.net/~baxtor/ (from a Baptist)
http://www.nisbett.com/freemasonry/free03.htm
http://www.gospeloutreach.net/christmason.html
And from http://www.gospeloutreach.net/anticquot.html comes the following:
Anti-Christian Quotes the Masons
Don't Want You to See
* As Sovereign Grand Commander Henry C. Claussen admits, "It must be apparent
that the Blue Lodge ... degrees cannot explain the whole of Masonry. They are
the foundation...An initiate may imagine he understands the ethics, symbols
and enigmas, whereas a true explanation of these is reserved for the more
adept" [Claussen's Commentaries on Morals and Dogma ... p. 148]
In Albert G. Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry he states, "All
[Masons] unite in declaring it to be a system of morality, by the practice of
which its members may advance their spiritual interest, and mount by the
theological ladder from the Lodge on earth to the Lodge in heaven. [Vol.I p.
269]
"It is a science which is engaged in the search after Divine Truth, and which
employs symbolism as its method of instruction" [Mackey's Revised
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol.I p. 269] "[Masonry is] that religious and
mystical society whose aim is moral perfection on the basis of general
equality and fraternity" [ibid] "Freemasonry, in its broadest and most
comprehensive sense, is a system of morality and social ethics, a primitive
religion, and a philosophy of life ... incorporating a broad humanitarianism
... It is a religion without a creed, being of no sect by finding truth in
all ... It seeks truth but does not define truth..." [Henry Wilson Coil, A
Comprehensive View of Freemasonry, p. 234]
Religion -- a belief in a divine or super human power...to be obeyed and
worshipped as the Creator and ruler of the universe; expression of ... this
belief in conduct and ritual ... [Webster's New World Dictionary]
"Freemasonry certainly requires a belief in the existence of, and man's
dependence upon, a Supreme Being to whom he is responsible. What can a church
add to that, except to bring into one fellowship those who have like
feelings? ... That is exactly what the Lodge does." [Coil's Masonic
Encyclopedia, p. 512]
Albert Mackey in Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, the third most
recommended author by the Grand Lodges, quotes Webster's definition of
religion then comments, "Freemasonry may rightfully claim to be called a
religious institution" [Vol. II, p. 847]
He who wears the lambskin as a badge of a Mason is thereby continually
reminded of purity of life and conduct which is essentially necessary to his
gaining admission into that celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme
Architect of the universe presides" [Malcom C. Duncan, Masonic Ritual and
Monitor p. 50] [Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. and A.M., Monitor of the Lodge:
Monitorial Instructions in the Three Degrees of Symbolic Masonry, p. 88]
"Freemasonry has a religious service to commit the body of a deceased brother
to the dust whence it came, and to speed the liberated spirit back to the
Great Source of Light. Many Freemasons make this flight with *no other
guarantee of a safe landing than their belief in the religion of
Freemasonry*" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 512]
Some Masons say, along with Masonic apologist Alphonse Cerza, "Freemasonry
cannot be a religion because it has not creed; it has not confession of
faith; it has not theology, no ritual of worship" [Alphonse Cerza, "Let There
Be Light" p. 41]
Webster defines "creed" as: "a statement of belief, principles, or opinions
on any subject".
In Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia we find: "Does Freemasonry have a creed ... or
tenet ... or dogma ... to which all members must adhere? Does Freemasonry
continually teach and insist upon a creed, tenet and dogma? Does it have
meetings characterized by the practice of rites and ceremonies in, and by
which, its creed tenet and dogma are illustrated, in myth, symbols and
allegories? If Freemasonry were not religion, what would have to be done to
make it such? Nothing would be necessary, or at least nothing but to add more
of the same" [[p. 512]
Coil goes on to admit that not only does Freemasonry have a creed, but it
also functions as a church. "That brings us to the real crux of the matter.
The difference between a Lodge and a church is one of degree and not kind.
Some think because it [the Lodge] is not a strong or highly formalized or
highly dogmatized religion, such as the Roman Catholic Church ... it can be
no religion at all. But a church of friends (Quakers) exhibits even less
formality and ritual then does a Masonic Lodge" [p. 512].
