Biblical Content and/or Christian Interpretation II: Monitorial

Rev Wayne · Jan 14, 2011

To state that quotes from the FL LSME are 'uncorroborated' is illogical.

I didn't say the FL LSME was uncorroborated, I said your claims were.

I seem to recall an instance . . .

Adding to your uncorroborated claims, I see. If you can recall it, surely you can refind it and repost it instead of making even more unsubstantiated claims? As it stands, I'm not even certain what it is you're referring to.

Such evasions are what you do when you get cornered, again.

"Cornered?" You are obviously invested in this in some personal way, to characterize the give and take of debate as "cornering."

Researching is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together without knowing what the real picture should look like.

Well, you sure gave evidence of this one, when you kept trying to make the perfect ashlar out to be a rectangular solid, all the while "without knowing" that the real picture should be a picture of a cube.

Funny thing, too, when every description of the object in Jacob's vision stated it was a ladder, how YOU kept tenaciously insisting on your "guesswork" that it was a "staircase."

So don't try to con readers with your high opinions of your "research," I don't think they buy it any more than I do. What we have seen on exhibition from you is NOT "research," it's pure double-D stubbornness masquerading as "research," refusing to admit to a single point even when the evidence before you doesn't lend your "guesses" even one iota of support.

Whether or not the 'guess' is true or not will be seen shortly.

I suppose, provided you are able to do what claim, and simply order and receive them. You claim to have simply "called up" the Grand Lodge of Florida and requested these booklets. You and I both know you just can't simply do that. Even if one IS a Mason, there are STILL all the hoops to jump through as regards protocol, identification, etc. I know, because I've been through the process. How did you manage to convince them you were a Mason, and therefore properly entitled to receive any such materials? I mean, at least with Mike, we found out how he went about it: he pretended to be someone from another religion, with questions submitted to SC GL as though he was interested in joining. Naturally, he tried to wiggle out of it, but with two different email versions of the contact, it was naturally suspect.

(Not that it wasn't already suspect. Over the years, I have had a number of contacts with Grand Lodge, and never once has the WM been the one to reply, it's always the Grand Secretary. I've had some contacts with other GL's too, and it's standard with them as well.. In fact, in some of the larger jurisdictions, it won't even be the Grand Secretary, there will be yet another person who acts as a buffer zone for the GS, just as the GS functions as one for the GM. My own take on it is, it's the same thing Mike has always done with his presentation of cited material, always over-aggrandizing the source to make it appear weightier than it might otherwise appear.)

Then you can complain, or apologize, depending on what I find out.

I don't have anything to "apologize" for. Not only do you not have any proper understanding of "research," you don't seem to have any concept of what it is to engage in debate. Points in debate are either proven or conceded, not "apologized for."

In the case of the NC materials, you tried to pull the same gimmick, trying to reframe the discussion to make it appear that I was making dogmatic proclamations, when all I was saying all along was, "sure, it sounds logical, but let's see your evidence first." And when the evidence came in, what did I do? Immediately, as I had already indicated I WOULD do as soon as someone had evidence and not mere claims, I conceded the point when the statement on the matter was produced--even though the evidence came from Mike, and was considered suspect, as anything automatically is from him.

Speaking of that incident, I found some comments by you recently on that matter to be curious. To be sure we get exactly what you said, so I do not make the same error you do in referring to past conversations with vague references like "I seem to recall . . .," here is what you stated, post #173 above:

You certainly do not learn from your mistakes. Visit the NC GL website and see the issue date for their LSME, which is older than the 1994 documents. It hasn't been reissued yet, though it still remains current.

That wasn't what I recalled being said by the comments Mike posted, so I took another look at the email he allegedly received from the NC GL:

Email reply from the NC Grand Lodge sent December 13, 2010:

Hello Mike,

I apologize for not replying sooner but I have been out of the state or out of town since you emailed. As with all masonic questions the Code of the Grand Lodge would be followed. Also the 1969 LSME has not been used for some years now. Our grand lodge committee has been working on a new updated LSME to be adopted for use and should be available soon.

Sincerely,

William L. Dill
Past Grand Master
(emphasis added)

The bold-highlighted sentence was the main reason I posted to Mike conceding the point. The reply says they had NOT USED the LSME for some years. So whatever they have been doing in Masonic education in those intervening years, has been by some other method than the LSME. Your claim falls on that point. Something cannot "remain" current which has been both out of print and out of use for a number of years. "Remain" necessarily entails that something first has to "BE" that which it is to "remain." The NC LSME was not in use, and thus could not be said to "remain" current. The last time it was "current" would be the last year in which it had been used.

That makes it abundantly clear you are simply engaging in the same old antimasonic shape-shifting we've seen for years, offering first one argument, and then its antithesis, in the effort to make inconsistencies appear consistent. But with you it's more than that, it's more like, you can't let go of a single point, as if you fear your whole argument being a house of cards that can be dismantled by even the least point.

In that case, you were fighting tooth and nail to make the LSME 1969 version out NOT to be current; yet you flip-flop when the whim strikes you, and now start reversing what you were saying then, and trying to claim that the NC LSME booklet WAS current. As always, you engage in arguments of convenience. That's what inevitably happens with anyone who is more invested in the argument than they are in the truth.

So yeah, you can keep what passes for you as "research"--that is, "guesses" and jigsaw puzzles, bolstered by arguments of convenience that change direction with every passing wind (pardon the pun, but that's what your arguments are continually becoming like).

We just understand that its presence there is just a veneer to cover the fibreboard of Masonic thinking. And since the Bible can be replaced with any other part of the VSL

Just one more perfect example of the low level of discourse you seem to prefer: trying to label the biblical foundation of Masonic principles as a "veneer," while ignoring the fact of the veneer you keep plying with your un-Masonic term "part of the VSL."

Tell me, O great King of the Researchers: where did you do your research to come up with "part of the VSL," a term used NOWHERE in Masonry--or anywhere else--but by you?

O.F.F. · Jan 14, 2011

Wayne said:
Still stopping before you get to the good part, I see. Actually, you're wrong, they don't agree, because one states the matter as you just stated it, and says no more; but the other one clearly goes beyond the general statement, to point out the specifics as it applies to US lodges:

See thats the crux of your problem in debating the issues. Youre so hung up in the trees (specific Grand Lodge practices) you fail to acknowledge the forest (general Masonic principles). In other words, you try to position the trees as the forest; which is to say, you try to position the practices of specific Grand Lodges as the standard for regularity when in actuality its the general Masonic principles, as outlined in the other thread I started, which constitute the standards of regularity.

You insist that the Holy Bible is the Great Light in Masonry and the VSL that MUST be on the altar of every lodge; as if that is a standard for regularity but you are wrong. Of the Basic Principles codified by the UGLE in 1929, #6 states that the VSL is the Great Light in Masonry and must be exhibited. And YOU KNOW that means ANY VSL can be the one exhibited as the Great Light in Masonry.

Going back and forth with Skip about how that principle is applied in Florida, South Carolina, or any other Grand Lodges in America is not only misleading, it totally misses the point. Whats worse is, you completely ignore the heretical implications of some of these general principles at the expense of stresses specific applications of them.

Wayne said:
The Great Light of Freemasonry is the Volume of the Sacred Law and it is an indispensable part of the furniture of a Lodge. The Grand Lodges of the United States use the Holy Bible as the V.S.L. on their altars.

In this case, the heretical implication of the first statement, which is the GENERAL RULE, places the Holy Bible on the same level as any other VSL of any other religion in the world. And, because of this GENERAL RULE, if any "regular" Grand Lodge in the U.S. decided -- for whatever reason -- to amend its Code to permanently replace the Bible with another VSL, it would NOT in anyway negatively effect their "regularity" or "recognition."

For a Christian, especially a pastor, to ignore the glaring implication of this Masonic principle and still remain a Mason, is not only a shame, it's a great compromise. I see no way that a genuine, Bible-believing, follower of Jesus Christ can say this brings glory to the One True Living God!

Skip Sampson · Jan 14, 2011

Rev Wayne said:
I didn't say the FL LSME was uncorroborated, I said your claims were.

And you are still wrong.

If you can recall it, surely you can refind it and repost it instead of making even more unsubstantiated claims?

It was on the Lodgeroom forum, under the VSL thread. You quoted this from a 1976 version of the LSME:

The Three Great Lights are the Holy Bible, the Square and the Compasses. As a Great Light the Bible represents the will of God as a man understands it; the Square is the physical life of man under its human conditions; the Compasses signify the moral and spiritual life. If a man acts in obedience to the will of God, according to the dictates of his conscience, he will be living in the illumination of the Great Lights and cannot go astray. (p. 20, Book 2, Florida LSME)

The 1994 version has this to say:

The Three Great Lights are the Volume of Sacred Law, the Square and the Compasses. As a Great Light the Volume of Sacred Law represents the will of God as a man understands it; the Square is the physical life of man under its human conditions; the Compasses signify the moral and spiritual life. If a man acts in obedience to the will of God, according to the dictates of his conscience, he will be living in the illumination of the Great Lights and cannot go astray. (FL GL LSME, Booklet 2, pg. 7)

I've added the bolding to show the change from 1976 to 1994. By 1994 the Bible was no longer considered to be the Great Light in Florida, which is probably why it was no longer mentioned in the LSME booklets of that date. I'd bet it's still not, but we'll see.

when you kept trying to make the perfect ashlar out to be a rectangular solid, all the while "without knowing" that the real picture should be a picture of a cube.

Untrue. I merely showed what the different GL's were promulgating in their monitors: the ashlars are rectangular solids. Take it up with them if you think they are in error. I'm sure they'll be happy to hear from you.

when every description of the object in Jacob's vision stated it was a ladder, how YOU kept tenaciously insisting on your "guesswork" that it was a "staircase."

