Biblical Content and/or Christian Interpretation of Masonry

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

Some time ago, I was invited by the founder of O.F.F. to start a thread listing the Christian references/interpretations and biblical content that can be found in Masonry, and "let's talk about them." On this thread, I seek to respond to that invitation. At the time I received it, I began work on locating as many of them as I could. But I had no idea at the time that it would be as monumental a task as it has proven to be. In fact, at this point, some 3 years or so since undertaking it, it is far from being complete. For one thing, I have made no constraints upon this effort. Our critics have had a habit of trying to restrict what we may put upon the table, by insisting on either Grand Lodge publications, or limited further to only monitorial materials, or even further, to the rituals themselves. But at the same time, they have no reservations about posting material as though it were authoritative, from every source imaginable, even from pure web-surfing to find proof-texting citations. Yet another limitation has been sometimes insisted upon by them, to produce "current" materials. This retstriction, too, they themselves have flouted when presenting their own positions. For that reason, I have placed absolutely no limitations upon this concerning types of materials, degree of authority accorded the sources, or time frames.

The sheer bulk of it alone, if I am to make any headway presenting it, will prevent very much commentary upon it, other than to highlight some of the key references, so I will keep my comments brief and intermittent--though I do invite any and all commentary upon it.

A good place to start would be the Graham Manucscript, date estimated at about 1725, not very long after the establishment of Grand Lodge Masonry:

THE WHOLE INSTITUTIONS OF FREE MASONRY OPENED AND PROVED BY THE BEST OF TRADITION AND STILL SOME REFERENCE TO SCRIPTURE

Leader First observe that all our signs is taken from the square according to every subject in handling. This is proved by the 9th verse of the 6th chapter of the first Book of Kings. The salutation is as follows:

Bro 2 From whence came you?
Bro 3 I came from a right worshipful Lodge of Masters and Fellows belonging to God and holy Saint John, who doth greet all true and perfect brothers of our holy secrets. So do I you if I find you to be one.
Bro 2 I greet you well, brother, craving your name.
Leader Answer J, and the other is to say his is B.
The examination is as follows:
Bro 2 How shall I know you are a free mason?
Bro 3 By true words, signs and tokens from my entering.
Bro 2 How were you made a free mason?
Bro 3 By a true and a perfect Lodge.
Bro 2 What is a perfect Lodge?
Bro 3 The centre of a true heart.
Bro 2 But how many masons is so called?
Bro 3 Any odd number from 3 to 13.
Bro 2 Why so much ado and still having odd numbers?
Bro 3 Still in reference to the blessed Trinity, to the coming of Christ with his 12 apostles.
Bro 2 What was the first step towards your entering?
Bro 3 A willing desire to know the secrets of free masonry.
Bro 2 Why was it called free masonry?
Bro 3 First, because a free gift of God to the children of men; Secondly, free from the interruption of infernal spirits; Thirdly, a free union among the brothers of that holy secret to remain for ever.
Bro 2 How came you into the Lodge?
Bro 3 Poor and penniless, blind, and ignorant of our secrets.
Bro 2 Some reason for that?
Bro 3 In regard, our Saviour became poor for our redemption; so I became poor at that time for the knowledge of God contracted in the square.
Bro 2 What did you see in the Lodge when you did see?
Bro 3 I saw truth.the world..and justice.and brotherly love.
Bro 2 Where?
Bro 3 Before me.
Bro 2 What was behind you?
Bro 3 Perjuryand hatred of the brotherhood for ever if I discover our secrets without the consent of a Lodgeexcept (they) that have obtained a trible voice by being entered, passed and raised and conformed by 3 several Lodgesand not so except I take the party sworn to be true to our articles.
Bro 2 How stood your Lodge at your entering?
Bro 3 East, west and south.
Bro 2 Why not north also?
Bro 3 In regard we dwell at the north part of the world, we bury no dead at the north side of our churches, so we carry a vacancy at the north side of our Lodges.
Bro 2 Why east and west?
Bro 3 Because churches stand east and west, and porches to the south.
Bro 2 Why doth churches stand east and west?
Bro 3 In four references.
Bro 2 What are they?
Bro 3 First, our parents was placed eastwards in Eden; Secondly, the east wind dried up the sea before the children of Israel, so was the temple of the Lord
to be builded; Thirdly, these who dwell near the equinoxial, the sun riseth east and setteth west on them; Fourthly, the star appeared in the east that advertised both the shepherds and wise men that our Saviour was come in the flesh.
Bro 2 Who conducted you into the Lodge?
Bro 3 The warden and [the] oldest Fellow Craft.
Bro 2 Why not the youngest Fellow Craft?
Bro 3 In regard our Saviour exhorted the chief to serve at the table, that being an exhortation to humility to be observed by us for ever.
Bro 2 What posture did you pass your oath in?
Bro 3 I was neither sitting, standing, going, running, riding, hanging nor flying, naked nor clothed, shod nor barefoot.
Bro 2 A reason for such posture?
Bro 3 In regard one God/one man makes a very Christ, so one object being half naked, half clothed, half shod, half barefoot, half kneeling, half standing. being half of all was none of the whole. This sheweth a humble and obedient heart for to be a faithful follower of that Just Jesus.
Bro 2 What were you sworn to?
Bro 3 For to hale and conceal our secrets.
Bro 2 What other tenors did your oath carry?
Bro 3 My second was to obey God and all true squares made or sent from a brother; My third was never to steal lest I should offend God and shame the square; My fourth was never to commit adultery with a brothers wife nor tell him a wilful lie; My fifth was to desire no unjust revenge of a brother but love and relieve him when its in my power, it not hurting myself too far.
Bro 2 I pass you have been in a Lodge, yet I demand how many lights there are?
Bro 3 I answer 12.
Bro 2 What are they?
Bro 3 The first three jewels is: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; Sun, Moon, Master Mason; Square, Rule, Plumb; Line, Mall, and Chisel.
Bro 2 Prove all these proper.
Bro 3 As for the Blessed Trinity, they afford reason; As for the Sun, he renders light;
As for the Moon, she is a dark body of water and doth receive her light from the Sun, and is also the Queen of Waters, which is the best of levels; As for the Master Mason, he teaches the trade and ought to have a trible voice in teaching of our
secrets if he be a bright man, because we believe in a super-orritory power, for although the 70 had great power yet the 11 had more, for they choosed Matthias in place of Judas; As for Square, Rule, Plumb, Line, Maul, and Chisel, they are six tools that no mason can perform true work without the major part of them.
Bro 2 What reference can be pressed on these 12 Lights?
Bro 3 We draw reference from the 12 Patriarchs, and also from the 12 oxen we read of at the 7th chapter of First Kings, that carried up the molten sea of brass, which was types of the 12 disciples [that] was to be taught by Christ.
Bro 2 I pass you entered, yet I demand if you were raised?
Bro 3 I was raised into knowledge of our primitive, both by tradition and scripture.
Bro 2 What is your foundation words at the laying of a building where you expect some infernal squandering spirit hath haunted and possibly may shake your handiwork?
Bro 3 O Come , Let us , and You shall have
Bro 2 To whom do you speak?
Bro 3 To the Blessed Trinity in prayer.
Bro 2 How do you administer these words?
Bro 3 Kneeling, bare-headed, facing towards the east.
Bro 2 What mean you by the expression thereof?
Bro 3 We mean that we forsake self-righteousness, and [difference ourselves] from thoseBabylonians who presumed to build to Heaven. But we pray the Blessed trinity to let us build true, high, and square, and they shall have the praise to whom it is due.
Bro 2 When was these words made, or what need was for them?
Bro 3 I answer into the primitive: before the Gospel spread, the world being encumbered with infernal squandering spirits, except that men did build by faith and prayer their works were oft assaulted.
Bro 2 But how came that the works of the Babylonians stood before all this, or [before] yet the brightness of the Gospel?
Bro 3 I yet by your own question answer you. Because the presumption of the Babylonians aforesaid had vexed the Godhead, insomuch the language was confounded for their sakeso that no mankind for ever was to do the like again without a divine licence, which could not be had without faith and prayer.
Bro 2 Tradition that.
Bro 3 We have it by tradition, and still some reference to scripture[for it caused] Shem, Ham and Japheth to go to their father Noahs grave for to try if they could find anything about him for to lead them to the vertuable secret which this famous preacher had
Bro 4 (acting as a spiritual commentator) For I hope all will allow that all things needful for the new world was in the Ark with Noah.
Bro 5 Now these 3 men has already agreed that if they did not find the very thing itself, that the first thing that they found was to be to them as a secret
Bro 4 They not doubting, but did most firmly believe that God was able and would also prove willing, through their faith, prayer and obedience, for to cause what they did find for to prove as vertuable to them as if they had received the secret at first from God himself at its headspring.
Bro 5 so came to the grave, finding nothing save the dead body almost consumed away. Taking a grip at a finger, it came awayso from joint to jointso to the wristso to the elbowso they reared up the dead bodyand supported itsetting foot to footknee to kneebreast to breastcheek to cheekand hand to backand cried out Help, Oh Father
Bro 4 As if they had said Oh Father of Heaven, help us now, for our earthly father cannot
Bro 5 so laid down the dead body again and not knowing what to do
Leader so one said:
Bro 2 Here is yet marrow in this bone.
Leader and the second said:
Bro 3 But a dry bone.
Leader and the third said:
Bro 4 It stinketh.
Bro 5 So they agreed to give it a name as is known to free masonry to this dayso went to their undertakings, and afterwards works stood.
Leader Yet it is to be believed, and also understood, that the virtue did not proceed from what they had found, or how it was called, but from faith and prayerso thus it continuedthey will pass for the deed.

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

Leader . We have now arrived at the mid-point of the Graham manuscript. We have entered the strange world inhabited by the infernal squandering spirits. Squandering is a old dialect word, chiefly found from Lincolnshire, across Yorkshire, to Cumbria. It simply means wandering, or spreading around. The modern meaning of squander is derived from it, scattering money or time about carelessly. You will note that these infernal wandering spirits are deemed likely to be responsible for the accidents common on building sites. Ritual processes are thought suitable to ward off these dangers, for such secrets are vertuable, they possess inherent virtues, like the sap in a flower stem which Chaucer says of swich virtue engendred is the rose. The commentator voice is careful to stress more than once the importance of faith and prayer the virtue did not proceed from what they had found, or how it was called, but from faith and prayer. We are now steadied to proceed to the second half of the manuscript. This has a different style. Dialogue of question and answer is replaced by a series of, as it were, historical lectures, linking biblical characters into Masonic fables. The fables each have relevance and moral/spiritual/cultural meaning, of course. Seemingly of much greater antiquity than 1726, and with points emerging which we may not be familiar with, it is for each of us to work out what is really being said from way back, in the antiquity of Freemasonry.
0 0 0 0
Bro 6 While the reign of King Alboyne (i.e. during the reign of King Alban), then was born Bezalliell, who was so called by God before [he was] conceived in the [womb], and this holy man knew by inspiration that the secret titles and primitive parleys of the Godhead was preservative, and he builded on them in so much as no infernal squandering spirit durst presume to shake his handiwork. So his works became famous, while the two younger brothers of the foresaid King Alban desired for to be instructed by him [in] his noble science by which he wrought. To which he agreed
conditionally: they were not to discover it without another to themselves to make a trible voice. So they entered oath. And he taught them the theoretic and the practick part of masonry, and they did work.
Then was masons wages called up in that realm. Then was masons numbered with kings and princes. Yet, near to the death of Bezalliell, he desired to be buried in the valley of Jehosephat, and have cut over him, according to his deservingwhich was performed by these two princes. And this was cut as follows: Here lies the flower of masonry Superior to any other;
Bro 5 Companion to a King And to two princes a brother.
Bro 6 Here lies the heart all secrets could conceal:
Bro 5 Here lies the tongue that never did reveal.
Bro 6 Now, after his death, the inhabitants thereabout did think the secrets of Masonry had been totally lost because they were no more heard of. For none knew the secrets therof save those two princes and they were sworn at their entering not to discover it without another to make a trible voice.
Leader Yet it is to be believed, and also understood, that such a holy secret could never be lost while any good servant of God remained alive on the earth.
Bro 4 For every good servant of God had, hath, and always will have, a great part of that holy secret although they know it not themselves, nor by what means to make use thereof.
Leader For it happened with the world at that time, as it did with the Samaritan church about Christ, they were seeking for what they did not want.
Bro 4 But their deep ignorance could not discern it.
Leader So all this continued dark and obscure in the meanwhile.
Bro 6 And it came to pass in the four hundred and four-score of years after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomons reign over Israel, that Solomon began to build the House of the Lord, which his father David should have builded, but was not admitted to perform it
Leader Because his hands were guilty of blood
Bro 4 Wars being on every side.
Bro 6 So all reverted while the days of Solomon his son (during Solomons days), that hebegan to build the House of the Lord.
Leader Now I hope all men will give for granted that all things needful for carrying on of that Holy Erection was not holden from that wise king.
Bro 4 To this we must all allow, else we must charge God with unjustice, which no frail mortal dare presume to charge God with.
Leader Neither can his Divine Goodness be guilty of.
Bro 6 Now we read at the 13th verse of the 7th chapter of First Book of Kings that: Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widows son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work for him.
Leader The explanation of these verses is as follows. The word cunning renders ingenuity. As for wisdom and understanding, when they are both found in one person he can want nothing.
Bro 4 So by this present scripture [it] must be allowed that the widows son, whose name was Hiram, had a holy inspiration
Leader As well as the wise King Solomon
Bro 6 Or yet the holy Bazalliell.
Bro 5 Now it is holden forth by tradition that there was a tumult at this Erection which [] happened betwixt the labourers and masons about wages, and to calm all and to make all things easy, the wise king should have said: Be all of you contented, for you shall be paid all alike. Yet he said, Give a sign to the masons, not known to the labourers, And who could make that sign at the paying place was to be paid as masons. The labourers, not knowing therof, was paid as aforesaid.
Leader This might have been..yet if it was so we are to judge very mercifully on the words of the wise King Solomon for it is understood, and also believed, that the wise king meant according to every mans deserving.
Bro 5 Yet the 7th verse of the 6th chapter of First Book of Kings reads me still better, where it is said: The House, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither, so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house when it was in building.
Bro 6 From whence may be gathered that all things was fitted aforehand
Leader Yet not possible to be carried on without a motion(sign)and when all things were sought, from the horizon of the heavens(sign) to the platform of the earth(sign), there could be nothing found more becoming than the square for to be their sign(sign again)for to signify what they should have each other to do.
Bro 5 So the work went on and prospered
Bro 6 Which could not well go amiss, being that they wrought for so good a Master, and had the wisest man on earth for to be their Overseer.
Bro 4 Therefore in some parts by merit, yet much more by free grace, Masonry obtained a name and a new command:
Bro 3 Their name doth signify strength
Bro 2 And their answer beauty
Leader And their command Love.
Bro 5 For proof hereof read the 7 and 6 of [the] First Book of Kings, where you will find the wonderful works of Hiram at the building of the House of the Lord.
Leader So all being finished, then was the secrets of Free Masonry ordered aright as is now
Bro 2 And will be to the end of the world
Bro 3 For such as do rightly understand it.
Bro 4 In 3 parts in reference to the Blessed Trinity who made all things
Bro 5 Yet in 13 branches in reference to Christ and his 12 apostles
Leader Which is as follows:
Bro 2 A word for the divine
Bro 3 Six for the clergy
Bro 4 And six for the Fellow Craft.
fellowship, which is: foot to foot; knee to knee; breast to breast; cheek to cheek; and hand to back.
Bro 6 Which five points hath reference to the five chief signs, which is: head, foot, body, hand, and heart.
Bro 2 And also to the five points of architecture
Bro 3 And also to the five Orders of Masonry
Bro 4 Yet takes their strength from five primitive: one divine and 4 temporal, which is as follows:
Bro 2 FirstChrist, the Chief and Cornerstone
Bro 3 Secondly, Peter, called Cephas
Bro 4 Thirdly, Moses, who cut the Commands
Bro 5 Fourthly, Bezalliell, the best of Masons
Bro 6 Fifthly, Hiram, who was filled with wisdom and understanding.
Leader Here ends our presentation of the words contained in the Graham manuscript.

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

Matthew Cooke Manuscript

1450 C.E.

(The articles)

The first article is this. That every master of this art should be wise, and true to the lord who employs him, expending his goods carefully as he would his own were expended; and not give more pay to any mason than he knows him to have earned, according to the dearth (or scarcity and therefore price) of corn and victuals in the country and this without favouritism, for every man is to be rewarded according to his work.