In conclusion, Coil writes, "The fact that Freemasonry is a mild religion
does not mean that it is no religion" p. 512].
Does Freemasonry teach its own theology, as a religion does? "For example,
Masonry clearly teaches theology during the Royal Arch degree (York Rite),
when it tells each candidate that the lost name for God will now be revealed
to them. The name that is given is Jahbulon. This is a composite term joining
Jehovah with two pagan gods -- the evil Canaanite deity Baal (Jeremiah 19:5;
Judges 3:7; 10:6), and the Egyptian god Osiris [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia,
p. 516; Malcom C. Duncan, Masonic Ritual and Monitor, p. 226].
The Oxford American Dictionary defines theology as "a system of religion."
Webster defines theology as "the study of God and the relation between God
and the universe ... A specific form or system ... as expounded by a
particular religion or denomination".
Does Masonry fulfill these definitions?
"As Joseph Fort Newton said, "Everything in Masonry has reference to God,
implies God, speaks of God, points and leads to God. Not a degree, not a
symbol, not an obligation, not a lecture, not a charge but finds its meaning
and derives its beauty from God, the Great Architect, in whose temple all
Masons are workmen" [The Religion of Freemasonry, An Interpretation, p.
58-59].
Anyone who says the Masonic Lodge does not teach theology is uninformed or
just plain lying.
Webster's Dictionary defines "worship" as "a prayer...or other rite showing
reverence or devotion for a deity ..." -- for God.
"Masons walk in His [God's] presence constantly...[In ritual the "lights" --
candles] formed a triangle about the altar at which you knelt in reverence.
They symbolized the presence of Deity ... The Masonic altar can be said to be
one of sacrifice ... You have taken obligations [to God] that have sacrificed
your self-interest forevermore" [Allen E. Roberts, The Craft and Its Symbols:
Opening The Door to Masonic Symbolism, p. 57, 64]
"Freemasonry's Lodges are erected to God ... Symbolically, to 'erect to God'
means to construct something in honor, in worship, in reverence to and for
Him. Hardly is the initiate within the West Gate before he is impressed that
Freemasonry worships God" [Carl H. Claudy, Foreign Countries: A Gateway t the
Interpretation and Development of Certain Symbols of Freemasonry, p. 23].
As Albert Pike admitted in Morals and Dogma, "Masonry is a [system] of
worship" p. 526].
"The fact that Freemasonry is a mild religion does not mean that it is no
religion" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 512]
Is Freemasonry a religion? "We open and close our Lodges with prayer; we
invoke the blessing of the Most High upon all our labors; we demand of our
neophytes a profession of trusting belief in the existence and superintending
care of God; and we teach them to bow with humility and reverence at his
sacred name, while his holy law is widely opened upon our altars ... It is
impossible that a Freemason can be 'true and trusty' to his order unless he
is a respecter of religion and an observer of religious principle" Mackey's
Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol. II, p. 847]
"The religion of Freemasonry is not sectarian. It admits men of every creed
within its hospitable bosom, rejecting none and approving none for his
peculiar faith. It is not Judaism, though there is nothing in it to offend
the Jew; it is not Christianity, but there is nothing in it repugnant to the
faith of a Christian. Its religion is that general one of nature and
primitive revelation handed down to us from some ancient and patriarchal
priesthood -- in which all men may agree and in which no men can differ"
[Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol. II, p. 847-48].
Henry Wilson Coil in his 15,000-word article proving Freemasonry is a
religion correctly concludes: Nothing herein is intended to be an argument
that Freemasonry ought to be religion. Our purpose is simply to determine
what it has become, an is" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 513].
During Masonic ceremonies various symbols are employed. Different symbols are
used to identify the same idea or teaching -- for example, both the compass
and the sprig of the acacia can symbolize immortality [The Craft And Its
Symbols: Opening The Door To Masonic Symbolism, p. 62,80].
