Biblical Content and/or Christian Interpretation II: Monitorial

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

First up: Jonathan Ashe, The Masonic Manual

Our origin in this country is thought to be from the Phoenicians,—(who came here with the Tyrian Hercules, and introduced the doctrines of Ham and the Ammonian rites, together with the Hebrew customs) and afterwards emigrants from the Holy Land, who taught us the rules instituted by Solomon at the Temple of Jerusalem; and, finally, the propagators of the Christian doctrine, who brought with them the principles of the Master's Order, and taught the converted those sacred mysteries which are typical of the Christian faith, and expressive of the hope of the resurrection of the body, and the life of regeneration. (Jonathan Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 112)

Whilst we tread on the Mosaic work, let our ideas return to the original which it copies; and let every Mason act as the dictates of reason prompt him, to live in brotherly love, faith, hope, and charity. Faith is the foundation of justice, the bond of amity, and the chief support of society: we live by faith, we walk by faith; by faith we have a continual hope in the acknowledgment of a Supreme Being; by faith we are justified, accepted, and finally saved. A true Christian faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." If we with suitable true devotion maintain our Masonic profession, our faith will become a beam of light, and bring us to those blessed mansions where we shall be eternally happy with God, the Grand Architect of the Universe, whose Son died for us and rose again, that we might be justified through faith in His blood." Hope is the anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and enters into that within the veil: "let a firm reliance in the Almighty's faithfulness animate our endeavours, and teach us to fix our hopes within the limits of His promises; so shall success attend us. If we believe a thing to be impossible, our despondency may render it so; but he that perseveres will ultimately overcome all difficulties.
Charity— oh, how lovely is the theme! — it is the brightest gem that can adorn our Masonic profession; it is the best test and the surest proof of religion. Benevolence, attended by heaven-born. Charity is an honour to the nation from whence it springs, it is nourished, and cherished. Happy is the man who has sowed in his breast the seeds of benevolence; the produce thereof is love and peace; he envieth not his neighbour; he listeneth not to a tale, when reported by slander; revenge or malice hath no place in his breast; he forgives the injuries of men, and endeavours to blot them from his recollection.
Let us, therefore, remember that we are Christians and Masons, being ready to listen to him who craveth our assistance, and from want never to withhold a liberal hand; so shall a heartfelt satisfaction reward our labour, and the produce of liberality most assuredly follow after. (Jonathan Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 80-81)

To try the works of every Mason, the square is presented, as the probation of his life, proving whether his manners are regular and uniform; for Masons should be governed by unanimity and equality, without the distinctions of pride and pageantry: intimating that from high to low, the minds of Masons should be inclined to good works, above which no man stands exalted by his fortune. But superior to all, the lodge is furnished with three luminaries; as the golden candlestick in the tabernacle of Moses was at once emblematical of the Spirit of God, whereby His chosen people were enlightened, and which was prophetical of the churches; or, as Josephus says, representative of the planets and the powerful works of God; so our three lights show us the three great stages of Masonry, — the knowledge and worship of the God of Nature in the impeccable state of Eden; the service under the Mosaic law, when divested of idolatry; and the Christian revelation; but most especially our lights are typical of the Holy Trinity. And as such is the furniture of the lodge; such are the principles dictated to us as Masons; let us rejoice in the exercise of those excellencies, which should set us above the level of other men; and prove that we are brought out of darkness into light. And let us show our good works unto the world, that through our light so shining unto men, they may glorify the great Master of the universe; and therefore "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God." Masons profess innocence, as one of their first principles. They put on white apparel, as an emblem of that character, which bespeaks purity of soul, gentleness, and humility.
We have the following passage in the Biographia Ecclesiastica: — "The ancients were also wont to put a white garment on the person baptized, to denote his having put off the lusts of the flesh, and his being cleansed from his former sins, and that he had obliged himself to maintain a life of unspotted innocency. Accordingly, the baptized are both by the Apostles and the Greek Fathers frequently styled 'the Enlightened’ because they professed to be the children of light, and engaged themselves never to return again to the works of darkness.
This white garment used to be delivered to them with the following solemn charge: — 'Receive the white and undefiled garment, and produce it without spot before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ, that yon may obtain eternal life. Amen.' They were wont to wear these white garments for the space of a week after they were baptized, and then put them off and laid them by in the church, that they might be kept as a witness against them, if they should violate the baptismal covenant." (Jonathan Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 120-22)

Jehovah, their God and King, perceiving the degradation of the Jew as well as Gentile, in his benevolence was moved to redeem mankind. He saw that the revelation which He had deigned to make of his divinity, might, majesty, and wisdom, to the nations of the earth, and more especially to the Jewish tribes, was not sufficient to preserve them in their duty; He weighed the frailty of mankind in the balance which His justice suspended, and to their imperfections He held out His mercy. The Egyptians had abused their learning and wisdom; the Jews had polluted God's ordinances and laws; and Satan had established his dominion in the strong places of the earth. Piety, which had planned the temple at Jerusalem,' was extinguished; the reverence and adoration due to the Divinity was buried in the filth and rubbish of the world; persecution had dispersed the few who retained their obedience, and the name of the true God was almost totally lost and forgotten among men; religion sat mourning in Israel in sackcloth and ashes, and morality was scattered, as it were, by the winds of heaven. In this situation it might well be said, "That the guide to heaven was lost, and the master of the works of righteousness was smitten." The nations had given themselves up to the grossest idolatry; Solomon had fallen, and the service of the true God was effaced from the memory of those who had yielded themselves to the bondage of sin. In order that mankind might be preserved from this deplorable state of darkness and destruction and as the old law was dead and become rottenness, a new doctrine and new precepts were wanting to give the key of salvation, by means of which men might find the ways of the Deity. In this woeful dilemma the great Father of all, commiserating the miseries of the world, sent His only Son, who was innocence itself, to teach the doctrines of eternal life. By Him man was raised from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness,
being lifted from the valley of death to the region of hope; not only working for us this redemption, but granting us the covenant of regeneration; — whence we are capable to become the children of the Divinity, and inheritors of Heaven. Masons, describing the deplorable state of religion under the Jewish law, speak in figures:--"Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast out from the temple, and the Acacia spread its branches over her monument." The Greek name for innocence being similar, implies that the corruptions which crept into the old law had hid Religion from those who sought her, and she was only to be found with innocence, under the banner of Messiah, "the tree of life"; and in regard to Masons themselves, it signified that they ought to be distinguished as true Acacians, or innocent people.
The acquisition of the doctrine of redemption is expressed in the typical character of Huramen, the Greek for "I have found," and by the applications of that name with Masons it is implied that we have discovered the knowledge of god and His salvation, and have been redeemed from the sin of death, and the sepulcher of pollution and unrighteousness.
Thus the Master Mason represents a man under the Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of iniquity hand raised to the life and grace of salvation.
As the great testimonial that we are risen from the state of corruption, we bear the emblem of the Holy Trinity, as the insignia of our vows, and of the origin of the Master’s order.
On receiving this ensign, the Mason professes himself in a short distich, in the Greek language, which, from the rules of our order, we are forbidden to commit to writing; the literal meaning of which is "Vehementer cupio vitam," "Ardently I wish for life;" meaning the everlasting life of redemption and regeneration; an avowal which carries with it the most religious import, proceeding from a pure faith. The ceremonies attending this stage of our profession are solemn and tremendous; during which a 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. This our order is a positive contradiction to Judaic blindness and infidelity, and testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body. The divine construction put upon this emblem of the Master's order, which he declares is the principle by which he is raised from darkness, is also the emblem of moral duties professed by the Mason, and which in former ages were most religiously performed. These are principles immediately resulting from the Christian doctrine.4
4 In testimony of the above facts, the Deacon's jewel is a dove. And in ancient times the holy Eucharist was kept in a vessel in the shape of a dove, as an emblem of Christian charity, taken from the Holy Spirit brooding over Christ in this form. (Durant. de Ritib. Eccles., c. 84.) — DR. OLIVER.
(Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 144-47 & 147 n. 4)

The ceremonies of Masons prove that the testimonials and insignia of the Master's order, in the present state of Masonry, were devised within the ages of Christianity; and we are confident there are not any records in being, in any nation, or in any language, which can show them to be pertinent to any other system, or give them greater antiquity. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 152)

My prediction for Skip's reaction to goofing on the "Masonic Salvation in SC" thread concerning the S&C logo, is that he will quickly post a concession to the point. That's been a consistent pattern on the threads: (1) show a whopper of a goof on a Masonic point, and he will go to the ends of the earth to keep from admitting it, even to the point of staircases for ladders, and rectangles for cubes; (2) but let him make an obvious boner in regard to something not germane to any Masonic point, and he will quickly confess, just so he can later claim "you don't pay any attention to it when I do concede points." It's all window dressing for this guy, and he knows it, and is shameless about it.

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

Assuredly, the secrets revealed to us were for other uses than what relate to the working of masses of stone; and our society, as it now stands, is an association on religious and charitable principles; which principles were acquired from a knowledge of God and the
Christian revelation. Soon after Christianity became the established religion of this country, the professors of it employed themselves in founding religious houses, and in the building of places of public worship. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 157)

In modern Masonry it is given as a principle, why our dedication of lodges is made to St. John, that the Masons who engaged to conquer the Holy Land chose that saint for their patron. We should be sorry to appropriate the Balsarian sect of Christians to St. John, as an explanation of this principle. St. John obtains our dedication, as being the proclaimer of that salvation which was at hand, by the coming of Christ; and we, as a set of religious brethren, assembling in the true faith, commemorate the proclamations of the Baptist. In the name of St. John the Evangelist, we acknowledge the testimonies which he gives, and the divine logos, or word, which he makes manifest. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 170-71)

Our origin in this country is thought to be from the Phoenicians (who came here with the Tyrian Hercules, and introduced the doctrines of Ham and the Ammonian rites, together with the Hebrew-customs), and afterwards emigrants from the Holy Land, who taught us the rules instituted by Solomon at the temple of Jerusalem; and finally, the propagators of the Christian doctrine, who brought with them the principles of the Master's Order, and taught the converted those sacred mysteries which are typical of the Christian faith, and expressive of the hope of the resurrection of the body, and the life of regeneration. Yet we fear few among us are equal to the character we assume. Our lodges are not now appropriated to worship and religious ceremonies; we meet as a social society, inclined to acts of benevolence, leaving our sacred offices too much unperformed. We are totally severed from architects, and are become a set of men working in the duties of charity, good offices, and brotherly love. Christians in religion, — sons of liberty and loyal subjects; we have adopted rules, orders, emblems, and symbols, which enjoin us to live a life of morality: — we have furnished our lodges with those striking objects, which should at once intimate to us the mightiness and wisdom of God, the instability of the affairs of man, and the various vicissitudes in human life, and have set before our eyes preceptors of moral works; and to strengthen our faith, we have enlightened our lodge with the emblem of the Trinity. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 173-75)

Christians have waged cruel wars, and bigotry has deluged society with human blood. By the crusades, the number of our fraternity would be greatly augmented; the occasion itself would revive the rules of Masonry, they being so well adapted to that purpose, and also significative of the Christian faith, from whence sprang the spirit of the enterprise. After these pursuits subsided, bodies of men would be found in every country from whence the levies were called; and what would preserve the society in every state, even during the persecution of zealots, is the Master Mason's Order under its present principles, which is adapted to every sect of Christians. It originated from the earliest influence of Christianity, in honour to, or in confession of, the religion and faith of Christians, before the poison of sectarists was diffused
over the Church. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 176-77)

To conceal the imperfections of our friend and cover his infirmities, is Christian-like and charitable, consequently befitting a Mason. Even the truth should not be told at all times; for where we cannot approve we should pity in silence. What pleasure or profit can there arise by exposing a brother? To publish his misfortune is infernal, to revile him for defects which he cannot mend, is inhuman! From hence we may determine that the duty of a Mason leads to acts of benevolence; and that his heart and hand go together in all kindness and goodness. Let us therefore be "steadfast and immovable" in all our ordinances, in order to evidence, before all men, that we are a brotherhood of virtue and honourable dispositions. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 185)

In an assembly of Christians, it is in no wise requisite to attempt an argument on the necessity which there was upon earth for a Mediator and Saviour for man. In the superstitions, ceremonials, and rituals of the Jewish temple, the true worship of God was obscured and confounded, and innocence became the only ornament of its monument. Then it was that the Divinity, looking down with an eye of commiseration on the deplorable state of man, in His mercy and love, sent us a Preceptor and Mediator, who should teach us the doctrine of regeneration, and raise us from the sepulchre of sin to which the human race were gone down. He gave us the precepts of that acceptable service wherewith His Father should be well pleased; He made the sacrifice of expiation, and by becoming "the first fruits of them that slept," manifested to mankind the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. In the Master's order this whole doctrine is symbolized, and the Christian economy is by types presented to us. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 189-90)

Masons profess that they are pilgrims in progression from the East. The Almighty planted a garden in the East, wherein he placed the perfection of human nature — the first man, full of innocence and divine knowledge, and full of honour, even bearing the image of God. Learning had its origin in the East after the Flood: the Egyptians were the first who represented the zodiac, and the first who demonstrated the wisdom of the great Architect of the world in the revolutions of the heavens; they were the first protectors of the science of Geometry. In regard to the doctrine of our Saviour and the Christian Revelation, it proceeded from the East. The star which proclaimed the birth of the Son of God appeared in the East. The East was an expression used by the prophets to denote the Redeemer. Therefore it may well be conceived that we should prove our progress to be from thence, if we profess by being Masons, that we are a society of the servants of that Divinity, whose abode is with the Father co-eternal in the centre of the heavens. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 192)

We never suffer any religious disputes in our lodge, and as Masons, we are members of the universal church, not narrowed to a sect. Whilst as Christians, we worship God through Christ Jesus, we believe that in every nation, "he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." 3 All Masons, therefore, whether" Christians, Jews, or Mahometans, who violate not the rule of right written by the Almighty upon the tablet of the heart, who fear Him and work righteousness, we are to acknowledge as brethren; and, though we take different roads, we are not to be angry with or persecute each other on that account. (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 270-71)

In short, our present dark estate, it would seem, can never acquire that pure unbeclouded economy which shall emancipate man from all allusions and emblematical rites. But whenever "the Sun of Righteousness" shall so gloriously arise on the earth, Masons shall be glad indeed, and then it may be consistent with the purposes of the Father of Light to suspend or dissolve Masonry, when truth shall appear without the spots and stains of vulgar ignorance, or that sectarian dishonour which unhappily obscures it by a partial eclipse even in this age, wherein the sciences have acquired a fine and a bright progress. May they shine more and more unto that perfect day of brightness and benevolence which has been alluded to as the epoch when Masons may put down their emblems of light! (Ashe, The Masonic Manual, p. 316)

In that deep grave without a name,
Whence his uncoffined clay
Shall breathe again — most wondrous thought —
Before the judgment day;
And stand with glory wrapped around,
On the hills he never trod,
And speak of the strife that won our life
Through Christ th' Incarnate God. (From the poem, "The Burial of Moses," Appendix, Ashe, The Masonic Manual, 1870, p. 319)

　
My prediction for Skip's next response on the "Masons Called by God" thread is easy: Once he sees where I have made the statement that I have consistently used the term "led" as opposed to "called," he will go searching to try to find at least ONE instance in which I did not do so, and start with his "AHA!" response. There are none, though. But he will be going ballistic about it anyway.