The Second article is this. That every master of the art shall be warned beforehand to come to his congregation in order that he may duly come, there, unless he may [be] excused for some cause or other. But if he be found [i.e., accused of being] rebellious at such congregation, or at fault in any way to his employer's harm or the reproach of this art, he shall not be excused unless he be in peril of death. And though he be in peril of death, yet must, he give notice of his illness, to the master who is the president of the gathering.

The [third] article is this. That no master take no apprentice for a shorter term than seven years at least, for the reason that such as have been bound a shorter time can not adequately learn their art, nor be able to truly serve their employer and earn the pay that a mason should.

The fourth article is this. That no master shall for any reward take as an apprentice a bondsman born, because his lord to whom he is a bondsman might take him, as he is entitled to, from his art and carry him away with him from out the Lodge, or out of the place he is in. And because his fellows peradventure might help him and take his part, and thence manslaughter might arise ; therefore it is forbidden. And there is another reason ; because his art was begun by the freely begotten children of great lords, as aforesaid.

The fifth article is this. That no master shall pay more to his apprentice during the time of his apprenticeship, whatever profit he may take thereby, than he well knows him to have deserved of the lord that employs him ; and not even quite so much, in order that the lord of the works where he is taught may have some profit by his being taught there.

The sixth article is this. That no master from covetousness or for gain shall accept an apprentice that is unprofitable ; that is, having any maim (or defect) by reason of which he is incapable of doing a mason's proper work.

The seventh article is this. That no master shall knowingly help or cause to be maintained and sustained any common nightwalker robber by which nightwalking they may be rendered incapable of doing a fair day's work and toil: a condition of things by which their fellows might be made wrath.

The eighth article is this. Should it befall that a perfect and skilful mason come and apply for work and find one working who is incompetent and unskilful, the master of the place shall discharge the incompetent and engage the skilful one, to the advantage of the employer.

The ninth article is this. That no master shall supplant another. For it is said in the art of masonry that no man can so well complete a work to the advantage of the lord, begun by another as he who began it intending to end it in accordance with his own plans, or [he] to whom he shows his plans.

These regulation following were made by the lords (employers) and masters of divers provinces and divers congregations of masonry.

[First point] To wit : whosoever desires to become a mason, it behoves him before all things to [love] God and the holy Church and all the Saints ; and his master and follows as his own brothers.

The second point. He must give a fair day's work for his pay.

The third [point]. He shall hele the counsel or his fellows in lodge and in chamber, and wherever masons meet.

The fourth point. He shall be no traitor to the art and do it no harm nor conform to any enactments against the art nor against the members thereof : but he shall maintain it in all honour to the best of his ability.

The fifth point. When he receives his pay he shall take it without murmuring, as may be arranged at the time by the master; and he shall fulfil the agreement regarding the hours of work and rest, as ordained and set by the master.

The sixth point. In case of disagreement between him and his fellows, he shall unquestioningly obey the master and be silent thereon at the bidding of his master, or of his master's warden in his master's absence, until the next following holiday and shall then settle the matter according to the verdict of his fellows ; and not upon a work-day because of the hindrance to the work and to the lord's interests.

The seventh point. He shall not covet the wife nor the daughter of his master or of his fellows unless it be in marriage neither shall he hold concubines, on account of the discord this might create amongst them.

The eighth point. Should it befall him to be his master's warden, he shall be a true mediator between his master and his fellows : and he shall be active in his master's absence to the honour of his master and the profit of the lord who employs him.

The ninth point. If he be more wise and skilful than his fellow working with him in the Lodge or in any other place, and he perceive that for want of skill, he is about to spoil the stone upon which he is working and can teach him to improve the stone, he shall instruct and help him ; so that love may increase the more amongst them and the work of his employer be not lost.

When the master and fellows, being forewarned are come to such congregations, the sheriff of the country or the mayor of the city or alderman of the town in which the congregation is held, shall if need be, be fellow and associate of the master of the congregation, to help him against disobedient members to maintain the rights of the realm.

And at the commencement of the proceedings, new men who have never been charged before are to be charged in this manner. Ye shall never be thieves nor thieves' maintainers, and shall do a fair day's work and toil for your pay that you take of the lord, and shall render true accounts to your feIlows in all matters which should be accounted for to them, and love them as yourselves. And ye shall be true to the king of England and to the realm : and that ye keep with all your might and [power] all the aforesaid articles.

After that an enquiry shall be held whether any master or fellow summoned to the meeting, have broken any of the beforesaid articles, which, if they have done, it shall be then and there adjudicated upon.

Therefore be it known; if any master or fellow being forewarned to come to the congregation, be contumacious and appear not ; or having trespassed against any of the aforesaid articles shall be convicted ; he shall forswear his masonry and shall no longer exercise the craft. And if he presume so to do, the sheriff of the country in which he may be found at work shall put him in prison and take all his goods for the use of the king, until his (the king's) grace be granted and showed him.

For this cause chiefly were these congregations ordained ; that the lowest as well as the highest might be well and truly served in the aforesaid art throughout all the kingdom of England.

Amen, so mote it be.

More to follow.

obsolete · Nov 5, 2010

could you please repeat that

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

The rituals are saturated with Bible content. Any Mason familiar with the Bible cant miss it:

OPENING PRAYER

Most holy and glorious Lord God, the great Architect of the Universe, the Giver of all good gifts and graces! (James 1:17) Thou hast promised that "where two or three are gathered together in Thy name Thou wilt be in the midst of them and bless them." (Matthew 18:20)

CLOSING PRAYER

Supreme Architect of the Universe! Accept our humble thanks for the many mercies and blessings which Thy bounty has conferred on us, (2 Corinthians 9:5)
and especially for this friendly and social intercourse. Pardon, we beseech Thee, whatever Thou hast seen amiss in us since we have been together, (James 4:3) and continue to us Thy presence, protection, and blessing.

BENEDICTION AT CLOSING

May the blessing of Heaven rest upon us and all regular Masons! May brotherly love prevail, (Hebrews 13:1) and every moral and social virtue cement us!

ENTRY UPON THE 1ST DEGREE

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.--Psalm CXXXIII[FONT='Times New Roman','serif'][/font]

Our Institution is said to be supported, by WISDOM, STRENGTH and BEAUTY; because it is necessary there should be wisdom to contrive, strength to support and beauty to adorn, all great and important undertakings. Its dimensions are unlimited, and its covering no less than the canopy of heaven. (Isaiah 40:22)
To this object the Mason's mind is continually directed, and thither he hopes at last to arrive by the aid of the theological ladder, which Jacob, in his vision, saw ascending from earth to heaven; (Gen. 28:10-22) the three principal rounds of which are denominated FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY, (1 Cor. 13:13) and which admonish us to have faith in God, (Mark 11:22, 1 Pet. 1:21) hope in immortality, (1 Cor. 15:54) and charity to all mankind. (Gal. 6:10)

ENTRY UPON THE SECOND DEGREE

Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the LORD stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand.
And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more.--Amos VII, 7,8.[FONT='Times New Roman','serif'][/font]

CHARGE AT CLOSING

Let the world observe how Masons love one another. (1 John 4:7) These generous principles are to extend further. Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices. Do good unto all. Recommend it more especially "to the household of the faithful." (Galatians 6:10)
By diligence in the duties of your respective callings; by liberal benevolence and diffusive charity; by constancy and fidelity in your friendships, discover the beneficial and happy effects of this ancient and honorable Institution. Let it not be supposed that you have here labored in vain (1 Cor. 15:54) and spent your strength for naught; for your work is with the Lord and your recompense with God. (Ruth 2:12)

Finally, brethren, be ye all of one mind; live in peace, and may the God of love and peace delight to dwell with and bless you! (2 Cor. 13:11)

ENTRY UPON THIRD DEGREE

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.--Ecclesiastes XII, 1-7.

PRAYER AT RAISING

Thou, O God! knowest our down-sitting and our uprising, and understandest our thought afar off. . .(Psalm 139:2, Job 14:1-11, Isa. 45:17 )

BENEDICTION AT THE LAYING OF A CORNER STONE

Glory be to God on High, and on earth peace, good will toward men! (Luke 2:14)
O Lord, we most heartily beseech Thee with Thy favor to behold and bless this assemblage. Pour down Thy mercies, like the dew that falls upon the mountains, (Psa. 133:3) upon Thy servants engaged in the solemn ceremonies of this day. Bless, we pray Thee, all the workmen who shall be engaged in the erection of this edifice; keep them from all forms of accident and harm, and grant them health and prosperity while they live. And finally, we pray that when our earthly toils and labors are ended we may all, through Thy mercy, wisdom and forgiveness, attain everlasting joy (Isa. 35:10) and felicity in the mansions prepared for us (John 14:2-3) in that temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Amen. (2 Cor. 5:1)

AT THE DEDICATION OF A MASONIC HALL

In the name of the Great Jehovah, to whom be all honor and glory, I do solemnly dedicate this Hall to Freemasonry.

INVOCATION AT DEDICATION OF A MASONIC HALL

And may the Lord, the giver of every good and perfect gift, (James 1:17)
bless the brethren here assembled, in all their lawful undertakings, and grant to each one of them in needful supply, the Corn of nourishment, the Wine of refreshment, and the Oil of joy. Amen. (CORN, WINE, AND OIL: Deu. 7:13, 11:14, 14:23, 18:4, 28:51, 2 Chr. 31:5, 32:28, Neh. 5:11, 13:5, 13:12, Hosea 2:8, 2:22, Joel 1:10, Haggai 1:11; OIL OF JOY: Isaiah 61:3)

BENEDICTION AT FUNERAL

Now may the presence, comfort and strength of our Heavenly Father and the peace that passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7) abide with us all, now and always. AMEN.

INVOCATION AT LODGE OF SORROW

"Almighty and Eternal God, (Deu. 33:27) in Whom we live, and move, and have our being, (Acts 17:28) we pray that Thou will grant each of us health, happiness, and well being in the coming year. We hold the hope that each of us and all our Brothers whom we hold dear, will be present when we close this Lodge of Sorrow at the end of its appointed time. But should it be your will to call for workmen from among our ranks, then help those remaining to see the Wisdom in Your choice. (Chaplain may add further words as he sees fit.) AMEN"

Just after the reading of Psalm 133 in the EA ritual, we find:

The great teaching of this Psalm is Brotherly Love, that virtue which forms the most prominent tenet of the Masonic Order. And it teaches the lesson, too, precisely as we do, by a symbol, comparing it to the precious ointment used in the consecration of the High Priest, whose delightful perfume filled the whole place with its odor. The ointment was poured upon the head in such quantity, that, being directed by the anointer in different ways in the form of a cross, it flowed at length down the beard, and finally dropped from the flowing skirts of the priestly garment.
The fifteen Psalms, from the 120th to the 134th, inclusive, of which this, of course, is one, are called by the Hebrews, "songs of degrees," because they were sung on the fifteen steps ascending from the court of Israel to the court of the women of the Temple. (Ahiman Rezon 2003, p. 66-67)

The following passage of Scripture is here used:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be Light; and there was Light. (AR, p. 71)
But what mind can conceive, or what pen portray, that terrible convulsion of nature, that awful disentanglement of its elements, which must have accompanied the Divine command, "Let there be Light!" The attempt to describe it would be a presumptuous task. We feel, when we meditate on the subject, that stillness and silence must have fled before the Almighty Voice, and the earth itself have trembled in its new existence, when the gloomy pall of darkness was rolled as a curtain from the face of nature. (p. 72)
When at last your trembling soul stands naked and alone before the Great Judgment, may it be your portion to hear from Him who is the Judge Supreme: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter now into the joys of the Lord." (p. 76)

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

The Operative Masons at Jerusalem, from whom we date our origin, were occupied in the construction of an earthly and material temple, to be dedicated to the service and worship of God--a house in which the mighty Jehovah was to dwell visibly by the Shekinah, and whence He was by Urim and Thummim, to send forth His oracles for the government and direction of His chosen people.
The Speculative Mason is engaged in the construction of a spiritual temple in his heart, pure and spotless, fit for the dwelling place of Him who is the author of purity; where God is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, and whence every evil thought and unruly passion are to be banished, as the sinner and the Gentile were excluded from the sanctuary of the Jewish Temple.
In the symbolic language of Masonry, therefore, the twenty-four inch gauge is a symbol of time well employed; the common gavel, of the purification of the heart. (p. 79-80)
Various passages of Scripture are referred to in this section as elucidating the traditions of Masonry on the subject of the Temple.
And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jeruslem.--2 Chron. II, 16. (p. 82)
And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building.--1 Kings VI, 7. (p. 83)
Josephus says, "The whole structure of the Temple was made with great skill, of polished stones, and those laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly, that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer or any other instrument of architecture, but as if, without any use of them, the entire materials had naturally united themselves together, so that the agreement of one part with another seemed rather to have been natural, than to have arisen from the force of tools upon them." (p. 83)
Now this was the manner in former time in Israel governing redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was a testimony in Israel.--Ruth IV, 7 (p. 84)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.--Matthew VII, 7. (p. 84)
The idea, that the Lodge is a symbol of the world, is still carried out. It was the belief of the ancients that the heavens, or the roof of the world, was supported by pillars. By these pillars, some suppose that the mountains are alluded; but in reference to a passage in Job XXVI, 11, where it is said "The pillars of heaven tremble," Noyes thinks that "it is more probable that heaven is represented as an immense edifice, supported on lofty columns, like a temple." (p. 91)

[P. 92 (entire page) is an artist's depiction of Jacob's ladder as described in his dream. I've tried to locate information about the source of the picture but to no avail. A small inscription of a name can be seen in the lower right, and magnified, it appears to be "Jecorhous," but an internet search produced no result. ]

A Lodge is situated due east and west, because, when Moses crossed the Red Sea, being pursued by Pharaoh and his host, he erected on the other side, by divine command, a tabernacle, which he placed due east and west, to receive the first rays of the rising sun, and to commemorate that mighty east wind by which their miraculous deliverance was effected. This tabernacle was an exact pattern of King Solomon's Temple, of which every Lodge is a representation, and it is, or ought, therefore, to be placed due east and west. (p. 99-100)
In six days God created the heavens and the earth, and rested upon the seventh day; the seventh, therefore, our ancient brethren consecrated as a day of rest from their labors; thereby enjoying frequent opportunities to contemplate the glorious works of creation, and to adore their great Creator. (p. 114)
For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.--1 Kings VII, 15. (p. 114)
Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.--2 Chron. III, 15. (p. 114)
And he made two chapiters of of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the chapiter three cubits; the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits.--1 Kings VII, 16. (p. 114)
The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass; and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter around about, all of brass; and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.--2 Kings XXV, 16. (p. 114)
The discrepancy as to the height of the pillars as given in the book of Kings and in Chronicles is to be reconciled by supposing that in the book of Kings the pillars are spoken of separately, and that in Chronicles their aggregate height is calculated; and the reason that in this latter book their united height is placed at 35 cubits, instead of 36, which would be the double of 18, is because they are there measured as they appear with the chapiters upon them. Now half a cubit of each pillar was concealed in what Dr. Lightfoot calls "the hole of the chapiter," that is, half a cubit's depth of the lower edge of the chapiter covered the top of the pillar, making each pillar apparently only 17 1/2 cubits high, or the two, 35 cubits, as laid down in the book of Chronicles.
In a similar way we reconcile the difference as to the height of the chapiters. In 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles the chapiters are said to be five cubits high, while in 2 Kings their height is described as being only three cubits. But it will be noticed that it immediately follows in the same place, that "there was a wreathen work and pomegranates upon the chapiter around about." Now the expression is conclusive that the height of the chapiters was estimated exclusive and independent of the wreathen work round about them, which was two cubits more, and this added to the three cubits of the chapiter proper, will make the five cubits spoken of in all other parts of Scripture. (p. 114-16)
Here a symbol of Plenty is introduced, and proper explanations are given as to the proper answers to the following questions:
What does it denote?
How was it represented?
Why was it instituted?

The passages of Scripture which are referred to in this part of the section will be found in Judges XII, 1-6. The Vulgate version gives a periphrastic translation of a part of the 6th verse, as follows: "Say, therefore, Shibboleth, which being interpreted is an ear of corn." the same word in Hebrew signifies a rapid stream of water, from the root SHaBaL, to flow copiously. The too common error of speaking, in this part of the ritual, of a "water-ford" instead of a "water-fall," which is the correct word, must be carefully avoided. A water-fall is an emblem of plenty, because it indicates an abundance of water. A water-ford, for the converse reason, is, if any symbol at all, a symbol of scarcity. (p. 127-28)
Immediately following the monitorial degree work, is a section detailing the qualities of a Mason, with this description:
As the Bible is the first Great Light presented to a candidate, the following quotations from that inspired book are recommended to his previous perusal:

"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
"He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
"He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
"In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own heart, and changeth not.
"He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent." Psalm XV.
"Who shall ascend into the hills of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully."--Psalm XXIV, 3, 4.
"What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
"Depart from evil and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."--Psalm XXXIV, 12-14.
Then let the candidate prepare himself to say:
"I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me."--Psalm XXXIX, 1.
"I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, O Lord."--Psalm XXVI, 6.