"To study the symbolism of Masonry is the only way to investigate its
philosophy" [The Symbolism of Freemasonry, p. 5].
Albert Mackey who held the highest position Masonry has to offer has told us
that candidate who seeks to enter the Lodge is seeking divine truth.
"There he stand without [outside] our portals, on the threshold of his new
Masonic life, in darkness, helplessness and ignorance. Having been wandering
amid the errors and covered over with the pollutions of the outer and profane
world, he comes inquiringly to our door, seeking the new birth, and asking a
withdrawal of the veil which conceals divine truth from his uninitiated
sight" [The Manual of the Lodge, p. 20].
In Henry Wilson Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia he writes, "Light is everywhere
the symbol of intelligence, information, knowledge, and truth and is opposed
to darkness which symbolizes ignorance and evil. So, in the ceremonies, the
candidate is said to be brought from darkness to light" [p. 375].
Masonry teaches that their God, The Great Architect of the Universe must
remain undefined.
"Men have to decide whether they want a God like the ancient Hebrew Jahweh, a
partisan tribal god, with whom they can talk and argue and from whom they can
hide if necessary, or a boundless, eternal, universal, undenominational, and
international Divine Spirit, so vastly removed from the speck called man,
that he cannot be known, named or approached. So soon as man begins to laud
his God and endow him with the most perfect human attributes such as justice,
mercy, beneficence, etc., the Divine Essence is depreciated and despoiled ...
Monotheism ... violates Masonic principles, for it requires belief in a
specific kind of Supreme Deity" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 516-17].
"Specifically, the Masonic Lodge teaches its belief in the unity and
universality of all men as "one family" accepted by God regardless of race,
religion, or creed [The Craft and its Symbols: Opening the Door to Masonic
Symbolism, p. 21]
"through these teachings the Mason will put into practice the brotherhood of
man under the Fatherhood of God. In doing so, he will develop his character
and personality in the image of the Great Architect of the Universe" [ibid.
p. 84]
"Among the most beautiful of Freemasonry's symbols, these express at the very
beginning the fundamental principle of Freemasonry: the Fatherhood of God,
and the Brotherhood of man" [A Gateway to the Interpretation and Development
of Certain Symbols of Freemasonry, p. 24]
"The temple that the Craft is building is the unification and the harmonizing
of the entire human family. this is summed up for us in the will known lines:
'God hath made mankind one vast brotherhood, Himself their Master, and the
world His Lodge'" [The Spirit of Masonry, p. 110]
As Martin L. Wagner has correctly stated, "This Great Architect as conceived
by Freemasons is not identical with the Jehovah of Christianity, but ... is
another and distinct entity." He says they "are entirely separate and
different, mutually exclusive and no syncretism can harmonize them"
[Freemasonry: An Interpretation, p. 321, 300].
"The God of the nineteen-twentieths of the Christian world is only Bel
[Baal], Molach, Zeus, or at best Osiris, Mythras or Adonai, under another
name, worshipped with the old pagan ceremonies and ritualistic formulas ..."
[Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry,
p. 295-96].
The candidate is clearly instructed in his Masonic manual that the term
"Jahbulon" is a composite term for Jehovah (Jah), Baal (Bul or Bel), and
Osiris (On, a corruption of Os) [Masonic Ritual and Monitor, p. 226].
"In this compound name an attempt is made to show by a co-ordination of
divine names...the unity, identity, and harmony of the Hebrew, Assyrian and
Egyptian god-ideas, and the harmony of the Royal Arch religion with these
ancient religions. This Masonic 'unity of God' is peculiar. It is the
doctrine that the different names of gods as Brahma, Jehovah, Baal, Bel, Om,
On, etc., all denote the generative principle, and that all religions are
essentially the same in their ideas of the divine" [Freemasonry: An
Interpretation, p. 338-39].
Masonry also teaches that God is an amalgamation of all gods: "[The Mason]
may name Him [God] as he will, think of Him as he pleases; make Him
impersonal law or personal and anthropomorphic; Freemasonry cares not ...