Rev Wayne · Nov 5, 2010

But in the beautiful spirit of the Christian's theology, we dare to say, that He, who 'tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,' looks down with infinite compassion upon the widow and fatherless, in the hour of their desolation; and that the same benevolent Savior, who wept while on earth, will fold the arms of his love and protection around those who put their trust and confidence in Him. Then let us so improve this solemn warning that at last, when the 'sheeted dead' are stirring, when the ' great white throne' is set, we shall receive from the Omniscient Judge, the thrilling invitation, 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' " (Henry Clinton Atwood, The Master Workman, or True Masonic Guide, 1850, p. 127-28)

The great Father of All, commiserating the miseries of the world, sent his only Son, who was innocence itself, to teach the doctrine of salvation; by whom man was raised from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; from the tomb of corruption unto the chambers of hope; from the darkness of despair to the celestial beams of faith; and not only working for us this redemption, but making with us the covenant of regeneration, - whence we are become the children of the Divinity, and inheritors of the realms of heaven.
We Masons, describing the deplorable estate of religion under the Jewish law, speak in figures. "Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast forth of the temple, and Acacia wove its branches over her monument;" a?a??a being the Greek word for innocence, or being free from sin; implying that the sins and corruptions of the old law and devotees of the Jewish altar, had hid religion from those who sought her, and she was only to be found where innocence survived, and under the banner of the divine Lamb, and as to ourselves professing that we were to be distinguished by our Acacy, or as true Acacians in our religious faith and tenets.*
(* Acacia-AKAKIA, in antiquity, a roll or bag, represented on the medals of the Greek and Roman emperors; some think it is only a handkerchief, which they used as a signal; others take it for a volume or roll of memorandums or petitions; and others will have it to be a purple bag, filled with earth, to remind the prince of his mortality. Acacians (Acaciani), in church history, the name of a sect of religious and professed Christians, some of whom maintained that the Son was only of a like, not the same substance with the Father; and others, that he was not only of a distinct, but also of a dissimilar substance. Acacy (in Johnson's Dictionary), akakia Gr. innocence, or being free from sin.)
The acquisition of the doctrine of redemption is expressed in the typical character of Euramen, and by the applications of that name with Masons it is implied, that we have discovered the knowledge of God and his salvation, and have been redeemed from the death of sin and the sepulchre of pollution and unrighteousness.* Thus the Master Mason represents a man, under the, Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of iniquity and raised to the faith of salvation. (Cole, Freemasons Library and General Ahiman Rezon, p. 180-182)

Every lodge is furnished with the Holy Bible, the Square, and the Compass; the bible points out the path that leads to happiness, and is dedicated to God; The square teaches to regulate our conduct by the principles of morality and virtue, and is dedicated to the master; the compass teaches us to limit our desires in every station, and is dedicated to the Craft.
The bible is dedicated to the service of God, because it is the inestimable gift of God to man; the square to the master, because being the proper Masonic emblem of his office, it is constantly to remind him of the duty he owes to the lodge over which he is appointed to preside; and the compass to the craft, because, by a due attention to its use, they are taught to regulate their desires, and keep their passions within due bounds.
(Samuel Cole, The Freemasons Library and General Ahimon Rezon, 1817, p. 145-46)

The next object which demands attention, is the holy bible, with the square and compasses thereon. As these instruments remind us to keep our actions within the bounds of propriety, and to square them with all mankind, the sacred volume on which they lie, contains the unerring guide for our conduct through life, as it relates to our worship of the Supreme Master of the world, and our conduct to each other, for these reasons, the book of the divine law is never closed in our Lodges: "it is is open to every eye, and comprehensible to every mind."
(Samuel Cole, The Freemasons Library and General Ahimon Rezon, 149)
This, our order, is a positive contradistinction to the Judaic blindness and infidelity, and testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body.
In fine, such is the importance of this section, that we may safely declare, that the person who is unacquainted with it, is ill-qualified to act as a ruler or governor of the work. (Samuel Cole, The Freemasons Library and Ahiman Rezon, p. 183)

The working tools of a master mason are in a particular manner, the Holy Bible, the Square and the Compasses. The sacred writings being the spiritual tressel board on which the master draws, and from whence he deduces his proper designs, it is appropriately circumscribed by the compass of reason, and laid down agreeably to the square of conscience. Thus the experienced master, in his degree, in imitation of the glorious Creator of all things, both in heaven and earth; the wise founder of the universe, who with his far extended compasses, measures worlds unnumbered, prescribes their revolutions, and keeps them within their orbs, should regulate his passions, curb his desires, and, by an undeviating course of faith, hope, and charity, endeavour to qualify himself for a house not made with hands, a habitation eternal in the heavens.
(Samuel Cole, The Freemasons Library and General Ahimon Rezon, 195)

Every well-governed Lodge is furnished with the Holy Bible, the Square, and the Compasses. The Bible is dedicated to God, because it is the inestimable gift of God to man; * * * the square to the master, because it is the proper masonic emblem of his office; and the compasses to the craft, because, by a due attention to their use, they are taught to circumscribe their desires, and keep their passions within due bounds.
The Holy Bible is dedicated to God; the Square, to the Master; and the Compasses, to the Craft. The Ornaments of a Lodge are the Mosaic pavement, the indented tessel, and the blazing star. The Mosaic pavement is a representation of the ground floor of King Solomon's temple; the indented tessel, that beautiful tesselated border, or skirting, which surrounded it; and the blazing star in the centre, is commemorative of the Star which appeared, to guide the wise men of the East to the place of our Saviour's nativity.
(Jeremy Ladd Cross, The True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor, p. 16)

Thus we close the explanation of the emblems upon the solemn thought of death, which, without revelation, is dark and gloomy; but the Christian is suddenly revived by the ever green and ever living sprig of Faith in the merits of the Lion of the tribe of Judah; which strengthens him, with confidence and composure, to look forward to a blessed immortality; and doubts not, but in the glorious morn of the resurrection, his body will rise, and become as incorruptible as his soul. Then let us imitate the Christian in his virtuous and amiable conduct; in his unfeigned piety to God; in his inflexible fidelity to his trust; that we may welcome the grim tyrant Death, and receive him as a kind messenger sent from our Supreme Grand Master, to translate us from this imperfect to that all-perfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the universe presides. (Jeremy Cross, The True Masonic Chart, or Hieroglyphic Monitor, p. 41)

The Chisel morally demonstrates the advantages of discipline and education. The mind, like the diamond in its original state, is rude and unpolished; but as the effect of the chisel on the external coat soon presents to view the latent beauties of the diamond; So education discovers the latent virtues of the mind, and draws them forth to range the large field of matter and space, to display the summit of human knowledge, our duty to God and to man. (Jeremy Ladd Cross, The True Masonic Chart, p. 46)

The lodge, or flooring, is then placed in the centre; and the Grand Master having taken the chair, under a canopy of state, the Grand Officers, and the Masters and Wardens of the Lodges, repair to the places previously prepared for their reception. The three Lights, and the Gold and Silver Pitchers, with the corn, wine and oil, are placed round the Lodge, at the head of which stands the Altar, with the Holy Bible open, and the Square and Compasses laid thereon. with the Charter, Book of Constitutions, and By-Laws.
(Form for Dedication of a Masonic Hall, Jeremy Ladd Cross, The True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor, p. 75-76)

This grave, that coffin, this circle of mourning friends, remind us that we too are mortal: soon shall our bodies moulder to dust. Then how important for us that we should know that our REDEEMER liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth. [The Master, holding the evergreen in his hand, continues,] 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 a divine and ascended Saviour, we may confidently hope that our souls will bloom in Eternal Spring. (Jeremy Ladd Cross, burial ritual, The True Masonic Chart, p. 86-87)

Then, let us improve this solemn warning, that at last, when the " sheeted dead" are stirring, when the "great white throne'' is set, we shall receive from the Omniscient Judge the thrilling invitation, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
(Jeremy Ladd Cross, The True Masonic Chart, or Hieroglyphic Monitor, p. 86-87)

Unto the grave we have resigned the body of OUT deceased friend, earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to ashes, there to remain until the trump shall sound on the resurrection morn. We can cheerfully leave him in the hands of a Being who has done all things well; who is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Then let us all so improve this solemn warning, that on the great day of account we may receive from the compassionate Judge, the welcome invitation, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Cross, True Masonic Chart, p. 88)

Your office teaches a striking lesson of humility. The institutions of political society teach us to consider the king as the chief of created beings, and that the first duty of his subjects, is to obey his mandates : but the institutions of our sublime degrees, by placing the King in a situation subordinate to the High Priest, teaches us that our duty to God is paramount to all other duties, and should ever claim the priority of our obedience to man. (Jeremy Ladd Cross, True Masonic Chart, p. 139)

Skip Sampson · Nov 6, 2010

Wayne:
Which of your references were issued by a GL? Cordially, Skip.

Rev Wayne · Nov 7, 2010

Skip Sampson said:
Wayne:
Which of your references were issued by a GL? Cordially, Skip.

First, to clarify, "issued by" is not the standard, they could as easily be "adopted by," "sanctioned by," "endorsed by," "used by," etc.

Having said that, here's what we have:

(1) Ashe's manual did not meet any of these descriptions. However, Mackey says of Ashe, that his material was "borrowed" from Hutchinson, and Hutchinson's material was GL approved, so for the Ashe material, it is safe to say, see Hutchinson (when it posts, that is, I haven't put it up yet).

(2) Atwood's The Master Workman; or, True Masonic Guide, was used as the manual in St. John's Grand Lodge, New York, up until the merger took place to form the Grand Lodge of New York.

(3) Cole's The Freemasons' Library and General Ahiman Rezon became the manual of the Grand Lodge of Maryland by official sanction, and that sanction appears in the front materials:

SANCTION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF MARYLAND.

WHEREAS, By a Resolution of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, Brothers P. P. Eckel, H. S. Keatinge, W. FRick, E. G. Woodyear and G. R. Stewart, were appointed a Committee to superintend the publication of a new edition of the AHIMAN REZON, proposed to be published by Brother Samuel Cole, under the title of the FREEMASONS' LIBRARY, and to give the same the sanction of the Grand Lodge:
BE IT KNOWN, That said Committee having examined said Work, do find it, in every respect, worthy of the sanction of the Grand Lodge, and consequently recommend it to all masons, as a Faithful Guide. PHILIP P. ECKEL, HENRY S. KEATINGE, WILLIAM FRICK, EDWARD G. WOODYEAR, G. R. STEWART.

[A note, of which the following is a copy, was received by the Compiler before the Grand Lodge Committee (of whom the writer is a member J were called upon for their opinion and sanction of the Work. I take pleasure in annexing it to the foregoing Certificate.']

Respected Brother,
I have perused your manuscript copy of the "Freemasons' Library, Sfc." with much satisfaction. Your arrangement of the different degrees in Masonry is judicious, your selections from different authors pleasing; and your quotations from Holy Writ, useful and instructive. As far as I am capable of judging, it is the best work of the kind I have seen: believing, that it will serve the experienced brother as a useful remembrancer, and the young beginner in Masonry as a correct and pleasing instructor. Your Brother,
PH. P. ECKEL.

(4) Cross's The True Masonic Chart, or Hieroglyphic Monitor. From a book on Jeremy Ladd Cross by James R. Case on the phoenixmasonry website:

In May 1820 Cross attended the several Connecticut grand bodies at their annual sessions. The Grand Lodge approved his "True Chart etc" and recommended its adoption as a text book. He was elected Grand Sentinel of the Grand Chapter and continued in his appointment as Grand Visitor. He was now sending his book all over the country, shipments running into the hundreds, and also developing a sort of Masonic supply business. His diary refers to the design and sale of aprons, costumes, regalia and equipment.
In 1821 the Grand Lodge continued his appointment as Grand Lecturer; he was elected Grand Marshal of the Grand Chapter and continued as Grand Visitor (at the expense of Chapters which might employ him) ; and he was elected Grand Captain of the Guard in the Grand Council. His activity as lecturer was at its peak, his Monitor was adopted by Grand Lodge action and financing.

Rev Wayne · Nov 7, 2010

Concerning GOD and Religion.
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 antient Times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the Christian Usages of each Country where they travelled 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 Opinion): that is, to be good Men and true, Men of Honour 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 consiliating Persons that otherwise must have remained at a perpetual Distance. (Laurence Dermott, Charge I, Old Charges, Ahiman Rezon)

A

Mason is obliged by his Tenure to believe firmly in the true Worship of the eternal God, as well as in all those sacred Records which the Dignitaries and Fathers of the Church have compiled and published for the Use of all good Men: So that no one who rightly understands the Art, can possibly tread in the irreligious Paths of the unhappy Libertine, or be induced to follow the arrogant Professors of Atheism or Deism; neither is he to be stained with the gross Errors of blind Superstition, but may have the Liberty of embracing what Faith he shall think proper, provided at all Times he pays a due Reverence to his Creator, and by the World deals with Honour and Honesty, ever making that golden Precept the Standard-Rule of his Actions, which engages, To do unto all Men as he would they should do unto him: For the Craft, instead of entering into idle and unnecessary Disputes concerning the different Opinions and Persuasions of Men, admits into the Fraternity all that are good and true: whereby it hath brought about the Means of Reconciliation amongst Persons, who, without that assistance, would have remained at perpetual Variance. (Dermott, Ahiman Rezon, 1756)

Whence it follows that all Masons are to be good men and true-men of honor and honesty, by whatever religious names or persuasions distinguished; always following that golden precept, of doing unto all men as (upon a change of conditions) they would that all men should do unto them." Thus, since Masons, by their tenure, must agree in the three great articles of Noah,* - Masonry becomes the centre of union among the brethren, and the happy means of conciliating and cementing into one body, those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance; thereby strengthening the divine obligations of religion and love. (John Dove, Ahiman Rezon, Virginia, p. 78-79)

Lodges were anciently dedicated to King Solomon, who was our first Most Excellent Grand Master; but Masons professing Christianity, dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, who were two eminent Christian patrons in Masonry; and since their time, there is represented in every regular and well governed Lodge, a certain Point within a Circle-the point representing an individual brother; the circle, the boundary line of his duty to God and man, beyond which which he is never to suffer his passions, prejudices or interests to betray him, on any occasion. This circle is embordered by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing those Saints, who were perfect parallels in Christianity, as well as in Masonry; and upon the vertex rests the Book of Constitutions, which point out the whole duty of a Mason. In going round this Circle, we necessarily touch upon these two lines, as well as upon the Book of Constitutions; and while a Mason keeps himself thus circumscribed, it is impossible he should materially err. (John Dove, Ahiman Rezon, Virginia, p. 157-58)

We are further reminded that though these frail bodies must die and return to dust, we may indulge the hope that through the merits of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our disembodied spirits shall be raised and be carried to realms of bliss, there to remain in Gods paradise forever. (Florida, Masonic Monitor, Master Mason lecture, p. 108)

Then let us improve this solemn warning, so that when the sheeted dead are stirring, when the great white throne is set, we shall receive from the Omniscient Judge the thrilling invitation: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Florida Masonic Monitor, p. 190)

Man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until the evening of his day. The labor and work of our brother are finished. As it hath pleased Almighty GOD to take the soul of our departed brother, may he find mercy in the great day when all men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. We must walk in the light while we have light; for the darkness of death may come upon us, at a time when we may not be prepared. Take heed, therefore, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is; ye know not when the Master cometh, at even; at midnight, or in the morning. We should so regulate our lives by the line of rectitude and truth, that in the evening of our days we may be found worthy to be called from labor to refreshment, and duly prepared for a translation from the terrestrial to the celestial Lodge, to join the Fraternity of the spirits of just men made perfect. (Florida, Masonic Monitor, Burial Service, p. 204)

Most Glorious God, author of all good, and giver of all mercy, pour down thy blessings upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with the ties of sincere affection. May the present instance of mortality remind us of our approaching fate, and by drawing our attention toward Thee, the only refuge in time of need, may we be so induced to regulate our conduct here that when the awful moment shall arrive at which we must quit this transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of Thy mercy may dispel the gloom of death, and that after our departure hence in peace and in Thy favor, we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, and there join in union with our friend, and enjoy that uninterrupted and unceasing felicity which is allotted to the souls of just men made perfect. Amen! (Florida, Masonic Monitor, Burial Service, p. 204)

There are three great duties, which masons ought not only to perform themselves; but likewise, to inculcate, as far as possible, on their friends and acquaintances, viz. their duty to God, their neighbours, and themselves.
1. To God. In never mentioning his sacred name, unless with that reverential awe, which is due from a creature to his creator; whom we ought to adore, as the source of all happiness, not only in the present, but also, in that future world, which is beyond death and the grave; whom we ought always to have in view, as our chief good, and whose blessing we ought to implore, on all our laudable undertakings.
2. To your neighbours, you are to act upon the square, i. e. you are to follow the golden rule of doing to others, as, in similar circumstances, you would wish that they should do to you. (James Hardie, New Freemasons Monitor, p. 86)

The lamb has, in all ages, been considered as an emblem of innocence and of peace. The Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, will grant to those, who put their trust in him, his peace. He, therefore, who wears the lamb-skin as the badge of masonry, is thereby reminded of that purity of life and conversation, which it is absolutely necessary for those to observe, who expect to be admitted into the grand lodge above, where under the presidency of the Grand Master of Heaven and Earth, they will for ever enjoy those "pleasures, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things, which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians, ii. 9. (James Hardie, New Freemasons Monitor, p. 140-41)

In every well governed lodge, there will be found, the Bible, the Square, and the Compass.
The bible is dedicated to God, because it is his inestimable gift to man; the square to the master, because it is the proper emblem of his office; and the compass to the craft, because by a due attention to its use, they are taught to keep their passions within due bounds. The ornamental parts of a lodge, are, the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tassel, and the Blazing 'Star. The Mosaic pavement represents the ground floor of Solomon's temple; the indented tassel, that beautiful border which surrounded it; and the blazing star in the centre, is in commemoration of the star, by which the Magi, or wise men of the east, were conducted to the place of our Saviour's nativity. The Mosaic pavement, is emblematical of human life, which is chequered with good and evil ; the border which surrounds it, the manifold blessings which surround us, and which we may obtain by a steadfast reliance on Divine Providence, which is represented by the blazing star in the centre.
Amongst the various symbols, which require the consideration of free-masons, the ashler is one of the most important. The rough ashler is the stone as taken from the quarry, in its rough and natural state; the perfect ashler is the stone, when duly adjusted to the use, for which it is intended, by the hands of the workman. On the trestle board the master draws his designs. By the rough ashler, we are reminded of our degenerate state by nature ; by the perfect ashler, we are taught to aspire to that state of perfection, which those, who act in conformity to the will of the Divine Architect, may hope to attain. The trestle board should put us in mind, that as the operative mason erects his temporal building, agreeably to such plan, as has been laid down by the master on his trestle board, so it should be our study to raise our spiritual building, agreeably to the regulations prescribed by the Supreme Architect in the book of life. It may here be observed, that masons, previous to the introduction of Christianity, dedicated their lodges to KING SOLOMON; but since that period, those, who believed in the Christian religion have dedicated their lodges to ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, and ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, both of whom were eminent patrons of masonry. There has, from time immemorial, been represented in every well governed lodge, anoint within a circle ; the point representing an individual brother; the circle, the limits of his duty to God and man, beyond which he is never to encroach on any occasion. This circle is bordered by two parallel and perpendicular lines, emblematical of the two great patrons of Christianity, as well as masonry, St. John the Baptist,and St. John the Evangelist; and upon the vertex rests the HOLY BIBLE, which, in the most plain and intelligible language, points out the whole duty of man to his Creator, to society, and to himself. In going round this circle, it will be impossible for a mason, who keeps himself thus circumscribed, to deviate materially from the rules of moral rectitude.
(James Hardie, The New Free-Masons Monitor, or Masonic Guide, 1818, p. 142-44)

This order is, therefore, a positive contradiction of those, who know not God, and gives the most irrefragable proof of the resurrection of the body. (Hardie, New Freemasons Monitor, p. 158)

May we be faithful, and may our eyes be closed in peace; and let it be impressed on the minds of each of us, that it ought to be our constant study, to live in such a manner that we need not be afraid to die, so that when the great king of terrors shall stare us in the face, we may be enabled to say, "0 death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; for as much as ye know, that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
Farewell, dear brother, till the grand summons shall call us from hence to the world of spirits." "Then, brother, we will rise and meet thee, as we trust, in glory everlasting" Glory be to God on high." "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
The following prayer, or one to a similar purpose, may then be read or repeated.
" Light of life! all things live before thee! the darkness and the light are both alike to thee! with thee, there is no darkness; for thou seest us at our birth, and at our death. Thou knowest us, when in the womb and in the grave. Thou forgettest not, where we have been, and knowest where we are to be. We are always present with thee, and oar thoughts never perish from thy remembrance. May our brother live with us, as well as with thee. May good tidings be on our lips and his works written on our hearts. "May we all die the death of the righteous, and our latter end be like his.'. Let his death teach us that we too must die, and may our conduct be so regulated by thy grace, that at our exit from this world of cares, we may be deemed worthy of taking our seats in the grand lodge above." Amen! So mote it be .'" (James Hardie, New Free-Masons Monitor, 1818, p. 283-84)

JESUS CHRIST, our blessed Saviour, the Great Architect of the Church, was born at Bethlehem, in Judea, in the 4th year before the vulgar Christian era, and in the year of masonry 4000. (James Hardie, New Free-Masons Monitor, 1818, p. 294)

Rev Wayne · Nov 7, 2010

Concerning GOD and Religion.
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 antient Times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the Christian Usages of each Country where they travelled 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 Opinion): that is, to be good Men and true, Men of Honour 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 consiliating Persons that otherwise must have remained at a perpetual Distance. (Laurence Dermott, Charge I, Old Charges, Ahiman Rezon)

A

Mason is obliged by his Tenure to believe firmly in the true Worship of the eternal God, as well as in all those sacred Records which the Dignitaries and Fathers of the Church have compiled and published for the Use of all good Men: So that no one who rightly understands the Art, can possibly tread in the irreligious Paths of the unhappy Libertine, or be induced to follow the arrogant Professors of Atheism or Deism; neither is he to be stained with the gross Errors of blind Superstition, but may have the Liberty of embracing what Faith he shall think proper, provided at all Times he pays a due Reverence to his Creator, and by the World deals with Honour and Honesty, ever making that golden Precept the Standard-Rule of his Actions, which engages, To do unto all Men as he would they should do unto him: For the Craft, instead of entering into idle and unnecessary Disputes concerning the different Opinions and Persuasions of Men, admits into the Fraternity all that are good and true: whereby it hath brought about the Means of Reconciliation amongst Persons, who, without that assistance, would have remained at perpetual Variance. . . .