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

The Holy Bible is given to us as the rule and guide of our faith; the Square, to square our actions; and the Compasses, to circumscribe our desires and passion in due bounds with all mankind, but more especially with Brother Masons; and hence the Bible is the light which enlightens the path of our duty to God; the Square, that which enlightens the path of duty to our fellow man; and the Compasses, that which enlightens the path of our duty to ourselves. (Ahiman Rezon., p. 73)

"A Lodge is an assemblage of Masons duly congregated, having the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses, and a Charter or Warrant of Constitution authorizing them to work.
Every lawful assemblage of Masons, duly congregated for work, will be "a just and legally constituted Lodge." It is just, that is regular and orderly, when it contains the requisite number to form a quorum and when the Bible, Square, and Compasses are present. It is legally constituted when it is acting under the authority of a Warrant of Constitution." (Ahiman Rezon, 87-88)

The furniture of a Lodge consists of a Holy Bible, Square, and Compasses. The Holy Bible is dedicated to God; the Square, to the Master; and the Compasses, to the craft. The Bible is dedicated to God because it is the inestimable gift of God to man; (Ahiman Rezon, p. 94)

The second section of this lecture is of pre-eminent importance. It recites the legend or historical tradition on which the degree is founded; a legend whose symbolic interpretation testifies to our faith in the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul, while it exemplifies a rare instance of virtue, fortitude, and integrity. (South Carolinas Ahiman Rezon, MM degree, p. 145-46, 2003 edition, Emphasis added)

In short, the Mason's moral and religious duties are comprised in this command: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself. (Ahimon Rezon, p. 168)

The small hill near Mount Moriah can be clearly identified by the most convincing analogies as being no other than Mount Calvary. Thus Mount Calvary was a small hill; it was situated in a westerly direction from the Temple, and near Mount Moriah; It was on the direct road from Jerusalem to Joppa, and is thus the very spot wiser. a weary brother, traveling on the road, would find It convenient to sit down to test and refresh himself; it was outside the gate of the Temple; and lastly, there are several caves, or clefts in the rocks, In the neighborhood, one of which, it will be remembered, was, subsequently to the time of this tradition, used as the sepulchre of our Lord. The Christian Mason will readily perceive the peculiar character of the symbolism which this identification of the spot on which the great truth of the resurrection was unfolded in both systemsthe Masonic and the Christianmust suggest.
It Is hardly necessary to say that the letter G, wherever spoken of in Masonry as a symbol, Is merely a modern substitution for the Hebrew letter yod, which was the Initial of Jehovah, the tetragammaton, and, therefore, constantly used as a symbol of Deity. (Ahiman Rezon, p. 151)

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

Articles from Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, published by Ars Quatuor Coronati, the premier lodge of research anywhere in the world.

I cannot quite agree with the idea that the Orientation of the Tabernacle had no reference to the Sun. In the first chapter of Genesis it is stated that the lights in the firmament of heaven were "for Signs and for Seasons;" and I have always looked upon it that a distinct solar reference can be traced all through both the Mosaic and Christian Systems. Religious people seem to be afraid of the idea that the Sun has any connection with their religion, but this is a groundless fear. No religion can separate itself from the movements of the Sun; [/font]it is the Sun which determines the seasons with their festivals, as well as the period of each rite and ceremony. Easter atthe present day is determined by the Sun and the Moon, and the Jews used to give a present to the man who carried to them the first intelligence of the New Moon at the Passover. This connection does not mean that the Sun is worshiped. We have here in our Lodge, by its arrangement, a clear reference to the Sun, but we do not worship it. Let us get quit of any preconceptions on this matter, and I think there will be but small difficulty in understanding, so far at least, the Orientation of the Tabernacle. (Charles Warren, On the Orientation of Temples, AQC I, p. 53)

WHEN in 298 A.D.the Emperor Diocletian was building his baths on the necks of the Quirinal and Virminal hills he included within its vast circuit a temple to Aesculapius, the god of health. He ordered the five sculptors, Claudius, Nicostratus, Sinforianus, Castorinus, and Simplicius to execute the decorative work and make the statue of Aesculapius. Being Christians they refused to fashion the statue of a pagan god, and in consequence they were put to death on the 8th November, 298. Three were beheaded and two were scourged to death. Other artists were found who executed the work for the Emperor. On the return of Diocletian to Rome in 300, finding the works completed, he issued an order for their dedication, and commanded that all the soldiers in Rome should be present, who, as they marched past, were to throw incense over the altar of Aesculapius. As soon as this command was propagated, four brothers, who were master masons, and held the position of Corniculari, or wing-leaders of the city militia, met to decide what they should do under the circumstances. These brothers were named Severus, Sererianus, Carporferus, and Victorianus, who, besides being masons, had embraced the Christian faith. They all agreed to abstain from throwing the incense over the altar, it being against their principles to assist in any way at pagan ceremonies of a religious nature. This determination they made known to their centurion, who communicated it to the tribune Lampadius, who reported the matter to Diocletian. The emperor ordered them either to sacrifice or suffer death. They, steadfast to their faith, suffered death by being scourged with leaden thongs. Their bodies were then enclosed in leaden cases and thrown into the river Tiber. Abrother, Nicodemus, recovered their bodies from the river, and they were interred by the side of the five sculptors previously martyred, and other saints, in the catacombs on the Via Labricana, which from the four master masons are to this day known as the Catacombs of the Quattro Coronati. The five suffered on the 8th November, 298, and the four on the same
day in 300, and their memory is still honoured in the church of the Quattro Incoronati, on the Coelian Hill, in Rome. Bishop Damasus, 366-84, put up many inscriptions to the memory of the martyrs reposing in the catacombs. (Ars Quatuor Coronatorum I, The Roman Legend of the Quattro Incoronati, p. 149)

When Prince Frederick was Grand Master, he did not altogether approve of the Rose Croix degree, on account of its apparently somewhat sectarian and exclusively Christian tendency; so after years He discontinued working it, and instituted what were called the" Upper Blue degrees," Consisting of Elected Masters" and "Upper Elected Masters." These were not in reality separate degrees, but simply sections of the third degree elaborated, although each was made the subject of a distinct initiation. (AQC III, 1890, F.J.W. Crowe, Freemasonry in Holland, p. 84-85)

The Pentad 5.-Light. Friendship and Justice, emblem of health and safety. The Pentalpha forms five copies of the capital letter A; it is called the pentacle or pentagram. It is the jewel of jewels to the Master Mason; it reminds him of the five points by which he rose again after having descended into the bowels of the earth; it is also said to represent the five wounds of Christ on the Cross. In the Kabbalah it is the sign of the microcosm, also of the quintessence of the alchemist, and for its many other similitudes I must again refer you to our author, it is one of the most beautiful of numbers.
The Hexad 6.-"The form of form, the only number adapted to the soul, the distinct union of the parts of the universe, also harmony." In the Sepher Yetzirah," it represents the four quarters of the world, north, south, east, and west, and also height and depth, and in the midst of all is the Holy Temple. It is an epitome of Nature as it presents to our view the dimensions of all things, adding to the four cardinal or superficial points the two lines of height and depth." It is the hexalpha, the true Solomon's seal: it forms six copies of the capital A (alpha). In Christian churches it symbolizes the union of the divine and human natures of Christ. (AQC III, 1890, William Robert Woodman, Westcotts Numbers, p. 197)

There are one or two passages that may be of interest to the Craft in the Rationale of Durandus, an ecclesiastic and bishop who died in 1296. The Rationale was first printed by Fust in 1459, and Chalmers mentions besides this thirteen editions in the fifteenth, and thirteen in the sixteenth centuries. It is of course a work on Ecclesiastical Symbolism.

The tiles of the roof which keep off the rain are the soldiers, who preserve the Church from Paynim, and from enemies." The circular staircases, which are imitated from Solomon's Temple, are passages which wind among the walls, and point out the hidden knowledge which they only have who ascend to celestial things."

"The Faithful predestinated to eternal life, are the stones in the structure of this wall which shall continually be built up unto the world's end. And one stone is added to another, where masters in the Church teach and confirm and strengthen those who are put under them: and whosoever in Holy Church undertakes painful labours from brotherly 1ove, he as it were beareth up the weight of the stones which have been placed above him. Those stones which are of larger size, and polished, or squared, and placed at the outside and at the angles of the building, are men of holier life than others, who by their merit and prayers retain weaker brethren in Holy Church."

"The cement, without which there can be no stability of the walls, is made of lime,
sand, and water. The lime is fervent charity, which joineth to itself the sand, that is,
undertakings for the temporal welfare of our brethren I because true charity taketh care of the widow and the aged, and the infant, and the infirm: and they who have it study to work with their hands, that they may possess wherewith to benefit them. Now the lime and sand are bound together in the wall by an admixture of water. But water is an emblem of the Spirit. And as without cement the stones cannot cohere, so neither can men be built up in the heavenly Jerusalem without charity, which the Holy Ghost worketh in them."

"All the stones are polished and squared, that is holy and pure, and are built by the
hands of the Great Workman into an abiding place in the Church: whereof some are borne, and bear nothing, as the weaker members, some are both borne and bear, as those of moderate strength: and some bear, and are borne of none save Christ, the Corner Stone, as they that are perfect. All are bound together by one spirit of charity, as though fastened with cement; and those living stones are knit together in the bond of peace."

"Again, in the Temple of God, the foundation is Faith, which is conversant with
unseen things: the roof, charity, which covereth a multitude of sins. The door, obedience, of which the Lord saith, if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. The pavement, humility, of which the Psalmist saith, My soul cleaveth to the pavement. The four side walls, the four cardinal virtues, justice, fortitude, temperance, prudence. Hence the Apocalyse saith, The city lieth four-square." (AQC X, 1897, p. 60, J.W. Horsley, Masonic Symbolism, as Found in the Rationale of Durandus)

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

And to close out this section of AQC articles, here is their review of Josiah Whymper's The Religion of Freemasonry, written at the time the book went to publication:

Whymper possesses what too many of us lack, the courage of his convictions. Having lived for many years in India he has seen the growth and extension of Freemasonry in that Empire, and has at the same time witnessed what he regards as a distinct diversion or falling away from the original plan of the Order. We who live in England only read or hear of the practices of Lodges under the English Constitution in the East, and what we have heard and read, has lead us to the belief that in India the Universality of Freemasonry is more widely and favourably exemplified than in any other part of the 11-orld. How this Universality has been brought about we have, perhaps, not stayed to enquire, and our own comparative ignorance of the circumstances has prompted us to accept everything as orthodox and in order without any very close or critical examination. In common with other brethren, I confess to have never had, before reading Bro. Whymper's book, any misgivings as to the propriety of everything that is done in East Indian Lodges or as to the actual and careful preservation therein of our ancient landmarks in their integrity. But I am free to admit that my impressions in this respect have received a somewhat rude shock, and I feel sure that no thoughtful brother can rise from a perusal of this work without a conviction that its author has made out a case for very careful consideration, both on the part of individual brethren and of the rulers of Craft Masonry under our English Constitution.

I have said that the author holds strong opinions, and this book is their outcome, its object being to prove "that there is no inconsistency in Freemasonry claiming to be both a Christian and an universal institution, that no other view is consistently tenable, that the allegories, symbols, and teaching cannot otherwise be[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]reconciled, neither can the ritual have any other meaning in a Christian community." I have italicised these words because they point to the pith and marrow of Bro. Whymper's book.

It is the common belief of Masons that the leading requirements for admission into their Society is a belief in an Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent ruler of the Universe[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']; [/FONT]but it is a pretty well-known fact that in India the Sacred[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']" [/FONT]books of the East take the place of our Bible when native persons holding local creeds are admitted into the Order. Our author argues that this is wrong, that under the English Constitution the Bible alone can be the volume of the Sacred Law, that it is virtually an insult to the Holy Scriptures to substitute for them any other book, and that the whole of the teachings and symbolism of the Craft point so distinctly and unmistakably to the Holy Bible that if another so-called Sacred [FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]book be substituted
the whole ceremony is reduced to nonsense.

In order to prove this the first step must be to show that the Craft under the English Constitution represents the original plan of Freemasonry, and that its connection with the Bible is so intimate as not to admit of its divorce therefrom without a complete severance from Ancient Freemasonry as understood by English Masons. This Bro. Whymper has, I think, succeeded in doing in a very complete manner. In a series of exhaustive chapters dealing successively with the old and new Constitutions, the lectures and the ritual he has shown in detail that in the first instance Freemasonry was essentially Christian and Trinitarian[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']; [/FONT]that at the period known as the Reviva1, in 1717, a determined effort was made to give to Freemasonry a tone of universality which it never possessed before, and that with this object it was attempted, but only with very partial success, to eliminate all Christian teaching from the Constitutions and Ritual.

In this connection, by the way, Bro. Whymper seems to be very much in accord with the theory of Bro. Carson, who believes that the consequence of this anti-Christian crusade was the formation of the Christian degrees by those Freemasons who were
dissatisfied with the arbitrary proceedings of Anderson and his allies. I am very much inclined to take a similar view, which has been strengthened by a certain passage in the ritual of what I conceive to be, without doubt, the oldest, and certainly the most doctrinal, of all the Christian orders, thus: "To what intent was it," this order, "re-established and amendments made therein[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']?" [/FONT]Answer[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']: [/FONT][FONT='Arial','sans-serif']'' [/FONT]To correct the errors and reform the abuses which had crept into the three degrees of St. John's Masonry.''
The ritual from which the foregoing is an extract was very probably formulated about the year 1750.

That the endeavour to squeeze all Christianity out of the order was not quite successful is next shown by the author, and here again all Masonic students must admit him to be correct seeing that during the whole period, from 1717 to 1813, the practice of offering up Christian prayers in the Lodges was quite usual and, in fact, almost universal. In 1813 a further turn was given to the screw, and this latest squeeze resulted in the knocking out of the Christian prayers and certain other allusions of a Christian character. Even then, however, says Bro. Whymper, in the ritual that was agreed upon at the Union, our present ritual, there is ample evidence to be found OF a general Christian tone, indeed some of the symbolism, if not directly pointing to Christianity, is reduced to a meaningless array of words, more particularly in the case of some portions to be found in the working of the Third Degree.
Passing on to the subject of the Royal Arch, our author maintains that its symbolism is Trinitarian, and in this I quite agree with him, the fact of the great antiquity of the Delta as a religious emblem merely proving the fact that from the earliest times of antiquity the mind of man has been imbued with an ineffaceable impression of the existence of a Triune God. The Royal Arch is, of course, declared by our Constitutions to be an integral part of Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry, although Bro. Speth has lately published a very well reasoned out article for the purpose of proving that the Arch is no part of ancient Freemasonry, which extends no further than the Third Degree. Nevertheless, the Grand Lodge of all England working at York, the most ancient Masonic body in England, emphatically declared as late as the close of the 18th century that there were five Degrees in Freemasonry, the 4th being the Royal Arch and the 5th the Christian Degree of the Knight Templar.

That English Freemasonry is founded upon the English Bible is quite clear, as Bro. Whymper shows in great detail. All its traditions, titles, and words are taken from the Scriptures, its lessons are derived therefrom, and much of its phraseology is appropriated from the same source[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']; [/FONT]so that if it be true, as is agreed by all Masonic historians of repute, that the whole system of Speculative Masonry, as at present known in the civilised world, is lineally derived from the English Revised Freemasonry of 1717, it necessarily follows that all Freemasons of the present day do or should regard the Bible as the Great Light in Freemasonry. It is easy, of course, to assert, as some do, that the Bible is a mere symbol and of no more real significance than a copy of the Books of Euclid or Colenso's Algebra, and after reading an address by an American member of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, published a few years ago, in which the writer declared that the teaching of the Rose Croix degree bore no allusion to Christianity or its Founder, but was purely allegorical and symbolical of morality, I have ceased to be surprised at anything in the shape of anti-religious argument used by some Freemasons.