Wasn't guesswork: Strong's indicates the proper translation of the word was 'stairway.' Again, take it up with them.

I suppose, provided you are able to do what claim, and simply order and receive them. You claim to have simply "called up" the Grand Lodge of Florida and requested these booklets.

That's not what I said. Since you clearly did not read the note, I'll include the quote:

I took the time to call the FL GL and the gentleman I talked to said the booklets were all rolled up into the overall Masonic Education program, part of which is on the website. I'm ordering a copy to see what it all entails. I'll let you know what I find.

I 'ordered' them via mail, and I'm sure they'll send them. What would they have to hide? At any rate, that's how I received the training documentation twice before from the FL GL. Send in an order form, enclose payment, get the books by return mail.

How did you manage to convince them you were a Mason, and therefore properly entitled to receive any such materials?

I didn't make any claims one way or another. Just noted I wanted to have the GL material to study. They were courteous enough to send them along, including the cipher ritual.

and never once has the WM been the one to reply,

Do you mean the GM? It's also been my experience that the GS is the one that does the work.

I don't have anything to "apologize" for.

Geez, we could make you a list.

In the case of the NC materials, you tried to pull the same gimmick,

No, we just pointed out where you were wrong. Of interest, the note you quoted indicates that the NC LSME is still current, and will remain so until the replacement is published. Whether it's used or not, it hasn't been replaced or withdrawn; therefore, it's current.

In that case, you were fighting tooth and nail to make the LSME 1969 version out NOT to be current;

Where did I say it was NOT current?

where did you do your research to come up with "part of the VSL," a term used NOWHERE in Masonry--or anywhere else--but by you?

Worshipful Master Potato Head gave it to me. You remember him, don't you? Cordially, Skip.

Rev Wayne · Jan 14, 2011

See that’s the crux of your problem in debating the issues. You’re so hung up in the trees (specific Grand Lodge practices) you fail to acknowledge the forest (general Masonic principles). In other words, you try to position the trees as the forest; which is to say, you try to position the practices of specific Grand Lodges as the standard for “regularity” when in actuality it’s the general Masonic principles, as outlined in the other thread I started, which constitute the standards of “regularity.”

I'm not gonna try to figure out what you seem to think you just said in that garbled mess, because I don't think YOU even know. What I have cited from Grand Lodges had nothing to do with "regularity." They say what they say, and I have cited from a Florida Mentor's Manual, statements that SPECIFICALLY reference the Bible. Florida's Constitution and Code do the same thing, the BIBLE is the book required to be on the altar to open the lodge.

You insist that the Holy Bible is the Great Light in Masonry and the VSL that MUST be on the altar of every lodge

I don't "insist" on ANYTHING, I just point out, by direct citation, what LODGES are SAYING in their monitors. I can't help it if they say things YOU don't LIKE.

as if that is a standard for “regularity” but you are wrong. as if that is a standard for “regularity” but you are wrong.

If a Grand Lodge states in its manual that it is REQUIRED for a particular book to be there as the Lodge opens, then THAT is the book that MUST be there. It is true of EVERY Grand Lodge in the US. If it were not true, the MSA, Bessel.org, and other informative Masonic agencies would not DECLARE it to be so. The Mentor's Manual in Florida says the SAME THING they do:

The Grand Lodges of the United States use the Holy Bible as the V.S.L. on their altars.

But it is NOT a standard of "regularity," you are confusing the issue by introducing that accusation. The requirement for what book opens the lodge has to do with a lodge bein "just and legally constituted," NOT with "regularity." Those are two completely different issues.

You're making the same mistake Skip made, of trying to make this "one size fits all," when you and he BOTH know better. The VSL that gets placed on the altar that MUST be there to open the lodge, varies from one GL to another. But they ALL have one that is REQUIRED to be there as the lodge opens. In the US, that is the Bible. It's a simple concept, can't see why neither of you seem to be able to get your head around it. Here's how they state it in Ahiman Rezon in SC, which I KNOW you've seen before, but will repost it, since you don't seem to have understood it the first time:

Every lawful assemblage of Masons, duly congregated for work, will be “a just and legally constituted Lodge.” It Is just, that is, regular and orderly, when it contains the requisite number to form a quorum, and when the Bible, Square, and Compasses are present. It is legally constituted when it is acting under the authority of a Warrant of Constitution, which is an instrument written and printed on parchment or paper (but properly it should be on the former), emanating from the Grand Lodge in whose jurisdiction the Lodge is situated, and signed by the grand officers, which authorizes the persons therein named, and their successors, to meet as Masons and perform Masonic labor. As no assemblage of Masons Is legal without such an instrument, it is not only the privilege, but the duty, of every Mason on his first visit to a strange Lodge, to demand a sight of its Warrant of Constitution; nor should any brother sit in a Lodge whose members are unwilling to exhibit the authority on which they act.

An assemblage which does not meet these requirements is not "lawful," for "EVERY" lawful assemblage, it says, will have them: enough for the requisite quorum, Bible, Square, and Compasses, and a warrant or charter signed by Grand Lodge officers.

Likewise, Florida declares:

No Lodge may stand open unless the Holy Bible is opened upon its altar with the Square and Compasses displayed thereon indicating the Degree in which the Lodge is working. The open Bible signifies that by the light of its teachings we must regulate our conduct, for it is the rule and guide of our faith.

Of the “Basic Principles” codified by the UGLE in 1929, #6 states that the VSL is the Great Light in Masonry and must be exhibited.

What you IGNORE is, that the UGLE ALSO uses the Bible as the book that opens the lodge.

Go ahead, send your emails off to any Grand Lodge in the US, and ASK THEM whether or not they REQUIRE SPECIFICALLY that the BIBLE be on their altar or not. I already know what answer you will get: the same answer you would get from the MSA, or from any other Masonic information agency, that in the US it is the Bible that is required.

And I daresay that MOST of them will also have some statement included somewhere that declares that the Bible must be OPEN on the altar for the lodge to be considered "just and legally constituted."

You and Skip are BOTH engaging in cheap semantics, trying to employ the more general statements about "Masonry" as if the same generality applies, without specifics, when it comes to specific Grand Lodges. You YOURSELF stated earlier that the only reason you find the Bible on altars here is, because Christianity is the religion which predominates. What you both ignore is, that does NOT change the fact that "Grand Lodges in the US use the Holy Bible as their VSL."

Check with the Grand Lodges and you will also find, that when it comes to "substitute" VSL's, they are permitted, but are very limited in the usage that is allowed. The statements I have seen on the matter, allow the VSL of the candidate's choice (when it other than the Bible) to be placed on the altar ONLY for the specific moment at which the candidate takes his obligation, and it is removed afterward. There's a simple reason for the difference between the way the two are handled: the Bible IS the VSL in US lodges, and other books are NOT--they are substitutes chosen by an individual, for his obligation only.

We have had discussions about other Grand Lodges around the world, but you seem to have forgotten those. You've even cited declarations that say that in some other jurisdictions around the world, it would be some other book than the Bible that would BE the VSL. But you seem to have forgotten those as well.

Going back and forth with Skip about how that principle is applied in Florida, South Carolina, or any other Grand Lodges in America is not only misleading, it totally misses the point.

How the heck is it "misleading" to point out WHAT GRAND LODGES ARE DECLARING??????

What's "misleading" is your FAILURE to take into account that EVERY GRAND LODGE HAS A SPECIFIC VSL, AS DECLARED IN THEIR BY-LAWS, THAT APPLY SPECIFICALLY TO THEIR OWN JURISDICTION.

Take a look, for instance, since it was recently under discussion, at the Constitution of the GL of North Carolina, and its requirements for subordinate lodges. Regulation 38-2 states it just as plainly:

A subordinate lodge shall consist of not less than twenty Master Masons who are members of the lodge, one of whom is lawfully authorized to open and preside when duly assembled with the Holy Bible, Square, and Compasses, and a Charter, or a Dispensation or Warrant empowering them to work.

In this case, the heretical implication of the first statement, which is the GENERAL RULE, places the Holy Bible on the same level as any other VSL of any other religion in the world. And, because of this GENERAL RULE, if any "regular" Grand Lodge in the U.S. decided -- for whatever reason -- to amend its Code to permanently replace the Bible with another VSL, it would NOT in anyway negatively effect their "regularity" or "recognition."

One thing is for sure, it doesn't happen here, because no US lodge declares any other book to "BE" its VSL. And you seem to forget that Grand Lodges are autonomous, what happens somewhere else does not affect what a Grand Lodge determines for itself in its own bylaws. The only place where a VSL is "placed on a level with any other VSL," is in GL's where more than one resides upon the altar. That would include Israel, which has the Old & New Testaments and the Koran, India, which has five, Singapore, which as I recall has seven, and some others as well, I imagine. Still doesn't change the fact that US lodges place only the Bible on the altar, nor does it change the fact that they do so by express requirement in their bylaws. And it certainly doesn't change the fact that the only "VSL" which has its contents cited in a manner which PERMEATES every ritual, is the Holy Bible.

Rev Wayne · Jan 16, 2011

By 1994 the Bible was no longer considered to be the Great Light in Florida,

Baloney. You are making proclamations based on a booklet which is not even THE place to find Masonic statements on such matters. Your error is more than an error, it's a downright farce. Let's look at Florida's bylaws and see what THEY say:

1.03Masonic Law is of two kinds, viz: The unwritten and written. The unwritten law of Masonry comprises its mystic covenants and ceremonies which have been handed down by tradition from time immemorial, and which no Mason, or set of Masons, is at liberty to violate or unlawfully reveal. The written law of Masonry is embraced in the Holy Bible, the Constitution and legislation of Grand Lodge, and the Laws, Rules and Regulations of the Particular Lodges, respectively, to which every Mason in his proper sphere of fraternal jurisdiction should yield dutiful conformity.