He is to treat his Inferiors as he would have his Superiors deal with him, wisely considering that the Original of Mankind is the same; and though Masonry divests no Man of his Honour, yet does the Craft admit that strictly to pursue the Paths of Virtue, whereby a clear Conscience may be preserved, is the only Method to make any Man noble. (Dermott, Ahiman Rezon, 1756)

For although in ancient times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the usages of the countries where they sojourned or worked, (being found in all nations, and of divers religions and persuasions,) yet it is now thought most expedient, that the brethren in general, should only be charged to adhere to the essentials of religion, in which all men agree; leaving each brother to his own private judgment, as to particular modes and forms. Whence it follows that all Masons are to be good men and true-men of honor and honesty, by whatever religious names or persuasions distinguished; always following that golden precept, of doing unto all men as (upon a change of conditions) they would that all men should do unto them." Thus, since Masons, by their tenure, must agree in the three great articles of Noah,* - Masonry becomes the centre of union among the brethren, and the happy means of conciliating and cementing into one body, those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance; thereby strengthening the divine obligations of religion and love. (John Dove, Ahiman Rezon, Virginia, p. 78-79)

Lodges were anciently dedicated to King Solomon, who was our first Most Excellent Grand Master; but Masons professing Christianity, dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, who were two eminent Christian patrons in Masonry; and since their time, there is represented in every regular and well governed Lodge, a certain Point within a Circle-the point representing an individual brother; the circle, the boundary line of his duty to God and man, beyond which which he is never to suffer his passions, prejudices or interests to betray him, on any occasion. This circle is embordered by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing those Saints, who were perfect parallels in Christianity, as well as in Masonry; and upon the vertex rests the Book of Constitutions, which point out the whole duty of a Mason. In going round this Circle, we necessarily touch upon these two lines, as well as upon the Book of Constitutions; and while a Mason keeps himself thus circumscribed, it is impossible he should materially err. (John Dove, Ahiman Rezon, Virginia, p. 157-58)

We are further reminded that though these frail bodies must die and return to dust, we may indulge the hope that through the merits of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our disembodied spirits shall be raised and be carried to realms of bliss, there to remain in God’s paradise forever. (Florida, Masonic Monitor, Master Mason lecture, p. 108)

Then let us improve this solemn warning, so that when the sheeted dead are stirring, when the great white throne is set, we shall receive from the Omniscient Judge the thrilling invitation: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Florida Masonic Monitor, p. 190)

Man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until the evening of his day. The labor and work of our brother are finished. As it hath pleased Almighty GOD to take the soul of our departed brother, may he find mercy in the great day when all men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. We must walk in the light while we have light; for the darkness of death may come upon us, at a time when we may not be prepared. Take heed, therefore, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is; ye know not when the Master cometh, at even; at midnight, or in the morning. We should so regulate our lives by the line of rectitude and truth, that in the evening of our days we may be found worthy to be called from labor to refreshment, and duly prepared for a translation from the terrestrial to the celestial Lodge, to join the Fraternity of the spirits of just men made perfect. (Florida, Masonic Monitor, Burial Service, p. 204)

Most Glorious God, author of all good, and giver of all mercy, pour down thy blessings upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with the ties of sincere affection. May the present instance of mortality remind us of our approaching fate, and by drawing our attention toward Thee, the only refuge in time of need, may we be so induced to regulate our conduct here that when the awful moment shall arrive at which we must quit this transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of Thy mercy may dispel the gloom of death, and that after our departure hence in peace and in Thy favor, we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, and there join in union with our friend, and enjoy that uninterrupted and unceasing felicity which is allotted to the souls of just men made perfect. Amen! (Florida, Masonic Monitor, Burial Service, p. 204)

There are three great duties, which masons ought not only to perform themselves; but likewise, to inculcate, as far as possible, on their friends and acquaintances, viz. their duty to God, their neighbours, and themselves.
1. To God. In never mentioning his sacred name, unless with that reverential awe, which is due from a creature to his creator; whom we ought to adore, as the source of all happiness, not only in the present, but also, in that future world, which is beyond death and the grave; whom we ought always to have in view, as our chief good, and whose blessing we ought to implore, on all our laudable undertakings.
2. To your neighbours, you are to act upon the square, i. e. you are to follow the golden rule of doing to others, as, in similar circumstances, you would wish that they should do to you. (James Hardie, New Freemasons’ Monitor, p. 86)

The lamb has, in all ages, been considered as an emblem of innocence and of peace. The Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, will grant to those, who put their trust in him, his peace. He, therefore, who wears the lamb-skin as the badge of masonry, is thereby reminded of that purity of life and conversation, which it is absolutely necessary for those to observe, who expect to be admitted into the grand lodge above, where under the presidency of the Grand Master of Heaven and Earth, they will for ever enjoy those "pleasures, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things, which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians, ii. 9. (James Hardie, New Freemason’s Monitor, p. 140-41)

In every well governed lodge, there will be found, the Bible, the Square, and the Compass.
The bible is dedicated to God, because it is his inestimable gift to man; the square to the master, because it is the proper emblem of his office; and the compass to the craft, because by a due attention to its use, they are taught to keep their passions within due bounds. The ornamental parts of a lodge, are, the Mosaic Pavement, the Indented Tassel, and the Blazing 'Star. The Mosaic pavement represents the ground floor of Solomon's temple; the indented tassel, that beautiful border which surrounded it; and the blazing star in the centre, is in commemoration of the star, by which the Magi, or wise men of the east, were conducted to the place of our Saviour's nativity. The Mosaic pavement, is emblematical of human life, which is chequered with good and evil ; the border which surrounds it, the manifold blessings which surround us, and which we may obtain by a steadfast reliance on Divine Providence, which is represented by the blazing star in the centre.
It may here be observed, that masons, previous to the introduction of Christianity, dedicated their lodges to KING SOLOMON; but since that period, those, who believed in the Christian religion have dedicated their lodges to ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, and ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, both of whom were eminent patrons of masonry. There has, from time immemorial, been represented in every well governed lodge, anoint within a circle ; the point representing an individual brother; the circle, the limits of his duty to God and man, beyond which he is never to encroach on any occasion. This circle is bordered by two parallel and perpendicular lines, emblematical of the two great patrons of Christianity, as well as masonry, St. John the Baptist,and St. John the Evangelist; and upon the vertex rests the HOLY BIBLE, which, in the most plain and intelligible language, points out the whole duty of man to his Creator, to society, and to himself. In going round this circle, it will be impossible for a mason, who keeps himself thus circumscribed, to deviate materially from the rules of moral rectitude.
(James Hardie, The New Free-Mason’s Monitor, or Masonic Guide, 1818, p. 142-44)

This order is, therefore, a positive contradiction of those, who know not God, and gives the most irrefragable proof of the resurrection of the body. (Hardie, New Freemason’s Monitor, p. 158)

May we be faithful, and may our eyes be closed in peace; and let it be impressed on the minds of each of us, that it ought to be our constant study, to live in such a manner that we need not be afraid to die, so that when the great king of terrors shall stare us in the face, we may be enabled to say, "0 death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; for as much as ye know, that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
Farewell, dear brother, till the grand summons shall call us from hence to the world of spirits." "Then, brother, we will rise and meet thee, as we trust, in glory everlasting" Glory be to God on high." "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.”
The following prayer, or one to a similar purpose, may then be read or repeated.
" Light of life! all things live before thee! the darkness and the light are both alike to thee! with thee, there is no darkness; for thou seest us at our birth, and at our death. Thou knowest us, when in the womb and in the grave. Thou forgettest not, where we have been, and knowest where we are to be. We are always present with thee, and oar thoughts never perish from thy remembrance. May our brother live with us, as well as with thee. May good tidings be on our lips and his works written on our hearts. "May we all die the death of the righteous, and our latter end be like his.'. Let his death teach us that we too must die, and may our conduct be so regulated by thy grace, that at our exit from this world of cares, we may be deemed worthy of taking our seats in the grand lodge above." Amen! So mote it be .'" (James Hardie, New Free-Mason’s Monitor, 1818, p. 283-84)

JESUS CHRIST, our blessed Saviour, the Great Architect of the Church, was born at Bethlehem, in Judea, in the 4th year before the vulgar Christian era, and in the year of masonry 4000. (James Hardie, New Free-Mason’s Monitor, 1818, p. 294)

Rev Wayne · Nov 8, 2010

THE SANCTION OBTAINED FOR THE FIRST EDITION.

Whereas Brother WILLIAM HUTCHINSON has compiled a book, entitled The Spirit of Masonry," and has requested our Sanction for the publication thereof; we, having perused the said book, and finding it will be of use to this Society, do recommend the same.

PETRE, G.M.
ROWLAND HOLT, D.G.M.
THOMAS NOEL, S.G.W.
JOHN HATCH, J.G.W.
ROWLAND BERKELEY, G.T.
JAMES HESELTINE, G.S. (Front Material of The Spirit of Masonry)

The members of our society at this day, in the third stage of Masonry, confess themselves to be Christians, "The veil of the temple is rent, the builder is smitten, and we are raised from the tomb of transgression." (Hutchinson, Lecture I: The Design, Spirit of Masonry)

The institutors of this society had their eyes on the progressive advancement of religion, and they symbolized it, as well in the first stage, as in the succeeding orders of Masons. The knowledge of the God of Nature forms the first estate of our profession; the worship of the Deity, under the Jewish law, is described in the second stage of Masonry; and the Christian dispensation is distinguished in the last and highest order. (Hutchinson, Lecture II: On the Rites, Ceremonies, and Institutions of the Ancients, Spirit of Masonry)

We are totally severed from architects, and are become a set of men working in the duties of charity, good offices, and brotherly love - Christians in religion - sons of liberty and loyal subjects: we have adopted rules, orders, emblems, and symbols, which enjoin us to live a life of morality; we have furnished our lodges with those striking objects which should at once intimate to us the mightiness and wisdom of God, the instability of the affairs of man, and the various vicissitudes of human life, and have set before our eyes preceptors of moral works; and to strengthen our faith, we have enlightened our lodge with the emblem of the Trinity.
(* A full account of both may be found in the Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry, lecture vii. -EDITOR) (Hutchinson, Lecture XIII: On the Occupations of Masons, Spirit of Masonry)

the Master Mason's Order, under its present principles, is adapted to every sect of Christians. it originated from the earliest era of Christianity, in honor to, or in confession of, the religion and faith of Christians, before the poison of sectaries was diffused over the church. (Hutchinson, Lecture XIII: On the Occupations of Masons, Spirit of Masonry)

We have the following passage in the Biographia Ecclesiastica: "The ancients were also wont to put a white garment on the person baptized, to denote his having put off the lusts of the flesh, and his being cleansed from his former sins, and that he had obliged himself to maintain a life of unspotted innocence. Accordingly, the baptized are, both by the Apostle and the Greek fathers, styled f?t???µe???, the enlightened, because they professed to be the children of light, and engaged themselves never to return again to the works of darkness.* This white garment used to be delivered to them with this solemn charge: 'Receive the white and undefiled garment, and produce it without spot before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you may obtain eternal life. Amen.' They were wont to wear these white garments for the space of a week after they were baptized, and then put them off and laid them up in the church, that they might be kept as a witness against them if they should violate the baptismal covenant." (Hutchinson, Lecture VI: The Apparel and Jewels of Masons, Spirit of Masonry)

When we speak of Masons under the denomination of a society, we mean Masons as embodied in lodges, according to the present manners in which such lodges are held. Our antiquity is in our principles, maxims, language, learning, and religion : those we derive from Eden,' from the patriarchs, and from the sages of the east; all which are made perfect under the Christian dispensation. The light and doctrines which we possess are derived from the beginning of time, and have descended through this long succession of ages uncorrupted; but our modes and manners are deduced from the different eras of paradise, the building of the temple at Jerusalem, and the Christian revelation. (Hutchinson, Lecture XIV: A Corollary, Spirit of Masonry)

We Masons, describing the deplorable estate of religion under the Jewish law, speak in figures. "Her tomb was in the rubbish and filth cast forth of the temple, and Acacia wove its branches over her monument;" akakia being the Greek word for innocence, or being free from sin; implying that the sins and corruptions of the old law and devotees of the Jewish altar, had hid religion from those who sought her, and she was only to be found where innocence survived, and under the banner of the divine Lamb, and as to ourselves professing that we were to be distinguished by our Acacy, or as true Acacians in our religious faith and tenets. The acquisition of the doctrine of redemption is expressed in the typical character of Euramen, (???aµe?, inveni,) and by the applications of that name with Masons it is implied, that we have discovered the knowledge of God and his salvation, and have been redeemed from the death of sin and the sepulchre of pollution and unrighteousness.* Thus the Master Mason represents a man, under the, Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of iniquity and raised to the faith of salvation. As the great testimonial that we are risen from the state of corruption, we bear the emblem of the Holy Trinity, as the insignia of our vows and of the origin of the Master's order. On receiving this ensign, the Mason professeth himself in a short distich, in the Greek language, which, from the rules of our order, we are forbidden to commit to writing; the literal meaning of which is, "Vehementer cupio vitam," - ardently I wish for life: meaning the everlasting life of redemption and regeneration; an avowal which carries with it the most religious import, and must proceed from a pure faith. The ceremonies attending this stage of our profession are solemn and tremendous, during which a 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. Thus our order is a positive contradiction to the Judaic blindness and infidelity, and testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the body.
The divine construction put upon this emblem of the Master's order, which he declares, is the principle by which he is raised from darkness; so it is also the emblem of moral duties professed by the Mason, and which in former ages were most religiously performed. These, also, are principles immediately resulting from the Christian doctrine. The Master Mason imposes a duty on himself, full of moral virtue and Christian charity, by enforcing that brotherly love which every man should extend to his neighbor. (Hutchinson, Lecture IX: The Master Masons Order, Spirit of Masonry)

The second section of the Master Mason degree which follows, commonly called the second section, is of pre-eminent importance. It recites the legend or historical tradition on which the degree is foundeda legend whose symbolic interpretation testifies 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. (Indiana Monitor and Freemasons Guide, p. 95)

Master: Brethren - Before I declare the Lodge closed, let us unite in humbly acknowledging our dependence on the Most High. May His right hand be as a shield and buckler to us against the assaults of our enemies; and, at the final day, may each and every one of us be raised, through the merits of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, to the celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Grand Master forever presides - forever reigns. Amen." (Lightfoot, Manual of the Lodge, p. 5)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 9, 2010

"The first charge is, that yee shall be true men to God and the holy church, and to use no error or heresie by your understanding and by wise men's teaching. (John Dove, "Antiquities of Masonry," The Masonic Textbook (and Ahiman Rezon), Virginia)

For although in ancient times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the usages of the countries where they sojourned or worked, (being found in all nations, and of divers religions and persuasions,) yet it is now thought most expedient, that the brethren in general, should only be charged to adhere to the essentials of religion, in which all men agree; leaving each brother to his own private judgment, as to particular modes and forms. Whence it follows that all Masons are to be good men and true-men of honor and honesty, by whatever religious names or persuasions distinguished; always following that golden precept, of doing unto all men as (upon a change of conditions) they would that all men should do unto them." Thus, since Masons, by their tenure, must agree in the three great articles of Noah,* - Masonry becomes the centre of union among the brethren, and the happy means of conciliating and cementing into one body, those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance; thereby strengthening the divine obligations of religion and love. (John Dove, The Masonic Textbook, Virginia, p. 78-79)

