Freemasonry

[Grace2022]

What is your view? Based on facts and experience.

Are Freemasons against Christianity or not? I have never known what to think. I came across a description of the initiation ceremony in a novel recently and it just clouded the issue further. They don't seem anti religious, seem nice people who do a lot of good works, but there is something very strange about what they do that is so secret.

 

[seeking.IAM]

I know nothing about Freemasonry except to say there are plenty of Masons in my church. My father-in-law, a good Christian man, was a Mason. Plus, the entire lodge used to come together to my church for worship one Sunday a year. It's kind of hard to imagine they are against Christianity.

 

[Albion]

Masonry perpetuates in its ceremonies the historic wording, values, and so on of earlier centuries. As a result, it is saturated with Christian references and respect for it. The lodge is open to members of other monotheistic religions, but the great majority of members are Christians and are encouraged by the Masonic organizations to be faithful to them.

As for the alleged secrecy, there is in fact hardly anything in Masonry which is actually secret. I watched a Masonic-created show that gave the viewer most of what an initiation ceremony is like. I cannot recall encountering any such thing coming from the Knights of Columbus, the Eagles, Elks, or any other fraternal organization or, for that matter, anyone complaining about them being secretive.

 

[spiritfilledjm]

I usually go to a Christmas thing at a friends lodge every year with my family. I've thought about getting into it but I have so much other responsibilities and what not that I can't make the time for it much less pay the dues. Overall, from what I've seen and read from their actual writings, I personally don't really see anything wrong with it overall, but it's also just not for me at this point either.

 

[SkyWriting]

I know nothing about Freemasonry except to say there are plenty of Masons in my church. My father-in-law, a good Christian man, was a Mason. Plus, the entire lodge used to come together to my church for worship one Sunday a year. It's kind of hard to imagine they are against Christianity.

What is your view? Based on facts and experience.

Are Freemasons against Christianity or not? I have never known what to think. I came across a description of the initiation ceremony in a novel recently and it just clouded the issue further. They don't seem anti religious, seem nice people who do a lot of good works, but there is something very strange about what they do that is so secret.

Ultimately they honor a "bearer of light" being, Satan. But most members are not aware of that until the 32nd degree standing years down the road.

 

[Albion]

Ultimately they honor a "bringer of light" being, Satan. But most members are not aware of that until the 32nd degree standing years down the road.

That Satan claim is a myth but, that aside, the 32nd degree is part of Scottish Rite Masonry which very few Masons belong to.

Being a "Master Mason," which is a full-fledged Mason by definition, is achieved at the the 3rd degree that everyone advances to. All other related associations and their degrees, if any, are optional, don't define Masonry, and are not higher than Master Mason.

 

[seeking.IAM]

That's

That's a myth but, that aside, the 32nd degree is part of Scottish Rite Masonry which very few Masons belong to. Being a "Master Mason," which is a full-fledged Mason by definition, is achieved at the the 3rd degree, and all other related associations and their degrees, if any, are optional and don't define Masonry.

Since I know nothing about them I cannot refute that, except I find it curious that a local Christian clergy just attained becoming a 33rd degree Mason. I don't know how one would explain that. I know the chap and he is Christian to his bones.

 

[Albion]

That's


Since I know nothing about them I cannot refute that, except I find it curious that a local Christian clergy just attained becoming a 33rd degree Mason. I don't know how one would explain that. I know the chap and he is Christian to his bones.

I don't "get" what makes this curious. Many clergymen are Masons, and the 33rd degree is purely honorary, so I don't know what would be 'curious' or inexplicable about this.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

I know nothing about Freemasonry except to say there are plenty of Masons in my church. My father-in-law, a good Christian man, was a Mason. Plus, the entire lodge used to come together to my church for worship one Sunday a year. It's kind of hard to imagine they are against Christianity.

Masons, if they go deep enough and are not there just for the social comradery, place high value on reason. Most Christians place high value on revelation. I believe, Masons also understand God in a theistic way rather than a personal way. With these differences to start with, it would not be surprising to see political animosity through the ages. Perhaps many Masons who are Christian find their own workable reconciliation of these contrary philosophical starting points.