38.27 Use of Bible containing extraneous matter is not proper. The First Grand Light in Masonry is the unadorned Holy Bible. (1941 Proc. 82)

Both of these were on the books in copyrighted Masonic law of 2009. Not only that, the second of these statements contradicts your claim that it was "no longer considered to be the Great Light" in 1994, because this decision was rendered in 1941 as indicated, and has stood on the books since that point. Had it NOT been on the books since then, i.e., had it been "changed" as you claim, that would mean it would have to have been changed BACK at some point between 1994 and 2009, and the date the decision was made would have reflected that.

Skip Sampson · Jan 21, 2011

Rev Wayne said:
Let's look at Florida's bylaws and see what THEY say:

Good idea. Your first reference has nothing to do with the great lights; the second introduces a new concept. But here's one you missed:

The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Florida hereby recognizes, as being Landmarks of Freemasonry the Following: ...
(c) The Volume of the Sacred Law, open upon the altar, is an indispensable furnishing of every regular Lodge while at labor. (Regulations of the BL)

Notice the statement is perfectly consistent with the LSME. As I've repeatedly pointed out, it is the VSL which is part of the furniture of the lodge and one of the three great lights. The Bible can be used only because it's a part of the VSL. Cordially, Skip.

Rev Wayne · Jan 21, 2011

Your first reference has nothing to do with the great lights; the second introduces a new concept.

"New concept?" Sorry, you missed the boat:

38.27 Use of Bible containing extraneous matter is not proper. The First Grand Light in Masonry is the unadorned Holy Bible. (1941 Proc. 82)

Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

The right angle triangle is the symbol of the "Complete Man" referred to in the Bible as being composed of Body, Soul and Spirit. ("Symbolism of the Apron," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 1 No. 1)

1. Question:
The year on an Application Form is shown as A.L. Why?
Answer:
The A.L. - Annum Lucis (In a year of light) appears on many Craft Documents. Our system of Masonic chronology is based on a pre-Christian tradition that the Messiah (Christ) would be born 4000 years after the Creation of the Universe, so that the calendar, in early Christian times, counted the Creation (Annum Lucis) as 4000 B.C.
In 1611, Bishop James Ussher published his famous Chronology with the computation of 4004 years up to the beginning of the Christian era, and many editions of the Authorized version of the Bible printed his dating in the margins.
In the 18-19th centuries, the Craft adopted Ussher's system, though generally using the round figure of 4000, with consequent problems when we find documents by different hands using Ussher's 4004. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 1 No. 2)

In Copenhagen in 1966 there. was held a R.C. Episcopal Conference of Scandinavian countries. One of the topics concerned converts who are Freemasons. This conference of the northern countries, after a long and elaborate documentary investigation, decided that each bishop may authorise members of the order of Freemasonry in the northern countries, who wish to become Catholics to be accepted without having simultaneously to resign their active membership in the craft. That is, Masons may become Catholics in Scandinavia, but the conference didn't say that Catholics could join Masonry. It is interesting to note that 90% of the population in Scandinavia is said to belong to Protestant churches. Norway, Sweden and Iceland use the distinctive Swedish Rite, which is essentially Christian. . . .

Wor. Bro. Carr reports on a series of interviews with the late Cardinal Heenan, then head of the R.C. church in England, commencing in March, 1968. Cardinal Heenan was reporting directly to Rome on Masonic matters, and W. Bro. Carr emphasized to him the necessity of drawing a sharp line between the Freemasonry recognized by the U.G. L. of England and the atheistic or anti-Christian "Latin" Grand Lodges. He called attention to the Marquiss of Ripon, G.M. of G.L. of England 1870-4, and who resigned his high office to become a R.C. Cardinal, Heenan stated that he was very much impressed by Lord Ripon's statement after he resigned, that "Throughout his career in Freemasonry, he had never heard a single word uttered against Altar or Throne." The Cardinal was eager to act as an intermediary between the Church in Rome and Masonry. In 1971, during another interview, Cardinal Heenan told W. Bro. Carr about a Freemason (married to a R.C. woman) being received into the R.C. church with the blessing of the Holy See "without restriction", that is, without having to give up his Masonry. This is an indication of possible future developments in the relationship in England between R.C. and Freemason. ("Roman Catholicism and Freemasonry," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 1 No. 2)

The symbolism which pertains to the gloves is to teach the candidate that 'the acts of Freemasons' and 'the works of his hands,' should be as pure and spotless as the gloves now given him. Both the apron and the gloves signify the same thing; both are allusive to purification of life.
In the Christian Church of the Middle Ages, gloves were always worn by bishops or priests when in the performance of religious functions. They were made of linen and were white. The white gloves denoted chastity and purity, because the hands were kept clean and free from all impurity.
In the V.O.S.L. we find, 'Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.' The apron may be said to refer to the 'Pure Heart,' the gloves to the 'Clean Hands.' Both are symbolic of purification. It is unfortunate that the custom of wearing white gloves while the lodge is at work, and therefore the symbolic reason for wearing them, is slowly being lost to Freemasons. ("The Gloves," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 2 No. 1)

W.Bro. D. Flynn of Lodge No 416 and of Queens‟ Lodge No 578 in response to the article Defining Masonry| puts forward the following description that he uses when asked what Masonry is:
Masonry is a way of life, it is a plan for living, guided by the Bible and following God‟s direction to man. If followed this way of life will make a good man better, not better than someone else, but better than him self; a finer man than he was before he entered Masonry. To teach this way of life the simple common tools of building are used in its explanation. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 2 No. 3)

In this second degree you are to extend your researches into the hidden mysteries of nature and science. The Renaissance or age of enlightenment brought forth scholars and brought forth Masonry and extended the Christian Church across many lands. ("The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 2 No. 3)

The New Testament is comprised mostly of letters to nascent churches written by Paul midway through the first century A.D. Paganism was everywhere and there were no churches, no Sundays, no books about the Faith. Slavery, sexual immorality, cruelty, callousness to human suffering, and a low standard of public opinion were universal; traveling and communications were chancy and perilous; most people were illiterate. The first letter of Paul to the Corinthians was Corinth, which was a most important sea port, a town and a strategic road junction. As it was the capital of a Roman province it would also have been full of a cosmopolitan crowd and, even in those days, was a byword for immorality, probably because of Aphrodite. And yet Paul writes to these Christians about love, Christian love, urging them to consider another person's conscience regardless of his faith.
This brings to mind the question as to whether we restrict Masonic ideals only to Masons? Is a brother only a Masonic brother or is he any member of mankind? The Junior Wardens lecture in the first degree informs a candidate that, if he is in possession of charity in its most ample sense, he may justly be deemed to have arrived at the summit of masonry. He is also told in the charge from the N. E. that charity has many excellences and is put to a small test in order to awaken some elemental feelings of charity to those in distress. In Paul's first letter to the
Christians at Corinth, the last verse of chapter 13 is And now abideth faith, hope, charity,
These three, but the greatest of these is charity. In the same chapter of the first book of Corinthians is found And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor----- and have not found charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Suppose now we substitute the word love for the word charity in all these cases. It appears then that charity in its most ample sense could be construed as love. Possibly in this day and age we confuse charity, because the word is usually used to describe the making of donations to those in greater need than ourselves. But this is a cold, prosaic definition and, in many ways omits the heart from the giving; it seems to say here is some money now go away and don't bother me until you need more.
It is interesting to note also that in Paul's time there were several words to describe the modern word love. Paul used the word agape for love and this is described the love a person is willing to give to someone who is unlovable. Similarly, the word eros described the love that was given to anything desirable and philia described the love that was given to someone who had something n common with you. It is not improbable to suggest, therefore, that the modern word charity covers the various shades of meaning for the word love in Paul's time. The only way to achieve agape is to draw on some resources from the Grace of God, so that the community becomes a superhuman one.
And, in Masonry, are we not always striving towards the betterment of mankind through an adherence to principles of the Bible? ("Charity," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 2 No. 4)

Question 2: During the M.M.Degree, the Chaplain recites " Or ever the silver cord be loosed--." What is meant by the "silver cord"?
Answer: The words are from Ecclesiastes XII which describes, in great detail, the decline of man in old age, and the failure of his senses, limbs and faculties. I would quote from my annotated Geneva Bible, which says that the 'silver cord' is "the marrow of the backbone and sinews." It may be pure coincidence, but I am forcibly reminded of a passage in the Graham Ms., 1726, which, after describing the earliest raising within a Masonic context, contains the words "Here is yet marrow in this bone." ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 3 No. 3)

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Light is a symbol of knowledge. A Master must convey "light" in the sense of knowledge and leadership to those brethren assembled and in his care. He should be a good shepherd who knows his flock and is known by them. Every mason should strive incessantly for "light" and especially for the light eternal. When a society is assembled anywhere to do good, they require an influential person to communicate the light of experience, instruct them and point out the way they should go; or bring light to them. He who thus introduces light into the lodge must be a worthy man and experienced in the Craft. As brethren who have a vote it is our duty and responsibility not to make snap judgments, but to elect men who will provide leadership and dedication; men who wish to preserve their Masonic heritage. My thoughts turn to that beautiful painting by Holman Hunt entitled "The Light of the World." This depicts the Great Architect in the form of Jesus Christ - 7 -
standing in front of an old cracked wooden door; the hinges are rusty and squeak and the pathway has not been well kept and the weeds are in abundance. In his one hand he holds a lantern which reveals in the darkness the concern on his face for his fellow man. Here is revealed his concern as to why this doorway has not been opened that often, why the pathway if covered by so many weeds and not well trimmed. The thought conveyed is, have we allowed him to show us Light and enter the door to our hearts and minds or have we kept the door closed? The light from his lantern ever shines brightly. As masons we have an obligation and a commitment in life. Let us practice Masonry to the fullest and let us let our light shine forth before men, that they may see our good works. The burden may become heavy, but when we joined the craft we knew that as brothers working together we had accepted an obligation to ourselves, to our families, and to one another. ("Masonry's Future: With or Without Light?" Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 3 No. 3)