Lodges were anciently dedicated to King Solomon, who was our first Most Excellent Grand Master; but Masons professing Christianity, dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, who were two eminent Christian patrons in Masonry; and since their time, there is represented in every regular and well governed Lodge, a certain Point within a Circle-the point representing an individual brother; the circle, the boundary line of his duty to God and man, beyond which he is never to suffer his passions, prejudices or interests to betray him, on any occasion. This circle is embordered by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing those Saints, who were perfect parallels in Christianity, as well as in Masonry; and upon the vertex rests the Book of Constitutions, which point out the whole duty of a Mason. In going round this Circle, we necessarily touch upon these two lines, as well as upon the Book of Constitutions; and while a Mason keeps himself thus circumscribed, it is impossible he should materially err. (John Dove, The Masonic Textbook, Virginia, p. 157-58)

The chisel morally demonstrates the advantages of discipline and education. The mind, like the diamond in its original state, is rude and unpolished; but, as the effect of the chiseI on the external coat soon presents to view the latent beauties of the diamond, so education discovers the latent virtues of the mind, and draws them forth to range the large field of matter and space, to display the summit of human knowledge, our duty to God and to man. (Masonic Constitutions, Grand Lodge of Kentucky, p. 124)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 10, 2010

But this body over which we now mourn is not our brother, but only that which was his human and material part until God laid His finger upon him and he slept. He was mortal but now has put on immortality. He sleeps, but he shall wake again.
S. W.I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.
J. W.I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. (Michigan Masonic Monitor, p. 7)

It was never intended that Freemasonry should be a religion, nor a substitute for a religion or creed. It has, for ages, taught its members to use the Holy Bible as a Great Light to show them the way which leads to life eternal.[FONT='Tahoma','sans-serif'] [/FONT]
Freemasonry adopts no particular creed but welcomes those who believe in God as well as in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body. The Bible is recognized as the inestimable gift of God to man and as a rule and guide of his faith. From its very inception, Masonic Lodges have displayed the Holy Bible open upon the altar in the center of the Lodge Room. No Masonic meeting is opened or closed unless a prayer is offered. (Mississippi Grand Lodge statement on Religion, Mississippi GL website)

[Not "monitorial," but certainly published by Grand Lodge]

Every well governed lodge is furnished with the Holy Bible, the Square, and the Compass; the bible points out the path that leads to happiness, and is dedicated to God; the square teaches to regulate our conduct by the principles of morality and virtue, and is dedicated to the master; the compass teaches to limit our desires in every station, and is dedicated to the craft. The Bible is dedicated to the service of God, because it is the inestimable gift of God to man; the Square to the Master, because being the proper masonic emblem of his office, it is constantly to remind him of the duty he owes to the lodge over which he is appointed to preside; and the Compass to the Craft, because, by a due attention to its use, they are taught to regulate their desires, and keep their passions within due bounds. The ornamental parts of the lodge, displayed in this section, are, the Masonic pavement, the indented tessel, and the blazing star. The Masonic pavement is a representation of the ground floor of king Solomon's Temple; the indented tessel, that beautiful tesselated border, or skirting, which surrounded it; and the blazing star, in the centre, is commemorative of the star which appeared, to guide the wise men of the east to the place of our Saviour's nativity. The Masonic pavement is emblematic of human life, chequered with good and evil; the beautiful border which surrounds it, those blessings and comforts which surround us, and which we hope to obtain by a faithful reliance on Divine Providence, which is hieroglyphically represented by the blazing star in the Centre.
(Masonic Constitutions, Or, Illustrations of Masonry, James Moore, Cary L. Clarke, Grand Lodge of Kentucky, p. 82)

The Grand Master of California (representing the Western States): This Evergreen is an emblem of the Masonic faith in the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul. I deposit it here in the confidence of a certain faith, in the reasonable religious and holy hope that this dead body encoffined here will at the last day arise a glorious form to meet our God. To whom be glory and honor and power and majesty and might and dominion now and for evermore. (Masonic Services at the Tomb of George Washington, December 14, 1899, Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Jurisdiction of Alabama, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, 1898, p. 126)

[Not "monitorial," but certainly part of Grand Lodge official documents, for each of the "proceedings" publications carries the seal of the Grand Lodge.]

Masonry speaks first to the mind with the sublime words, found in the beginning of the pages of our great light, "The Bible." "Let there be light" is the expression and the sublimest sentence in human language. It is the command for the mind, no blind faith, no submission to feigned authorities, but to God, the Father of us all, who revealed Himself to His children. We do not try to unravel the mysteries of creation but to know the Creator. We will not solve the eternal problem, and to the great question, " Who art thou ?" as Masons, we have no other answer but, "I am what I am," and that my innate sense of duty teaches me, Masonic precepts and lessons command me to obey the Lord who has created me and endowed me with these faculties and live up to that which has been given unto me. It also speaks to the heart, that love is enjoined on nearly every page of our great light, the Bible. It points out to us, that love is life's end, life's wealth, life's reward. It commands to love our God, and love our fellow man, to love the poor and needy, the stranger and the homeless, the widow and the orphan. No feast and no enjoyment, no pleasure and no blessing, but that they are remembered, who appeal to our hearts and affections. So speaks Masonry of to-day, and so taught Masonry of antiquity. It is in harmony with the mind, the conscience and the heart. It is in harmony with the progress of the age already made, with the progress yet to be achieved. We therefore proudly exclaim, "Yes, we are Masons, Chapter Masons, and adore the Lord of Light, Truth, Justice and Love. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord," this is what Masonry bids us, what Masonry teaches, and what Masonry is.
(Proceedings, Freemasons Canada, Royal Arch Masons, Grand Chapter, p. xxiv-xxv)

We have always understood that a Lodge was a constitutional number of Masons assembled with a Holy Bible, square and compass, and a charter or warrant authorizing them to work.
(Proceedings, Freemasons Canada, Royal Arch Masons, Grand Chapter, p. cvi.)

We place the Bible upon our altar; upon it our obligations are taken, and we are taught that it is one of the great lights in Masonry. I cannot do better than quote the language of a Grand Master of Missouri upon this subject, in which he uses the following: "How any Mason can avow such a belief, or rather want of belief, in a book which he, among his first lessons in Masonry, was taught was the 'inestimable gift from God to man.' and given as a rule and guide of his faith and practice, is more than I can understand. What, may I ask, constitutes a belief in God in the sense that we use it, as an indispensable requisite to a man's being made a Mason?" I answer unhesitatingly that such a declaration from a candidate is to be taken in its broadest sense, and to mean that his belief in God is such a belief as has entered his heart and prepared him to be made a Mason. That his belief in God is to be taken as a declaration that it not only means more than the bare fact that there is a Supreme Being, the conception of whom is bounded by the physical senses, contracted to their narrowest limits, but that belief is in God as the great Creator and Ruler who watches over all, and as he is taught further on "will reward us according to our merits." (Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Colorado, p. 108)

I therefore pleaded with the Brethren to build up the moral and religious character of each member of the Fraternity in his individual capacity, and urged the necessity of looking after the one hundred thousand Free and Accepted Masons in the State of New York; not as a Fraternity at large, hut that special specific attention should he given to each and every one of these one hundred thousand, to bring them into closer fraternal sympathy, and to teach them the "Duty we owe to God, our neighbor and ourselves."
Duty to God, by keeping the Commandments proclaimed from Mount Sinai; duty to our neighbor and this does not mean or say Masonic neighbor by according to him the measure of the "Golden Rule; "duty to ourselves, by being moral and upright, kind and charitable. (Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, p. 29)

I was at the bedside of a dying Mason not long since, and unconsciously, perhaps, he took me by the strong grip of a Master Mason. I asked if he remembered the significance of that grip. His eye, which was becoming dim in death's last throes, brightened, and he replied, 'Aye, yes;it is by that strong grip I shall be raised from DEATH то LIFE, through the redeeming merits of Judah's Lion. He remembered it. The emblem had taught and Divine grace had fixed the lesson of the sprig of acacia. He had learned the underlying truth intended to be taught, as well as the doctrine of the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the Soul,the resurrection from death to life eternal, ineffable, through the power and strength of the merits Judah's Lion. (The Acacia Plant, G.M. Blount, Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Nova Scotia, 1876, p. 244)

Freemasonry is not a system or creed of religion; but in my judgment it is essentially religious; and, more than this, it is charged with the spirit and purposes of the Christian religion. It seems every way fitting that St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist should be regarded as 'patrons' of Freemasonry, although there is no historic evidence of their connection with a Fraternity from which the Masonic Society can trace its descent. It quickens the moral pulse of the average Craftsman to have these eminent apostles of truth and righteousness brought to mind in the enforcement of Masonic lessons. For something of the same reason and to the same end the name of St. Andrew may properly be associated with Masonic organizations us a reminder of religious obligations of that true service which is required both toward God and toward men."
St. Andrew was the loyal disciple of Him who said: 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.' Mindful of the Apostle's faith, and, also, of the service which he rendered for truth's sake and righteousness' sake, we shall be prepared all the more to appreciate the power and the scope of the Christian Revelation which points out to man his duty to God, his neighbor, and
himself. For myself, I may say that I cannot think of Freemasonry in its highest and broadest range of moral unfolding except as an institution pervaded by Christian principles; which, indeed, would be narrowed and dwarfed, disfigured beyond recognition, were it to disown the distinctive teaching of Christianity as related to the law of love and the law of duty. As an eminent author justly remarks: 'Freemasonry shows the touch of religion - the Christian religion on its entire system.' He further states: 'And while Freemasonry delights in opening its portals to all who hold the great fundamental truths of religion, yet as it has prevailed chiefly amongst Christian nations, its teachings have been very largely imbued with Christianity, and very many symbols now in general use admit of no explanation apart from that religion, and from the Holy Bible which in Christian lands is placed upon the altar of every Lodge, read at every meeting, carried in every Masonic procession, and acknowledged to be the Great Light of Freemasonry.'"
It seems to me that a Christian element pervades the Masonic system and institution, that in a large way it may be said: 'The precepts of the Gospel are universally the principles of Freemasonry.'" (Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, p. 334)

Then let us improve this solemn warning, that at last, when the sheeted dead are stirring, when the great white throne is set, we shall receive from the Omniscient Judge the thrilling invitation: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Moses Wolcott Redding, Standard Ahiman Rezon and Blue Lodge Guide, p. 171)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 10, 2010

The first, JAH, is the Chaldaic name of God, signifying His essence of majesty, incomprehensible; it is also a Hebrew word, signifying I am and shall be, thereby expressing the actual, future and eternal existence of the Most High. When the Almighty commanded Moses to go into Egypt to deliver his brethren, Moses said; Behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you and they shall say unto me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM, that is I am from eternity to eternity.

The second, BUL, is an Assyrian word, signifying, Lord or Powerful; it is also a compound Hebrew word from the preposition Beth, in Heaven, or on high; therefore this word means, Lord in Heaven or on High.

The third, ON, is an Egyptian word, signifying, Father of all; it is also a Hebrew word, signifying strength or power, and is expressive of the omnipotence of the Father of all; taken together they will read thus: I am and shall be, Lord in Heaven or on High, Father of all, the all powerful Jehovah. . . . .

At the beginning of the ritual is a triangle within a circle. Spaced at points on the angles of the triangle are the Hebrew letters Aleph, Beth, and Lamed. By combining them in various formations, the ritual comes up with the Hebrew words for Father, Word, and Spirit. This is a Trinitarian formula. If you will check the writings of the early church fathers, you will find that the word translated asTrinity itself was not developed until late in the second century. Tertullian seems to have been first to use it, around 180 A.D. Strangely enough, the three parts of the trinity he describes are similar to what we find in Royal Arch, Father, Word, and Spirit.

The ritual continues:
This triangle, when placed within a circle, symbolizes the vivifying principle extending throughout all created matter: it is therefore called the symbol of Perfection.
The circle, having neither beginning nor ending, typifies the omnipotent Author of the universe; it also reminds us of that grand and awful futurity wherein we hope to enjoy endless bliss and everlasting life.
The Word J-E-H-O-V-A-H, which you behold on the circle is the grand and incomprehensible Name of the Most High, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, which was, is, and is to come; the Almighty. It shows Him to be the actual, future and all-sufficient God who alone has His being in and of Himself, and gives to all others their being, so that He was what He is, is what He was, and shall be, both what He was and what He is, from everlasting to everlasting.all creation being dependent on His mighty will.

( () are given from E., all rise and sing the following ode

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.
Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see.
Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity. (Royal Arch Lecture, Canadian)

But to the Christian, the coldness and darkness of the tomb are hidden by the evergreens of faith and hope, which spring forth from the Root of Jesse, who was cut down in the midst of his days, but from whose resurrection we derive glorious evidences of a blessed immortality. If, like our great pattern and exemplar, we are faithful to our trusts, violence may assail, but cannot destroy us; Death will no longer be a tyrant, but a Tyler to usher us into the presence of our Supreme Grand Master, who presides in the Lodge above. (K. J. Stewart, The Freemasons Manual, MM degree, p. 104)

Then let us all so improve this solemn warning, that on the great day of account we may receive from the compassionate Judge, the welcome invitation, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (K. J. Stewart, The Freemasons Manual, p. 153)

Thus we close the explanation of the emblems upon the solemn thought of death, which, without revelation, is dark and gloomy; but we are constantly revived by the ever-living Sprig of Faith, which strengthens us, with confidence and composure, to look forward to a blessed immortality; and we doubt not that on the glorious morn of the Resurrection our bodies will rise and become as incorruptible as our souls. (Thornburghs Manual of the Lodge, p. 62, one of the more typical to be found. The same version, word for word, appears also in the Masonic Manual of Alabama.)

By a recurrence to the chapter upon the dedication of lodges, it will be perceived, that although our ancient brethren dedicated their lodges to king Solomon, yet mafons, profeffing chriftianity, dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptift, and St. John the Evangelift, who were eminent patrons of mafonry; and fince their time there is reprefented in every regular and well governed lodge, a certain point within a circle; the point reprefenting an individual brother, the circle reprefenting the boundary line of his duty to God and man^ beyond which he is never to fuffer his paffions, prejudices or intereft, to betray him, on any occafion. This circle is embordered by two perpendicular, parallel lines, reprefenting.St. John the Baptift, and St. John the Evangelift, who were perfect parallels in chriftianity as well as mafonry; and upon the vertex refts the book of Holy Scriptures, which point out the whole duty of man. In going round this circle, we neceflarily touch upon thefe two lines, as well as upon the Holy Scriptures; and while a mafon keeps himfelf thus circumfcribed, it is impoffible that he would materially err. (Webb, The Freemasons Monitor, 1818, p. 38-39)

Every well governed lodge is furnished with the Holy Bible, the Square and the Compass ; the bible points out the path that leads to happiness, and is dedicated to God ; the square teaches to regulate our conduct by the principles of morality and virtue, and is dedicated to the Master; the compass teaches to limit our desires in every elation, and is dedicated to the Craft. The Bible is dedicated to the service of God, because it is the inestimable gift of God to man; the Square to the Master, because, being the pro' per masonic emblem of his office, it is constantly to remind him of the duty he owes to the lodge over which he is appointed to preside; and the Compass to the Craft, because, by a due attention to its use, they are taught to regulate their desires, and keep their passions within due bounds. The ornamental parts of a lodge, displayed in this section, are, the Mosaic pavement, the indented tessel, and the blazing star. The Mosaic pavement is a representation of the ground floor of king Solomon's temple; the indented tessel, that beautiful tesselated border, or skirting, which surrounded it; and the blaming star, in the centre, is commemorative of the star which appeared, to guide the wise men of the east to the place of our Saviour's nativity. The Mosaic pavement is emblematic of human life, checquered with good and evil; the beautiful border which surrounds it, those blessings and comforts which surround us, and which we hope to obtain by a faithful reliance on Divine Providence, which is hieroglyphicaily represented by the blazing star in the centre.
(Webb, Freemasons Monitor, Or, Illustrations of Masonry, p. 40-41)

The ceremony of induction into the third degree of Masonry, symbolically expressed as "introducing the candidate into the sanctum sanctorum of King Solomon's Temple," is styled Raising. The conductor is the Senior Deacon. The instructors are the Master and Wardens. The ceremony of raising is solemn, and rightly appreciated, sublime. The most important problems of human destiny are considered; death, interment, the resurrection of the body,
and the immortality of the soul arrest by turns the attention, and are rationally applied to the present improvement of the heart. (The Freemasons Monitor, Thomas Smith Webb, p. 356)

Masonic Law and Usage.