"A strong Anti-Catholicism also permeates Freemasonry. The two traditional enemies of Freemasonry are the royalty and the papacy. Masons even believe that Christ, dying on Calvary, was the "greatest among the apostles of humanity, braving Roman despotism and the fanaticism and bigotry of the priesthood." When one reaches the 30th degree in the masonic hierarchy, called the Kadosh, the person crushes with his foot the papal tiara and the royal crown, and swears to free mankind "from the bondage of despotism and the thraldom of spiritual tyranny."

What are the Masons? Are Catholics allowed to belong to this organization? | EWTN

Of course Masons are not the only anti-Catholic group out there..

 

[SkyWriting]

That Satan claim is a myth but, that aside, the 32nd degree is part of Scottish Rite Masonry which very few Masons belong to.

Being a "Master Mason," which is a full-fledged Mason by definition, is achieved at the the 3rd degree that everyone advances to. All other related associations and their degrees, if any, are optional, don't define Masonry, and are not higher than Master Mason.

As I said, most members are not aware of the roots of Freemasonry with Satan as the "Light Being".

David Icke - Freemasons,Satanism and Symbolism

 

[topher694]

What is your view? Based on facts and experience.

Are Freemasons against Christianity or not? I have never known what to think. I came across a description of the initiation ceremony in a novel recently and it just clouded the issue further. They don't seem anti religious, seem nice people who do a lot of good works, but there is something very strange about what they do that is so secret.

Freemasonry is very bad and very sneaky. In it has the appearance of being compatible with Christianity, but it is not. In the early degrees it appears mostly harmless. But as you climb up the ranks (degrees) the rites invoked become more and more... lets call it... alarming. The higher degrees of Freemasonry require you to protect it and it's members at all costs, above all else, including your faith.

 

[Albion]

Masons, if they go deep enough and are not there just for the social comradery, place high value on reason. Most Christians place high value on revelation.

Most Masons--and Masonry itself--places a high value on both of these, just as most of us here on CF do.

I believe, masons also understand God in a theistic way rather than a personal was.

That's not so. Definitely not.

"A strong Anti-Catholicism also permeates Freemasonry.

That's false. What are you quoting from there?

There is a strong anti-Masonic streak in Catholicism, and Catholics are forbidden by their church to join, so they have their own split-off version instead, but there isn't any anti-Catholicism in Masonry concerning potential joiners or the denomination itself. So you have it backwards. There are Catholics who are Masons and they're as welcome as any other Christians.

The two traditional enemies of Freemasonry are the royalty and the papacy.

Well, quite a few members of the royal family in England are or have been Masons, so that claim is weak; and the Papacy opposes Masonry only because it isn't controlled by the Papacy.

 

[Albion]

Freemasonry is very bad and very sneaky. In it has the appearance of being compatible with Christianity, but it is not. In the early degrees it appears mostly harmless. But as you climb up the ranks (degrees) the rites invoked become more and more... lets call it... alarming. The higher degrees of Freemasonry require you to protect it and it's members at all costs, above all else, including your faith.

Where did you get that erroneous information from?

 

[Albion]

As I said, most members are not aware of the roots of Freemasonry with Satan as the "Light Being".

Neither are you, since there aren't any!


There is a "cottage industry" for people writing tales allegedly exposing Masonry, but this sort of second-hand information is false, and it's surprising that normal people eat it up as though it came straight from the Encyclopedia Britannica. LOL

That said, there isn't much more that can be done here if all we're going to be dealing in are accusations by people who have no personal knowledge of Masonry but are saying "I read somewhere that ...." claims written by people with no particular credibility. Any serious questions from serious inquirers would be different, of course.

 

[Original Happy Camper]

Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Prepared for the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree, for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, and Published by Its Authority (Richmond, Virginia: L.H. Jenkins, 1871, Reprinted 1944): 321.