God, Great Architect of the Universe, Grand Artificer, Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge Above, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, or Great
Geometer ..." [Introduction to Freemasonry Vol II:110, by Carl H. Claudy]
But the Bible teaches that the Christian God alone is the one true God
He is not an amalgamation of all gods;
"O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like Thee in heaven or on earth
..."
(2 Chronicles 6:14).
"I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give my glory to another" (Isaiah
42:8).
"Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above
and on the earth below. There is no other." (Deuteronomy 4:39 NIV).
Masonry also denies the biblical teaching on Jesus Christ. Albert Pike taught
that Masonry held that Jesus Christ was only a man and not God:
"It reverences all the great reformers. It sees in Moses, the Lawgiver, of
the Jews, in Confucius and Zoroaster, in Jesus of Nazareth, and in the
Arabian Iconoclast, Great Teachers of Morality, and Eminent Reformers, if no
more ..." (Morals and Dogma, p. 525).
The important Masonic Ritual called the Maundy Thursday Ritual of the chapter
of Rose Croix states officially, "We meet this day to commemorate the death
[of Jesus], not as inspired or divine, for this is not for us to decide.
[Henry C. Clausen, Practice and Procedure for the Scottish Rite, Washington
DC, The Supreme Council, 33rd, Degree, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of
Freemasonry, Mother Jurisdiction of the World, 1981].
As for Past Master Mason Edmund Ronayne confesses: "The very religious
philosophy and false worship which caused Jehovah to destroy His own temple,
and banish into captivity His ancient people, are precisely the same
philosophy and worship which modern Masons profess shall fit them for the
glories of heaven" [E. Ronayne, Chapter Masonry, Chicago, Il, Ezra A. Cook.
1984, p. 126].
"Freemasonry 'carefully excludes' the Lord Jesus Christ from the Lodge and
chapter, repudiates his meadiatorship, rejects his atonement, denies and
disowns his gospel, frowns upon his religion and his church, ignores the Holy
Spirit, and sets up for itself a spiritual empire, a religious theocracy, at
the head of which it places the G.A.O.T.U. - the god of nature - and from
which the one only living and true God is expelled by resolution... [Edmond
Ronayne, The Master's Carpet; or Masonry and Baal-Worship - Identical, p. 87]
In Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia we read, "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" (p. 520)
The Bibles of other faiths are equally valid for the Mason, Mackey's Revised
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry states:
"The Bible is used among Freemasons as a symbol of the will of God, however
it may be expressed. Therefore, whatever to any people expresses that will
[of God] may be used as a substitute for the Bible in a Masonic Lodge. Thus,
in a Lodge consisting entirely of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed
upon the altar, and Turkish Freemasons [Muslims] make use of the Koran.
Whether it be the Gospels to the Christian, the Pentateuch to the Israelite,
the Koran to the Mussulman, [sic; Muslim] or the Vedas to the Brahman, it
everywhere Masonically conveys the same idea -- that of the symbolism of the
Divine Will revealed to man" [Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry,
vol. 1 p. 133].
"Thus, by the very honor which Masonry pays to the Bible, it teaches us to
revere every book of faith ... joining hands with the man of Islam as he
takes oath on the Koran, and with the Hindu as he makes covenant with God
upon the book that he loves best ... [Masonry] invites to its altar men of
all faiths, knowing that, if they use different names for 'the nameless one
of a hundred names' they are yet praying to the one God and Father of all;
knowing, also, that while they read different volumes, they are in fact
reading the same vast Book of the Faith of Man as revealed in the struggle
and sorrow of the race in its quest of God. [Temple Illustrated Edition of
the Holy Bible, by Joseph Fort Newton, p. 3-4]
How can a Christian Mason, who claims to believe that the Bible is the
literal Word of God, help promote an organization that denies the Bible is
God's Word and denies Jesus' teaching on the Bible? Scripture tells us we are
to live "worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1
Thessalonians. 2:12).