SCRIPTURES. (See Chaplain; Religion.)
Certain passages of Scripture are read or paraphrases sung during the ceremony of initiating, passing and raising. Those for initiation are the 133d Psalm. For passing, a portion of the 7th Chapter of Amos; for raising, a portion of the 12th Chapter of Ecclesiastes and passages from the Book of Job. Selections at the discretion of the Master may he used at opening and closing of the Lodge, and at the public and private demonstrations of the Order. The Sacred Word is so richly filled with appropriate gems for the moral and religious work of Masonry that the only embarrassment is that of selection. Mottoes from Scripture should adorn the walls of the Lodge on every side.
The following from the private manuscripts of Thomas Smith Webb, is a list of those quotations peculiarly suited to Masonic uses and has never before been published :

Genesis. i:1-3; ii: 7, 9; iii:7, 22; iv:22; xv:17; xvii: 1; xviii:19; xxviii:3,12; xxix: 11; xxxviii:29, 30; xlviii: 3,4; xlix :10, 28.
Exodus. ii:16, 18; iii:1, 6, 14; iv:1-9; vi:2, 3; vii:19, 20; xii:6; xiv:14-25; xv:21; xviii:5;
xix:9-21; xx:18-26; xxiv:12-18; xxviii:1, 43; xxix:5, 9; xxx:1, 23, 38; xxxi : 1, 11 ; xxxiii :
9,12; xxxv : 15, 23, 27, 38; xxxix :1, 9,14-43; xl:14, 15, 35-38.
Leviticus. vi:10; viii:7-10; x:11,16, 24; xix:12,13, 17; xxiii:42,43.
Numbers. iii:6-10; iv:6; vi:23, 24; viii:7-9; x:2; xi:17, 25, 28; xii: 10; xxvii:18,23; xxix:1.
Deuteronomy.i:30 ; iii:28, 29; iv:9-12, 36, 39; v:5; xxiii:3, 23; xxii:9, 14, 15; xxvii: 4-6; xxviii:22, 23; xxx:4; xxxi:6, 8; xxxiii:8-10, 15, 16; xxxiv: 6, 9; xii:5.
Joshua. i:5, 9; ii:11,12; iii:18-24; v:13,15; ix: 20, 27; xxiv:25-27.
Judges. v:4, 5, 23; vi:24; xii:5, 6; xxviii:18.
1st. Samuel. vi:18, 19; x:5,10; xvi:11, 13, 18.
2d Samuel. vii:1-7, 9, 29; xii:24.
1st Kings. ii:4; iii:11-13; iv:1-12, 36; vi:1-22; viii:1, 13, 14; ix:1-13, 27, 28; xix:8.
2d Kings. xiv:13, 14; xxi:12, 13; xxiii:24, 25; xxiv:13-15; xxv:8-10, 17.
Ist Chron.iii:17, 19; iv:14; vi:13, 22; viii:12; ix:11-44; xii:18; xvi:4-7; xxiii:1-32; xxiv:8, 9, 14; xxvi:20-32.
2d Chron.i:1-17; ii:1-18; iii:1-17; iv:1-22; v:1-14; vi:1-19; xxiii:1, 15; xxiv:1, 26; xxvi: 9, 10, 10,19; xxvii:1-4; xxix:1-5; xxxiii:4,5,11-13; xxxiv:12.
Ezra. i:1-11; ii:26-70; iii:1-13; iv:1-24; v:1-17; vi: 1-28; vii:1-28; viii:1-36.
Esther. i:14; ix:19, 22.
Job. xx:6 ; xxxiii:25.
Nehemiah.i: 1-11; ii: 1-20; iii: 1-30; iv : 1-23; v: 1- 19; vii:1-70; viii:1-18; xi:1-36; xii:1-47; xiii:1-73.
Psalms. xxx;Ixxiv: 9; Ixxvii:20; Ixxviii:4-6; Ixxxvi:8, 10; c:4; cxviii:22; cxxxii:12; cxxxv:13;
cxxxix:7,8; Ixix:27,28.
Kuih. ii:11, 12, 19; iv:7-17.
Ecclesiastes x:6.
Song of Solomon. iii:7-11; iv:12-16; v:12-16.
Lamentations. ii:7-10; iv:20.
Isaiah. i:17; ii:2, 3; iv:1-9; vii:14; viii, ix: 61; xi:1-3, 9-12; xii:1-6; xvi:5; xix:12; xxi: 8, 9: xxviii:16, 17; xxix:8-10; xxxiv:11-14; xli:1-10; xlv:11-13, 21; xlvii:12, 13; liii:1-12; Iv:10,11;10,14; Ixiii:9-19; Ixvi: 1, 2, 5, 6.
Jeremiah. i:6-9; ii:6; x:6-9; xx:11-13; xxiii:5, 6, 24; xxxi:12, 40; xxxii:17, 21; xxxiii:6, 7, 14-17; xlix:16, 19, 30, 39; Ii:53; Iii:20-24.
Ezekiel.-xix.:11; xxvi:12-16; xliv:1-19.
Daniel iv:8; ix:15, 22-27; x:4,5; xii:1-10.
Obadiah. i:17-19.
Joel. i:13-16; ii:1-3, 15-18, 20, 21.
Nahum. i:15.
Zephaniah. i:10; ii:13, 14; iii:2-4.
Hosea. xii:6-9; xiii:4-9; xiv:1.
Amos. vii:7, 8; viii:1-3; ix:2, 3.
Micah. i:1-4; ii:7,12, 13; iii:10, 12; iv:1, 2, 7, 8; v:2-5, 7.
Habakkuk.ii:20; iii:2-4.
Zachariah. i:13-21; ii:1-13; iii:1-10; iv:9, 10, 14; vi:9-15; viii:1-12; ix:9; xiv:11, 12, 20, 21.
Malachi ii:11, 12; iii:1-6; iv:4.
Matthew. i:22, 23; iv:2; v:33-37; x:26, 27; xi:15;xiii:9-13; xv:14; xvi:17-10; xviii:15-20; xxi:24, 42; xxii:32; xxiii:16-32; xxiv:27; xxvii:45-51.
Mark. iv:11, 12, 22; xii:26, 27; xv:37, 38.
Luke. i:17, 32, 33; viii:10; xii:2, 3; xvii:3, 4; xx:36, 37; xxiii:44, 45; xxiv:27.
John. i:1-45; v:1,2; xii:38-41; xvii:8-12; xxi:1,2.
Acts.xxviii:26, 27.
Romans. ix:31-33; x:3; xi:6-8; xv:7-0.
1st Corinthians.i:30, 31; ii:10, 17, to the end; iii:9-17; v:2-12; ix:15.
2d Corinthians. i:20 ; iii:7; iv:6; v:1; vi:10-15; viii: 2, 23.
Galatians.iv:23-27; v:13; vi:1-6.
Ephesians i:6-10; ii:8-10, 21, 22; v:11.
Philippians. iii:3-7.
Colossians. iv:3-5.
Ist ThessaIonians. iv:9,10.
2d Thessalonians. iii:5-10; v:20-22.
Ist Timothy. iii:5-10; v:20-22.
2d Timothy.ii:4-6.
Titus. i:15.
Philemon. i:13-16.
Hebrews. iii:1-6; iv:14-16; vi:19, 20; vii:20, 21; viii:1-6; ix:1-6, 11; xi:16; xii:18-26; xiii:6-8.
1st Peter. i:19; ii:4-9.
2d Peter. i:10, 11; ii:10,11.
Revelation. i:4, 5, 8, 12; ii:7, 11, 17, 29; iii:1, 6, 7, 12; iv:5,8; v:6, 9; xi:10, 17; xii:7; xiii:9, 22; xiv:18; xviii:2; xix:12; xx:14; xxi:2, 6, 8, 10; xxii:13, 14.
Leviticus. xviii:72.
Exodus. iii:5.
(The Freemasons Monitor, Thomas Smith Webb & Rob Morris, p. 361-64)

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Skip Sampson · Nov 11, 2010

Wayne:
Do you actually read these quotes before you post them, or is cut & paste the only form of analysis you use? Let's look at a few and you'll see what I mean:

by faith we are justified, accepted, and finally saved. (Post 1)

"Finally saved?" We have to wait?

If we with suitable true devotion maintain our Masonic profession, our faith will become a beam of light, and bring us to those blessed mansions where we shall be eternally happy with God, the Grand Architect of the Universe, whose Son died for us and rose again, that we might be justified through faith in His blood." (Post 1)

So one has to maintain a "Masonic profession" to make it to heaven? I had always thought faith in Jesus did that.

And as such is the furniture of the lodge; such are the principles dictated to us as Masons; let us rejoice in the exercise of those excellencies, which should set us above the level of other men; and prove that we are brought out of darkness into light. (Post 1)

It's the furniture of the lodge that brings a man from darkness to light? And Masons are set above non-Masons? Christians know that once saved, they are admitted sinners; any believer who views himself "above the level of other men" doesn't understand much at all. He realizes his initial degraded state and seeks to help others to gain what he has gained.

Thus the Master Mason represents a man under the Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of iniquity hand raised to the life and grace of salvation. (Post 1)

Each MM or just the ones proven to be Christian? Does the Buddhist MM understand that? I'll have to see which GL monitor or ritual makes such a statement.

The ceremonies of Masons prove that the testimonials and insignia of the Master's order, in the present state of Masonry, were devised within the ages of Christianity; (Post 1)

I guess the dates of its founding would also suggest it was devised "within the ages of Christianity." Also founded "within the ages of Christianity" was Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, none of which are Christian. Kinda like Masonry in that regard.

and we, as a set of religious brethren, assembling in the true faith, commemorate the proclamations of the Baptist. (Post 2)

Really? All Masons assemble in the 'true faith?'

To conceal the imperfections of our friend and cover his infirmities, is Christian-like and charitable, consequently befitting a Mason. Even the truth should not be told at all times; (Post 2)

Well, that certainly is masonic. Wouldn't want to embarrass a brother, regardless of what he's done.

He gave us the precepts of that acceptable service wherewith His Father should be well pleased; (Post 2)

Most Christians view God's plan as in place from the beginning, not something he had to come up with due to the sins of the Jews. As well, Jesus commented upon what one must do to please God:

Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. (John 6:28-29, NIV)

We never suffer any religious disputes in our lodge, and as Masons, we are members of the universal church, not narrowed to a sect. (Post 2)

Good to have that out there in the open. I think you just destroyed your "Masonry isn't a religion" argument. And we already know Masons don't want to bring 'other' religions into the lodge, as the competition might prove uncomfortable.

In short, our present dark estate, it would seem, can never acquire that pure unbeclouded economy which shall emancipate man from all allusions and emblematical rites. (Post 2)

So all men are chained to 'allusions and emblematical rites' and do not know the truth? Interesting, but understandable give Ashe's view that Masons belong to the universal church, and only through that church can the truth be found. Of course, Jesus proclaimed himself as Truth, but that was before Masonry came onto the scene.

when the ' great white throne' is set, (Post 3, Atwood)

Not sure I'd like to find myself before that throne, but Masons certainly love to talk about it. And for good reason.

The acquisition of the doctrine of redemption is expressed in the typical character of Euramen, and by the applications of that name with Masons it is implied, that we have discovered the knowledge of God and his salvation, and have been redeemed from the death of sin and the sepulchre of pollution and unrighteousness.* Thus the Master Mason represents a man, under the, Christian doctrine, saved from the grave of iniquity and raised to the faith of salvation. (Post 3, Cole)

This needs no comment from me; it's scary enough on its own.

the bible points out the path that leads to happiness, (Post 3, Cole)

I thought it pointed out the path to salvation. Well, be happy, if not saved, I guess.

Then let us imitate the Christian in his virtuous and amiable conduct; in his unfeigned piety to God; in his inflexible fidelity to his trust; that we may welcome the grim tyrant Death, and receive him as a kind messenger sent from our Supreme Grand Master, to translate us from this imperfect to that all-perfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the universe presides. (Post 3, Cross)

The Mason may imitate the Christian all he wants, but unless he is one, it won't do much good. Besides, the Mason is actually told to emulate Hiram Abif; that'll do him a lot of good.

We are further reminded that though these frail bodies must die and return to dust, we may indulge the hope that through the merits of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our disembodied spirits shall be raised and be carried to realms of bliss, there to remain in Gods paradise forever. (Post 6, Florida, Masonic Monitor)

For the Christian, it's not a matter of hope; rather, it's a certainty.

may he find mercy in the great day when all men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. (Post 6, FL Monitor)

Only if God is a Mason. If he is instead the God of the Bible, he'll be judged solely on his relationship with Jesus Christ.

This order is, therefore, a positive contradiction of those, who know not God, and gives the most irrefragable proof of the resurrection of the body. (Posts 6 & 7, Hardie)

And what proof might that be? That a fictional character is raised from the grave in Masonry? That is more believable than the testimony of those who saw Jesus resurrected?

the Master Mason's Order, under its present principles, is adapted to every sect of Christians. it originated from the earliest era of Christianity, in honor to, or in confession of, the religion and faith of Christians, before the poison of sectaries was diffused over the church. (Post 8, Hutchinson)

The 'poison of sectaries?' So Masonry is the true Christian religion?

I answer unhesitatingly that such a declaration from a candidate is to be taken in its broadest sense, and to mean that his belief in God is such a belief as has entered his heart and prepared him to be made a Mason. (Post 10, CO Proceedings)

I can see why you liked that one. How one could think that God would call anyone to be a Mason is beyond belief. By the way, what offices do you hold in your lodge? If you think God called you there, what exactly are you doing to further it?

and to teach them the "Duty we owe to God, our neighbor and ourselves."
Duty to God, by keeping the Commandments proclaimed from Mount Sinai; (Post 10, NY Proceedings)

So 'duty to God' is obeying the Ten Commandments. Not sure I've ever seen that in ritual, or spoken from the pulpit in any Christian church.

I was at the bedside of a dying Mason not long since, and unconsciously, perhaps, he took me by the strong grip of a Master Mason. I asked if he remembered the significance of that grip. His eye, which was becoming dim in death's last throes, brightened, and he replied, 'Aye, yes;it is by that strong grip I shall be raised from DEATH то LIFE, through the redeeming merits of Judah's Lion. (Post 10, NS Proceedings)

God uses the Lion's Paw grip to raise men? Good thing he learned it in Masonry, otherwise he may have tried just a normal handshake, or maybe a high-five. Sounds like the Mormon rituals at the Veil.

What you have amply demonstrated, aside from the fact that you didn't really read the sources carefully, is that Masonic writers sometimes try desperately to bring a cloak of Christianity over Freemasonry. Their view is that it's really Christian, despite the fact that Jesus is not welcomed there, that the lost are not accepted there, that salvation-by-works is taught there and that the uniqueness of Christianity is attacked there. Incredible that you'd invest so much time into such a waste of time. Cordially, Skip.

Rev Wayne · Nov 11, 2010

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Sec. 6 It shall be the duty of the Grand Bible Bearer to bear the Holy Writings in all processions and at all public ceremonies. (James Wright Anderson, A Masonic Manual, GL of California, p. 46)

Every well-governed Lodge is furnished with a Holy Bible, Square and Compass.
The Holy Bible is dedicated to God, it being his inestimable gift to man as the rule and guide of his faith. (p. 231)

This circle is supported by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, and on its top rest the Holy Writings. In traversing its circumference we necessarily touch upon the parallel lines, and also upon the Holy Bible, and while a Mason keeps himself thus circumscribed, it is impossible that he can materially err. (p. 232)

Your committee agree with their Ohio brethren that "if the Bible be not true, then Masonry is itself a cheat." In this country we call it our "Great Light." We refer to it as our "moral and Masonic trestle-board." We say that it not only represents but supplies the place of the Shekinahthe visible presence of God in the Temple at Jerusalem. We declare that its presence is vital to the existence of the Lodge, and* that no Lodge can be organized or opened without it. We tell the initiate that Masonry is founded upon the Bible, and that as a Mason it is the rule and guide of his faith and conduct; and, in the language of the Ohio committee,
"'"The Bible is held up to the candidate on his initiation as the first great light of Masonry. He is told that it is the inestimable gift of God to man. His onward pathway, in the entire extent, is lighted up by its blessed precepts. The Faith, the Hope, the Charity, in which he is admonished to abound, are the Faith, the Hope, the Charity of the Bible. The star which shines from the centre of one of the three ornaments of the Lodge, is commemorative of the star which appeared to guide the wise men of the East to the place of the Saviour's nativity. The two eminent patrons of the Order, to whom Christian Masons dedicate their Lodges, are the two Sts. John of the Bible, the precepts of which they present as a wall of defense round about every brother, within which he may walk securely and never materially err. No station in the Lodge is too high for the reach of the duties which the Bible enjoins. The Worshipful Master in the East must humbly bow to its authority. On him, as he is about to enter upon his arduous labors, is laid the obligation, weighty above all others, of a diligent observance of the Holy Scriptures, which, he is instructed, are to be a rule and a guide to his faith. And, when sorrowing brethren gather around the final resting-place of the departed, they mourn not at those who are without hope; the sprig of acacia tells of an ever verdant and bright land beyond the grave. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has vanquished the foe; and hope and consolation are imparted by the thoughts of that life and immortality which the Bible, and the Bible only, has brought to light." (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 739)

"'Our Ohio brethren are not alone in the orthodox position which they have assumed. The Grand Lodge of Iowa, in 1854, took and now occupies the same ground. Illinois did likewise in 1845 (as we are informed); North Carolina in 1846though not requiring a belief in the Scriptures as a test of admissionyet passed a resolution," That a belief in the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures is essential to the faithful fulfillment of the duties required by the Order of Masonry in all Christian countries, and that a denial of the same is in conflict with the principles of our institution, calling for reprobation." And our own Grand Lodge, at its last annual communication, in answer to the following question submitted to it by one of its subordinates, to wit: " Should a Deist, who pronounces the Holy Scriptures to be a 'bundle of fiction,' yet in other respects of irreproachable moral character, be entered, passed, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason?" emphatically answers, He Cannot. In order to place our position more tangibly before the world, your committee have submitted a resolution on this subject:
"Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of Texas declares that a distinct avowal of a belief in the Divine authenticity of the Holy Scriptures is an indispensable prerequisite to Masonic admission, in all Christian countries; and that it shall not be lawful for any subordinate Lodge, within her jurisdiction, to initiate, pass, or raise a person who does not entertain that belief.' (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 740)

By the light of Revelation, we are taught to believe in the existence of One God, who has the Divine attributes of Love and Mercy ; in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body. We recognize Revelation in that sublime event when God said, ' Let there be light and there was light.' What light ? Not merely the transmission of those solar rays which produce visionthat is but the symbolbut the glorious light of revelation, which enlightens the mind and enables us to form a proper .conception of God as He isthe I Am, the Great ArchItect Of The Universe, whom Masons acknowledge as their great Grand Master and worship and adore. This light we have in the Bible, which is His law, given for our guidance, and is to Masons the Great Light, which must be always present, open upon their altars, and without its presence they have no light to work by. It was by this light the foundations of our Masonic Temple were laid' that Temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens'and he who denies its truth can never be made a ' true and trusty stone,' fit to be worked into that building. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 742)

It would require but a very limited acquaintance with ancient history, profane or sacred, to inform any one that the Bible and its traditions were carried among all nations and peoples from the days of Abraham. The learned Michaelis says: 'In order to understand properly the writings of the Old Testament, it is absolutely necessary to have an acquaintance with the natural history as well as the manners of the East.' Weare therefore borne out in the assertion that no Mason was ever made without the presence of the Bible in its traditionary or written form.. Masonry is the forerunner and pioneer of Christianity, carrying into the darkest regions of Paganism the light of revelation, and Christianity follows to establish the glorious truths of the Gospel till there shall be none to ask, 'Know ye the Lord,' when Christianity shall be universal.
"But, the strangest and most unaccountable declaration, to come from an enlightened Mason is, that ' Blue Lodge Masonry has nothing whatever to do with the Bible. It is not founded upon the Bible ; for, if it was, it would not be Masonry, but religion.' Considering the singularity and boldness of this declaration, we think it would have been becoming in the learned brother to have informed us then, upon what Masonry was founded. It surely could not have been founded upon Heathen Mythology, or any of the speculations and writings of heathen philosophers and philanthropists, or they would not have required a declaration of a belief and trust in one God as a 'prerequisite to admission.' Brother Sayre says, Masonry could not be founded on the Bible, because 'it would not be Masonry, but religion.' Do we understand, that because we are instructed that Masonry will not interfere with our religious or political opinions, that Masonry has nothing to do in regard to religion and government? Are not Masons required to be peaceable citizens and subject to the civil powers, and obliged by their tenure to obey the moral law, and to practice 'that religion in which all men agree,' which is the performance of our duty to God, our neighbors and ourselves? This is the religion which the Bible teaches and Masonry inculcates. All our holy and sublime precepts and symbols are taken from the Bible, and without the Bible there can be no Masonry. It is the only book that gives a clear and distinct idea of God and of His attributes, of man and of his responsibilities, of a state of future existence and the nature of that state of existence, and of the resurrection of the body. All other books present but vague, contradictory, and obscure speculations. Where do we find in any other book the confident assurance of immortality, given by Job more than fifteen hundred years before the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, speaking by inspiration:
"'For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.' Need we ask Masons if they recognize anything resembling this faith shadowed forth in our symbols?
"We say again, the only declaration of faith necessary on the part of the candidate, before initiation, is the profession of belief and trust in God. But, we also say, that a man who declares his disbelief in the Divine Authenticity of the Holy Bible, cannot be made a Mason. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, 743-44)

BIBLE.