We should bear in mind that printed copies of the Bible, on which all our candidates are obligated, were not available to most people until 1535, and there is no reference to a Bible in a masonic sense until the late 1600‟s. ("Origin and Symbols," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 3 No. 4)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

Question 1: Distinguish between Hiram, King of Tyre and Hiram Abif? The Bible refers to only one.
Answer: The question is wrong. Both are mentioned several times in the course of the two Old Testament versions of the building of KST. H.K.T. appears in 1 Kings: 1, as Hiram, King of Tyre and several times in the same chapter as Hiram.
H.A., the "widow's son‟ appears first in I Kings: 7,13, and again in the same chapter in verse 40, where the name appears with two slightly different Hebrew spellings. This has given rise to a theory that there were two craftsmen named Hiram. (Quite apart from H.K.T.) H.K.T. appears in the Chronicles version in II Chronicles: 3, and he appears again as Hiram, King of Tyre in the same chapter, verse 11. In verse 13 he writes to Solomon saying that he has sent him a skilled craftsman, i.e. a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Hiram my Father‟s These last four words in English are the translation of the Hebrew words Le-Haram Aviv and this sentence is the source of our words Hiram Abif. It was Luther who first used this name (H.A.) because he could not make sense of the Hebrew of Haram my father's.
Note: In II Chronicles: IV, 11, we find the name of Hiram, the craftsman, again with two different Hebrew spellings, suggesting that there were two craftsman of the same name, a father and a son. It is impossible to solve this problem more especially because, unlike our Hiramic legend, which is pure legend, there is no Biblical record of the death of Hiram, the marvellous craftsman. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 3 No. 4)

We continue to provide invocations at our assemblies, the grace at our banquets and the blessings at our functions by asking for aid and assistance in the name of Jesus Christ. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 4 No. 1)

Q. How did he bring you.
A. Neither naked nor clothed, barefoot nor shod...
The French exposures, from 1737 onwards, say that 'he is made to wear his left shoe as a slipper'. The bare R.A. came in much later and I have found no explicit record of that until the 17ROs, in Preston's First Lecture. The Graham MS, 1726 says 'poor peny-less and blind...' and also 'half naked, half shod, half barefoot, half kneeling, half standing'.
As to the reasons for these preparations: The candidate is slip- shod, as a reminder that the lodge stands on Holy Ground (Exodus 3. v5) and to confirm the bond in the obligation (Ruth IV, vv 7,8). The bare R.A. to show that the candidate carries no weapons. The N.L.B. to ensure he is male and the left is nearest the heart. The L.K. because Christian brethren take their obligation on the L.K. These are the traditional reasons, but practices are not uniform in different countries. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 4 No. 1)

As I have the honor to be Chaplain, I can assure you our form of prayer (which is in English, as being the common language) is such that no Christian would refuse to join in, of what persuasion soever he should be. ("A Chaplain in Liverpool," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol 4 No. 3)

Question 3: Why does the word Boaz denote 'in strength'?

Answer: It is a good Hebrew word and that is what it means. In Bible times it was customary to give names to children indicating some characteristic of the child, or the gratitude or pious wish of the parents. To quote only one
example out of thousands of cases, the name 'Samuel' means 'heard of God', because his mother's fervent prayer for a son had been heard and answered by the Almighty.
Similar practice applied in naming places, objects, and landmarks, especially those connected with some important event that deserved to be commemorated, for example 'Heersheba' means 'the well of the covenant '. (Abraham's covenant with God).
The name Bo-az is a composite of two words; Bo equals 'in Him' or 'in it (is) strength'. Thus the name of Boaz, as a member of a wealthy and powerful family, means 'In him is strength'. The same name, applied to one of the Pillars of the Temple, means "In Him (God) is strength'. The full significance of the name is best understood when we read the names of both Pillars together, and they imply that 'God, in His strength, will establish'. With those two names Solomon was expressing his gratitude to the Almighty, who had promised that He would establish the throne of his father's Kingdom for ever.

Question 4: Can you explain, in modern terms, the words 'Succoth' and 'Zeradatha'?

Answer: Our Masonic version of the casting of the Pillars of King Solomon's Temple follows the Bible story precisely. We say they were 'cast' in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeradatha and these are the exact words, perfectly translated from the original Hebrew, 2 Chron. IV, v. 17. The corresponding version in 1 Kings VII, v. 46 uses the same words, but gives the second place-name as Zarthan.
'Succoth' means 'booths' or 'tents'. This was the place where Jacob built 'booths' for his cattle on his return to Canaan, after wrestling with the angel. The River Jordan flows due north and south, and the River Jabbok flows into it from the north east. 'Succoth' was a village or town about four miles east of the River Jordan, in the V between the two Rivers. 'Zeradatha', 'Zarthan', 'Zereda'. The name appears to be derived from an Arabic root meaning 'to cool' or 'cooling'. It probably marked a ford of the Jordan in the same area.
The key to the choice of this territory for the work of casting the Pillars, is the clay ground in this part of the Jordan valley. The use of a clay core was one of the earliest methods of casting in bronze. If there really was some- thing in the geographical situation of Zeradatha which helped in the cooling process, the area chosen for the casting was wholly suitable for the work. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol 4 No. 4)

The student of the V.0.S.L. will remember how allegorical allusions were used to a great extent by the ancient Hebrews to conceal their beliefs from their Persian conquerors. Many concrete examples may be found in the Book of Daniel. Other examples of allegory are the parables where by simple stories an intellectual truth is revealed.
Also in the V.0.S.L., in the Book known as the Apocalypse there is a great deal of allegory. This was in order that the teachings of the early Christians might remain intact, despite severe hounding and repression by the Roman Legions.
In the same manner Masonry throughout the many years of its existence has used this method of allegory to define its ancient moral truths and beliefs. These beliefs and truths apply to us today in our daily lives just as much as they did to our ancient brethren and as much as they will to our brethren of the future to whom, one day, we will become ancient too. ("Allegory," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol 5 No. 1)

Dr. Anderson made in his Constitutions, dated 1738, reference to the hammer and the trowel being tools requisite for a Free Mason, the one used to separate and the other to join together. He makes no mention of any explanation of working tools during the degrees as is practiced today. There is a reference to the square, level and plumb rule as the moveable jewels of the lodge, and the square and compasses in relation to the Bible. However, it is quite clear in the recitation of early Masonic Quotations and Poems, that a great deal of speculative thought was directed to the ordinary tools of Masonry. William Preston, in his 2nd edition of Illustrations of Masonry, Published in 1775, included some notes on the consecration of a new lodge, and the installation of that lodge's first Master. He indicates that a similar sort of ceremony ought to be observed at subsequent installations. During the ceremony he declares that the Warrant should be delivered to the new Master, and then the Holy Bible, the square, and compasses, the Book of Constitution, the minute book, the Hiram, the moveable jewels, and the insignia of the different officers, should also be delivered to him along with a suitable charge for each. ("Masonic Tools Prior to the Union," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol 5 No. 2)

Question 2: Following a lodge meeting at which we had heard an explanation of the Second Degree Tracing Board, a discussion arose as to the story of Jephtha's battle and the death of 'forty and two thousand warriors. Some said the figure was 2,040 and others that it should be 42,000. Which is correct?
Answer: the King James Authorized Version of the Bible (at Judge XII, 6) gives the number as 'forty and two thousand' and that is the source of some confusion, although it is a precise translation from the original Hebrew, with each word in its correct place. It is perhaps necessary to explain that it is not possible in Hebrew to say 'forty-two'; one could say 'two and forty' (as in German) or 'forty and two', but the 'and' must be there.
For the remainder of the argument, I quote from a recent Lodge Newsletter by Bro. Wt. Holmes, Secretrary of United Technical Lodge No. 8027:
The 1st Chapter of the Book of Numbers gives an unequivocal answer to this problem. The Lord commanded Moses to number each of twelve tribes of the children of lsreal every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war.' Verse 21 says: 'Those that were numbered of them even of the tribe of Reuben were forty and six thousand and five hundred.' Verse 46 gives the final figures of all the tribes 'So were all those that were numbered of the children of lsreal, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel. Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.'
The figures of each of the twelve tribes are given in verses 21 to 43, and the wording of the final total leaves no room for error, 603,550. That total can only be achieved when we calculate the census of the individual tribes by the same method as we use for the 42,000 in Jephtha's battle.
Finally, one hears a great deal of criticism, nowadays, of the New English Bible and it is only fair to add a word of praise. In its account of the slaughter of the Ephraimites (Judges XII,6) it gives the figure in modern terms - 'forty-two thousand'. ("Jephthah's Vow," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 5 No. 3)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

The twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, which plays a dramatic part in our ceremonies of the third degree, has inspired many interpretations of the symbolic language used. In writing this article I have borrowed from these explanations and from several modern translations of the bible, notably the "Good News Bible" which attempts to use English as it is spoken today. I shall not list my sources, but if you should recognize a phrase or two that you have written I trust you will consider it flattery and not plagiarism!
The word "Ecclesiastes" refers to a philospher or one who speaks before an assembly, or, alternately "Koheleth", the pen name of the author. Since reference is made to "the son of David" and "begin in Jerusalem" (1:1) there is some justification for considering Solomon as the author even though modern scholars suggest it was written some five hundred years after Solomon's reign.
The central thesis of Ecclesiastes concerns the emptiness of earthly things not only for the poor and weak but also for the rich and powerful. Solomon himself is unable to find anything meaningful in life; all that can be done is to seize the temporal and ephemeral joys that come along, and to remain unconcerned for anything more lasting. This thought is summed up in 8:15 "...there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry..."
In the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes we are given a look at ourselves in old age -it is not a pretty sight -and we are given the exhortation to give thought to our Creator before the infirmities of old age beset us. We must bear in mind as we read these passages that the author uses the imagery, metaphors and idioms characteristic of the Hebrew culture many centuries ago.
To get the feel of the passage we are to discuss, (12:1-7), we should first consider the last two verses of the preceding chapter:
"Young people, enjoy your youth. Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do and follow your heart's desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do. Don't let anything worry you or cause you pain. You aren't going to be young very long." [GNB]
Man stands between two worlds: the material and the spiritual, and partakes of both. His soul, like the world from whence it came, is immortal; but his body, like the world to which it belongs, is frail and perishable. Every day and every hour this mortal body tends towards its own destruction and no art can prolong it beyond its term.
In spite of man's effort, the evil days will come when we shall say, .I have no pleasure in them." The light of the sun, moon and stars will grow dim, and clouds, not blue skies, will return after the rain.
The hands, those once active and vigorous keepers of the house, will tremble and shake, and the legs, those strong columns that once stood straight and strong in supporting our bodies, will be bent. The teeth, the grinders of food, will fail to do their job because they are few. The ears, the doors to the mind, will be like a door closed to the noise of the street; and the sound of women grinding corn will barely be audible. The eyes, the windows to the soul, will grow dim, ''as one who sees through a glass darkly."
The birds that sing (those daughters of music) will barely be heard, but will awaken us from our light sleep of early morning. Old age will bring a fear of heights and a fear of the way (i.e. the road). The hair of our head will be white like the blossoms of the almond tree, and our legs, no longer sprightly like
grasshoppers, will be a burden, and the zest and desires of life will have gone. And at last, when we go to our everlasting home, those who mourn our passing will wail in the streets.
We should remember all these things before the silver cord that binds our immortal soul to earth is loosed; and the golden bowl of life, like a cup that overflows, is broken; and the pitcher that pours forth all good things is no more; and the wheel that turns like a pulley to lift thoughts from the cistern of our mind, will turn no more.
When at last we depart this earth, the body wil decay and return to the dust from whence it came, but the spirit, the breath of life, will continue to live and will return unto God who gave it.
...Fear God and obey His commands, because this is all that man was created for. God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret," Ecc. 12:13,14.
FOOTNOTE
Many Masons who have written their interpretation of this passage follow the suggestions of Dr. Clark (in Mackey's Encyclopedia) when referring to the silver cord and golden bowl. I see these metaphors not as referring to physical parts of the human body, but rather as symbols for such intangibles as the soul and mind. I doubt that the writers of antiquity, even Solomon with all his wisdom, knew very much about the spinal column and the Internal organs of the body. We will never know for a certainty just what the writer of Ecclesiastes had in mind, but we know he is referring to the transience of the body and the immortality of the soul and thus to see these elements linked together by a silver cord seems right and proper. ("Ecclesiastes," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 5 No. 4)

Why should it be imprudent for David to take a census of his people? Have you ever asked yourself this question or pondered it in your mind? In this modern age a census-taking is considered very important and Canada conducts one every ten years. A census had been taken in times previous to David because Moses took a census in response to God's command. You will note one exception mentioned in Numbers Chap.1 Verse 49. The Levites who were in charge of the religious duties of the people were excluded from the census as they were not eligible for military service.
In what way had David sinned? God had already granted David victories over his enemies. By counting his men, David showed a lack of faith in God and a dependence only on the strength of men. In the time of Samuel, there was also the idea that taking a census was impious because it was infringing on Knowledge only proper to the Deity. God was the creator and only he should know the number of his creatures. David's action was without reference to God, but for self-glorification. His sin was that of self-assertion and mistrust. In the Book of Samuel, the writer suggests that God in his anger had moved David to sin against Israel while in the
Book of First Chronicles the writer says that it was Satan that tempted David, a more suitable theological explanation to our ears.
After the census had been taken, God's prophet in the person of Gad came to David and explained that he had a choice of three punishments. They were (1.) seven years of famine (2) three months of defeat by his enemies or (3) three days of pestilence. David chose the third option, likely because of its shorter length of time. Upon the prophet's advice David was to raise an altar and sacrifice to God as an appeasement for his sin. David therefore went to Araunah, the Jebusite, to purchase his threshing-floor as a proper place for an altar. Araunah offered to give the ground to the King but this was refused by David. In the Book of Samuel, the price mentioned was 50 shekels of silver but in Chronicles the amount stated is 600 shekels of gold! Quite a difference between historians!
An interesting point for Masons is the fact that this threshing-floor was to become the site for the wonderful temple that Solomon was charged to build. David therefore performed the first religious rite on that sacred ground. ("Anger of the Lord," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 5 No. 4)

Solomon's name and fame are still remembered today -whilst that of his neighbour to the north has been almost forgotten. Solomon was fortunate in having adequate chroniclers, which Hiram lacked. Solomon did not equal Hiram in wealth and in worldly power, but he did surpass him in the greater and more important values -wisdom and spirit.
King Hiram of Tyre has been saved from complete oblivion in the dusty tombs of history, and is remembered by Freemasons because he gave so freely of his resources to help and assist a neighbour in a great and important undertaking. The terms of the original contract between the two kings are to be found in the Second Book of Chronicles, Chapter two.
'Solomon paid Hiram 20,000 measures of crushed wheat, 20,000 measures of wine, and 200,000 baths of oil each year.'
Although modern equivalents cannot be determined precisely, researchers have established that a bath was a liquid measure of 4.4 to 8.6 gallons and that ten baths equals a measure. Thus the contract provided for from 880,000 to 1,720,000 gallons of wine and oil, and the same number of bushels of wheat and barley. As time progressed the cost of King Solomon's building projects soared and Hiram loaned Solomon vast sums of money. In exchange Solomon gifted to Hiram twenty cities in the province of Galilee. This transaction has its note of irony for the Bible reflects that, when Hiram went to inspect his new possessions, he found them to be not at all what he expected and he wrote to Solomon saying plaintively 'What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?' (I Kings 9-10,5). Perhaps he had a right to question the transaction. After all he had loaned Solomon 120 talents of gold, estimated at today's value over $12,000,000.
Hiram's aid was not limited to huge sums of money for he provided great numbers of craftsmen to the Hebrew King. He also provided seamen to teach the ways of the sea; thus Tyrian mariners taught Jewish sailors how to bring gold from India.
The greatest talent of course was in the person of the other Hiram -Hiram Abif, the widow's son. Not only was this man the most skilful founder and worker in brass and bronze in those days, but also in the Masonic legend he came to occupy a position of leadership among the Temple Craftsmen, subordinate only to that of the two kings themselves. In this manner Hiram, King of Tyre, perpetuated his name and recorded for history the skills of his people. ("Hiram, King of Tyre," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 6 No. 1)

The Great Lights in Masonry are the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses. As a Great Light the Holy Bible represents the will of God as man understands it; the Square is an emblem of virtue; the Compasses signify the moral and spiritual life. If a man acts in obedience to the will of God, according to the dictates of his conscience, he will be living in the illumination of the Great Lights and cannot go astray. ("Symbols of the First Degree," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 6 No. 1)

Question 2: Were the Pillars of Solomon's Temple made of brass or bronze?
Answer: The Hebrew word which appears in connection with the story of the Temple Pillars in 1 Kings, Chap. 7, is 'nehoshet' and it is translated 'brass' in the Geneva Bible, and in the Authorized Version. Brass is an alloy consisting mainly of if not exclusively copper and zinc; in its older use the term was applied rather to alloys of copper and tin, now known as bronze.
The brass of the Bible was probably bronze, and so also was much of the brass of later times, until the distinction between zinc and tin became clearly recognized. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 6 No. 1)

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Masonry is an ancient fraternity and traces its ancestry as far back as the guilds of the Middle Ages. It is definitely of British origin and raised on British soil, though it uses the Bible and the Temple of Solomon to teach its values and beliefs. ("By a Similar Fidelity," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 6 No. 2)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

Although their documentation only begins in 1701, the Freemason's ideals go back to antiquity and beyond. Despite the fact that the Bible is their main support, Freemasonry is not a religion as such, but an attempt to educate men and to elevate them to the higher ideals of humanism and brotherly love based on a philosophy of work. . . .
He combines the four cardinal virtues of Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance and Justice with the three christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity to such an extent as to create a musical master- piece which is cosmic in its depth. ("The Magic Flute," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 6 No. 3)

The origins of operative masonry's philosophy can be traced back to a Mosaic/Christian tradition interwoven by a somewhat more individualistic guild philosophy, which besides ensuring rights and privileges has also placed a great deal of practical responsibility on its members. The Old Charges embodied not just the spirit of the Ten Commandments, but also regulated professional conduct, outlined specific social responsibilities towards country, religion, the less fortunate brethren and their families, and required the more knowledgeable masters to educate their fellowcrafts and apprentices. ("How Free is a Freemason?" Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 6 No. 4)

Question 1:What is the origin and significance of our procedure with regard to money and metallic substances in the preparation of the Candidate?
Answer:The polluting influence of metal is stressed several times in the Bible. Here are two examples:
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. (Exodus, xx,25.)
And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. (1 Kings, vi, 7.) ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 7 No. 1)