http://www.ephesians5-11.org/
http://www.saintsalive.com/freemasonry.html
http://user.icx.net/~baxtor/ (from a Baptist)
http://www.nisbett.com/freemasonry/free03.htm
http://www.gospeloutreach.net/christmason.html
And from http://www.gospeloutreach.net/anticquot.html comes the following:
Anti-Christian Quotes the Masons
Don't Want You to See
* As Sovereign Grand Commander Henry C. Claussen admits, "It must be apparent
that the Blue Lodge ... degrees cannot explain the whole of Masonry. They are
the foundation...An initiate may imagine he understands the ethics, symbols
and enigmas, whereas a true explanation of these is reserved for the more
adept" [Claussen's Commentaries on Morals and Dogma ... p. 148]
In Albert G. Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry he states, "All
[Masons] unite in declaring it to be a system of morality, by the practice of
which its members may advance their spiritual interest, and mount by the
theological ladder from the Lodge on earth to the Lodge in heaven. [Vol.I p.
269]
"It is a science which is engaged in the search after Divine Truth, and which
employs symbolism as its method of instruction" [Mackey's Revised
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol.I p. 269] "[Masonry is] that religious and
mystical society whose aim is moral perfection on the basis of general
equality and fraternity" [ibid] "Freemasonry, in its broadest and most
comprehensive sense, is a system of morality and social ethics, a primitive
religion, and a philosophy of life ... incorporating a broad humanitarianism
... It is a religion without a creed, being of no sect by finding truth in
all ... It seeks truth but does not define truth..." [Henry Wilson Coil, A
Comprehensive View of Freemasonry, p. 234]
Religion -- a belief in a divine or super human power...to be obeyed and
worshipped as the Creator and ruler of the universe; expression of ... this
belief in conduct and ritual ... [Webster's New World Dictionary]
"Freemasonry certainly requires a belief in the existence of, and man's
dependence upon, a Supreme Being to whom he is responsible. What can a church
add to that, except to bring into one fellowship those who have like
feelings? ... That is exactly what the Lodge does." [Coil's Masonic
Encyclopedia, p. 512]
Albert Mackey in Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, the third most
recommended author by the Grand Lodges, quotes Webster's definition of
religion then comments, "Freemasonry may rightfully claim to be called a
religious institution" [Vol. II, p. 847]
He who wears the lambskin as a badge of a Mason is thereby continually
reminded of purity of life and conduct which is essentially necessary to his
gaining admission into that celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme
Architect of the universe presides" [Malcom C. Duncan, Masonic Ritual and
Monitor p. 50] [Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. and A.M., Monitor of the Lodge:
Monitorial Instructions in the Three Degrees of Symbolic Masonry, p. 88]
"Freemasonry has a religious service to commit the body of a deceased brother
to the dust whence it came, and to speed the liberated spirit back to the
Great Source of Light. Many Freemasons make this flight with *no other
guarantee of a safe landing than their belief in the religion of
Freemasonry*" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 512]
Some Masons say, along with Masonic apologist Alphonse Cerza, "Freemasonry
cannot be a religion because it has not creed; it has not confession of
faith; it has not theology, no ritual of worship" [Alphonse Cerza, "Let There
Be Light" p. 41]
Webster defines "creed" as: "a statement of belief, principles, or opinions
on any subject".
In Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia we find: "Does Freemasonry have a creed ... or
tenet ... or dogma ... to which all members must adhere? Does Freemasonry
continually teach and insist upon a creed, tenet and dogma? Does it have
meetings characterized by the practice of rites and ceremonies in, and by
which, its creed tenet and dogma are illustrated, in myth, symbols and
allegories? If Freemasonry were not religion, what would have to be done to
make it such? Nothing would be necessary, or at least nothing but to add more
of the same" [[p. 512]
Coil goes on to admit that not only does Freemasonry have a creed, but it
also functions as a church. "That brings us to the real crux of the matter.
The difference between a Lodge and a church is one of degree and not kind.