"The committee of Foreign Correspondence of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, in commenting on the Holy Bible, express themselves in the following chaste and beautiful language:
" 'Another beautiful feature in the Masonic institution, is its supreme regard for the teachings and authority of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is found in every Masonic assembly. Nor is it there as a slighted and neglected symbol of the Orderupon the pages often rests the hand and falls the eye of the candidate from the moment the first star of Masonry rises upon his vision, to " the breaking of the dominion of the infidel over the Holy Sepulchre, by the tried steel and strong arm of the valorous knight." To the authority of that volume, Masonry appeals for the solemnity of her obligations, and the purity of her principles. It shines in her temples as the first and brightest of her jewels, and the durable texture of all her royal and beautiful vestments is woven of the golden threads of its sublimest truths and most impressive passages; and nowhere may its leaves be more appropriately unfolded than in her solemn assemblies, since to the labors of her Craftsmen the world is indebted for the preservation of several of its parts through a long night of desolation, bondage and ruin.' (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 335-36)

"My dear brethren, in conclusion (and I fear you will think I have already detained you too long, but this is most likely the last time that I shall ever address a Grand Lodge. Having passed my three score years, I am admonished to reflect that my work on earth may be nearly done), permit me to call your attention to the furniture of a Mason's Lodge. 'It presents many objects of great sublimity. What was it that constituted the glory of the Tabernacle in the wilderness! It was the Sacred Roll containing the Law of God. What formed the glory of the Jewish Temple? The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. What is the chief glory of a Christian Church? The books of the Old and New Testaments. What is the glory of a Mason's Lodge? The Bible and its attendant lights. This Book is the gift of God, and contains His sacred revelations for the eternal benefit of His creatures. It is a record of trutha standard of holinessa persuasive to virtue.' 'Every step in Masonryevery mystery of the Order, like the things hard to be understood in Scripture, are witnesses of Divine truth.' The precepts of the Order are drawn from the Holy Bible. Consider them, I beseech yon, as things which ought to be remembered and reduced to practice, in your ordinary intercourse with society. Without this application of your moral teaching, Masonry will not only be useless, but worse than useless to you. The wise son of Sirach hath said, the knowledge of the commandments of the Lord is the doctrine of life, and they that do things to please Him shall receive the fruit of the tree of immortality. But rememberwe are taught by that Holy Book which always lies open on our altar, that it were better not to have known the mind of the Lord, than after having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto us. I would that this moral teaching should produce in us an active principle, an enduring excellency. I most ardently desire that it should have such an effect upon the life and conduct of every one that receives it, as will enable him, when his earthly pilgrimage shall be drawing to a close, to exclaim with the Apostle,' I have fought the good fight,. I have kept the faith, I have finished my course : Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of glory that fadeth not away.'
"THOMAS DOUGLAS." (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 406)

Rev Wayne · Nov 11, 2010

"My brethren, when once the spirit of innovation shall be sanctioned by Masons generally, the spirit of alteration and love of novelty will spread throughout the world; one body will vie with another in fancied improvements, 'and with the resistless fury of an avalanche, sweep over all opposition, until not one column of the stately edifice will be left to mark the spot where once stood the best and noblest of institutions.'
"Therefore, be careful that thou 'remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set.' 'Let us search and try our ways,' and if we have wandered abroad, or been led astray, let us at once 'return to the old paths.' The universal language, and the universal laws of Masonry, are landmarks, and the key' to that universal language and those universal laws is lovelove to God and love to man ; this is what constitutes the solidity of Masonry, and its oneness, and the key thereto may be most readily found by an humble, diligent, and prayerful reading of the Holy Biblethat inestimable gift of God to man, which makes to us a revelation of His will. 'A reverence for the Supreme Being, the Grand Architect of nature, is the elemental life of Masonry, the primordial source of all its principles, the very spring and fountain of all its virtues.' 'Why is it that Masonry has remained unmoved amid the convulsions which have agitated the political world?' I answer, all other institutions of human origin have trusted themselves to their own supposed excellence or inherent nature, being based alone on the wisdom of man. Not so with Masonry. Conscious of man's impotency, and of the mutability of all earthly things, Masonry is based upon revelation, and places her 'trust in God.' That being the sure foundation, we may rest satisfied that we cannot improve the superstructure by any alterations that we can make in its form or features. Let us, therefore, my brethren, endeavor to adorn it, by adding to that faith which the Bible teaches, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and endeavor to put that knowledge to its proper and legitimate practical use, according to the ancient rules and regulations of the Craft, handed down to us from time immemorial. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 394-95)

" Brethren, we have lived in an eventful agebut the past year, which closes one-half of the nineteenth century, has been a year of remarkable incidents and events, as well in the old world as the new. Whilst Hope points us to the future, Wisdom admonishes us to Ipok back upon 'hours that have fled,' to see wherein we have erred or acted wisely, wherein we have done good, or inflicted wrong on ourselves or our neighbors. Eighteen centuries and a half have now past off in the race of time, that never can be recalled since the advent of the Messiah, in whom, as the Lion of the tribe o/Judah, we are taught to hope for a happy immortality, beyond the dark and gloomy confines of the grave. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 268)

And to the enlightened, the principles of our Order are shadowed forth in that great luminary of the Craft, the Holy Bible, from the day that God sent forth man out of the garden of Eden, to till the ground, which was cursed, for his sake, to the present day of Christian light and knowledge. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 270)

Here, no Lodge is ever opened, or considered furnished, till the Holy Bible crowns its altar. And that the Bible in the Lodge is not regarded as a mere decoration, nor esteemed solely for its historical importance, but is recognized as the authentic expounder of the will of God and the duty of man, may be readily proved. A comparison of the duties enjoined and taught in the Lodge with the moral precepts of the Bible, establishes their identity. This fact, coupled with its recognition of the Holy Scriptures as 'the gift of God to man' and ' the first great light in Masonry,' demonstrates our position that the morality of Masonry is the morality of the Bible. For the identity above mentioned is not the mere coincidence of two separate systems, independent of each other in their authorship and origin, but the Bible, the authority and obligation of which are thereby acknowledged, prescribes the moral code of Masonry, and is, as before stated, the Masonic text-book in everything appertaining to the regulation of human conduct. Abundant evidence on this point is furnished by the
various charts and manuals approved by the Order and adopted and used in all the Lodges in the United States, and especially in the third section of the explanation of the Entered Apprentice degree. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 513-14)

"Viewing man as he is in this world, a social beingeach individual forming a link in the great chain of humanity, each wielding an influence and exercising a power for evil or for good upon his fellows the crowning virtue of the Masonic institution is charity. Not only almsgiving and benevolent acts, but a merciful disposition, a universal good will to all men, and especially, fraternity of feeling and mutual forbearance and confidence among the members of the Order. This is the topmost round of its theological ladder, which is composed of 'faith in God, hope in immortality, and charity to all mankind.' It teaches us to bear with the infirmities of a brother, and to be more ready to speak of his virtues than his faults. To defend his name and reputation in his absence, so far as it can be done consistently with truth. In short, the law of love, as contained in the Bible, as expounded and illustrated by Jesus Christ, is adopted and commended to all Masons as their rule of life, their bond of union. (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 514)

I do but speak as a Mason when I say this. Masonry itself recognizes the frailty and impotence of man. Our own ritual as an Order, teaches us to seek almighty aid in all our undertakings. How then shall we seek, and by what means obtain that assistance from above, without which our best efforts will be fruitless? In yonder Bible, the central luminary of the Masonic system, the help we need is promised, and the means of obtaining it revealed. That help is to be found in the presence and influence of God's Holy Spirit. That Spirit is to be sought through the mediation of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. There are many good reasons why the doctrine tests of Freemasonry should not be changed, but there are reasons equally strong why every Mason should avail himself of the only provision which meets the moral necessities of his nature, and will prepare him faithfully to represent the character and design of our noble institution. Persuaded as I am of the truth and authority of that sacred Book which Masonry delights to honor, I cannot do otherwise than conclude that, in order to be a true Mason, a man must be a true Christian." (Proceedings of the GL of Florida, p. 519, concluding remarks of an address by Rev. E.L.T. Blake before Jackson Lodge No. 1, "The Moral Aspects of Freemasonry")

The Saints John, to whom the ancient guilds dedicated their lodges, represent that marvelous age when the Jew was leaping into light from the superstition of the religion they had corrupted by the leading maxims of the temple, and was pausing for a time, waiting for their overthrow by a new and rising Master who was to be their Messiah. That time when the Gentile world was awaiting the time to leap from the oblivion of their moral darkness into the light that was to burst from the coming of the Son of God. That time when the chains of monarchial bondage was to be severed, and they were to see the clouds rifted with the bright light of civil and religious liberty.
But where is the Bible in this wonderful building? asks the objector. There is no grander foundation for morals and religion in the whole realm of literature, ancient or modern, than in our sacred volume. Look where we will through all our allegories, symbolic or historical teaching, and almost all finds somewhere a basis in the Bible. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 112)

We are taught that there is a moral circle that circumscribes all the moral elements of man, that shuts out all impurity, that leads men into a training that borders upon Christian purity. That when the feet touch the sacred soil within the narrow confines of the circle that all impurity is shut out.
That there is a square that teaches pure and upright dealing with all mankind, and a compass that circumscribes all the purer and holier elements of our being, and forbids our passing beyond the limits of its arms. That we are to remove the uncouth elements of our nature and supplant them by the principles of purity, and so one grand thought after another stands before us in wonderful beauty and shows a prominent characteristic of the Order. It was for these and their impartation to men for which she was originally organized, and for which she should be perpetuated, and which are the chief things of value in Masonry to-day. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, p. 104)

As early as the days of Constantine the Saviour of the world, the great Messiah, was symbolical to His followers {in the metal statue of the Good Shepherd) "Sometimes represented as a lamb, a thirsting hart, as a dove or an olive branch. The lamb represented the Lamb of God, that bore the sins of the world." The lion was used as representing the power of the Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the meaning of which symbolism is seen at every raising in the lodge. All through that age, and for many years, these holy symbols were predominant in the forms of architecture. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, p. 107)

Profanity is wrong in any man, but doubly so falling from the lips of one who has knelt at the altar and sat beneath the bright and beautiful canopy of the lodge. Masonic morals, however, are not merely the abstinence from these things. Whatever are morals in the highest sense of Christianity, are morals in Masonic teaching.
It does not mean that you are to be kind and good with your brother only; not merely that you are to be honest and true in the commercial line of thought, but wherever the idea of morals may appear in the highest type of human purity it must apply to a Mason.
Masonry does not mean that there is to be purity with regard to the wife, daughter, sister and mother of the brother of the lodge, and a broad and unbridled licentiousness with regard to others; but Masonic purity in this regard is the purity of the highest class of morals human and divine, and when once the bounds of purity have been overstepped and the line of licentiousness has been touched by the foot of a Mason, he has violated one of the highest teachings of his order. He obligated himself as to his brother's family, because of the nearness of the fraternity tie; but when he pledged himself against the libertine, and stood with uncovered head and reverentially listened to the emblematic teaching of purity, he accepts the implied obligation of a pure life.
If there are men who have given themselves up to unbridled appetites, let them reflect as to the meaning of Masonry, when they tremble beneath the power of lustful temptation.

There are no provisions against these violations of morals outside of the church greater than in our loved order. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, p. 115)

[So much for Skippy's favorite accusation concerning chastity.]

VIENNA LODGE, NO. I50.

June 5th I received a communication from a member of this lodge inquiring
whether " Charges could be sustained against a Mason who disbelieves the Bible, and who does not believe in the God of the same?" I assured the brother that charges should be sustained against such brother and he promptly expelled.

I subsequently learned that a number of the members of Vienna Lodge belonged to a society which disbelieved the Bible and denied the existence of the God of the same. The president of the society, Bro. John S. Crum, sometime previous published an address, which had been delivered, on the subject of the Bible and the God of the Bible, but which bore for a title the startling words: "Believe or Be Damned." In this he takes great delight in making light of the Book of Books, as well as of the God of our fathers.

I need only quote one sentence from his address: "I therefore pronounce the first sentence in this old Jewish book a falsehood." The sentence to which reference is had, as will be remembered, is a part of our ritual, from the "Great Light in Masonry," and has reference to our Supreme Grand Master. This is a sample of the address. The doctrine of this atheistic society has crept into the lodge, and unless speedily checked must effect the welfare and reputation of the Fraternity very seriously in the community where it is located. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, p. 48)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 11, 2010

Bro. Crum was placed on trial, at which R. W. Bro. James A. Rose presided, and although found guilty on one specification, the lodge refused to fix a penalty. This being reported to me, I immediately suspended the functions of the lodge.

The broad principles of our great Fraternity are daily growing in importance, in the effect they are having for good upon our present civilization, and their benign influences are being felt in every grade of society. No human institution wields such a vast influence as does Freemasonry. Nothing can compare with it, except it be the religion of the Holy Bible. Being, therefore, of such vast importance to the world at large, and us in particular, let us not lightly, or with undue haste, pass over the business that may come before us at this session, but weigh all matters calmly, and decide after mature deliberation; remembering that what we do is not alone for to-day, but must pass down to posterity, and have its effect for good or evil for all time. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, Appendix, p. 50)

The subject of the Bible is still on the tapis, and probably will be for many years to come, as this is an age emphatically of scepticism. Brother Peabody says:

"If the Bible is not the word of God, written by inspiration, and containing the fundamental truths of Masonry, and the inestimable gift of God to man, for the rule and guide of his faith and practice, why display it upon our altars as one of the three great lights, and so impressively call the neophite's attention to its importance? Masonry without the word of God, under whatever title or name it may be called, is but a bare and worthless skeleton."