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In 5O years as a minister and as a Mason, l have found no conflict between by Masonic beliefs and my Christian faith. I have not found and do not now find that Freemasonry is 'incompatible' with Christian faith and practice.
Freemasonry has never asked me to choose between my Lodge and my Church. Masonry has never and will never usurp the place of God. Never has anyone dared to say;'Thou shalt love Masonry with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind'.
There can only be one ultimate loyalty, and the Living God is the only worthy object of such loyalty. Possibly there are those who have made a god out of Masonry. You can make a god out of anything -- your business, your labor union, your civic club, your Lodge and even Church. You can even make a god out of leftovers. (Isaiah 44).
My Masonic activities have never interfered with my loyalty to and my love for my Church. Quite to the contrary, my loyalty to my Church has been strengthened by my Masonic ties. Good Masons are good Churchmen.
The Grand Master of Pennsylvania Masonry says:
Freemasonry is having a faith to live by;
Freemasonry is being a self to live with;
Freemasonry is having worthy causes to live for;
Freemasonry is a never ending pursuit of excellence.
This then is my testimony. I am a Mason without apology!
The above was written by Bishop Carl J. Sanders, 330 United Methodist Church U.S.A. ("A Mason Without Apology," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 7 No. 3)

This requirement of belief in the Supreme Being, and the fact that Masonic ritual contains frequent prayers, does not make Freemasonry a religion. Freemasonry offers no sacraments. If a Christian wants spiritual grace, he must go to church. Similarly, if he wants salvation he must seek it in the practice of his religion. Freemasonry may teach or encourage him to do better, but it does not deal in religion or in religion's ultimate, salvation. Religions have doctrines. Freemasons are forbidden to discuss religion in their Lodges, and so no Masonic doctrinal system is possible. A belief is required, but there is no attempt to prescribe how the belief is to be exercised. ("Freemasonry From Craft to Tolerance," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 7 No. 4)

Freemasonry is defined in its 'Statement of Principles' as a charitable, benevolent, educational, and religious society. Religious in that it teaches monotheism, which is the sole dogma of Freemasonry. Belief in one God is required of every initiate, but his conception of the Supreme Being is left to his own interpretation. This is the basis of our universality. The Holy Bible is open upon its altar whenever a lodge is in session, Reverence for God is ever present in its ceremonials. The Great Light of Freemasonry is the Volume of the Sacred Law
which is an indispensable part of the furniture of a Masonic Lodge. The Grand Lodges of the United States use the Holy Bible as the volume of Sacred Law on their altars, however the candidate who is not a Christian or of the Jewish faith is entitled to have his own sacred book substituted for the Bible.
In some Lodges in other countries, the altars of Masonry have more than one volume of the Sacred Law on them and the candidate may choose the one on which he is obligated.
No lodge may stand open and remain so unless the Holy Bible is open upon its altar, its pages displaying the proper passage appropriate to the degree in which the lodge is working. The open Bible signifies that by the light of its teachings, we must regulate our conduct, for it is the rule and guide of our faith. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 8 No. 2)

Question 7:What is the symbolism of the Square?
Answer 7:The Square, the second of the 'Three Great Lights', symbolises Morality, defined in Masonic Ritual as the duties we owe to our neighbour. In adopting this standard or morality, Freemasonry, like Christianity, is following the criterion of moral virtue set up by the Israelites. So great was the importance attached by the Israelites to duty to one's neighbour that it became the supreme test of the practice of morality. In the days of King Herod there lived a famous Hebrew sage named Hillell, said to have been one of Herod's Wardens during the rebuilding of the Temple in the time of Zerubbabel. Hillel was once asked by a heathen to teach him THE WHOLE OF THE SACRED LAW while he could stand on one foot! Hillel's answer was: 'What is hateful to thyself do not unto thy neighbour. This is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary.' In symbolising in the Square the great moral law first laid down by the Israelites, and afterwards adopted by Christianity, Freemasonry has but adopted an Hebraic standard. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 8 No. 2)

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Since 'Neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron...' was heard while the temple'... was in building', (1 Kings 6..7), wooden sections of it may have been prefabricated and brought to the site, along with the dressed lime- stone blocks, some 12 to 15 miles away from the Jerusalem caverns known as Solomon's Quarries. The Bible also tells us that Solomon called upon Hiram the Great of Tyre who had been an ally of David, to help build the temple.
We know that Israel had no experience in designing or erecting the lavish structures Solomon envisioned, so Hiram supplied not only his cedars of Lebanon, but also architects and artisans. The hiring of outsiders to build Israel's first temple helps to explain the use of ornate decor and religious symbolism, foreign to the Hebrews' long practice of rustic ritual. In the prayer Solomon offered at the dedication (1 Kings 8) we see that he recognized the new concepts implied by the replacement of the 'tent' of tradition with a permanent temple.
'But will God indeed dwell on the earth?' He asks. Polytheists believed this, and built temples as places for divine tenants who needed human servants to supply their needs, but though the Israelites called their temple the House of the Lord they thought of it as a place where God's Name dwelt. The mystic presence of the Name hallowed the temple as a house of prayer, where God, Who lived in heaven could still 'tent among His people.
Thanks to archaeological discoveries in recent years, we know that Solomon's Temple essentially followed the plan of a Phoenician temple. Hirarn's men conceived the Hebrew's God as a Sovereign in his palace. They placed on guard over the Ark, the winged sphinxes of Phoenician iconography: kerubim.. genies who served the gods. These, not chubby angels were the cherubim mentioned in Biblical descriptions of the temple.
No trace of Solomon's Temple, built about 950 B. C. has been found; archaeologists have not been permitted to dig in the Haram Esh Sharif, the sacred
area crowned by the Dome of the Rock. Little could remain in any event, after devastations by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B. C. and the Romans in A. D. 70. Besides, later builders of the Roman era would have swept all away to reach bedrock.
How, then, can we so confidently describe the temple? From the Bible itself, and from archaeological information from elsewhere. In 1 Kings and Ezekiel 40, we get our first clues: detailed descriptions and dimensions in cubits (1 7.5 inches) or again, in 'sacred cubits, a handsbreath wider (about 21 inches). ("Archaeology and King Solomon's Temple," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 8 No. 4)

Question 1: In one of our normal closings the J.W. states that he comes from the West whither he has been in search of the g.s. of a m.m. Could you please explain why he went to the West to find what had been lost? Surely the secrets of knowledge were originally in the East so why do we allow this form of words?
Answer 1: The late Harry Carr once remarked (Freemason at Work, p. 370) that he wished he could help with this problem but that it was 'always difficult to give a practical answer to a speculative problem'. Whilst recognising the judgement of so eminent a masonic scholar I should like to suggest two ways of unravelling the apparent conundrum that may commend themselves to brethren of differing standpoints.
The first is to interpret the words in terms of the 'world' as understood when our rituals were being first formed and when English Freemasonry was still avowedly Christian in inference. Set in that context the words of the 1730 exposure by Prichard:
Where are you going? To the West.
What are you going to do there? To seek for that which was lost and is now found...
can surely be interpreted in terms of wise men from the East knowing that the culmination of all their knowledge has yet to be discovered. That would have been but a logical application in those days.
The second way, however, and one perhaps more appropriate for our own time, is to think in terms of the Temple of Solomon. If one sought the fulfilment of all truth and knowledge then one had quite literally to move from East to West in the temple precincts. The second degree tells us what was found in the approach westwards to the middle chamber and it was in the West that there lay the Holy of Holies. Is it not there that the true secrets of Hiram's building lay and are still to be sought? ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 1)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

The recent revival, by fundamental Christianity, of anti-Masonry has created a small storm within both religious and fraternal circles. Over the past two years, I have listened to, watched on T .V. or read every program, article and item concerning the modern day anti-Masonic movement that has been called to my attention. It has been good for me. I have re-examined my own membership in all of my 'other than the Church' committments. I have reached a considered decision that Freemasonry is not now and never has been detrimental to my Christian faith and doctrine. In fact my fraternal relationships have strengthened and assisted me in my ministry as well as in my personal faith and life.
I have found three predominent reasons for the existence of the critics:
One. Personal and personality conflicts are present. Freemasonry is a human organization with no claim to Divine origin. In any human organization you have human frailities. Where you have a structure you have 'assumed power or prestige' and with that you have conflicts. Some critics have had a 'bad experience' in their Masonic connections. (Just like local congregations have people who came from some other church where things were 'bad').
Two. Political, social or religious dictatorships or hierarchial structures cannot, in fact do not dare, tolerate differences of opinion. They cannot afford any dissension or freedom of thought. Under their rule, Freemasonry and all like groups, must be attacked or destroyed. Such systems may claim to be open minded but they depend on their constituents or followers to have minds closed to all but their own particular 'way' or doctrine. Freemasonry promotes freedom of thought and discussion.
Three. Money: I always listen and watch for the 'bottom line' whenever I am watching the 'Christian' T.V. station or listening to a 'religious' broadcast. The bottom line is an appeal for membership in their group and for support funds. In spite of all of the revelations of graft, greed, corruption and immorality on the part of the hawkers of fundamental Christianity, their kind continues. They are an embarrassment to the Church. I have to assume that Satan rubs his hands in glee as their message of hate, exclusiveness and divisiveness goes out to the public.
I call your attention to some other factors: The same voice that speaks out against Freemasonry often also speaks out against any other type, kind, style, or form of religious faith other than their very own. The same families that have left my congregation because I am a Freemason came to our Church because where they were was not of the 'true' faith. And they have already left where they went from my congregation because that place was not the 'true faith' either.
Remember that Freemasonry is not a single minded organization. It is a multitude of structures, groups, and units that are tied together by a common historical tradition. We have no 'one voice', nor one leader, nor one ritual. Our critics pick and choose their quotes or dramatizations from any ear, source or supply that meets their particular needs.
I have never argued with single minded fundamentalists. They are always, ALWAYS, in their own mind, absolutely right. They must destroy all other systems to prove their own right to exist. They can always justify their stance on the basis of their own interpretation of their Source (such as the Word). And they need money to exist. If they cannot survive on their own, then they must invade or utilize some already proven source (such as the type and quality of people who make up most fraternal groups and most especially Freemasony).
I represent a whole host of competent hardworking ministers who labor in a parish and who really carry the load of pastoral care and concern. Many of us belong to fraternal, civic or community groups. We do so with personal joy at the sense of unity, openness and sense of morality that these groups promote. These groups are not organized religion. They not only do not compete with the Christian faith, but in reality are supportive of it. It is disturbing that the opponents of Freemasonry are, in effect, attacking that which is supportive of Christian faith. The 'Christian' anti-Masonic leaders are not only inaccurate in their attack on Freemasonry but they are, in my opinion, making a far more serious attack on the basic Christian faith under whose banner they claim to operate.
How do I respond to these attacks? What do I say? I do not respond directly to the attacker. The attacker is shrewd. He attacks the weak spot of his enemy. In our case that weakest spot is not, as the attacker would have you believe and thus defend, in our rituals, customs and traditions. It is in the members themselves who have had only a ritualistic education about Freemasonry.
Where Freemasonry has instructed its candidates in its history, purpose and intent and where a local lodge is going about its business with pride and dignity, there is very little that anti-Masonic groups can do to destroy the Craft. (Forrest D. Haggard, "Freemasonry and Religion are Compatible," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 2)