Some think because it [the Lodge] is not a strong or highly formalized or
highly dogmatized religion, such as the Roman Catholic Church ... it can be
no religion at all. But a church of friends (Quakers) exhibits even less
formality and ritual then does a Masonic Lodge" [p. 512].
In conclusion, Coil writes, "The fact that Freemasonry is a mild religion
does not mean that it is no religion" p. 512].
Does Freemasonry teach its own theology, as a religion does? "For example,
Masonry clearly teaches theology during the Royal Arch degree (York Rite),
when it tells each candidate that the lost name for God will now be revealed
to them. The name that is given is Jahbulon. This is a composite term joining
Jehovah with two pagan gods -- the evil Canaanite deity Baal (Jeremiah 19:5;
Judges 3:7; 10:6), and the Egyptian god Osiris [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia,
p. 516; Malcom C. Duncan, Masonic Ritual and Monitor, p. 226].
The Oxford American Dictionary defines theology as "a system of religion."
Webster defines theology as "the study of God and the relation between God
and the universe ... A specific form or system ... as expounded by a
particular religion or denomination".
Does Masonry fulfill these definitions?
"As Joseph Fort Newton said, "Everything in Masonry has reference to God,
implies God, speaks of God, points and leads to God. Not a degree, not a
symbol, not an obligation, not a lecture, not a charge but finds its meaning
and derives its beauty from God, the Great Architect, in whose temple all
Masons are workmen" [The Religion of Freemasonry, An Interpretation, p.
58-59].
Anyone who says the Masonic Lodge does not teach theology is uninformed or
just plain lying.
Webster's Dictionary defines "worship" as "a prayer...or other rite showing
reverence or devotion for a deity ..." -- for God.
"Masons walk in His [God's] presence constantly...[In ritual the "lights" --
candles] formed a triangle about the altar at which you knelt in reverence.
They symbolized the presence of Deity ... The Masonic altar can be said to be
one of sacrifice ... You have taken obligations [to God] that have sacrificed
your self-interest forevermore" [Allen E. Roberts, The Craft and Its Symbols:
Opening The Door to Masonic Symbolism, p. 57, 64]
"Freemasonry's Lodges are erected to God ... Symbolically, to 'erect to God'
means to construct something in honor, in worship, in reverence to and for
Him. Hardly is the initiate within the West Gate before he is impressed that
Freemasonry worships God" [Carl H. Claudy, Foreign Countries: A Gateway t the
Interpretation and Development of Certain Symbols of Freemasonry, p. 23].
As Albert Pike admitted in Morals and Dogma, "Masonry is a [system] of
worship" p. 526].
"The fact that Freemasonry is a mild religion does not mean that it is no
religion" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 512]
Is Freemasonry a religion? "We open and close our Lodges with prayer; we
invoke the blessing of the Most High upon all our labors; we demand of our
neophytes a profession of trusting belief in the existence and superintending
care of God; and we teach them to bow with humility and reverence at his
sacred name, while his holy law is widely opened upon our altars ... It is
impossible that a Freemason can be 'true and trusty' to his order unless he
is a respecter of religion and an observer of religious principle" Mackey's
Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol. II, p. 847]
"The religion of Freemasonry is not sectarian. It admits men of every creed
within its hospitable bosom, rejecting none and approving none for his
peculiar faith. It is not Judaism, though there is nothing in it to offend
the Jew; it is not Christianity, but there is nothing in it repugnant to the
faith of a Christian. Its religion is that general one of nature and
primitive revelation handed down to us from some ancient and patriarchal
priesthood -- in which all men may agree and in which no men can differ"
[Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol. II, p. 847-48].
Henry Wilson Coil in his 15,000-word article proving Freemasonry is a
religion correctly concludes: Nothing herein is intended to be an argument
that Freemasonry ought to be religion. Our purpose is simply to determine
what it has become, an is" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 513].
During Masonic ceremonies various symbols are employed. Different symbols are
used to identify the same idea or teaching -- for example, both the compass
and the sprig of the acacia can symbolize immortality [The Craft And Its
Symbols: Opening The Door To Masonic Symbolism, p. 62,80].