We are glad to have the brother speak out so boldly and plainly. One might as well throwthe charter to the winds as to cast aside the great chart of Freemasonry. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, p. 130)

The entire system of Free or Speculative Masonry is contained in the Bible. The Bible is the Mason's 'Great Light,' it is his 'Polar Star,' his 'Chart,' his 'Book of the Law,' his 'Constitution'; without the Bible there is no Masonry, The Bible is the whole of Masonry." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 37th Grand Annual Communication, Appendix, p. XXVIII)

While it is unquestionably true that a man may be a good Mason and yet not be a Christian, in the church's acceptation of that- term, yet it is equally true that no man can be, at the same time, a good Christian and a good Mason without feeling that his Christianity is supplemented and aided and strengthened by the teachings of the grand old order, if he will but study and apply them in spirit and in truth. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 37th Grand Annual Communication, p. 151)

Believing that Masonry has proved itself a power, to raise man from the depths of selfish ignorance to the level of universal brotherhood, and a handmaid to Christianity, in the work of improving the condition of the human race, and deeming that a just appreciation of its principles by the fraternity is essential to its success and usefulness, a brief consideration at this time of some of the more important characteristics of the order may not be out of place, then laying aside all question as to its origin or antiquity; the motives or objects that called it into existence; and estimating it by what it is to-day, measuring it by the highest standard of right and justice that the human mind is capable of conceiving, or better still, by that standard that it recognizes and adopts, the "Holy Bible," it will be found that there does not exist on earth an organization that teaches a higher system of morality and virtue, or that more clearly points out the varied duties and obligations of man; and although there are some among us who through ignorance, or prompted by base motives, are loud in their opposition to Masonry, and have used the weapons of falsehood with some effect against it; yet we are pleased to notice the high esteem in which it is held by all intelligent liberal minded men and women, and are satisfied that there never was a time when its real merits were so well appreciated, or its humanizing and christianizing influence on mankind so widely felt as at the present. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 39th Grand Annual Communication, Appendix, p. 30)

The central figure of the entire structure is God. Masonry says that the Bible is His gift to man, and given us as a guide for faith and practice. Its place and functions in the lodge are in entire harmony with these declarations; and, as we said last year, there is not an allusion to the volume, esoteric or exoteric, that does not represent it, directly or indirectly, as of divine authenticity. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 39th Grand Annual Communication, p. 49)

The fundamental truths of the Bible, relative to the existence of God, and the immortality of the soul, are undeniably true. Freemasonry resting on the Bible as its corner-stone, teaches by its own peculiar, beautiful symbolisms these fundamental truths, therein contained, and claims morality as its vital essence and central idea. For myself, I as a Mason must believe in these doctrines, rather than in what Carlyle calls the "philosophy of dirt"; and if it be a delusion, it is one which I hope may always enwrap me in its encircling folds. By it I am led to believe that death is not a "leap in the dark." By it I am brought to surrender to that faith, of which William Cullen Bryant gave a beautiful expression not long- ago, when sitting in the vestibule of his summer home at the close of a mild autumn day. Glancing upward, he chanced to see a swallow migrating through the heavens toward the south. Giving vent to the emotions of his heart, he exclaimed,

" He who from zone to zone
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight
In the long way which I must tread alone,
Will guide my steps aright!" (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 39th Grand Annual Communication, Appendix, p. 76)

We are here not only for legislative purposes, but to guard the trust left to us by the Masonic fathers. That trust is a system animated by the spirit of universal benevolence, unmarred by the strifes of sect or party; its watchword is human brotherhood, its mission peace and love. While claiming no divine origin, it builds upon the foundation truth that the "Lord reigneth"; atheism and unbelief are therefore alien to its system. The book of the law of Godthe Holy Bibleis set forth as its only rule of faith and practice, and is lifted up as a beacon light for humanity. No other "book of the law" could have any signification in Masonry, for all the teachings, symbolism and lectures of the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry are drawn directly from Holy Scripture. That sacred Word of God is reverently opened upon our altars as a silent witness to the unseen presence of Deity. It is borne forth in ceremonial procession, that the world may know that the "light" by which true Masons work is from the throne of Him who is "God over all, blessed forever." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 39th Grand Annual Communication, p. 126)

It may be that the "Holy Bible, the inestimable gift of God to man," given us as a guide for ''faith and practice" is a huge delusion. It maybe that one hand supporting and the other resting upon Renan, Hume or Voltaire, would as well represent the animus of the Fraternity as the Bible; yet, while the latter is upon our altars, and recognized as the Great Light that is to direct man in his pilgrimage toward the final culmination of his highest and holiest aspirations, we do earnestly insist that a man stultifies his manhood, degrades himself in his own estimation, and in the estimation of all right thinking men, when he assents to ritualistic declarations of belief that he believes are not entitled to credence. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 39th Grand Annual Communication, p. 171)

Masonry allows each and every brother to exercise his own "faith" upon the subject of religion.
That brother who does not admit the necessity of praying in the name of Jesus Christ must not be compelled, when he leads in the lodge prayer, to repeat that formula, "All of which we ask for Christ's sake," because it would hurt his conscience; and per contra, if a clergyman or chaplain who sincerely believes that no prayer can be answered unless in that all "prevailing name," as he thinks, be compelled to omit that. Are you not forcing his conscience, in its omission, as much as the other by its use? Now, our view is that each brother, when called upon to pray, should address his petition in the form which, to his understanding, is the one which will be most acceptable.

Masonry lifts up before us the loftiest ideals and illumines the pathway of life in every age with the wisdom of experience and the truth of inspiration. It has for its greatest light an open Bible, which, by its purity and brilliancy, dazzles our conciousness with the grandest of all commandmentsto love the Lord our God with all our souls, minds and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves; the latter of which inevitably leads us to do unto others as we would have others do unto us. It teaches us the incalculable worth of that inner part of man which has immortal life; the priceless value of that "vital spark of Heavenly flame," which lightens every man that cometh into the world. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 43rd Grand Annual Communication, p. 124)

It will be seen that Masonry draws its inspiration from the open Bible, and, while it is best known to the outside world as a benevolent institution, organized to protect and support its members, their widows and orphans, yet its prime object is the study of truth in the development of character. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 43rd Grand Annual Communication, p. 125)

Wages.Every faithful Craftsman is entitled to Masonic wages. He has received instruction by which, if necessary, he may travel into foreign countries, work and earn wages. But in a higher sense he may have wages. He may spiritualize all the Masonic instruction he has received ; he may accept all the light the Holy Bible imparts and live accordingly, and thus may be prepared to travel into that country from whence there is no return, and there receive a Master's wages forevermore. Indeed, if he fails in this then he fails in all. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 43rd Grand Annual Communication, p. 141)

"A man who has been made a Mason afterwards denies the existence of a Deity, and publicly (on the streets) denounces the Holy Bible as a farce and the invention of men, and puts himself to great trouble to place infidel papers into the hands of the youth of the community. What shall be done with him?"

AnswerPrefer charges, and expel him if the facts above stated are proven. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 44th Grand Annual Communication, p. 119)

I desire to call your attention to an important point which, it seems to me, must have been introduced into our ritual in modern times, without proper consideration, as to its effect. It is sometimes taught that the Bible is given us as a rule and guide of our faith. The word "faith," I think, has undoubtedly been substituted for the word "conduct"a by no means synonymous term. In the ancient charges we read that although "In ancient times, Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation, whatever it was, it is now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves, that is to be good men and true, or men of honor and honesty, by whatever denominations or persuasions they may be distinguished, whereby Masonry becomes the center of union, and the means of conciliating true friendship among persons that must have remained at a perpetual distance."

There has not been a substitution of "faith" for "conduct." Bro. Speed must know that Masonry, prior to 1717, was a Christian organization, and held not only to the inspiration of the old and new testaments, but to the most pronounced belief in the Holy Trinity. If he has any doubts upon the question, Bro. Carson, of Ohio, will furnish him with testimony irrefutable. See his report to the Grand Commandery of Ohio, 1881. This being true, it would seem inexplicable, from ordinary reasoning, and from the well-known references in our rituals to the foundation of all belief in the immortality of the soul, that the scriptures should not have been given "as the rule and guide of our faith." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 44th Grand Annual Communication, p. 119)

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Rev Wayne · Nov 12, 2010

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Religion is one thing, and freedom in religious belief is the very foundation of this government, but this is no argument for saying a man shall remain in an Order whose every teaching is belief in God, when such a man denies the very existence of such God. We believe, that to become a Mason anywhere in the United States or among English speaking people, a belief in God and the divine authenticity of the Bible, is and must be required. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 45th Grand Annual Communication, p. 130)

The Committee on Correspondence, through its chairman, Bro. Richard Vaux, presents an elaborate report, embodying more thought than anything that has come from that distinguished brother within our recollection. We are always pleased with his productions, but the one before us has attractions of peculiar significance and importance. Thus we find in his opening remarks, that " Faith in Freemasonry is a living spirit. God in Freemasonry is the eternal, ever existing, ever recognized, abiding, prevailing source of our trust in Time, and our hope in Immortality. Without God, Freemasonry is not even a name."
It is not a pleasant truth to recognize that there are brethren who are inclined to exclude from vision their illy concealed infidelity to God and His word. We are glad, therefore, that such Masons as Bro. Vaux do not hesitate to express sentiments so entirely in consonance with the genuine features of the Institution. We do not feel that Masons should reject the entity, the personality of the Supreme Being. Masonry has never taught the existence of a God, but God the Grand Architect of the Universe. In this connection, he cordially endorses the position of Bro. Dodge, of Arkansas, that a Mason, denouncing " the existence of Deity and the Holy Bible as a farce," should be expelled. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 45th Grand Annual Communication, p. 145)

Her greatest force is found in the authorities from which she draws her moral power, the Bible and her symbols. These are of far greater power than the distinction of her supposed ancient founder. Vet there are many who deny these, and decry her purity of morals. But he who has been within her folded doors, knelt by the side of her altars, drank in the grand truths taught by her symbols, listened to the reading of her sacred lessons, felt the inspiration of her work, who has unfolded the leaves of the sacred volume, or sat beneath the drippings of his loved sanctuary, knows that the morals taught by the silvery tongued orator of the pulpit and those around the Masonic altar are drawn from the reading of the same divine word and from symbols known for their high standard of purity. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 46th Grand Annual Communication, p. 120)

How any man can deny that the Bible is the word of God and yet believe in the God of the Bible is not at all clear to us. The Mohammedan theology accepts the inspiration of most of our Bible, but claims that it is superseded by the Koran, and the God of that system no more resembles the God of the Bible, than does Mohammet resemble our Saviour. Faith in a God and faith in the God are very different. All men have faith in a God, or in many Gods, but only those who accept the Bible as divine, either in whole or in large part, can have faith in the God therein set forth.
The danger is that some brethren in attempting to make Masonry cover all religions (unintentionally no doubt), make it cover no religion. In our land the man who affirms his faith in God is understood to mean the God of the Bible, and if he does not believe in the Bible as the word of God he should be required to tell what he knows about God, and where and how he learned it, for faith must be founded upon evidence. The man who has no religion cannot be a Mason, and the man in this land who does not believe in the God of the Bible, as a rule, has no religion and no God which Masons would recognize as such. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 46th Grand Annual Communication, p. 168)

The tenth annual communication was held February 11, Most Worshipful, the Grand Master, Brother John Headley Bell, in the Grand East. His address is an excellent record of official life, and reflects credit upon the jurisdiction.
Three new lodges were permitted, and Brother Levi Abraham Cohen made Special Deputy Grand Master of Morocco. Wonder how Jew and Mohammedan will mixrather better than Mohammedan and Christian, we reckon. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 46th Grand Annual Communication, p. 72)

He next mentions a case wherein a Master had issued a pamphlet " bitterly assailing the Holy Bible and casting ridicule upon' its teachings." The matter was referred to a special committee, who reported as follows:
Your special committee to whom you referred that portion of the Most Worshipful Grand
Master's address, referring to certain pamphlets or books written and promulgated by a certain Worshipful Master of this Grand Jurisdiction, in which the author denounces in bold and defiant terms the fundamental principles upon which our Institution is planted, to-wit : Faith in God and a hope of a future state of reward.
The said author also ridicules the teaching of the " Book of the Law" which Masonry proclaims to be the " First Great Light" in our order, and declares himself as holding no allegiance to the Bible or its God.
For these reasons your committee denounce the holding and promulgation of such sentiments as High Treason against Masonry and totally subversive of all its teaching and foundation, and if permitted to pass unrebuked would render us as Masons obnoxious to the charge of gross hypocrisy and dereliction of duty. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 47th Grand Annual Communication, p. 115)

The Bible is accepted as a guide for faith and practice, and no legitimate lodge ever convened that did not accept the guidance of the Deity as represented by the Great Light of the Institution. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 47th Grand Annual Communication, p. 172)

Referring to our remark, that we wished "to remind him that Masonry does not, neither has it ever, taught a belief in a Supreme Being. It does, however, recognize the existence of God, not a God"; then asks us to explain the difference. A Supreme Being, in the minds of men, means nothing so far as Masonry is concerned, but the God of the Bible is held by our Great Light to be a living, supreme entitysomething tangible, not mysticaland to whom we acknowledge obedience and submission. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 46th Grand Annual Communication, p. 201, italic emphasis theirs)

We need not forget or ignore that other kingdom on earth whose purposes are spirituala kingdom higher, more extensive, more lasting, than any merely earthly empire, the kingdom of the soul, of divine originthe church of the living God. We, as well as others, know that when the true church with its sacred principles shall obtain universal dominion over the hearts and lives of men, there will then be no need for Masonry with its merely temporal objects, as there will then be no need for human governments, or human laws, or human associations of any kind. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 47th Grand Annual Communication, p. 98)

June 5th I received a communication from a member of this lodge inquiring whether "Charges could be sustained against a Mason who disbelieves the Bible, and who does not believe in the God of the same?" I assured the brother that charges should be sustained against such brother and he promptly expelled. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 48)

In the early ages regular degrees were adopted, and words, signs and grips were used. These being of a religious character, they naturally assumed Biblical characters as the foundation of their initiation. They made much use of the numbers 5, 7 and 9, and of the colors of gold, blue and white, and of the foot rule, compass, square and gavel. The east they considered a sacred point, as it had been in ancient times, and many allusions were made to Solomon's Temple, especially to the pillars of the porch.
So the foundations grew from a very early period, and furnished the elements, in symbols, Bible truths and morals, upon which the moderns have reared the grand and beautiful moral edifice in which to-day we assemble, and around whose altars we kneel in holy reverence. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 111)

What is the value of a beautiful edifice without a broad foundation? So what of our Masonry if there is not beneath all her beauty and grandeur, thoughts, principles, precepts, symbols and Bible truths that are grander than she? (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 111)

The early day candidate for the honors of Masonry was required to be of respectable parentage; born in wedlock, of good reputation, of lawful age, free born and possessing good mental faculties. He then received his mark which he must thereafter cut in all his work. In his initiation he was to assume the form and habit of the suppliant and divested of all weapons and metals he was led, under the symbol of darkness, and barefoot, he asked permission of entrance, and representing the sun in its daily course, he was led to the altar^ where before him lay the symbol lights, the Bible, square and compass. Tlie belief in God, and a voluntary desire for admission, were two of the important requisites. He represented the bound prisoner being led into captivity, according to Oriental custom. In this way he was reminded of his position, and his necessary dependence upon others. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 111)

The Saints John, to whom the ancient guilds dedicated their lodges, represent that marvelous age when the Jew was leaping into light from the superstition of the religion they had corrupted by the leading maxims of the temple, and was pausing for a time, waiting for their overthrow by a new and rising Master who was to be their Messiah. That time when the Gentile world was awaiting the time to leap from the oblivion of their moral darkness into the light that was to burst from the coming of the Son of God. That time when the chains of monarchial bondage was to be severed, and they were to see the clouds rifted with the bright light of civil and religious liberty.

But where is the Bible in this wonderful building? asks the objector.

There is no grander foundation for morals and religion in the whole realm of literature, ancient or modern, than in our sacred volume. Look where we will through all our allegories, symbolic or historical teaching, and almost all finds somewhere a basis in the Bible. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 112)

It is a painful and almost unaccountable thing to hear a Mason profane the name of his God, after the solemn positions he has occupied, obligations he has taken, emblems he has heard explained, and Bible teachings that have been unfolded to him.
It seems to me that after such things that a man using profane words against his Maker would feel almost as if the very clouds of bitter condemnation would envelope him, the heavens fall upon him, or the earth open to receive him.
Profanity is wrong in any man, but doubly so falling from the lips of one who has knelt at the altar and sat beneath the bright and beautiful canopy of the lodge. Masonic morals, however, are not merely the abstinence from these things. Whatever are morals in the highest sense of Christianity, are morals in Masonic teaching. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 115)

The broad principles of our great Fraternity are daily growing in importance, in the effect they are having for good upon our present civilization, and their benign influences are being felt in every grade of society. No human institution wields such a vast influence as does Freemasonry. Nothing can compare with it, except it be the religion of the Holy Bible. Being, therefore, of such vast importance to the world at large, and us in particular, let us not lightly, or with undue haste, pass over the business that may come before us at this session, but weigh all matters calmly, and decide after mature deliberation ; remembering that what we do is not alone for to-day, but must pass down to posterity, and have its effect for good or evil for all time. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 50)

If the Bible is not the word of God, written by inspiration, and containing the fundamental truths of Masonry, and the inestimable gift of God to man, for the rule and guide of his faith and practice, why display it upon our altars as one of the three great lights, and so impressively call the neophite's attention to its importance? Masonry without the word of God, under whatever title or name it may be called, is but a bare and worthless skeleton. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 130)

Rev Wayne · Nov 12, 2010

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As early as the days of Constantine the Saviour of the world, the great Messiah, was symbolical to His followers {in the metal statue of the Good Shepherd) "Sometimes represented as a lamb, a thirsting hart, as a dove or an olive branch. The lamb represented the Lamb of God, that bore the sins of the world." The lion was used as representing the power of the Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the meaning of which symbolism is seen at every raising in the lodge. All through that age, and for many years, these holy symbols were predominant in the forms of architecture. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 107)

We are taught that there is a moral circle that circumscribes all the moral elements of man, that shuts out all impurity, that leads men into a training that borders upon Christian purity. That when the feet touch the sacred soil within the narrow confines of the circle that all impurity is shut out.
That there is a square that teaches pure and upright dealing with all mankind, and a compass that circumscribes all the purer and holier elements of our being, and forbids our passing beyond the limits of its arms. That we are to remove the uncouth elements of our nature and supplant them by the principles of purity, and so one grand
thought after another stands before us in wonderful beauty and shows a prominent characteristic of the Order. It was for these and their impartation to men for which she was originally organized, and for which she should be perpetuated, and which are the chief things of value in Masonry to-day. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 104)

Masonry is not a religion, but somehow men have learned to consider it almost the twin sister to the church, and an erring Mason is regarded almost in the light of an erring Christian, and the effect is almost equally disastrous to the morals of a community. Let us, brothers, look at this fact and be noble, upright men. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 48th Grand Annual Communication, p. 115)

Under the head of Colorado, Bro. Staton says that "in this day of skepticism grand masters should be very careful to place no one at the head of a correspondence committee who is not perfectly orthodox on all vital questions affecting Masonry; and if a belief in the divinity of the Holy Bible is not a Masonic prerequisite, then we have studied Masonry to little or no purpose." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 49th Grand Annual Communication, p. 88)

The Grand Lodge of Texas having already assumed to amend the landmarks by declaring that a belief in the divine authenticity of the Bible is an indispensable prerequisite to Masonic admission, he recommends that they be still further amended by prescribing an additional question to be asked of candidates, viz.: "Do you believe in the divine authenticity of the Holy Scriptures?" He says it would remove all technical objections and quibbles which have been resorted to by unbelievers after their admission. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 49th Grand Annual Communication, p. 213)