One example of this masquerading is the culture of secret societies that claim to have illumination or light but are in fact full of darkness. Their Gnostic teaching inverts the truth, making Satan the god and God the enemy. The following sources attest to the fact that Freemasonry is Luciferian:

Albert Pike, 33-degree Freemason and author of Morals and Dogma
"Lucifer, the Light-Bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!iv

The devil is the personification of Atheism or Idolatry. For the Initiates, this is not a Person, but a Force, created for good, but which may serve for evil. It is the instrument of Liberty or Free Will. They represent this Force, which presides over the physical generation, under the mythological and horned form of the God Pan; thence came the he-goat of the Sabbat, brother of the Ancient Serpent, and the Light-bearer or Phosphor, of which the poets have made the false Lucifer of the legend.v

The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is Yahweh (GOD) reversed; for Satan is not a black god, but a negation of God...the Kabala imagined Him to be a "most occult light."vi

That which we must say to a crowd is—We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees—The Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian Doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay whose deeds prove his cruelty, perdify and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him? Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods: darkness being necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive. Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.vii"

Lucifer is the god of Freemasonry

 

[seeking.IAM]

I don't "get" what makes this curious. Many clergymen are Masons, and the 33rd degree is purely honorary, so I don't know what would be 'curious' or inexplicable about this.

As I said I know little about them. I assumed 33rd degree is higher than 32nd degree which previous poster said revealed their secret. What I meant was I found it curious that a clergyman would remain a Mason upon learning the claimed 32nd degree secret about Lucifer. Call me a skeptic.

 

[Albion]

Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Prepared for the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree, for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, and Published by Its Authority (Richmond, Virginia: L.H. Jenkins, 1871, Reprinted 1944): 321.

One example of this masquerading is the culture of secret societies that claim to have illumination or light but are in fact full of darkness. Their Gnostic teaching inverts the truth, making Satan the god and God the enemy. The following sources attest to the fact that Freemasonry is Luciferian:

Albert Pike, 33-degree Freemason and author of Morals and Dogma
"Lucifer, the Light-Bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!iv

The devil is the personification of Atheism or Idolatry. For the Initiates, this is not a Person, but a Force, created for good, but which may serve for evil. It is the instrument of Liberty or Free Will. They represent this Force, which presides over the physical generation, under the mythological and horned form of the God Pan; thence came the he-goat of the Sabbat, brother of the Ancient Serpent, and the Light-bearer or Phosphor, of which the poets have made the false Lucifer of the legend.v

The true name of Satan, the Kabalists say, is Yahweh (GOD) reversed; for Satan is not a black god, but a negation of God...the Kabala imagined Him to be a "most occult light."vi

That which we must say to a crowd is—We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees—The Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian Doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay whose deeds prove his cruelty, perdify and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him? Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods: darkness being necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive. Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.vii"

Lucifer is the god of Freemasonry

You're quoting one person, pretending to know what he's talking about, and from that, defaming tens of millions of Masons and all Masonic organizations out of hand. It's ridiculous. It's immoral. It's ignorant.

It is no different than if you had instead berated all Germans as anti-Semitic because of the Third Reich or all Catholics and their church because of the Spanish inquisition--yet a much better case could be made for either of those because they at least were major episodes in the history of each of these groups whereas Albert Pike was one man and speaks only for himself.

 

[seeking.IAM]

Can anyone actually name a documented evil done in the name of Masonry, or are they feared based upon myth and innuendo?

 

[Albion]

As I said I know little about them. I assumed 33rd degree is higher than 32nd degree which previous poster said revealed their secret. What I meant was I found it curious that a clergyman would remain a Mason upon learning the 32nd degree secret.

I see. I guess that would depend on whether or not there is a 32nd degree secret. I'd suppose that the acceptance of the honor by the clergyman you had in mind would suggest that there isn't anything there that could conflict with Christianity.

In Masonry as a whole, there isn't anything except, I think, for one item which may or may not matter to the onlooker.

In Masonry, there is a chaplain and prayers are offered before meals, etc. Is it against the Christian religion to pray (or just stand) alongside Methodists or Lutherans, let's say, if you are an Episcopalian? My personal answer is "no," but there are some denominations which answer "yes" and I cannot speak for other individuals.

So if a person belongs to one of those churches, he also should not belong to any other organization that does the same, or attend a city commission meeting where an invocation is offered, or a high school graduation where the same often occurs, I'm thinking.

 

[Lukaris]

Freemasonry is not anti Christian although there a couple fringe groups of it who are. A good friend of mine is a mason & wrote a book on Freemasonry. Still, a Christian should avoid freemasonry it is a brotherhood of man and not the Gospel. There are good charitable Freemason groups like the Shriners: Shriners Children's Philadelphia | Children's Hospital
Philippians 4:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:21


It is a good thing to support groups like these but I would avoid the rituals of freemasonry.