Bro. Whymper asks how it can be possible for the English master of a Lodge, under the English Constitution, to point to the Koran or the Zendavestas as [FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] [/FONT]the sacred writings," and tell a candidate that such a book should be the rule and guide of his faith. The Master must either believe or disbelieve what he is saying, and only the Bible can be [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']"[/FONT]sacred[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']" [/FONT]in an English Lodge, every member of which has expressed his distinct belief in the God of the Bible and in the efficacy of prayer. The fact is, as our brother says, modern speculative Freemasonry was never intended to be world-wide in its extension. Its original formulators never anticipated its spread beyond English shores, and, consequently, no provision was made by them for the reception of men
of faiths other than that which prevailed at that date, and still almost universally obtains in this country. But, says Bro. Whymper, we are told that Masonry is a [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']"[/FONT]progressive science," and, therefore, must in the natural course of things extend itself, so that our care should be to see that its extension is characterised by dignity and propriety and not by any sacrifice or infringement of ancient landmarks or essential beliefs. It is not di5cult to imagine what [FONT='Arial','sans-serif']"[/FONT]confusion of ideas[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']" [/FONT]must arise in
Lodges where the Great Light in Masonry may mean anything, from the Holy Bible to some of the repulsive writings of the Brahminical sages, and Bro. Whymper's idea that the remedy is to be found in the maintenance of the status of the Holy Bible in
English Lodges, and the foundation of Hindoo, Mussulman, and Parsee Lodges under distinct Constitutions seems to have much to recommend it. The rights of visitation and the privileges of Fraternity would still be preserved, yet there would be no anomalies, contradictions, and absurdities as at present.

One of the most interesting sections of this book is that portion in which Bro. Whymper asks what is the nature of the light[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']" [/FONT]that is declared to be shown to every candidate for the Masonic mysteries if it be not the light of the doctrines of Christianity. Before his admission to the first Degree he is required to profess himself a Theist and a believer in prayer, and this practically covers everything that is told him in that articular ceremony. In the First Degree, therefore, he is taught nothing he did not know before he entered. But in the Second and Third Degrees he is instructed in matters much further advanced, including doctrines not to be discovered in the Old Testament writings but preached for the first time by the Founder of Christianity himself. Christianity then, our brother urges, is the real light" originally intended to be communicated by Freemasonry. Certainly, we often hear that Freemasonry is not a religion, but only the handmaid of religion. Granted that it is not in itself a religion, but it must have a religion of its own, else why has it prayers and religious teaching?

I agree with Bro. Hughan, whose characteristic preface is a feature of the book, that the Constitutions of the last century tend in the direction of cosmopolitanism and religious universality, but I would add, with Bro. Whymper, that it is a cosmopolitan
and religious universality bounded by the limits of the land in which we live, or, at any rate, by Christian Europe and America. I can hardly go withBro. Hughan, however, in his classification of Jewswith men of other faiths outside the Christianpale, since they, at any rate, meet us on the commonground of the Old Testament from which we haveculled all our traditions and a great portion of our moral teaching. With Bro. Hughan I can see that difficulties might possibly arise from the chartering of Lodges under different faiths, but I do not think such a contingency probable, seeing that already Lodges are specially chartered for the particular use and behoof of brethren holding peculiar views on the intoxicating liquor question, as well as for other brethren pursuing special callings in life; whilst Bro. Hughan himself, speaking of the fact that some Grand Lodges are simply and purely Christian, says, "So long as such organisations are willing to admit visitors from England and other countries where the Craft is established on broader lines it is not for us to object to their narrower system."

However, I sincerely hope Bro. Whymper's arguments will receive fair and careful consideration from all who look forward to strengthening the influence of Freemasonry in the future and who believe in its great mission in the world. The tendency of the present day is far too much in the direction of so-called Agnosticism, which, in my humble opinion, is only a polite and indefinite term for mental laziness and moral flabbiness, and if any action, or want of action on the part of English Freemasonry in permitting the degradation of an ancient landmark should be aiding in such a movement, the circumstances and facts of the case cannot be too soon comprehended and realised in order that the "progressive" feature of our order may be maintained in an upward and not in a downward direction. T. B. WHYTEHEAD., P.M . (Ars Quatuor Coronatorum I, Review of The Religion of Freemasonry, by Bro. Henry Josiah Whymper, p. 213-15)

Rev Wayne · Nov 8, 2010

Perfection on earth has never yet been attained. The wisest as well as the best of men have fallen short in the discharge of their duties, but may our hope be bright, and having faithfully discharged the great duties which we owe to our God, may it please the Supreme Architect of the Universe, when our work is done and we are summoned into His eternal presence, that the trestle-board of our whole lives pass such inspection that we may hear that welcome approbation, "Come, ye Blessed of my Father."
(M.W. Thomas W. Harris, Grand Master of Prince Hall Masonry in New Jersey, annual address)

Upon the Altar of every Masonic Lodge, supporting the Square and Compasses, lies the Holy Bible. The old, familiar Book, so beloved by so many generations, is our Volume of Sacred Law and a Great Light in Masonry. the Bible opens when the Lodge opens; it closes when the Lodge closes. No Lodge can transact its own business, much less initiate candidates into its mysteries, unless the Book of Holy Law lies open upon its Altar. Thus the Book of the Will of God rules the Lodge in its labors, as the Sun rules the day, making its work a worship.

The history of the Bible in the life and symbolism of Masonry is a story too long to recite here. Nor can any one tell it as we would like to know it. Just when, where and by whom the teaching and imagery of the Bible were wrought into Freemasonry, no one can tell. Anyone can have his theory, but no one can be dogmatic. As the Craft labored in the service of the Church during the cathedral-building period, it is not difficult to account for the Biblical coloring of its thought, even in the days when the Bible was not widely distributed, and before the discovery of printing. Anyway, we can take such facts as we are able to find, leaving further research to learn further truth.

The Bible is mentioned in some of the old Manuscripts of the Craft long before the revival of Masonry in 1717, as the book upon which the covenant, or oath, of a Mason was taken; but it is not referred to as a great Light. For example, in the Harleian Manuscript, dated about 1600, the obligation of an initiate closes with the words: "So help me god, and the holy contents of this book." In the old Ritual, of which a copy from the Royal Library in Berlin is given by Krause, there is no mention of the Bible as one of the Lights. It was in England, due largely to the influence of Preston and his fellow workmen, that the Bible came to its place of honor in the Lodge. At any rate, in the rituals of about 1760 it is described as one of the three Great Lights.

No Mason needs to be told what a great place the Bible has in the Masonry of our day. It is central, sovereign, supreme, a master light of all our seeing. From the Altar it pours forth upon the East, the West, and the South its white light of spiritual vision, moral law, and immortal hope. Almost every name found in our ceremonies is a Biblical name, and students have traced about seventy-five references to the Bible in the Ritual of the Craft. But more important than direct references is the fact that the spirit of the Bible, its faith, its attitude toward life, pervades Masonry, like a rhythm or a fragrance. as soon as an initiate enters the Lodge, he hears the words of the Bible recited as an accompaniment to his advance toward the light. Upon the Bible every Mason takes solemn vows of locality, of Chastity and charity, pledging himself to the practice of the Brotherly Life. Then as he moves forward from one degree to another, the imagery of the Bible becomes familiar and eloquent, and its music sings ins way into his heart.

Nor is it strange that it should be so. As faith in God is the cornerstone of the Craft, so, naturally, the book which tells us the purest truth about God is its altar light. The Temple of King Solomon, about which the history, legends, and symbolism of the Craft are woven, was the tallest temple of the ancient world, not in the grandeur of its architecture but in the greatest of the truths for which it stood. In the midst of ignorant idolatries and debasing superstitions the temple on Mount Moriah stood for the Unity, Righteousness, and Spirituality of God. Upon no other foundation can men build with any sense of security and permanence when the winds blow and the floods descent. But the Bible is not simply a foundation rock; it is also a quarry in which we find the truths that make us men. As in the old ages of geology rays of sunlight were stored up in vast beds of coal, for the uses of man, so in this old Book the light of moral truth is stored to light the mind and warm the heart of man.

Alas, there has been more dispute about the Bible than about any other book, making for schism, dividing men into sects. but Masonry knows a certain secret, almost too simple to be found out, whereby it avoids both intolerance and sectarianism. It is essentially religious, but it is not dogmatic. The fact that the Bible lies open upon the Altar means that man must have some Divine revelation - must seek for a light higher than human to guide and govern him. But it lays down no hard and fast dogma on the subject of revelation. It attempts no detailed interpretation of the Bible. The great Book lies open upon its Altar, and is open for all to read, open for each to interpret for himself. The tie by which or Craft is united is strong, but it allows the utmost liberty of faith and thought. It unites men, not upon a creed bristling with debated issues, but upon the broad, simple truth which underlies all creeds and over-arches all sects--faith in God, the wise Master Builder, for whom and with whom man must work.

Herein our gentle Craft is truly wise, and its wisdom was never more needed than today, when the churches are divided and torn by angry debate. However religious teachers may differ in their doctrines, in the Lodge they meet with mutual respect and good will. At the Altar of Masonry and learn not only toleration but appreciation. In its air of kindly fellowship, man to man, they discover that the things they have in common are greater then the things that divide, It is the glory of Masonry to teach Unity in essentials, Liberty in details, Charity in all things; and by this sign its spirit must at last prevail. It is the beautiful secret of Masonry that all just men, all devout men, all righteous men are everywhere of one religion, and it seeks to remove the hoodwinks of prejudice and intolerance so that they may recognize each other and work together in the doing of good.

Like everything else in Masonry, the Bible, so rich in symbolism, is itself a symbol - that is, a part taken for the whole. It is a symbol of the Book of Truth, the Scroll of Faith, the Record of the Will of God as man has learned it in the midst of the years - the perpetual revelation of Himself which God has made, and is making, to mankind in every age and land. thus, by the very honor which Masonry pays to the Bible, it teaches us to revere every Book of Faith in which men find help for today and hope for the morrow. For that reason, in a Lodge consisting entirely of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed upon the Altar, and in a Lodge in the land of Mohammed the Koran may be used. Whether it be the Gospels of the Christian, the Book of Law of the Hebrew, the Koran of the Mussulman, or the Vedas of the Hindu, it everywhere Masonically conveys the same idea - symbolizing the Will of God revealed to man, taking such faith and vision as he has found into a great fellowship of the seekers and finders of the truth.

Thus Masonry invites to its Altar men of all faiths, knowing that, if they use different names for "the Nameless One of an 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 tragedy of the race in its quest of God. So that, great and noble as the Bible is, Masonry sees it as a symbol of that eternal, ever-unfolding Book of the Will of God which Lowell described in memorable lines:

Slowly the Bible of the race is Writ,
And not on paper leaves nor leaves of stone;
Each age, each kindred, adds a verse to it,
Texts of despair or hope, of joy or moan.
While swings the sea, while mists the mountain shroud,
While thunder's surges burst on cliffs of cloud,
Still at the Prophets' feet the nations sit.

None the less, while we honor every Book of Faith in which have been recorded the way and will of God, with us the Bible is supreme, at once the mother-book of our literature and the master-book of the Lodge. Its truth is inwrought in the fiber of our being, with whatsoever else of the god and the true which the past has given us. Its spirit stirs our hearts, like a sweet habit of the blood; its light follows all our way, showing us the meaning and worth of life. Its very words have in them memories, echoes and overtones of voices long since hushed, and its scenery is interwoven with the holiest associations of our lives. Our fathers and mothers read it, finding in it their final reasons for living faithfully and nobly, and it is thus a part of the ritual of the Lodge and the ritual of life.

Every Mason ought not only to honor the Bible as a great Light of the Craft; he ought to read it, live with it, love it, lay its truth to heart and learn what it means to be a man. There is something in the old Book which, if it gets into a man, makes him both gentle and strong, faithful and free, obedient and tolerant, adding to his knowledge virtue, patience, temperance, self - control, brotherly love, and pity. The Bible is as high as the sky and as deep as the grave; its two great characters are God and the Soul, and the story of their eternal life together is its everlasting romance. It is the most human of books, telling us the half-forgotten secrets of our own hearts, our sins, our sorrow, our doubts, our hopes. It is the most Divine of books, telling us that God has made us for Himself, and that our hearts well be restless, unhappy and lonely until we learn to rest in Him whose will is our peace.

"He hath showed thee, O man, what is good;and
what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do
justly,to love mercy, and to walk humble with thy
God."

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all
thy strength, and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbor as thyself."

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and
the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted by the world."

"For we know that if our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens." ("The Holy Bible," Short Talk Bulletin Vol. 2, #3)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 8, 2010

The especial objects of the Master Mason's Degree is to direct his thoughts to his closing hours, and forcibly bring to mind the last solemn parting, when death will separate him from all his loved associates. During the solemn ceremony a most sacred awe is diffused over the mind, the soul is struck with reverence, and all the spiritual faculties are called forth to worship and adoration; the degree testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body.
Thus it will be seen that death and the resurrection to life eternal are the objects symbolized in the Master Mason's Degree, and the aspirant for its honours is invited to reflect on these awfully important subjects; the allegory has direct reference to them. Such teaching cannot fail to suggest to the attentive Mason, that the degree must have been framed under the New Covenant; for besides the forcible illustration it contains of the duty to our neighbour, as promulgated by Him who spake as never man spake, the resurrection of the body to life eternal, which is its crowning object, was unknown to the Jews. (Jeremiah How, “Objects of the Master Mason’s Degree,” The Freemason’s Manual, p. 141.)

It was stated in the introduction that there was a remarkable coincidence in the names of the first ten patriarchs from Adam to Noah, which, being interpreted consecutively from the first to the tenth, enunciated the very foundation of what is called the Christian dogma.
The entire system of the Mosaic Dispensation was designed to prepare the peculiar people of God, the descendants of Abraham, with whom God made the Solemn Covenant that through his SEED "the whole world should be blessed," which was to be the fulfillment of the promise to Adam, that the "SEED of the Woman should bruise the head of the Serpent," but that the "Serpent should bite his heel." And all of these promises were completed in the Crucifixion of the CHRIST. Herein lie all Mysteries of both dispensations, in completion of the "type" and "anti-type" which had been imitated in all Gentile Mysteries which have been detailed in the preceding pages, under each distinctive head. It is impossible, in the space left in this treatise, to enter upon a comparison; suffice it that the suggestion be thrown out for each one to take up the subject for his own examination. We cannot, however, close without stating that the Crucifixion of the CHRISTOS was a realization of the figurative promise to Adam. Let us notice the Antithesis in that promise — the Serpent, the symbol of all Evil; the Seed of the Woman, the symbol of all Good. The Good should bruise the HEAD of the EVIL; but the EVIL should BITE the HEEL of the GOOD. The Evil was not destroyed, only bruised'; the HEEL or lowest extremity of Good was simply bitten. The CHRIST was sacrificed, but rose again from the dead, triumphing over all the EVIL; and in and through HIM, by FAITH, shall all the world be made whole and cured from the bite of the Serpent; as he, although bitten by the death of the Cross, survived and ascended to his original place, so shall all the world, by the act of FAITH, arise again from the death of sin, and ascend to the state of innocence, from which Man fell when he disobeyed the commands of God in Eden; and each man has since fallen by constant disobedience, which is figuratively represented by "biting of the heel." (History of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, and Concordant Orders, William James Hughan and Henry Leonard Stillson, p. 108-09)

As our blessed Saviour's resurrection from the dead opened life and salvation unto men; and as all those who sincerely believe on him may rest assured of eternal life through his name; the life of grace with all its comforts here-the life of glory with all its unutterable blessedness hereafter, both being effectually obtained by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who hath opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. So, in his names of Christ our prophet, Christ our priest, Christ our king, I now open this grand Christian encampment, for the dispatch of such business as may come regularly and duly before us. (Knights Templar encampment opening prayer)

It is my prayer that every thoughtful Christian who wants to know more about 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 that 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 Good Shepherd. (Allan D. Large, GM of Oklahoma, preface to Jim Tresner’s “Conscience and the Craft&#8221

The Reverend John Boyle of Portobello, the Junior Grand Chaplain, then delivered the following Address : — " It now devolves upon me, my Lord, to close this deeply interesting Ceremony, and in thus discharging my official duty, I am glad to be relieved from the necessity of occupying any considerable portion of the time of this vast Assembly. The appropriate prayer of my respected colleague — the suitable remarks of our Most Worshipful Grand Master, Lord Glenlyon — and the sentiments which have been so gracefully and touchingly uttered by your Lordship, have rendered it needless for me to say more than that I feel it to be no ordinary privilege to be called upon to assist in honouring the memory of one whose genius has irradiated — whose writings have immortalized — and whose virtues have honoured the land which gave him birth ; and in the name and on behalf of my native Country, I beg you to believe that, with whatever pride Scotland may mention the name of Walter Scott, England will never cease to connect with it sentiments of high approval — of grateful veneration — and of lasting regard. It only remains, my Lord, that I invoke the blessing of Heaven upon the countless masses now assembled to pay so well-earned a tribute to the mighty Minstrel, whose almost breathing effigy has now been solemnly inaugurated,'" — and turning to the spectators, Mr. Boyle pronounced the 'Benediction:' — " The peace of God which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord: And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. — Amen." (The History of Free Masonry and the Grand Lodge of Scotland, William Alexander Laurie and Daniel Brewster, p. 264)

The society was therefore to be a masonic society, in order to represent typically that temple of the Holy Spirit which it was their business to erect in the spirit of man. This temple was the abstract of the doctrine of Christ, who was the Grand-master: hence the light from the East, of which so much is said in Rosicrucian and Masonic books. St. John was the beloved disciple of Christ: hence the solemn celebration of his festival. Having moreover once adopted the attributes of masonry as the figurative expression of their objects, they were led to attend more minutely to the legends and history of that art; and in these again they found an occult analogy with their own relations to the Christian wisdom. The first great event in the art of Masonry was the building of the Tower of Babel: this expressed figuratively the attempt of some unknown Mason to build up the temple of the Holy Ghost in anticipation of Christianity, which attempt however had been confounded by the vanity of the builders. The building of Solomon's Temple, the second great incident in the art, had an obvious meaning- as a prefiguration of Christianity. Hiram*, simply the architect of this temple to the real professors of the art of building, was to the English Rosicrucians a type of Christ: and the legend of Masons, which represented this Hiram as having been murdered by his fellow-workmen, made the type still more striking.