In the Faith of Him who is the Chief Corner Stone hewn from the mountain without hands, we lay this Foundation Stone; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 49th Grand Annual Communication, p. 15; cited from Rhode Island ritual)

On the casket was a plate bearing the name and age, and on the lid the Masonic plate emblematic of the order of which he was an honored member. On each side were the pillars with the inscription, "We meet on the level and we part on the square," while in the center was the all-seeing eye, the altar, bible, square and compass, and the inscription "Our Brother," and at the bottom the Mosaic pavement. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 4)

To you, fellow Craftsmen, is entrusted the charge of this dear wife and these affectionate children of our deceased brother, and I am confident that this trust is well placed. To your keeping. Sir Knights, are they also entrusted, and it is no less your duty to see that these bereaved children and this afflicted widow are shielded and protected from all harm and that the memory of the deceased be kept as bright as your glittering blades. In my advice to the widow or children of a deceased brother, I would ever direct them to put their trust in God and take as their guide that great light in Masonry, the Holy Bible. But my dear brethren, how little faith avails if the flour barrel be empty and there be no potatoes in the cellar. I do not fear for brethren about me, for the reputation of the Craftsmen of this city in their care of the widow and orphan is too well founded to need any reminder from me. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 6)

We acknowledge the truths of the Holy Bible, and no man who is an infidel, no man who does not believe in God Almighty, the Father of us all, can ever enter any Masonic lodge unless he himself commits perjury. Go to any country of Europe, go to any country in the civilized world, wherever you find Masons you find them acknowledging the same God, the same Bible, and the same emblems. We may talk of the universality of Masonry here, but when we go to a foreign country, where we are beyond the immediate protection of our national emblem, the stars and stripes, if we are in trouble and can grasp the hand of a Mason, no matter what his mother tongue may be, we can speak to him in a language that he will understand, receive from him an intelligent and ready response, and if in his power help and aid will be furnished us. It is only those who have traveled in foreign lands and been beyond the reach oi friends that can fully appreciate the strength of the Masonic tie which binds heart to heart and soul to soul. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 143)

It is sufficient for our purposes, to base our discussion upon the character given to the Bible by the law of Masonry in America. In the outset, we would remark, that it would seem as if no discussion was necessary to show that there is a defect in the reasoning which arrives at the result that it is no offense for a Mason to cast ridicule and contempt upon the Book on which he sealed all his Masonic obligations!
The question is not so much what the Bible is, as what we make it. In our Text Books, a lodge is defined as " a certain number of Masons duly assembled, having the Holy Bible, square and compasses, with a charter or warrant empowering them to work."
The Entered Apprentice upon his very introduction into the lodge is taught that the Bible is dedicated to God, because it is the inestimable gift of God to man, and because * * * * reason that every Mason must remember.
So much importance is attached to the Bible that no lodge can be lawfully held without its
presence and in its appropriate place.
Undoubtedly the Bible was present in Vienna Lodge and in its place when Bro. Crum was admitted: and moreover in its place at every session of the lodge and for that lodge, the "Great Light in Masonry." If Bro. Crum was a Mohammedan, made in a Mohammedan lodge (if there are any such) and not a member of Vienna Lodge, the case would present a very different aspect, but made in, or at least a member of, an Illinois lodge, he cannot plead that defense. In our judgment, he has committed a violation of his Masonic obligations of the worst possible character, as his course is worse than a denial of the binding effect of those obligations. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 115)

Look where we will through all our allegories, symbolic or histoiical teaching, and almost all finds somewhere a basis in the Bible.
"Whoever accepts a part of the teachings of this sacred volume has accepted all; and if by obligation or oath, we have promised to take it for our guide, we have thereby promised to accept it as our standard of morals, and to be guided by its precepts.
"It means much to the true and honorable Mason. It means a basis of the highest and purest morals. It means upright conduct with all men, and honesty to self and God, and having promised before God and in the presence of men to thus observe the precepts of this sacred volume, we are personally responsible before God."
"With all these grand teachings, and others taken from the Holy Word, that volume ever
stands open in the lodge. We never invoke the divine blessing but in the presence of its open page. It is ever there, the reminder of all our duties and our solemn obligations to our God." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 116)

The Holy Bible is "the Great Light" in Freemasonry, To be in the light is one aim of Masonic teaching. No man can be a Mason who denies the authority and power of God's word as proclaimed in our Bible. Better had he never been born who reads it to laugh or reads to scorn. A lodge of Freemasons which denies the character, purpose, or influence of "the Great Light" denies its Masonic life and its right to Masonic existence. When a grand lodge of the Craft fails in courage, in duty, in its responsibilities to the eternal truth of Freemasonry, to assert it against the insidious or open attack on the very foundation of our institution, it parts with one of its highest claims to be a Masonic body. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 189)

We unhesitatingly and emphatically deny that the Grand Lodge of Texas ever has in any way, or at any time, "assumed to amend the landmarks" or any one of them. As we have already said, she does require of each and every one who knocks at her door, ere he enter, to declare his belief in God. And if he did not so believe, of what use or force, pray, would be an obligation? From what, or where, do we learn anything of God, of his attributes, except from the Bible? The Grand Lodge of Texas does, too, tell the applicant that the Bible is the Great Light of Masonry. Is this not admitted almost universally among Masons, and will Bro. Robbins deny it? The Grand Lodge of Texas does teach that Masons yielding their obedience to her to take the Holy Bible as the rule and guide to their faith and practice. Is this amending a landmark? If so, what landmark? She does, too, hold that without a Holy Bible present there can be no lodge; that its presence is absolutely necessary. In this Is there any assumption to amend a landmark, and if so, which one? (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 216-17)

Brothers, in June or in December,
Honoring the memory of the dear St. John,
Then let some kind participant remember
The name of him who wrote this, but is gone;
Let some kind brother rise, while all are silent.
And with deep pathos and fond friendship say:
He was a Mason, gentle, true, not violent,
And loved old things that do not pass away.

He loved his friends; in them his heart found anchor.
Bound in affection as with hooks of steel;
As for his foes, he gave few signs of rancor,
But bore their slanders patiently and well.
He loved to make in simple verse that rhyming
Where ancient signs and emblems smoothly lie;
Where deeds of brother-love and truth are chiming.
And Masonry is wed to poetry.

He loved the word of God; its hopes eternal
Grew sweeter as the end of life drew nigh;
A sinful man, but saved by grace supernal.
Trusting in Christ, he dreaded not to die.
At times a cloud the promises disguising.
And deep humility obscured the scene,
But the bright Son of Righteousness uprising
Dispelled the gloom and warmed his soul again.
(Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 50th Grand Annual Communication, p. 102)

Rev Wayne · Nov 12, 2010

.

Masonry is the handmaid of religion. Some commit the grave error of making it their religion. They say, "the lodge is religion enough for me." Masonry meddles not with creed. It is a religious institution, but it is not a religion. It requires a belief in a personal God. No atheist can be made a Mason. All its symbolism points to a higher and a nobler life. The square is to square our actions. The compass is to circumscribe and keep in due bound our passions. But the Holy Bible. God's own word, is to rule and guide our faith. Every true Mason, because of his Masonry, will be a better husband, a better father, a better citizen, a better church member! Peaceable in all its words; fearing God; obeying the civil magistrate, Freemasonry obtrudes neither its principles or its practices upon public notice. Retiring from the gaze of the world, seeking nothing from its favor, independent of its power or opinions. Masonry lives by a law unto itself, which for ages has preserved it to be a light and a lesson to mankind. And while time shall last, it will still go on its quiet mission of fraternity, charity, purity and brotherly love. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 51st Grand Annual Communication, p. 70)

In a case which came up on appeal from the action of a lodge in simply reprimanding a brother, a Fellow Craft, who was convicted of holding improper religious views, the accused was expelled by the grand lodge. The gist of the ease is thus given by the committee on appeals: From the proceedings it sufficiently appears that this fellow craft denies the authenticity of the Bible, that great light of Masonry; and, in effect, he denies the immortality of the soul. He denies the future existence of the wicked and their punishment; says, "When the wicked died they were nothing more than brutes; there was nothing more of them." And again the testimony shows that to another brother who asked him "if he believed in the immortality of the soul?" he replied that he "believed when a wicked man died he was just like a brute, there was no more of him; and if there was any future enjoyment for the righteous it was here on the earth." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 51st Grand Annual Communication, p. 20-21)

We have only this to say, that if it be true that the Mason's God created all things, and governs all things, and it is to Him that we must look for every needed blessing, we cannot believe that such a just God would place intelligent beings in the world and not give them a written code of laws for their government. God could not expect obedience to His will if lie failed to inform man of what is expected of him. If this view be correct, then God has given us a code, and if emanating from God it must be inspired, because it could not emanate from Him unless it was inspired. Then if it be true that God has given us a written code for our government, we must believe that the Bible is the written code unless some other is produced. The enlightened nations of the earth all have written codes for their government, and it is hard to believe that the God who has created us would be less beneficent to His children than are the nations of the earth to their subjects or citizens. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 51st Grand Annual Communication, p. 109)

The best men of the past and present have honored the Institutions of Masonry. Let us keep it so by saying that none but the virtuous and the good shall be admitted within our sacred portals. Unworthy and wicked men have sometimes gained admission. "They were with us, but not of us." So has it ever been in the Church of Jesus Christ. When there was only a church of twelve, one was a Judas, and there have been many Judases since. Masonry has her Judases, but they are false to the principles they profess. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 51st Grand Annual Communication, p. 67)

On Dec. 26th, on invitation, I had the pleasure of visiting Plymouth Lodge. No. 286, and publicly installing its officers in the Christian Church. After a short and timely address by Bro. Win. Booze, an adjournment was had to a banquet hall where the ladies had gathered together an abundance of those good things which are always appreciated by a hungry Mason. Little more needs to be said. Ate of course. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 51st Grand Annual Communication, p. 58)

An objection to the use of the name of Christ in prayer by a chaplain of the lodge, is not good and should be ruled out of order. The Holy Bible is the rule and guide to the Mason's faith, and is the Great Light in Masonry. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 52nd Grand Annual Communication, p. 56)

From the very organization of the Institution in Great Britain, it has been the usage and the law, that the Bible should be present in the lodge in order to make it a lodge, or to do any work therein. In all our reading, we have never seen the instance of a lodge, hailing directly or indirectly, under the British lodges, which was allowed to substitute any other book or thing for the Bible, or to work without it. If Bro. Robbins can point us to a single instance, we wish that he would do so; we do not believe that he can. One significance of this is that the Bible is by law an essential part of his Masonry, which is not so universal as to allow any substitute for the Bible. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 52nd Grand Annual Communication, p. 85)

By the usages and principles of our order, he who does not believe in and acknowledge the Bible as the rule and guide of his conduct, ought not to be received into our order.Hubbard (G. M. of Templars), Ohio (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 52nd Grand Annual Communication, p. 90)

"Thou art gone from us, my brother; there is dust upon thy brow,
And coldness in thy kindly heart, which ne'er was cold till now;
But sweet and undisturbed thy rest beneath the sacred stone
Where pious hands thy couch have spread, and thou are left alone."

Thou art gone before us, brotheryet we have no tears to shed.
For we know that thou art numbered with the blessed, holy dead.
And, in that continuing city, to which we all yet hope to come,
Hath found, through faith in Christ our Lord, a welcome and a home."
(Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 52nd Grand Annual Communication, p. 97)

Brethren, we believe in God as the Great Architect of the Universe, and we worship Him. (Loud applause.) We do not believe, as has been well said, that the clay is the potter, that the matter is the Maker, or that the atom is the Architect of the Universe. We acknowledge with gratitude the goodness of the bountiful giver of our corn and wine and oil. We commence our undertakings hoping for and asking for the Divine blessing. (Applause.) The Holy Bible is placed in our lodge as a guide to our faith and practice. No dark conspiracies are found among us. We fear God, honor the Queen, and as children of the Great Father of all we teach the gospel of brotherly love, relief and truth, of loyalty and charity, of virtue and honor. (Applause.) We would stretch a helping hand to him that is in necessity; we inculcate universal benevolence without distinction of class or color, or country or creed; we look for integrity and charity in every action between man and man; we enjoin subjection to civil authority and loyalty to our rightful Sovereign. (Applause.) We would obey God's will so far as we know it, we would carry ourselves while we live as good men, honest and true, and in dying we would cast ourselves humbly and hopefully into the depths of infinite love. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 53rd Grand Annual Communication, p. 220)

Our lodge, by vote, donated ten dollars of their funds for the relief of a destitute widow of our place whose husband, while living, was not a Mason. Some of our members afterwards complained that such action by the lodge was wrong and unconstitutional.
Question. Was it right and legal for the lodge to use their funds for such purpose?
Answer. The action of your lodge was not only right and constitutional but it was also commendable. "To do good and to distribute" is a cardinal Christian virtue. Any pathway pointed out to us by that Great Light which rests upon the altar of every Masonic Lodge and which we accept as our rule and guide cannot be unmasonic, or counter to the teachings of our Order. That "Book of the Law" teaches us that "pure and undefiled religion is this, to visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from (the sins of) the world." It also gives us the comforting assurance that "Blessed is the man that provideth for the sick and needy, the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble." That beautiful charge sometimes used in closing the Lodge, after admonishing us of the duties we owe each other as brethren, goes on to say: "These generous principles are to extend further. Every human being has a claim upon your kind offices. Do good unto all." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 53rd Grand Annual Communication, p. 265)

The whole matter seems to us to lie in a small compass. No one can be made a Mason without taking an obligation; in that, the Bible has a part, and nothing can be substituted for it; if the party does not believe that that contains God's law, he takes no obligation, and consequently does not, and cannot become a Mason. Or, as we have heretofore expressed it, "No Bible, no obligation; no obligation, no Mason." Indeed, the reason given why an atheist cannot be made a Mason is " because no obligation would be binding on him." But we will not pursue the subject. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 534th Grand Annual Communication, p. 114)

Drawing its inspiration from the Holy Bible, formulating in its creed the essentials of human growth, and safety, and freedom, encroaching on no reserved ground of church or state, it lays its foundations in the human heart, and fortifies itself in human affections. The father of the country knew whereon to lean in the midnight of revolution, and the children of the land believe that its designs are still patriotic, still ennobling, still elevating. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 55th Grand Annual Communication, p. 98)

The board of directors having been elected and the Kansas Masonic Home duly incorporated under the laws of the state, the practical exemplification of the greatest of the Christian graces, as well as the noblest of the Masonic virtues, has been entered upon by the fraternity of Kansas in an enlarged manner. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 55th Grand Annual Communication, p. 74)

Learning that this occasion is to be honored by the presence of the Grand Master and the brethren, believing it to be fitting, as in ancient times, that all great public institutions should have their cornerstones laid by the Masonic Craft, and desiring that this shall be a memorable occasion, such as has not occurred in this jurisdiction, if in the United States, I desire to present to you for this occasion corn, wine, and oil, from the cradle of religious liberty, Jerusalem, which I have brought with me from the land of the Bible, on this my return from a pilgrimage around the earth. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 56th Grand Annual Communication, p. 5)

The charges made against the Gran Dieta as a sovereign grand lodge are shown never to have been true as to its constitution and bylaws, and it has by solemn enactment decreed that the Holy Bible, square, and compass should be used on all Masonic altars in the symbolic lodges of the Republic of Mexico, and that all charters held by so-called women lodges be at once withdrawn, and no recognition of women as Masons ever be made. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 57th Grand Annual Communication, p. 90)

Five months later, writing to Past Grand Master Tyler, of Texas, Bro. Canton says:

A Mason of your Texas jurisdiction, or any other foreign jurisdiction, can visit our lodges, exhibiting his diploma. Moreover, he may be submitted to examination, if the master requires him to be, in order to learn that he is well acquainted with the three degrees of Blue Masonry. Finally, he pledges his word at the altar upon the Bible. (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 57th Grand Annual Communication, p. 98)

Dear Brother:I listened with intense interest to your exposition of Mexican Masonry at the October session of the Supreme Council in Washington, as I also did to the report on that topic read by Bro. Chamberlain, of Texas, the original of which now lies before me from which I note that on August 24. last, the gran dieta decreed that-All charters held by so-called female lodges should at once be withdrawn and that no recognition of women Masons should ever be made," and also decreed that "The Holy Bible, square and compass should be used on all Masonic altars in the Symbolic Lodges of the Republic of Mexico." (Proceedings of the GL of Illinois, 57th Grand Annual Communication, p. 98)

Skip Sampson · Nov 12, 2010

Rev Wayne said:
[So much for Skippy's favorite accusation concerning chastity.]

Or not. Just show me where in the Blue Lodge ritual the Mason obligates himself to the life of chastity, or even to respect the chastity of women in general. Aside from swearing not to violate other Master Mason's women, leaving the female relatives of EA and FC Masons an open field, a general vow of chastity doesn't exist in the obligations. You should be able to disprove this easily by quoting the relevant statement from your own ritual, unless it's not there of course.

Just out of curiosity, you've not included the years or dates of the various Proceedings. Please do so. Cordially, Skip.

Rev Wayne · Nov 13, 2010

Just out of curiosity, you've not included the years or dates of the various Proceedings. Please do so.

I've included volume numbers. With your keen research skills, I'm sure you can come up with the years that fit the volume numbers. Not that it's going to matter, since you cited Mackey in addressing the ashlar thread, where the material I presented was fairly current. If you really seek to make some kind of point about publication dates, don't bother. Antimasons clearly don't consult dates when they start shuffling around looking for something to turn into an accusation.

It's just the same old antimasonic game: "We can quote this, y'all can't." Just can't seem to play on a level field for some reason.

Biblical Content and/or Christian Interpretation II: Monitorial

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

Veteran

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Veteran

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

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