"To study the symbolism of Masonry is the only way to investigate its
philosophy" [The Symbolism of Freemasonry, p. 5].
Albert Mackey who held the highest position Masonry has to offer has told us
that candidate who seeks to enter the Lodge is seeking divine truth.
"There he stand without [outside] our portals, on the threshold of his new
Masonic life, in darkness, helplessness and ignorance. Having been wandering
amid the errors and covered over with the pollutions of the outer and profane
world, he comes inquiringly to our door, seeking the new birth, and asking a
withdrawal of the veil which conceals divine truth from his uninitiated
sight" [The Manual of the Lodge, p. 20].
In Henry Wilson Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia he writes, "Light is everywhere
the symbol of intelligence, information, knowledge, and truth and is opposed
to darkness which symbolizes ignorance and evil. So, in the ceremonies, the
candidate is said to be brought from darkness to light" [p. 375].
Masonry teaches that their God, The Great Architect of the Universe must
remain undefined.
"Men have to decide whether they want a God like the ancient Hebrew Jahweh, a
partisan tribal god, with whom they can talk and argue and from whom they can
hide if necessary, or a boundless, eternal, universal, undenominational, and
international Divine Spirit, so vastly removed from the speck called man,
that he cannot be known, named or approached. So soon as man begins to laud
his God and endow him with the most perfect human attributes such as justice,
mercy, beneficence, etc., the Divine Essence is depreciated and despoiled ...
Monotheism ... violates Masonic principles, for it requires belief in a
specific kind of Supreme Deity" [Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 516-17].
"Specifically, the Masonic Lodge teaches its belief in the unity and
universality of all men as "one family" accepted by God regardless of race,
religion, or creed [The Craft and its Symbols: Opening the Door to Masonic
Symbolism, p. 21]
"through these teachings the Mason will put into practice the brotherhood of
man under the Fatherhood of God. In doing so, he will develop his character
and personality in the image of the Great Architect of the Universe" [ibid.
p. 84]
"Among the most beautiful of Freemasonry's symbols, these express at the very
beginning the fundamental principle of Freemasonry: the Fatherhood of God,
and the Brotherhood of man" [A Gateway to the Interpretation and Development
of Certain Symbols of Freemasonry, p. 24]
"The temple that the Craft is building is the unification and the harmonizing
of the entire human family. this is summed up for us in the will known lines:
'God hath made mankind one vast brotherhood, Himself their Master, and the
world His Lodge'" [The Spirit of Masonry, p. 110]
As Martin L. Wagner has correctly stated, "This Great Architect as conceived
by Freemasons is not identical with the Jehovah of Christianity, but ... is
another and distinct entity." He says they "are entirely separate and
different, mutually exclusive and no syncretism can harmonize them"
[Freemasonry: An Interpretation, p. 321, 300].
"The God of the nineteen-twentieths of the Christian world is only Bel
[Baal], Molach, Zeus, or at best Osiris, Mythras or Adonai, under another
name, worshipped with the old pagan ceremonies and ritualistic formulas ..."
[Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry,
p. 295-96].
The candidate is clearly instructed in his Masonic manual that the term
"Jahbulon" is a composite term for Jehovah (Jah), Baal (Bul or Bel), and
Osiris (On, a corruption of Os) [Masonic Ritual and Monitor, p. 226].
"In this compound name an attempt is made to show by a co-ordination of
divine names...the unity, identity, and harmony of the Hebrew, Assyrian and
Egyptian god-ideas, and the harmony of the Royal Arch religion with these
ancient religions. This Masonic 'unity of God' is peculiar. It is the
doctrine that the different names of gods as Brahma, Jehovah, Baal, Bel, Om,
On, etc., all denote the generative principle, and that all religions are
essentially the same in their ideas of the divine" [Freemasonry: An
Interpretation, p. 338-39].
Masonry also teaches that God is an amalgamation of all gods: "[The Mason]
may name Him [God] as he will, think of Him as he pleases; make Him
impersonal law or personal and anthropomorphic; Freemasonry cares not ...