*The name of Hiram was understood by the elder Free-masons as an anagram: H. I. R. A. M. meant Homo Jesus Redemptor AnimaruM. Others explained the name Homo Jesus Rex Altissimus Mundi. Others added a C to the Hiram, in order to make it CHristus Jesus, &.c. (John Scott & John Taylor, “A Historico-Critical Inquiry Into the Origin of the Rosicrucians and the Free-Masons,” The London Magazine, March 1824, p. 258-59)

The situation of the altar in the French and frequently in the Scottish Rites is in front of the Worshipfu1 Master, and, therefore, in the East. In the York Rite, the altar is placed in the center of the room, or more properly a little to the East of the center.
The form of a Masonic altar should be a cube, about three feet high, and of corresponding proportions as to length and width, having, in imitation of the Jewish altar, four horns, one at each corner.
The Holy Bible with the Square and Compasses should be spread open upon it, while around it are to be placed three lights.
The placement is generally considered to be central, but in lodges where the room is more oblong in shape, it will be closer to the end where the Master of the Lodge is seated. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, “Altar&#8221

Compasses. As in Operative Masonry, the compasses are used for the ad- measurement of the architect's plans, and to enable him to give those just proportions which will insure beauty as well as stability to his work; so, in Speculative Masonry, is this important implement symbolic of that even tenor of deportment, that true standard of rectitude which alone can bestow happiness here and felicity hereafter. Hence are the compasses the most prominent emblem of virtue, the true and only measure of a Mason's life and conduct. As the Bible gives us light on our duties to God, and the square illustrates our duties to our neighborhood and brother, so the compasses give that additional light which is to instruct us in the duty we owe to ourselves — the great, imperative duty of circumscribing our passions, and keeping our desires within due bounds. "
(Mackey, Encyclopedia, 181)

By the doctrines contained in the Holy Bible we are taught to believe in the divine
dispensation of Providence, which belief strengthens our Faith, and enables us to ascend the first step. "That Faith naturally creates in us a Hope of becoming partakers of some of the blessed promises therein recorded, which Hope enables us to ascend the second step."
But the third and last being Charity comprehends the whole, and he who is possessed of this virtue in its ample sense, is said to have arrived to the summit of his profession, or, more metaphorically, into an ethereal mansion veiled from the mortal eye by the starry firmament."
In the modern lectures, the language is materially changed, but the idea and the symbolism are retained unaltered.
(Mackey, Encyclopedia, 275)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 8, 2010

[Edit: doubled]

Skip Sampson · Nov 9, 2010

Rev Wayne said:
Upon the Altar of every Masonic Lodge, supporting the Square and Compasses, lies the Holy Bible. The old, familiar Book, so beloved by so many generations, is our Volume of Sacred Law and a Great Light in Masonry.

Just a section of the VSL and one of the GL's.

Thus the Book of the Will of God rules the Lodge in its labors, as the Sun rules the day, making its work a worship.

Not just the Bible.

Upon the Bible every Mason takes solemn vows of locality, of Chastity and charity,...

Aside from protecting other Master Masons women, what vow of chastity is taken?

Like everything else in Masonry, the Bible, so rich in symbolism, is itself a symbol - that is, a part taken for the whole. It is a symbol of the Book of Truth, the Scroll of Faith, the Record of the Will of God as man has learned it in the midst of the years - the perpetual revelation of Himself which God has made, and is making, to mankind in every age and land. thus, by the very honor which Masonry pays to the Bible, it teaches us to revere every Book of Faith in which men find help for today and hope for the morrow. For that reason, in a Lodge consisting entirely of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed upon the Altar, and in a Lodge in the land of Mohammed the Koran may be used. Whether it be the Gospels of the Christian, the Book of Law of the Hebrew, the Koran of the Mussulman, or the Vedas of the Hindu, it everywhere Masonically conveys the same idea - symbolizing the Will of God revealed to man, taking such faith and vision as he has found into a great fellowship of the seekers and finders of the truth.

Thus Masonry invites to its Altar men of all faiths, knowing that, if they use different names for "the Nameless One of an 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 tragedy of the race in its quest of God.

Thank you for clearing up the true role of the Bible in Masonry and why the name of Allah is as welcome in oaths and obligations as that of Jesus Christ. Cordially, Skip.

Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

Thank you for clearing up the true role of the Bible in Masonry and why the name of Allah is as welcome in oaths and obligations as that of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for muddying up the real picture, in which the name of Allah is welcome only by choice, and only by a Muslim taking his obligation. So obviously, you would prefer that someone who doesn't take the Bible as his book of faith, be required to be obligated upon it anyway?

Upon the Altar of every Masonic Lodge, supporting the Square and Compasses, lies the Holy Bible. The old, familiar Book, so beloved by so many generations, is our Volume of Sacred Law and a Great Light in Masonry.

Just a section of the VSL and one of the GL's.

A couple of things you missed. First, the article is from a Short Talk Bulletin titled, "The Holy Bible." Also, in highlighting the "our" as you did, you totally missed that the reference was to the Bible, just mentioned in the previous sentence. And finally, in highlighting the "a" as though the indefinite article supports your claim, you forget that there are three "great lights" in Masonry, and the "a" is indicative of that fact, not, as you suggest, having reference backwards to the preceding phrase.

You also forget that the Short Talk Bulletins are the creation of the Masonic Service Association of North America, where it is an established fact that the Holy Bible IS the VSL, in every lodge in the U.S., and in every lodge in Canada. Their statement on "VSL" says:

Volume of the Sacred Law. An open volume of the Sacred Law, "the rule and guide of life," is an essential part of every Masonic meeting. The Volume of the Sacred Law in the Judeo/Christian tradition is the Bible; to Freemasons of other faiths, it is the book held holy by them.

Since the title of the thread indicates we are clearly dealing with biblical content and Christian interpretation of Masonry, naturally we are considering the VSL from that same point of view. It would be ludicrous to suggest that the Christian would view anything as the VSL but the Holy Bible.

I would point out also that even in the Grand Lodge of India, the "Great Light" of Masonry is defined as the Holy Bible. They make some pretty emphatic statements to that effect:

It is interesting to note that in every Degree of Freemasonry the words and incidents associated with them are found in the biblewhich is considered to be the Volume of the Sacred Law by Freemasons, though when any person who does not have faith in the Bible takes his Oath of Secrecy on the Volume considered by him to be sacred, and an oath taken on it makes it binding upon him.
The Building of the Holy Temple is recorded in great detail in the Volume of the Sacred Law, i.e. in the Old Testament of the Bible. As I have said above every Degree in Freemasonry is derived from some part of the Bible. It includes the New Testament also. ("Some Thoughts on Freemasonry," By W. Bro. Rev. P. A. KRISHNASWAMI, M.A. P.A.G. Chap., District Grand Secretary, District Grand Lodge of Bengal)

This is the peculiar characteristic of our Order, which although its rites and observances are studiously complicated throughout the whole routine of its consecutive degrees, does not contain a single ceremony that is barren of intellectual improvement, for they all bear a direct reference to certain ancient usage’s recorded in the Bible, which is always expanded on the pedestal in the East. (From "Masonic Preparations," H. Geffen, P.F.S., in Square & Compasses, May/June 2002, p. 2)

The Wisdom of Masonry is exemplified in establishing her basis on the immutable foundation of Truth. Her cardinal principle is belief in the existence of God. All other truths correlative with belief in a Deity have a place in her system. The Bible, as the source and standard of Truth, is exalted on her altars as her first great light, and all her moral teachings, are but beams of its brightness. (From " Freemasonry & ITS Principles," an oration delivered by W. Bro. S.G. Lovelace – at the foundation stone of the new Masonic temple at Dehradun)

Notice that the Bible is "considered to BE the Volume of Sacred Law," that "every degree in Fremasonry is derived from some part of the Bible," that it is Masonry's "first Great Light," and that the Bible "is always expanded on the pedestal in the East." In fact, I take it from the first of these three quotes, that the Bible is the Great Light of Masonry, and the others are for the purpose of the obligation. Otherwise, why stipulate that "any person who does not have faith in the Bible takes his Oath of Secrecy on the Volume considered by him to be sacred?"

You guys have rehashed this one since the time it was first presented, and you STILL have not managed to get around the fact, that despite having five VSL's that find usage in the GLoI, yet they affirm and acknowledge the Bible as Masonry's "Great Light," they are fully aware of Masonry's biblical foundation and content, and they have the Bible "expanded" on the pedestal in the East. Funny thing, that picture Mike posted showing the other "VSL'S" in India, I saw none "expanded." Whether that's any indication that none of the others are so, I have no idea, but I do find it significant that they don't just give lip service in the above quotes, but show it by the action of having the Bible open during lodge. I can't help but wonder, too, whether they follow the same practices for degree work by opening to the same pages as is done here.

An attempt was made, using the GL of Turkey as an example, to make the same kind of suggestion concerning "other Great Lights," and it was shown on that occasion, that the GL of Turkey affirms the Bible as the "Great Light" as well.

Those are the only two I am aware of, where an attempt has been made to assert that some other book was referred to as "Great Light," and neither was successful. I submit, once again, that the main reason for this failure to connect the dots, is the fundamental error of confusing "VSL" with the term "Great Light"; these are two separate symbols and thus two separate issues in Masonry. The Volume of Sacred Law has reference only to the book on the altar; "Great Light" is referred to as such, not just for its presence, but for its content as well--and no other book can lay claim to having a place in the content of the rituals. Efforts have been made to claim it to be so, of course, but such efforts have been unsubstantiated. And yes, there have been a couple of occasions where someone has caught even a Masonic source making the same error of confusing "VSL" and "Great Light," but those have clearly been the exception and not the rule.

Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

To begin this paper I think that it would be appropriate to quote from the first English Book of Constitution, 1723, - in the first charge therein concerning God and religion is stated 'A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law, and if he rightly understands that Art, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irregular Libertine' and this charge was revised in 1815 to read 'let a man's religion or mode of worship be what it may, he is not excluded from the order, provided he believe in the glorious architect of heaven and earth, and practise the sacred duties of morality' and so it still stands today - the first condition of admission into, and membership of, the order is the belief in a Supreme Being. This is essential and admits no compromise. A belief in the Existence of God as the Great Architect of the Universe and the Immortality of the Soul and a life hereafter are some of the important landmarks of the Order. Masonry is a Brotherhood which seeks after truth, encourages our members to uphold one another in the highest moral principles and having strict honesty of purpose and integrity in all matters of business and community endeavours.

Throughout the years since organized masonry has existed, the Christian Churches have had a number of concerns with Freemasonry some of these concerns to be well founded and some misguided to say the least. One concern is that Masonry is frequently referred to as being a secret society - certainly we do have a tradition of privacy but in actual fact modern Freemasonry is really very open and clearly anything but a secret society, with meetings usually advertised in the local press, unlimited volumes of published Masonic material available in libraries and book stores and our members proud to make known their affiliation as Freemasons. Another concern is that Masonry is a religion and that for some members salvation is attained by good works alone - Masonry is neither a religion nor a substitute for religion - nor a competitor with religion - though in the sphere of human conduct it may be hoped that our teachings will be complimentary to that of religion - Masonry requires a man to have a belief in God, or a Supreme Being before he can be admitted as a member, and expects him to continue to practise his religion thereafter - Actually Freemasonry may be said to be a system of Morality - we as members are free to profess any religious faith which enables us to express a belief in the Great Architect of the Universe - Freemasonry lacks the basic elements of a religion, we have no theological doctrine and by forbidding religious discussion at our meetings there is no opportunity for a Masonic theological doctrine to be developed.
One of the most important landmarks of our order is that which forbids us to participate as Masons in any form of religious or political discussion. The reason for this important landmark is that Freemasonry exists for the sake of and is devoted to and is dedicated for Brotherhood. This Brotherhood means that many of us men , drawn from all walks of life - with a variety of various racial and political opinions are brought together and kept together in a relationship of friendship, harmony and goodwill. There is nothing else more likely to divide and alienate men than religion and politics and for the welfare of our Brotherhood this has been and always must be one of the most important of our landmarks.

What then is it that leads men and organizations in society to attack us - From the early beginnings of our order we have continually been attacked by those outside of the order. Some of the great Christian Churches maintain an enmity towards us and many governments, particularly communist and non-democratic states, have outlawed Freemasonry and forbidden their peoples to become members. In all probability this will continue and is not likely to change - but what is the attitude of our Craft to these attacks - the attitude of the Craft is to ignore them. We do not fight back, we have done nothing to warrant or to invite such attacks and therefore it is no concern of ours. Our faith in the truth of Freemasonry is so certain and well founded that we only need to continue on as we always have in order to silence any false charges or untruths that may be made against us.

Freemasonry is not a Christian organization although many of us are professing Christians, and the God we worship is the Christian God - Salvation can only be attained by a belief in the divine revelation which exists in the form of a Sacred Volume for every religion and of course for we Christians this is the Holy Bible.
What then does Masonry and Christianity have in common? Masonry is not a religion but it is religious - it is not a church but is a worship in which men of all religions may unite - It is the friend of all, having emphasis upon those truths which underlie all religions. Masonry seeks to instill in its members a standard conduct and behaviour which will be acceptable to all creeds and hopefully that its teaching will be complimentary to that of any religion. The basic tenants of Masonry, brotherly love, relief and truth are complimentary to any man's Christian beliefs and must become a part of a Christian's search for more light in his continual search for truth - that true Spiritual Light who for a Christian is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Many of our Christian leaders in our Churches are also dedicated Masons and find no conflict in being members of both. Our Parish Priest at home is a Past Master of his Lodge and has taken the Christian Orders in Preceptory and has found nothing to be in conflict with his Christian beliefs and Ordination Vows. His problem is time the same problem we all have - There is always a conflict with time when a person belongs to a number of different organizations.

I have been a Licensed Lay Reader in our Parish for almost as many years as I have been a Mason and I know that Masonry has been a strong support and influence in my long and gradual journey to my coming to know my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. There is only one area in which I have found some unhappiness and a feeling of unease and that is in the obligations in the three degrees, when the candidate is taking his vows on the Holy Bible. It has always given me a feeling of repugnance to swear on the Volume of the Sacred Law a completely ridiculous and impossible penalty which is not only archaic but never can be carried out. There is no reason why these penalties could not be moved to some other part of the ceremony and keep the obligation as solemn and sacred as it should be.

Are they compatible? Of course Christianity and Freemasonry are compatible and should be and are complimentary to each other in Man's continual search for truth. Freemasonry does not offer any teaching to the Christian member that he cannot find within his church - We do not recruit new members, only those who are motivated by a favourable opinion preconceived of the Institution' and sees such an opinion as being generated by the good examples of public and charitable concerns by the members.

It is essential that we as members of the order continue to carry out voluntary community activities, participate in our church and worship services, and put our faith into practise in our daily living of and try to keep a fuller relationship with our family and close friends. In this way can Masonry and Christianity continue to be compatible in each of our individual lives as Christians and as Masons.

Brethren, these are some thoughts on Christianity and Masonry, which, hopefully, you can accept in the spirit in-which they have been presented - for your consideration and discussion. Masonry has always steadfastly held that freedom of thought and religious worship is there are sole right of every individual. As members of the Fraternity religion encouraged to put into daily practise the precepts of our own as well as the moral teachings of the fraternity.
J. P. Brooks - Grand Senior Warden, Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan, “Are Freemasonry and Christianity Compatible?”