As Masons, we do not live in isolation. We are part of the world, and as such we can expect to be buffeted by the winds of change and by controversies we try our best to avoid. One of them, the question of the relationship between the Church and Freemasonry and the concomitant question –“Is Masonry a Religion?” has been around for a long time. It has been around for so long it seems that Masons are forever answering it.
For the next few minutes we will examine the problem and try to understand its extent and the potential it holds for mischief. We should define what is meant by the words we so glibly throw about so we can have a common understanding
about what it is we are discussing. Therefore, when we talk about Freemasons we refer to just and upright men over the age of 21 who, of their own free will, join with other like minded men in a Masonic Lodge espousing the brotherhood of man; the fatherhood of God and a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. Potential members are required to believe in the existence of God which must be unconditional.
Church is defined as a distinct body of Christians having a common faith and discipline; a denomination; and Religion is the beliefs, attitudes, emotion, behaviour etc., constituting man's relationship with the powers and principles of the universe, especially with the deity. Although the terms often get used incorrectly or vaguely one must not confuse them. Through the ages Masonry has never claimed that it was either a religion or church or thought it necessary to have to define the terms, as has the Church.
Rather, Masonry has gone about admonishing its members to follow the precepts of a good life and spread the cement of brotherly love and truth Masonry is a Fraternity in the sense that it is a body of men sharing the same interests, ideals, profession etc. Masons, when initiated into the Order refer to each other as Brother and to fellow members as Brethren. No appelation is more meaningful.
When we determine, before initiation, if a candidate believes in a Supreme Being we are, in point of fact, giving him a religious test. BelIef In God Is Faith: Belief about God is Theology. When Masonry accepts for membership a Christian, a Jew, a Moslem or a Bhuddist it is not accepting him as such but as a man of Faith worthy to be received in the Order.
Masonry is a tolerant organization standing for values that are supreme in life as they are in the Church. We are confident that if a man is true to the principles inculcated in him, by membership in the Order, he will be a better church member. As was pointed out, Masonry has never sought to set itself up as a religion or a substitute for it, but rather it thinks of itself as complementing religion.
Is Masonry a religion? That is the important question which we address here. This is not a question that has been raised just recently. This question has been asked for many years. One of the ways it will be answered will be by each of us honestly determining for ourselves whether Freemasonry is, or is not, in our
opinion, a religion. It is my hope that what follows now will assist you in formulating your answer.
Masonry is not a religion but Masons are religious Men. The Rev. Daniel Poling, prominent American cleric and Mason, wrote in his autobiography in 1959: Masonry is a brotherhood of service and achievement, yet infinitely more than that. It is a light that shines out of the East and knows its final consummation in God's Fatherhood.
Masonry, quite correctly, is regarded as a fellowship of men, a Fraternity, and a system of morals, a philosophy taught by degrees through the use of symbols, story, legend, pictures and drama. It serves as the means of facilitating true friendship among persons who because of many differences in station and circumstance would otherwise remain at perpetual distance. Organized religion, regardless of denomination has one common claim, that of Divine Origin. Organized Religion, by its own claim, is God's reach towards human kind. (F.S. Dowe, "The Church and the Craft," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 2)

I remember, many years ago, shor1ly after being raised, how intirgued I was by hearing Freemasons say on several occasions, 'I don't need religion; Masonry is my religion.' My instinctive reaction was to reply: 'How wrong can you be!'
These Brethren probably meant well, but their thinking was sadly inaccurate. For Freemasonry, though religious in spirit, is not religion, and cannot take the place of religion. It is true that Freemasonry believes in a Supreme Deity and in immor1ality of the soul and has its own ceremonies which it cherishes and reveres. But these points of resemblance to religion are far outweighed by points of difference. Freemasonry does not profess revelation; it has no sacred literature such as the Old Testament, the New Testament, or the Koran; it postulates no dogmas, carries out no sacraments, possesses no clergy or seminaries.
Its rituals are not life-pervasive. It has no dietary laws, such as the Jews and Catholics have, regulating the food you eat; it has no liturgy or prayers such as the Lord's Prayer of Protestantism, the Ave Maria of Catholicism, and Alenu Leshabeah of Judaism, with their respective attendant rituals; nor has it anything similar to the great hymnologies of these three faiths, embodying grand old hymns
such as 'Lead, Kindly Light' of the Protestants, the Gregorian chants of the Catholic Church, the Adon Clam of Judaism; nor has it the weekly day of rest, or the elaborate calendar of holy days, of the three great faiths.
Unlike religion, Freemasonry does not embrace everyone; if you are under twenty one, or a woman, you cannot be a Freemason. You are included in your religious fellowship by the simple act of being born -but you are not born a Freemason. In sum, Freemasonry does not possess the overwhelming panoply of belief and ceremony and ritual and song and prayer that exercises so powerful and permanent an emotional influence on the life of the individual from the days of his or her birth to the drawing of the final breath.
But if Freemasonry does not possess all these aspects of religion, it does have two things -and most vital they are -that religion does not enjoy. First, Freemasonry is not exclusive. A Jew, for example, cannot be a Christian, or a Christian a Jew without forsaking his religious origin and background. But in Freemasonry, anyone can belong if he believes in God and in the Immortality of the Soul and earns the approval of his fellows. Consider, for example, the usual communion breakfast. Earlier, our Christian brethren gather in a church, our Jewish brethren in a synagogue; later, after separate worship, we are all gathered together about a common breaking of bread, as Freemasons and as brothers. This simple fact gives concrete, emphasized focus to the phrase we have so often heard, and perhaps not fully comprehended: The Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God'.
And by way of corollary, in addition to not being exclusive, Freemasonry is not divisive. The word 'religion' comes from the Latin word 'religio' which means 'to bind together'. In spite of this, however, history has dishearteningly far too many instances of religion acting as a divisive force -too many instances of discrimination against man, of persecution, of ultimate blasphemy of bloodshed, because of religion. Free- masonry, by contrast, not only does not bar men of various religions, it brings them together -in their Lodges, in the Shrine, at brotherhood breakfasts, in the activities of Grand Lodge, by which men of all faiths are helped in their hours of distress, of physical affliction, of weakness and loneliness in old age.
Though synagogue and church may continue to divide us, the spirit of our brotherhood unites us; and though our prayer books may be many, our prayer as Freemasons is one.
And note: it is precisely because of this voluntary association together of men on the basis of idealism, wherein they offer their fealty to no man or group of men, but to all men and to Almighty God, that Free-masonry has suffered the persecution of totalitarians and despots. For the tyrant realizes that he who loves God loves liberty, that he who loves his fellowmen is the eternal foe of despotism, that they who voluntarily join together under the banner of benevolence and mortality never will be slaves. And conversely, this is why Freemasonry is so respected and encouraged in countries blessed by the sunshine of democracy. And that is why, in our own beloved land, so many of our Presidents, including our immortal first President, have been proud to acknowledge membership in our fraternity, as have monarchs and nobility in Great Britain.
Freemasonry is not religion and cannot take the place of religion. But in its acknowledgement of a Supreme Being and the worth of human brotherhood, it has a religious basis, it has a common meeting ground with religion. (Sidney S. Guthman, "Freemasonry and Religion--Southern Cal. Research Lodge," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 2)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

'The ritual for the opening of a Scottish Lodge differs little from those of England or Ireland. But there are variations and one that has always struck me is that used by the Bible-Bearer when the moment comes to arrange the Square and Compasses on the Book. Having done so he salutes the Master and says, 'In the beginning was the Word.' At the closing of the work he says 'And the Word was with God'. Just how many Scottish Lodges make use of those phrases in these circumstances I do not know, but they have significant meaning.
'There is no standard ritual in Scotland and there must be a dozen or more variations on the same general theme. ("Masonry in Scotland," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 3)