God, Great Architect of the Universe, Grand Artificer, Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge Above, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, or Great
Geometer ..." [Introduction to Freemasonry Vol II:110, by Carl H. Claudy]
But the Bible teaches that the Christian God alone is the one true God
He is not an amalgamation of all gods;
"O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like Thee in heaven or on earth
..."
(2 Chronicles 6:14).
"I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give my glory to another" (Isaiah
42:8).
"Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above
and on the earth below. There is no other." (Deuteronomy 4:39 NIV).
Masonry also denies the biblical teaching on Jesus Christ. Albert Pike taught
that Masonry held that Jesus Christ was only a man and not God:
"It reverences all the great reformers. It sees in Moses, the Lawgiver, of
the Jews, in Confucius and Zoroaster, in Jesus of Nazareth, and in the
Arabian Iconoclast, Great Teachers of Morality, and Eminent Reformers, if no
more ..." (Morals and Dogma, p. 525).
The important Masonic Ritual called the Maundy Thursday Ritual of the chapter
of Rose Croix states officially, "We meet this day to commemorate the death
[of Jesus], not as inspired or divine, for this is not for us to decide.
[Henry C. Clausen, Practice and Procedure for the Scottish Rite, Washington
DC, The Supreme Council, 33rd, Degree, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of
Freemasonry, Mother Jurisdiction of the World, 1981].
As for Past Master Mason Edmund Ronayne confesses: "The very religious
philosophy and false worship which caused Jehovah to destroy His own temple,
and banish into captivity His ancient people, are precisely the same
philosophy and worship which modern Masons profess shall fit them for the
glories of heaven" [E. Ronayne, Chapter Masonry, Chicago, Il, Ezra A. Cook.
1984, p. 126].
"Freemasonry 'carefully excludes' the Lord Jesus Christ from the Lodge and
chapter, repudiates his meadiatorship, rejects his atonement, denies and
disowns his gospel, frowns upon his religion and his church, ignores the Holy
Spirit, and sets up for itself a spiritual empire, a religious theocracy, at
the head of which it places the G.A.O.T.U. - the god of nature - and from
which the one only living and true God is expelled by resolution... [Edmond
Ronayne, The Master's Carpet; or Masonry and Baal-Worship - Identical, p. 87]
In Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia we read, "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" (p. 520)
The Bibles of other faiths are equally valid for the Mason, Mackey's Revised
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry states:
"The Bible is used among Freemasons as a symbol of the will of God, however
it may be expressed. Therefore, whatever to any people expresses that will
[of God] may be used as a substitute for the Bible in a Masonic Lodge. Thus,
in a Lodge consisting entirely of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed
upon the altar, and Turkish Freemasons [Muslims] make use of the Koran.
Whether it be the Gospels to the Christian, the Pentateuch to the Israelite,
the Koran to the Mussulman, [sic; Muslim] or the Vedas to the Brahman, it
everywhere Masonically conveys the same idea -- that of the symbolism of the
Divine Will revealed to man" [Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry,
vol. 1 p. 133].
"Thus, by the very honor which Masonry pays to the Bible, it teaches us to
revere every book of faith ... joining hands with the man of Islam as he
takes oath on the Koran, and with the Hindu as he makes covenant with God
upon the book that he loves best ... [Masonry] invites to its altar men of
all faiths, knowing that, if they use different names for 'the nameless one
of a hundred names' they are yet praying to the one God and Father of all;
knowing, also, that while they read different volumes, they are in fact
reading the same vast Book of the Faith of Man as revealed in the struggle
and sorrow of the race in its quest of God. [Temple Illustrated Edition of
the Holy Bible, by Joseph Fort Newton, p. 3-4]
How can a Christian Mason, who claims to believe that the Bible is the
literal Word of God, help promote an organization that denies the Bible is
God's Word and denies Jesus' teaching on the Bible? Scripture tells us we are
to live "worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1
Thessalonians. 2:12).
F FREEMASONRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”