Antiquity knew, described and practiced charity; the first feature of which, so touching - and, thank God! So common - is goodness, as its loftiest one is heroism. Charity is devotion to another; and it is ridiculously senseless to pretend that there ever was an age of the world when the human soul was deprived of that part of its heritage - the power of devotion. But it is certain that Christianity has diffused and popularized this virtue, and that before Christ these words were never spoken:
"LOVE ONE ANOTHER; FOR THAT IS THE WHOLE LAW."("Charity," Short Talk Bulletin, Vol. 3, #2)

THE LION
The lion is one of Freemasonry's most powerful and potent symbols both in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the paw of the lion.
Judah was symbolized as a lion in his father's deathbed blessing. The lion was upon the standard of the large and powerful tribe of Judah. "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" was one of Solomon's titles. Christian interpretation of the phrase springs from Revelation (v, 5), Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof.
The idea of a resurrection is curiously interwoven with the lion. In the Twelfth Century, one Philip de Thaun stated: "Know that the lioness, if she bring forth a dead cub, she holds her cub and the lion arrives; he goes about and cries, till it revives on the third day.
Thus the strong lion of Judah
The gates of cruel death being broken
Arose on the third day
At the loud sounding voice of the father. (Carl Claudy, Introduction to Freemasonry: Master Mason)

This mandatory Degree reveals the light of fulfillment promised in prayers. The pain, sorrow and evil loosed upon the world are overcome. Through the goodness and supremacy of the Deity, we receive a glorious answer of hope, of faith and of power. This is portrayed through the story of Jesus of Nazareth, although there is no restriction on its application to those who are not of the Christian faith. Instead, it is a great Degree of toleration, inviting men of all creeds to find spiritual enrichment within its portrayal. It points up the new Law-Love of God and of one's neighbor. The ideals and the spirit of Jesus with his wonderful works inspire a love of the Deity, a love of "thy neighbor as thyself." Certainly through His demonstrations we can know God and experience freedom.

The story of Jesus with which we have been familiar since childhood is simple. Born in the little town of Bethlehem, He spent his early years at Nazareth and, at the age of 12, disputed doctors in the Temple at Jerusalem, showing a precocious mind. Returning to Nazareth, He "increased in wisdom and stature." He went from Nazareth of Galilee and John the Baptist baptized Him. Then, after fasting in the desert, He commenced His own ministry, preaching in the synagogues and about Galilee. He cured people of diseases, selected His disciples and delivered upon a mountain the world's greatest oration, the Sermon that is celebrated for its high moral and ethical content. This taught the plain lesson of personal redemption through individual virtue, not group adventures into starry-eyed economics. His arrest, farcical trial and crucifixion from fears of the chief priests, scribes and elders, occurred as He foretold. (Clausen’s Commentaries on Morals and Dogma, Knight Rose Croix: Eighteenth Degree)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

This Degree treats of God's Tripled Covenant of mercy- with Abraham by circumcision, with the Israelites in the wilderness by the intervention of Moses, and with all mankind by the death and suffering of Christ. We primarily are taught the importance of truth and we focus attention again on the Greater Mysteries as practiced during earliest Christianity. (Clausens Commentaries on Morals and Dogma, Twenty-Sixth Degree: Prince of Mercy)

3rd degree :
"Q. What was the Grand Secret that the noble Prince Adoniram, nephew to King Solomon and brother-in-law to Hiram Abi, communicated to the perfect Master Masons at Jerusalem?
A. The Grand Word that Moses engraved on the triple triangular plate of gold in Hebrew characters on the sacred mount. From this Grand and Sacred Word proceed the nine names by which the Almighty was pleased to distinguish himself and everyone of those names has a reference to the 9 attributes which serve as the distinguishing characteristic of Free and Accepted Masons . (and finally reverting
to an older, verse form of presentation):
Q. Who laid the foundation stones of Faith? (The names of first, Abraham on Mount Moriah, and second, Jacob asleep at Bashan, are mentioned and then this section closes with the third & fourth)

"On the Jebusite's threshing floor
David erected an altar pure,
Calling upon the Lord Most High
That he to him would show mercy ....
Q. Since you have explained me Three
Pray tell me whom the fourth may be?
A. Christ the Lord for lo, t'is said
Before the Jews from Egypt's land were led
A Saviour unto them was promised
That who believed in him should happy be
Both in this world and in eternity,
Then brethren, all pray celebrate his name,
He is our Saviour and Zion's Mighty King."

Do you now wonder why the old Grand Lodge of All England at York Masons never really thought the Mystery Plays had finished? They were still being played here.
V.Wor.Bro. the Revd Neville Barker Cryer, M.A., P.G.C.
Prestonian Lecturer 1974. in an address delivered to the Cornerstone Society)

I had occasion earlier this year to read again a book of the Revd. Dr. Oliver regarding the elements of masonry in his time, 1847. Merely to restrict myself to two of the items that he mentions, we read as follows regarding the candlestick in the Holy Place (which, incidentally, appears on many 2° Tracing Boards to this day), The seven lamps are emblems of the gifts of the Spirit; the knops and flowers, the graces and ornaments of a Christian life. As the candlestick gave light to the tabernacle, so we must remain in darkness unless Christ shall enlighten his Church. He then turns to the table of the shewbread which also figures on some of our Fellowcraft boards. Some understand by it the holy scriptures, and interpret the four rings by which it was carried, when removed from one place to another, as the four evangelists, by whom the gospel of Christ was carried, as it were, from nation to nation. From where did he get all this allegorical interpretation? Believe it or not but his words are a remarkably close repetition of what was written by the Venerable Bede, the Monk of Jarrow, just 1150 years before.In one of Bede's works, the one called On the Temple, we find the following: The seven lamps are the seven giftsof the Holy Spirit. The cups, bowls and lilies are aptly ordered under the branches because the hearts of the electare upheld by the Lords gifts, commandments and promises ... It is a lampstand because it has shown the path oflight to those who have gone astray. And then later: For surely the four golden rings are the four books of thegospels of the evangelists, through faith in which it has come to pass that all Sacred Scripture is read andunderstood throughout the whole world. (Book One Section 24) (V.Wor.Bro. the Revd Neville Barker Cryer, M.A. P.G.C., The Sources of Monastic Practice, delivered before the Cornerstone Society)

If an erring Brother must be condemned, he must also be deeply pitied. God pities him; Christ died for him; Heaven waits to welcome him back with joy. He has done himself a far deeper injury than he has done anyone else. In pity, prayer and pain let our hearts beat in harmony with all the powers God is using for his recovery. "There remaineth Faith, Hope and Charity; but the greatest of these is Charity." (An Erring Brother, Short Talk Bulletin, Vol. 4, #10)

The early Christians readily adapted aspects of the ancient Mysteries to their own requirements, including the adoption of pagan festival days as their own festival days and also the ceremony of baptism. Probably the most obvious adaptation is the use of the Rite of Circumambulation in association with dedication and consecration. Two very old ceremonies, those known as "beating the bounds" in England and "riding the marches" in Scotland, both derive from the Roman practice of dedicating the boundary stones of the fields, which originated in about 700 BCE. There are existing documents, from as early as 550, recording that bishops and their clergy accompanied parishioners circumambulating the boundaries of the fields for this purpose. Gulielmus Durandus (1237-1296), the French jurist who had studied canon law and became the Bishop of Mende, describes the ceremony of consecrating a church in the thirteenth century in one of his books entitled the Speculum Judicale. He says that the bishop's procession made three circuits clockwise around the church, during which the bishop knocked on the door after each circuit, but was admitted only on the third occasion. Bishop Durandus said:
"Rightly . . . doth the bishop strike three times, because that number is the most known and sacred; . . . without the invocation of the Trinity there can be no sacrament in the church."
This form of ceremonial exists to the present day and is even reflected in the opening of parliaments, when the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod knocks three times on the door of the House of Commons or House of Representatives to gain entrance for the opening of Parliament. In consecration ceremonies the chaplain circumambulates with a censer to disperse incense, which is an ancient symbol of purification. This practice perpetuates the usage of the ancient Israelites and also is a regular practice in Christian churches. (Don Falconer, The Rite of Circumambulation, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 12)

The 17, or Knight of the East and West unites the work of Ancient Masonry with that of the Modern Masonry, which commenced in the 15, foreshadowing the work of the 18. The Crusaders, when seeking to establish the Christian faith and the worship of the True God at Jerusalem, were reminded of the work of Zerubbabel and the Knights of the East who erected the second temple at Jerusalem. The work of the degree relates to the breaking of the Seven Seals of the Book of Revelation. The apron and flap are both triangular as a symbol of the Deity. (Don Falconer, The Pilgrimage and Symbolism of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 9)

The 18 Sovereign Prince Rose Croix, or Knight of the Eagle and the Pelican, is the story of a descendant of the princes and rulers in Israel who is wandering aimlessly after the destruction of Herod's temple by the Romans, seeking the enlightenment of the New Law. During his wanderings in a state of darkness and despair he discovers the three pillars of Faith, Hope and Charity, which relieve his despair and will thenceforth be his guide. In the Chamber of Darkness that represents a world lost in sin and despair, he catches a glimmer of the light of the True Word and is thus encouraged to continue his search. Ultimately his search is rewarded in the Joyful Chamber that represents a world enlightened by the Savior of mankind, where the True Word springs forth in all its splendor. The regalia of the degree comprise an apron and a collar from which the jewel is suspended. All items of the regalia are reversible, having a dark side and a bright side. The dark side of the apron is a badge of mourning that is worn when the Word was lost, while the bright side is a badge of rejoicing that is worn when the Word has been found. Entry into this degree represents a transformation by entering into the third or Spiritual and Moral Temple that Christ established at Jerusalem. In this context it is important to realize that Herod's temple was not the third temple, but an expansion of the second temple built by Zerubbabel. (Don Falconer, The Pilgrimage and Symbolism of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 9)

In the Rite of Perfection the Christian element of the degree was that part of the Palestine Order of St John now appended to the order of Rome and the Red Cross of Constantine as the Knights of St John the Evangelist. It relates to the final hours of the Messiah on the Cross of Calvary, explaining how the degree of Master Mason reflects the agonies suffered by the Messiah and that the Word is a substitute for those the Messiah uttered on the cross. The collar is black edged with silver. Black is a symbol of mourning for the Knights Templar who were mercilessly slain during the Inquisition, but it also signifies sorrow for the crucifixion of the Messiah and is a reminder of that darkness beyond the veil from whence the True Word will become manifest. The silver edging is a symbol of hope. Also on the collar are Maltese Crosses and other emblems illustrating the pedigree and purpose of the degree. (Don Falconer, The Pilgrimage and Symbolism of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 9)

THE MISSING STONES
The rituals used in modern speculative freemasonry included comprehensive lectures on the working tools used by operative freemasons, but the compilers omitted some other important elements of the ancient symbolism, especially in respect of the stones used in the buildings. In the degrees of operative freemasonry the candidate always represented a particular stone, either during the course of its preparation or while it was being fixed into position. In this context the plans and gauges used during the preparation and erection of the stones also were of symbolic importance. The rough and perfect ashlars and the keystone are important symbols in the speculative craft and mark degrees. The reasons why the rough ashlar represents an apprentice and the perfect ashlar represents the more expert craftsman are self-evident. It also is common knowledge that a specially shaped keystone is useful as well as being a pleasing embellishment with which to complete the construction of an arch. However, many speculative freemasons are not aware of several other important stones and their symbolisms. Nor do they receive any explanation of the meanings of the various plan shapes used in buildings. Some of those aspects will be commented on briefly, to help the enquiring mason achieve a better understanding of the important lessons intended to be conveyed by the speculative rituals.
It probably is not common knowledge that a cubical stone is rarely used in masonry structures except to complete a course adjacent to openings. Nevertheless it was an important stone used to test the skills of an apprentice who aspired to become a fully qualified craftsman, when his knowledge of the various projections of a cube was also tested. In ancient times another use of a cubical stone was as the great corner stone, sometimes used to stabilize the corner of a building. This is the stone referred to in Isaiah 28:16 in allusion to the coming of a messiah, which is the passage quoted in I Peter 2:6-8 with reference to Christ. (Don Falconer, The Legacy of Operative Freemasonry, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 3)

[NOTE: As regards another thread here on the "perfect ashlar": since this is described as something that is "probably not common knowledge," it should be quite understandable why some of the earliest pictures supposedly depicting the "perfect ashlar," do not seem to have been cubical. Had this been "common knowledge," obviously that might have prevented the error. Something to consider.]

Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

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It is clear from the Cooke MS of about 1410, that by then the events concerning the construction of the temple and the involvement of its principal architect were already firmly established in the traditions of the guilds of operative masons. If speculative Freemasonry had been invented in England during the period of religious fervor and intolerance, which had prevailed for about two centuries prior to the formation of the first Grand Lodge, the Hiramic legend probably would not have been included in the rituals and the degrees almost certainly would have had a strong Christian emphasis, based on events taken from the New Testament. The orders of masonry that include degrees with a Christian basis did not appear until the 1750s and 1800s, after the first Grand Lodge of England had been established. It is believed that some members of the lodges forming the first Grand Lodge were Rosicrucians, who would have exerted a strong Christian influence on modern speculative development, but there is no evidence of a direct derivation from the Rosicrucian movement. (Don Falconer, Freemasonry and Religion, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 2)

It would be appropriate now to consider the "de-Christianising of the Craft" that Masonic authors often mention. Any Christian influence stemmed from the fact that, when purely speculative freemasonry was being organized under the first Grand Lodge, Christianity was the only religion recognized in England. For centuries in England and Europe, it had been the custom of the old crafts and guilds, including the masons, to have their own patron saints on whose days festivals were held. Many ancient lodges held a festival on June 24, the summer solstice that had been a day of heathen rejoicing, but in early Christian times became St John the Baptist's day. The masons also held a festival on the winter solstice, December 27, which was another day of heathen rejoicing that became St John the Evangelist's day. Although other saints were held in high regard by freemasons, including the Quatuor Coronati or Four Crowned Martyrs, nevertheless the two Saints John were adopted as the patron saints of Freemasonry, giving rise to such old expressions as "a St John's Lodge" and "the St John's Men." In the early days of speculative freemasonry the officers of lodges were installed every six months, usually on the festival days of the two Saints John. Nowadays the Masonic festivals are usually held annually, for example on St George's Day in England, on St Patrick's Day in Ireland and on St Andrew's Day in Scotland.
Some authors have expressed the opinion that, prior to the Constitutions of 1723, all masons were expected to be Christians, but it is not known whether there is any firm basis for that opinion. There is no record of Jesus Christ being referred to in any of the Craft rituals, but it has been suggested that some of the symbolism might have been given a Trinitarian explanation. The records of some catechisms in the early 1700s include references of a Christian character, more particularly in the Royal Arch. The "precious corner-stone for a firm foundation", from Isaiah 28:16 and the use of the tau cross as "a sign of the righteous on the foreheads of the Lord's people," from Ezekiel 9:4, have also been questioned because of their later Christian connotations. Even the pentalpha, a magical sign used in ancient times as a talisman against the danger of fire and adopted in freemasonry as an emblem of the five points of fellowship among other things, was questioned because it became a Christian symbol alluding to the five wounds of Christ. Fortunately these and other symbols of ancient origin, like the triple tau, survived the "de-Christianizing of the Craft." From the early 1720s the Jewish membership of lodges steadily increased, after which any Christian overtones that might have appeared in the craft rituals were progressively eliminated. These superficial changes reflected a desire for freemasonry to be open to all men believing in God irrespective of their creed. The Duke of Sussex who was a Hebrew scholar, a member of Jewish learned societies and also a supporter of Christian Emancipation, resolutely fostered Jewish membership. (Don Falconer, Freemasonry and Religion, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 2)

A host of symbolic references in Masonic terms are to be found in the scriptures, many of which are as well known as the following examples. During his visit to Bethel in about 745 BCE, Amos prophesied the fall of Israel about thirty years before the event, when he said in Amos 7:7-9 that the Lord had "measured his people Israel with a plumb line" and found them to be irremediably warped by sin. In the reign of Manasseh, the murderous and idolatrous king who ruled from 696 BCE to 642 BCE, the captivity of Judah by Babylon around 606 BCE was foretold in II Kings 21:13, when the Lord said he would "stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab". In Isaiah 28:16, which was written between 750 BCE and 700 BCE, the coming of Christ is foretold in the words "Behold I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious corner stone, of a sure foundation." This prophesy is referred to in I Peter 2:6-8, in about 60 CE, when the death of the Messiah is alluded to and "for those who do not believe" the following significant words were added: "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner, a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall." Other passages from the book of Genesis, together with many of the traditions preserved in Sumerian, Assyrian and Hebrew literature, also provide some interesting sidelights on masonry. (Don Falconer, The Origin and Evolution of Speculative Freemasonry, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 1)

ORIENTATION
It is worth noting that the orientation of the temples at Jerusalem was the reverse of the present orientation of Christian churches. A worshipper in the Holy Place of the temple looked west to the Holy of Holies or east through the entrance to see the rising sun. Christian churches usually have their main entrance in the west and the altar in the east. Lodges of operative Free Masons have always adopted the orientation of the temples at Jerusalem, with the entrance in the east and the master in the west. The orientation of lodges of speculative Freemasons is the reverse, probably because the compiler and editor of the original "Constitutions of the Freemasons" published by order of the Grand Lodge of England in 1723, the Rev Dr James Anderson DD, was an influential Presbyterian clergymen who as a matter of course would have adopted the orientation then in use in Christian churches. Another possible reason is that early speculative ritualists may have been influenced by an essential doctrine of that particular school of the Cabala that says: "His Majesty . . . sits on a throne in the east, as the actual representative of God." Whatever its origin, the reversal of the orientation in lodges of speculative Freemasons has caused confusion in the interpretation of their symbolism, because the words of the ritual were adapted from Operative usage based on the orientation of the temple. In conclusion it is worth quoting Dr Oliver, to whom we have already referred, who said in his lectures on Signs and Symbols: "The principal entrance to the lodge room ought to face the east, because the east is a place of light both physical and moral; and therefore the brethren have access to the lodge by that entrance, as a symbol of mental illumination." (Don Falconer, The Temples at Jerusalem, The Square and Compasses, Chap. 39)

This Evergreen is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul. By this we are reminded that we have an immortal part within us which shall survive the grave, and which shall never, never, NEVER die. Though, like our brother, whose remains now lie before us, we shall soon be clothed in the habiliments of DEATH, and deposited in the silent tomb, yet, through the mediation of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, we may confidently hope that our souls will bloom in Eternal Spring. (Master Mason Funeral, The Freemasons Hymnal, p. 56)

MASONIC OFFENCES.
The following points have, says the Philadelphia Keystone, we think, been well decided by the Grand Lodge of Nebraska.
FirstIs the God of the Mason the God of the Bible? And is the denying of the God of the Bible a Masonic offense?
SecondIs denying the authenticity of the Bible a Masonic offense? The report of the Committee to which these questions were referred, was adopted, viz.: "
In answer to the first query, they are of the opinion that the denial of the existence of God, as set forth in the Holy Bible, is a Masonic offense; and in answer to the second query, they are also of the opinion that the denial of the Divine authority and authenticity of the Holy Bible, is a Masonic offense."
(Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 9 (1873), p. 268)

THE BIBLE-THE GREAT LIGHT OF MASONRY.
Dr. Dwight says, " The Bible is a window in this prison of hope, through which we look into eternity." It contains more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more pure morality, more important history, and finer strains of poetry and eloquence than can be collected from all other books, in whatever age or language they have been written. How thankful we ought to be for the Bible, Heaven's purest gift to mortals. It is the star of eternity, whose mild rays come twinkling to this nether sphere; erring man's guide to wisdom, virtue and heaven. The Bible is the book of books. In comparison Byron loses his fire, Milton his soarings, Gray his beauties, and Homer his grandeur and figures; no tongue ever reasoned like sainted Job's; no poet ever sung like Israel's shepherd king, and God never made a man more wise than Solomon.
The words of the Bible are pictures of immortality; dews from the tree of Knowledge; pearls from the river of Life, and gems of celestial thought. As the moaning shell whispers of the sea, so the Bible breathes of love in heaven, the home of the angels, and joys too pure to die. Oh! that more of its precepts were bound about my heart, and I had wisdom to make them the mottos of my life. The world may entertain its idea of a magnificent Deity, whose government is general, but let me believe in the Lord God of Elijah, whose providence is entire, ordering the minutest event in human life, and with a father's care arranging it for the greatest possible good.
(Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 7 (1873), p. 216)

Remember that you are pledged in the most solemn manner to this conduct. Behold that Book, which contains the writings of your master Solomon, of your beloved St. John, and above all, of your great master Christ, and his other holy Apostles. In your procession to the house of God this day, as in all former processions, not only with much respect, but also with magnificence, that book, the Holy Bible, has been borne before you, as the sign and evidence of your profession. Be careful that your practice squares with your profession. Let that Bible be your Charter of Rules and Rights; and while it calls you to Love and Good-will, let not its divine precepts, as pressed upon you by our master Christ, and both our St. Johns, be violated by Evil-speaking, or the contemptible words of Malice, Slander, or want of Charity, to any of the human kind; not even to the least of those whom Christ loved unto death; and still less, if possible, to a Brother, with whom you are pledged especially to live, as on the Square of doing as you would have done unto you."
(Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 6 (1873), p. 170)

Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

THE BIBLE.
By an ancient usage of the Craft, the Book of the Law is always spread open in the Lodge. There is in this, as in everything else Masonic, an appropriate symbolism. The Book of the Law is the Great Light of Masonry. To close it would be to intercept the rays of divine light which emanate from it, and hence it is spread open, to indicate that the Lodge is not in darkness, but under the influence of its illuminating power.
(Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 12 (1873), p. 380)

AN EPISCOPAL TRIBUTE TO FREEMASONRY.
The Christ Church (Danville, Pa.) Parish Kalendar for October (the Rev. J. Milton Peck, rector and editor) contains the following able and earnest tribute to our ancient Fraternity. It is entitled " The Old Guild," and reads thus: "A thousand years ago, it was a privilege and an honor to be of the builder's trade, when those grand conceptions of architecturecathedrals and churches, were raised with a faith and zeal that would shame the present age. Marks and tokens still reveal, in column, arch, and ornament, something like a unity of thought and purpose among the master builders. And the Mason at last protected himself by a Guild, or society, and in traveling from one city to another found in the 'Lodge' of his Craft by the wayside a temporary home or resting- place; there for a night, or more, laying down his little lambskin apron, the plummet, square and trowel. The thought grew and the benefit of fraternal pledge was magnified, traditions from earlier times borrowed, studied, and modifiedbut through it all, the vital truths of Christianity to a large extent held the place of foundation, upon which a curious, venerable and powerful structure has been reared. Next to the Apostolic Church, Freemasonry, so called, is the greatest conservator of truth, light, and virtue. The Papacy abhors it! And now, we are entirely responsible for the expression and indulgence of a hope. As time goes on, Divine providence developing, the reaction from the separations in Christendom progressing; more and more the antiquity, historical origin, and authority of our branch of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, being recognized in its ritual teaching, and order; so Freemasonry in its real theory and right practice will never at least lead men away from the Churchas we do not believe it ever does, but more and more lead them to love and recognize the Source from which they have borrowed so much of the truth and beauty in their venerable system. And morefrom the past we hope for the future. When. the day of the Antichrist shall comeit is coming fastthat dark day of the rule of Infidelity and Sin for a time, brave Knights and learned Masters, let not your lights go out, nor your swords be sheathed, but stand firmer than ever in the watching and defense of the mystic walls of Truth, the faith once delivered unto the Saints. We hesitate not to say that the noblest Guild of historic Christianity, may yet be as a firm buttress to the fair walls of Zion, if the Craftsmen shall all come within the inner Temple, and be made, as were their early founders, members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven."
(Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 12 (1873), p. 378-79)

Every promise in the Bible is a pearl of great price. Faith makes a chain of pearls out of the promises by which she graces her neck, and secures her armor; but activity is a thread of silver running through the chain of pearls.
(Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. 32, No. 12 (1873), filler item on p. 372)

It is sufficient for our present purpose lo observe, that they bear so close and remarkable an analogy to those of the Rose Croix degree, as to warrant the conclusion, that if the ceremonies of the two Orders were not originally the same, they were certainly derived from one common source. The incidents that are symbolized in both, and the great fundamental truths taught in common by both, are the Life, Doctrines, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of the Saviourthe Resurrection of the Body and the Immortality of the Soul. We may not be able to prove that these were the doctrines taught, and the symbolic representations used in the secret assemblies of the early Christian Fathers, but to every rational and reflective mind, acquainted with the early history of the Church, it must seem in the highest degree probable that they were. (The Order of Rose Croix, Freemasons Monthly Magazine, Vol. XXIII, No. 6 (April 1, 1864), p. 174)

We greet our readers with the usual salutation of A Happy New Year, hoping that it may, indeed, prove such to us all. It certainly will it we indorse with a true life the tenets of our profession as Masons. If we put our trust in God, obey the moral law, practice Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth, are industrious and economical, we shall enjoy great peace, and nothing shall offend us. But, on the contrary, if we are irreverent, profane, intemperate, immoral and indolent if we live in contention with our brethren. and are untrue to them and to our Maker, we must expect to reap the fruit of our doings. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he, also, reap." So saith the Great Light of Masonry, and the experience of the world is in strict accord with its declaration. (Freemasons Monthly, 1870, p. 322)

St. Paul uses the word ANATOLE, Oriens, to represent the Redeemer of mankind in his glorious brightness. In the application of this word some distinctions have been made: apo anatolwn, means, from the east; by anatolai, the rising of stars in general is signified; and by he avatolen, the expression of St. Luke, the rising of a particular star in the east, which is the blazing star of Freemasonry, and, with the Cabalists, denoted the eternal WISDOM of God, which is the same as the eternal WORD of God, or Christ. And hence the early Christians, when they prayed, turned their eyes towards the east, or in other words, towards the Saviour, who was crucified with his face towards the west. Clemens Alexandrinus gives as a reason for praying towards the east, that it is the dayspring, or source of light. And the same practice constitutes an essential ceremony in our Lodges, where WISDOM is placed in the east. (On Freemasonry, Freemasons Quarterly Magazine, 1845, p. 161)

The question which this paper seeks to address has, over recent years, assumed an importance and a relevance that older generations of Freemasons would not have thought possible. This has occurred because various Church governing bodies - The Methodist Conference, and the General Synod of the Church of England - have declared the two to be incompatible. It is the basic and overriding contention of this paper that there is no theological or doctrinal, moral or social reason why a Christian should not be a Freemason.
It is necessary, first of all, to attempt an outline of what the Christian faith teaches. It is necessary, because it is essential to know what is meant when a person calls himself a Christian.
The Christian is one who believes in a God who is the Creator God, Creator of 'all things in heaven and earth'. The 'crown' of Creation, according to the Bible, is Man, created 'a little lower than the angels', having within himself the means to respond to and acknowledge God. Indeed, the Bible stresses that Man is only truly Man to the extent in which he does, through worship and deed, respond and acknowledge God to the fullest possible extent. It is at this point that the picture becomes distorted. We do not, individually or collectively, respond to or acknowledge God. In fact, our human condition is such that with unrelenting application, we seem to go headlong in the opposite direction to that which providence and destiny point us. To the theologian this state of affairs is know as Sin, sin that seems part of our nature, and sin that we actively commission in our failure to be what God intends us to be.
God intended us to be not only creatures created out of love, but beings who could respond to that love. His eternal Love is such that he cannot and will not abandon us, His creatures, to our own fate. The Old Testament is really the beginning of this story of God's relationship with us His people. It is the bitter sweet account of this loving relationship, the constancy of God's love and the prodigality of that of His people. The Old Testament at its best looks forward to the time when God will 'bring His people home', when He will give us the means to come back to Him and to fulfil our true role in His scheme of Creation. The New Testament is the realisation of this vision. The Birth, Death and Resurrection of Jesus is the fulfilment of all that the prophets, and the aspirations to which the Old Testament had looked forward. Here, finally and irrevocably was the means to bridge the gap between humanity as a whole and God, its loving Creator and Sustainer. The Christian will not and cannot compromise on this basic truth.
But this truth of what God has done for us in the person of Jesus, is not a mere cerebral truth demanding only intellectual assent, it is a truth that demands various responses from those who would be part of it. By means of the Church, or the Sacraments, or the life of Prayer, or the inspiration of Holy Scripture, the Christian feeds off the Redeeming work of Christ as displayed on the Cross and the Empty Tomb. It is by these 'instruments' of Redemption that the Christian knows it is possible to begin a relationship of love with God, and by personal sacrifice and dedication, to allow that relationship to grow and mature. It is an all embracing relationship, open ended to see the whole world and everything in it as within the scope of Redemption. Once it becomes exclusive and introverted its power is negated and its saving strength diminished.
Freemasonry does not challenge or seek to challenge anything that has been said above. It does not set itself up as a rival or even a parallel religion, to do so would mean that it would be impossible for a Christian to acknowledge let along practice Freemasonry. Masonry does not offer a 'system' of Redemption, it does not seek to enhance or provide a means by which the Mason is expected or encouraged to see his Masonic activities as being acts of worship. A Masonic Lodge is not a church, but a group of men who seek to implement certain worthy, upright and highly desirable common basic ideals, which can but add to the richness and variety of life and living.
The Masonic world, is a world rich in symbolism and high ideals. Its principle symbol is that of the Temple, built by King Solomon in response to God's command. The story of its construction, quite naturally, receives a great deal of poetic license in Masonic ritual. Part of that poetry is the vision of giving life to the symbol by identifying the Mason with the process of construction. The Masonic ideal is to construct within the individual the virtues of brotherly love, relief for those less fortunate than oneself and the search for truth and personal integrity. The symbol of 'skilled craftsmen' chosen originally for their expertise and skill for the great work in hand, is Masonically the skill of shaping from the raw material of each member of a Lodge a deeper understanding of the concept of brotherhood and the sharing of common concerns. The Masonic Lodge is the 'workplace' for both the demonstration and the teaching of such skills.
Solomon called upon God for help in the great endeavour he had undertaken. So likewise, the Masonic Lodge calls on God for help in its endeavours. This is no empty, ritualistic gesture, but a 'corner-stone' that underpins all Masonic activity. It would seem quite natural, in this context, for the symbolic 'builder' - the Mason - to refer to God, in the symbol of the Architect, and to do so without in anyway diminishing the concept of God or indeed to create another deity which the Christian could not acknowledge or countenance.

The Craft is precisely what it says it is. A Craft for building a moral structure centred upon those who seek to participate in its activities. It seeks neither to challenge or rival the claims of faith made by the Christian. Masonry cannot and does not diminish the Lordship of Christ, or replace His Redeeming and Saving Power. This paper has tried, within its limits, to affirm wholeheartedly the Christian standpoint and to outline the Masonic view, and to see no challenge from the Craft to those who wish to practice and uphold the Christian life. (Rev. Norman Lea, Should a Christian be a Freemason?)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

To the new Masters I need only say, in the language of the installation lecture I delivered to them this day, that the honor and usefulness of their Lodges and the happiness of the Brethren will materially depend upon the skill and ability with which they discharge their duties, and the zeal and assiduity with which they promulgate the principles of the Craft, taking advantage of every opportunity forcibly to impress the dignity and importance of Freemasonry, and teaching the Brethren to practise out of Lodge those excellent precepts that are taught in it, so that when any one is said to be a Mason, the world may know that he is one to whom the burdened heart may pour forth its sorrows, the distressed may prefer his suit, whose hand is guided by justice, and whose heart is ever expanded by benevolencealways bearing in mind the golden rule, " Do unto others as you would they should do unto you." My Brethren, once again I gratefully and sincerely thank you. (R.W. Brother Harington, in response to a toast, P.G. Lodge of Quebec and Three Rivers, Dec. 27, 1853, Freemasons Quarterly Magazine, Vol. I (n.s.), London: G. Routledge, 1853, p. 395.)

"Now imagine me standing in lodge with my head bowed in prayer between Brother Mohammed Bokhary and Brother Arjun Melwani. To neither of them is the Great Architect of the Universe perceived as the Holy Trinity. To Brother Bokhary He has been revealed as Allah; to Brother Melwani He is probably perceived as Vishnu. Since I believe that there is only one God, I am confronted with three possibilities:

They are praying to the devil whilst I am praying to God;
They are praying to nothing, as their gods do not exist;
They are praying to the same God as I, yet their understanding of His nature is partly incomplete (as indeed is mine 1 Cor 13:12)

It is without hesitation that I accept the third possibility." (Christopher Haffner, Workman Unashamed: The Testimony of a Christian Freemason, p. 39.)

The GLE (Grand Lodge of England), along with those jurisdictions with which it was in amity, later came to be known colloquially as the Moderns, to distinguish them from a newer, rival group of Freemasonry, known as the Antients. The Antients broke away and formed their own Grand Lodge in 1753, prompted by the GLE's making changes to the secret modes of recognition. Tensions between the two groups were very high at times. The Antients tended to be more working class in membership, and probably more Christian, while the Moderns were more aristocratic and educated, and less religiously orthodox.
Benjamin Franklin was a Modern and a Deist, for instance, but by the time he died, his lodge had gone Antient and would no longer recognize him as one of their own, declining even to give him a Masonic funeral[4]. It has been speculated that the Antients desired a more Christian style of Masonry, since they made popular a higher degree, called the "Holy Royal Arch", which is generally thought of as having a more Christian flavor than the first three degrees.
The schism was healed in the years following 1813, when the competing Grand Lodges were amalgamated into the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), by virtue of a delicately worded compromise which returned the modes of recognition to their pre-1753 form, and kept Freemasonry per se as consisting of three degrees only, but which was ambiguously worded so as to allow the Moderns to think of the Antient Royal Arch degree as an optional higher degree, while still allowing the Antients to view it as the completion of the third degree[5]. This compromise, along with subsequent changes made in 1815 (see below), left English Masonry still clearly not Christian, but at the same time somewhat less comfortable for unorthodox members, such as Deists and Pantheists. The merger also marked a levelling of the Masonic membership, in terms of social class and education. Because both the Antients and the Moderns had daughter lodges throughout the world, and because many of those lodges still exist, there is a great deal of variability in the ritual used today, even between UGLE-recognized jurisdictions. (The Two Great Schisms of Freemasonry (1753 and 1877), From Wikipedia, reprinted in The Lodgeroom International, Vol. 1, #3, March 2006, p. 4)

[Note: I find that the description above is paradoxical, since the Antients were those who were interested in preserving what they saw as "antient" Masonry with its unabashed Christian understanding. The "moderns," who essentially won out, have managed to preserve their own view of what transpired, with the charge that the Antients were the ones introducing "innovations." But it is at least acknowledged that the breakaway was prompted by changes in the modes of recognition by the "moderns." The fact remains, that the Christian cast of Masonry was the norm prior to the 1717 "revival" of Masonry, and the "de-Christianization" of Masonry began with Anderson's Constitutions and its "formerly. . .but now" proclamation.
The article is definitely spot-on with its take on the variability that is found in Masonry now. I find it to be particularly the case with SC Masonry, which had negotiated its own merger prior to the 1813 date of the UGLE, resulting in the designation "Ancient Free Masons," a designation which SC is now unique in its use (others are "Ancient Free and Accepted Masons"). From what I've been able to determine from Mackey's History of SC Masonry, there were only about 10 lodges which were of the "moderns" variety here, and the flavor of SC Masonry definitely was more along the "Antients" variety. I find this to be the most fitting explanation for why SC retains so much more of the Christian flavor that was favored by the Antients ("Jehovah" in prayers, and as the explanation of the letter "G," the hill near Mount Moriah explained as Calvary, etc.).]

The connection of Solomon, as the chief of the tribe of Judah, with the lion, which was the achievement of the tribe, has caused this expression to be referred, in the third degree, to him who brought light and immortality to light. The old Christian interpretation of the Masonic symbols here prevails; and in Ancient Craft Masonry all allusions to the lion, as the lions paw, the lions grip, etc., refer to the doctrine of the resurrection taught by him who is known as the lion of the tribe of Judah. The expression is borrowed from the Apocalypse, (v. 5) Behold, the Lion which is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Lion of the Tribe of Judah)

If we proceed to an examination of the other systems of religion which were practised by the nations of antiquity, we shall find that light always constituted a principal object of adoration, as the primordial source of knowledge and goodness, and that darkness was with them synonymous with ignorance and evil. Dr. Beard (Encyc. Bib. Lit.) attributes this view of the divine origin of light among the Eastern nations, to the fact that "light in the East has a clearness and brilliancy, is accompanied by an intensity of heat, and is followed in its influence by a largeness of good, of which the inhabitants of less genial climates have no conception. Light easily and naturally became, in consequence, with Orientals, a representative of the highest human good. All the more joyous emotions of the mind, all the pleasing sensations of the frame, all the happy hours of domestic intercourse, were described under imagery derived from light. The transition was natural, from earthly to heavenly, from corporeal to spiritual things; and so light came to typify true religion and the felicity which it imparts. But as light not only came from God, but also makes man's way clear before him, so it was employed to signify moral truth, and pre-eminently that divine system of truth which is set forth in the Bible, from its earliest gleamings onward to the perfect day of the Great Sun of Righteousness."
(Mackey, Encyclopedia, 470)

A Mason is bound, say the Old Charges, to obey the moral law, and of this law the very keystone is the divine precept, the "Golden Rule" of our Lord, to do unto others as we would that they should do unto us. To relieve the distressed, to give good counsel to the erring, to speak well of the absent, to observe temperance in the indulgence of appetite, to bear evil with fortitude, to be prudent in life and conversation, and to dispense justice to all men, are duties that are inculcated on every Mason by the moral doctrines of his Order. (Albert Mackey, An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, and its Kindred Sciences, Philadelphia: Moss & Co., 1879, p. 731.)

America has the honor of presenting the next attempt at Masonic oratory. The fifth address, and the first American, which is extant, is one delivered in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 24, 1734. It is entitled "A Dissertation upon Masonry, delivered to a Lodge in America, June 24th, 1734. Christ's Regm."
This last word is doubtless an abbreviation of the Latin word for kingdom. Discovered by Brother C. W. Moore in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, it was published by him in his magazine in 1849. This address is well written, and of a symbolic character, as the author represents the Lodge as a type of heaven. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Addresses, Masonic)

Of these twelve degrees, the first ten are occupied with the transactions of the first Temple; the eleventh with matters relating to the construction of the second Temple; and the twelfth with that Christian symbolism of Freemasonry which is peculiar to the Rose Croix of every Rite. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Adonhiramite Masonry)

In the Rosicrucian Degrees of Freemasonry we find an imitation of these love feasts of the primitive Christians; and the ceremonies of the banquet in the Degree of Rose Croix of the Ancient and accepted Rite, especially as practiced by French Chapters, are arranged with reference to the ancient agapae.

Reghellini, indeed, finds an analogy between the Table Lodges of modern Freemasonry and these love feasts of the primitive Christians. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Agapae)

The Agnus Dei, meaning the Lamb of God, also called the Paschal Lamb, or the Lamb offered in the Pascal Sacrifice, is one of the jewels of a Commandery of Knights Templar in America, and is worn by the Generalissimo.
The lamb is one of the earliest symbols of Christ in the iconography of the Church, and as such was a representation of the Savior, derived from that expression of Saint John the Baptist (John1, 29), who, on beholding Christ, exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God."
"Christ," says Didron (Christian Iconography 1, page 318), "shedding his blood for our redemption, is the Lamb slain by the children of Israel, and with the blood of which the houses to be preserved from the wrath of God were marked with the celestial tau.
The Paschal Lamb eaten by the Israelites on the night preceding their departure from Egypt is the type of that other divine Lamb of whom Christians are to partake at Easter, in order thereby to free themselves from the bondage in which they are held by vice."
The earliest representation that is found in Didron of the Agnus Dei is of the sixth century, and consists of a lamb supporting in his right foot a cross. In the eleventh century we find a banneret attached to this cross, and the lamb is then said to support "the banner of the resurrection." This is the modern form in which the Agnus Dei is represented. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Agnus Dei)

Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

Let the distressed cottage feel the warmth of your Masonic zeal, and, if possible, exceed even the unabating ardour of Christian charity. At your approach let the orphan cease to weep, and in the sound of your voice let the widow forget her sorrow" (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Aid and Assistance)

First of the Old Charges in the Book of Constitutions, edition of 1738:
"A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law, as a true Noachida; and if he rightly understands the Craft, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious libertine, nor act against conscience.
"In Ancient times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the Christian usages of each country where they traveled or worked. But Masonry being found in all nations, even of divers religions, they are now only charged to adhere to that religion in which all men agree (leaving each Brother to his own particular opinions; that is, to be good men and true, men of honor and honesty, by whatever names, religions, or persuasions they may be distinguished; for they all agree in the three great articles of Noah enough to preserve the cement of the Lodge. Thus, Masonry is the center of their union, and the happy means of conciliating persons that otherwise must have remained at a perpetual distance."
First of the Old Charges in Dermott's Ahiman Rezon:
"A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law, as a true Noachide; and if he rightly understands the Craft, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious libertine, nor act against conscience.
"In Ancient times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the Christian usages of each country where they traveled or worked; being found in all nations, even of divers religions.
"They are generally charged to adhere to that religion in which all men agree (leaving each brother to his own particular opinions); that is, to be good men and true, men of honor and honesty, by whatever names religions, or persuasions they may be distinguished; for they all agree in the three great article of Noah enough to preserve the cement of the Lodge.
"Thus, Masonry is the center of their union, and the happy means of conciliating persons that otherwise must have remained at a perpetual distance."
The italics in the second and third extracts will show what innovations Anderson made in 1738 on the Charges as originally published in 1723, and how closely Dermott followed him in adopting these changes. There is, in fact, much less difference between the Ahiman Rezon of Dermott and Anderson's edition of the Book of Constitutions, printed in 1738, than there is between the latter and the first edition of the Constitutions, printed in 1723. But the great points of difference between the "Ancient" and the "Moderns," points which kept them apart for so many years, are to be found in their work and ritual, for an account of which the reader is referred to the article Ancient Freemasons. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Ahiman Rezon)

All the legends of Freemasonry are more or less allegorical, and whatever truth there may be in some of them in an historical point of view, it is only as allegories or legendary symbols that they are of importance. The English lectures have therefore very properly defined Freemasonry to be "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.''
The allegory was a favorite figure among the ancients, and to the allegorizing spirit are we to trace the construction of the entire Greek and Roman mythology. Not less did it prevail among the older Aryan nations, and its abundant use is exhibited in the religions of Brahma and Zoroaster. The Jewish Rabbis were greatly addicted to it, and carried its employment, as Maimonides intimates, in his More Nevochim (III, xliii), sometimes to an excess. Their Midrash, or system of commentaries on the sacred book, is almost altogether allegorical. Aben Ezra, a learned Rabbi of the twelfth century:, says, "The Scriptures are like bodies, and allegories are like the garments with which they are clothed. Some are thin like fine silk, and others are coarse and thick like sackcloth."
Jesus, to whom this spirit of the Jewish teachers in his day was familiar, taught many truths in parables, all of which were allegories. The primitive Fathers of the Christian Church were thus infected; and Origen, the most famous and influential Christian writer of his time, 186 to 254 A.D., who was especially addicted to the habit, tells us that all the Pagan philosophers should be read in this spirit : "hoe facere solemus quando philosophos legimus."
Of modern allegorizing writers, the most interesting to Freemasons are Samuel Lee, the author of Orbis Miraculum or the Temple of Solomon portrayed by Scripture Light, and John Bunyan, who wrote Solomon's Temple Spiritualized. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Allegory)

This manuscript is written on twelve quarto pages as a preface to the Minute Book of the Company and Fellowship of Freemasons of a Lodge held at Alnwick, where it appears under the heading of The Masons' Constitutions. The document tells us of the "Orders to be observed by the Company and Fellowship of Freemasons at a Lodge held at Alnwick, September 29, 1701, being the General Head Meeting Day."
Among the items are the fifth and ninth which are of especial interest to us:
"No mason shall take any Apprentice (but he must) enter him and give him his charge within one whole year after.''
"There shall no apprentice after he have served seven years be admitted or accepted but upon the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. "
But, the festival was in 1704 changed to that of Saint John the Evangelist and later entries of'" made Free December 27th" indicate clearly that. those, who had served their time were admitted or accepted on that date according to the purpose of the ninth "Order."
This record was first published in 1871 in Hughan's Masonic Sketches and Reprints, American edition, and again in 1872 by, the same author in his Old Charges of the British Freemasons. In this latter work, Brother Hughan says of the records of this old Lodge that, "ranging from 1703 to 1757 they mostly, refer to indentures, fines, and initiations, the Lodge from first to last remaining true to its operative origin.
The members were required annually to 'appear at the Parish Church of Alnwicke with their aprons on and common squares as aforesaid on Saint John's Day in Christmas, when a sermon was provided and preached by some clergyman at their appointment.' A. D. 1708." (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Alnwick Manuscript)

As an emblem of hope, the anchor is peculiarly a Christian, and thence a Masonic, symbol. It is first found inscribed on the tombs in the catacombs of Rome, and the idea of using it is probably derived from the language of Saint Paul (Hebrews vi, 19), ''which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast."
The primitive Christians looked upon life as a stormy voyage, and glad were the voyagers when it was done, and they had arrived safe in port. Of this the anchor was a symbol, and when their brethren carved it over the tomb, it was to them an expression of confidence that he who slept beneath had reached the haven of eternal rest. This is the belief of Kip, Catacombs of Rome (page l12). The strict identity between this conclusion and the Masonic idea of the symbol will be at once observed.
"The anchor," says Mrs. Jameson in her Sacred and Legendary Art (1, page 34), "is the Christian symbol of immovable firmness, hope, and patience; and we find it very frequently in the catacombs, and on the ancient Christian gems."
This representation of the anchor is the peculiar attribute of Saint Clement, and is often inscribed on churches dedicated to him.
But there is a necessary connection between an anchor and a ship, and hence, the latter image has also been adopted as a symbol of the voyage of life; but, unlike the anchor, it was not confined to Christians, but was with the heathens also a favorite emblem of the close of life. Kip thinks the idea may have been derived from them by the Christian Fathers, who gave it a more elevated meaning. The ship is in Freemasonry substituted by the ark. Mrs. Jameson says in the above work that "the Ark of Noah floating safe amid the deluge, in which all things else were overwhelmed, was an obvious symbol of the Church of Christ. . . .
The bark of St. Peter tossed in the storm, and by the Redeemer guided safe to land, was also considered as symbolical." (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Anchor and the Ark)

In the early ages of the Christian church a white garment was always placed upon the catechumen who had been newly baptized, to denote that he had been cleansed from his former sins, and was thence-forth to lead a life of purity. Hence it was presented to him with this solemn charge: "Receive the white and undefiled garment, and produce it unspotted before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you may obtain eternal life."
From all these instances we learn that white apparel was anciently used as an emblem of purity, and for this reason the color has been preserved in the apron of the Freemason. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Apron)

Also called Holy Thursday. A festival of the Christian church held in commemoration of the ascension of our Lord forty days after Easter. It is celebrated as a feast day by Chapters of Rose Croix. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Ascension Day)

A belief in the authenticity of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as a religious qualification of initiation does not constitute one of the laws of Freemasonry, for such a regulation would destroy the universality of the Institution, and under its action none but Christians could become eligible for admission. But in 1856 the Grand Lodge of Ohio declared "that a distinct avowal of a belief in the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures should be required of everyone who is admitted to the privileges of Masonry, and that a denial of the same is an offence against the Institution, calling for exemplary discipline.'' It is hardly necessary to say that the enunciation of this principle met with the almost universal condemnation of the Grand Lodges and Masonic jurists of this country. The Grand Lodge of Ohio subsequently repealed the regulation. In 1857 the Grand Lodge of Texas adopted a similar resolution; but the general sense of the Fraternity has rejected all religious tests except a belief in God. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Authenticity of the Scriptures)

No one goes through the ceremonies and participates in Masonic activities uninfluenced by the Bible.
Studies of the Ritual necessarily rest upon the Scriptures and of those inspired by Bible teachings and language. One good Brother earnestly and faithfully labored to have certain ceremonies freely edited but when he, devout Churchman as he was, understood that sundry peculiarities of language followed the example of the Bible, he gladly gave up his purpose to alter that which abides equally typical of age as the Scriptures. [Note: I have noticed the same, and on a separate thread will introduce several points of the phraseology of Masonry that are as unmistakably Christian as its many biblical citations and allusions.]
What had seemed to him mere repetition was meant for weighty emphasis, as in James (x, 27) "Pure religion and undefiled;" Hebrews (xii, 28) "with reverence and godly fear;" Colossians (iv, 12) "stand perfect and complete," and also in the Book of Common Prayer, the word-pairs "dissemble nor cloak," "perils and dangers," "acknowledge and confess," and so on.
These may well be mentioned here as the tendency to change ceremonies is seldom curbed by any consideration of the peculiar merit, other than their quaintness, of the old expressions.
The Scriptures, the Holy Writings, the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Old and New Testaments, the Holy Bible, this word Bible from the Greek, the (sacred) books; the two parts, Old and New Testaments, the former recording the Covenants, attested by the prophets, between the God of Israel and His people, Christ the central figure of the latter work speaks of the new Dispensation, a new Covenant, and the word Covenant in the Latin became Testamentum from which we obtain the word commonly used for the two divisions of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments. These divisions are further separated into the books of the Bible, sixty-six in all, thirty-nine in the Old Testament, twenty-seven in the New. (Mackey, Encyclopedia, Bible)

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Biblical Content and/or Christian Interpretation of Masonry

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Quench not Love

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Veteran

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

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