Occupying the most prominent position in the centre of a Masonic Lodge is the Holy Bible resting upon the altar. The Bible is opened when the Lodge is opened; it is closed when the Lodge is closed. Why the Bible? Is it different from any other book? On the surface it does not appear any different. It has a cover of leather, cloth or paper. It is bound with glue, string and cloth. It is printed with ink on paper by a machine designed for this purpose. The first book printed by Gutenburg was a Bible and millions and millions of other books have rolled off the presses since that notable day in the fifteenth century.
It is obvious that the physical materials making up a copy of a Volume of the Sacred Law are no different than those of any other book, but, anyone who studies a Volume of the Sacred Law soon realizes there is indeed a very different message, unlike any other book. Not all perusers will discover the wisdom and comfort of its message, but those who do find that it transforms their very lives. ("Volume of the Sacred Law," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 4)

In our contemporary world, if any book can transform your life it will be that of God's Holy Word. No other Book has so clearly defined the circumstances in which we now live. This Book has something to say to everyone. You need to know what it is! A great deal of what is taught in Masonry is taken from this Holy Book. That is why we who believe in the Most High make wide use of and reference our 'Volume of the Sacred Law', which is derived from God to man in general, because the Almighty has been pleased to reveal more of His Divine Will in that Holy Book than He has by any other means; a 'Volume of Divine Revelations'; a 'Repository of Divine Knowledge' that can only be unlocked by the key of faith, hope and charity. The Holy Bible contains sixty-six different books, divided into the Old Testament (containing thirty-nine books), and the New Testament (containing twenty-seven books), a grand conservatory of precious growths in the garden of human nature; a treasury of limitless gifts of God's providence; a record of the relationship between the Great Architect of the Universe and mankind. All of these, and yet more; for in it we perceive the
handwriting of the Diety tracing a history of the human race from birth to death and regeneration, and the glory of a reunion with the eternal Fatherhood. By the doctrines contained in this Holy Book, we are taught to believe in the wise dispensation of Divine Providence.
God speaks in all tongues and through all things, yet the original writings were given to us through the medium of mainly two languages, the Hebrew and the Greek, and composed under different circumstances by writers of almost every social rank-statesmen and peasants, kings, herdsmen, fishermen, tax-collectors, tentmakers, educated and uneducated; most of them unknown to each other. The English-speaking peoples therefore have to accept the versions of appointed translators. This gives rise to some differences, not always material but often confusing, since it is not possible to preserve the exact sense and idea of an original writer in a lateral translation into another language.
This necessitates the aid of commentaries, and yet, as each commentator has to rely upon h is own views of history, and his own translation, it follows as a natural consequence that there now exists a wide divergence of opinions among learned men in the interpretation of the Scriptures. Those differences scarcely stop short of the methods of true worship and even the means of redemption itself. We must therefore be content to search the Scriptures for ourselves, with an abiding faith that God will help us interpret His precious words and lead us over in the paths of righteousness through His Commands and Laws as we understand them.
Never be ashamed to be seen reading the V.S.L. 'As a Mason, I would first recommend to your most serious contemplation the Volume of the Sacred Law, charging you to consider it the unerring standard of truth and justice, and to regulate your actions by the divine precepts which it contains. Therein you will be taught the important duty you owe to God by never mentioning His name but with the awe and reverence which are due from the creature to his creator, by imploring His aid in all your lawful undertakings, and by looking up to Him in every emergency for comfort and support by never forgetting to thank Him for the many blessings and mercies He has bestowed upon you.' ("Volume of the Sacred Law," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 9 No. 4)

As of today, the only historical evidence relative to the building of Solomon's Temple is found in three different books of the Old Testament and in the writings of Josephus. Of these writings, it is generally accepted that the version in the First Book of Kings is both the oldest and most reliable description we have of the Temple. Our interest here is the mention of the winding staircase. The passages relevant to the winding staircase are found in Chapter 6 of the Authorized Version, which is probably the one used by the ritualists who composed the Lecture on the Second Degree.
First Kings, Chapter 6, Verse 1: "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zip, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord".
Verse 5: "And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle; and he made chambers round about".
Verse 7: "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building".
Verse 8: "The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house; and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber and out of the middle into the third",
The description above clearly states that there was a winding stairs, but an examination of the text finds inconsistencies in the passages themselves and serious discrepancies are noticed between our Masonic ritual and the scriptures above. An example is in Verse 8, which places the entrance door for the middle chamber in the right side of the building. It continues by stating that the stairway went from the door to the middle chamber and on up to the third chamber. No mention is made to an entrance on the ground floor.
The second Bible reference is in Chronicles, Book II, Chapter 3, Verses 1-9. The description, which parallels the Kings version, omits all references to the chambers except for Verse 9, which states: "And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold..." It is widely accepted that the
"upper chambers" in Chronicles are the "Side chambers" mentioned in Kings. Notice that there is no mention of a winding staircase.
The third description is found in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel came from a priestly family and some researchers think could have lived at a time which would have enabled him to have seen Solomon's Temple first hand. However, at the time of his writing, the Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians.
The parallel passages of the above quoted from Kings and Chronicles are to be found in the 41st Chapter of Ezekiel, but differs from the other two.
Ezekiel, Chapter 41, Verse 6: " And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers around about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house."
Verse 7: "And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the said chambers; for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house; therefore, the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst."
It would appear that what Ezekiel was trying to say is that the chambers themselves wound about the house in long galleries. By "wound about" does he mean encircle? He makes no reference to a staircase. There are other differences noted in the three versions of the Old Testament.
Our Masonic view was probably taken from the translation of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament, which contained many mistranslations in the relevant passages. The translators themselves were aware of the difficulties, for attached to their manuscripts are numerous marginal notes and questions. Biblical Hebrew text often presents difficulties in translation and some cases impossible to a point of where one can only surmise at the true meaning.
Prof. Robert H. Pfeiffer of Harvard University and Boston University in "An Introduction to the Old Testament" writes: "The third element in Solomon's magnificence consisted of his buildings, primarily on Zion in Jerusalem, but elsewhere. The account in Chapter 6, Verses 1-9 is one of the most difficult sections in the Old Testament. First, owing to scribes who
failed to understand architectural terms and the obscure descriptions of the original author, neither an architect nor a clear writer, the text has been greatly corrupted. Secondly, the account has endured successive additions and revisions."
The first difficulty comes from the Hebrew text of Verse 8 in which one word is defective. The word appears as "lullim" and then translated to English as "Winding Stairs." Scholars point out that if the word is really "lullim" it appears nowhere else in the Old Testament, but an associated word "lulin" appears in several passages of the Jewish code known as the "Mishna" and later called the "Talmud."
One reference reads: "there were lulin in the upper chamber opening into the Holy of Holies, by which the workmen were let down in baskets, so that they should not feed their eyes on the Holy of Holies." Most translators translate this word to mean "opening" while others translate the word as "Trap-doors." The Jewish Encyclopaedia, Volume 12, pp. 85,92 says that the word "Lullin" refers to "trap-doors" but gives no supporting evidence to the meaning.
The second difficulty from the Hebrew text comes from the original word "Tichonah" translated as "middle" in our phrase from Kings. Verse 8, "the door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house." The meaning of the word "Tichonah" is uncertain, but most modern translators refer to it as the "lowest" instead of "middle." This seems to make more sense.
Dr. James Moffat in his translation of the Bible in 1924 entitled "A New Translation of the Bible" translated Verse 8 in Kings this way: "The entrance into the lower side rooms was on the south side of the Temple; you climbed to the middle row, and from the middle to the top row, through trap doors."
In 1965, another translation came out in an English Edition of the "Jewish Bible" with Verse 8: "The entrance to the lower story was at the right hand corner of the Temple and access to the middle story above was by trap doors and so from the middle story to the third." There is no reference to winding stairs.
If the Temple had a winding staircase, as a few scholars still think, it was probably in the side walls and served the side chambers built into the thickness of the walls from the first and second levels. These side chambers were used while the Temple was being built for the purpose of paying the workmen their wages. Later, they were used as store-houses or treasury rooms of the Temple into which the treasures and gifts to the Temple were placed.
As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, the other source of information about King Solomon's Temple is in the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian. He mentions Solomon's Temple in several of his works, but the main references are in his history of the Jewish people called "The Antiquities of the Jews." One relevant passage quoted from Wriston's translation, Book VIII, Chapter 3: "The King also had a fine contrivance for an ascent to the upper room over the Temple, and that was by steps in the thickness of its wall; for it had no large door on the east end, as the lower house had, but the entrances were by the sides, through very small doors."
Apart from Josephus and the Bible, we have no other literary source to turn to for information. Unfortunately, there is no evidence in Jerusalem by which we might gain a knowledge of this subject, for successive conquerers made a thorough job of the destruction of the Temple and not one part remains standing and nothing has been uncovered by archaeologists. Regardless of whether there was a winding staircase, a trap-door or just an opening to the different compartments of the Temple, the mystery still remains, and will continue to fascinate the biblical scholar, the archaeologist and be of particular interest to the Freemason.
References: Books of the Old Testament.
Standard Work -Grand Lodge of Illinois;
The Mystery of the Winding Staircase by A. L. Shane;
A New Translation of the Bible by Dr. James Moffat. ("A Study of the Winding Staircase," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 10 No. 1)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

Question 16: The year on an Application Form is shown as A.L. Why?
Answer 16: The A.L. -Anno Lucis (the year of light) appears on many Craft Documents. Our system of Masonic chronology is based on a pre-Christian tradition that the Messiah {Christ would have been born 4000 years after the Creation of the Universe, so that the calendar, in early Christian times, counted the Creation (Anno Lucls) as 4000 B.C. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 10 No. 1)

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Did you wonder why it was that the three enemies of Hiram Abiff came from his own circle and not from outside? It is because the enemies to be feared by the soul are always from within, and are nothing other than its own ignorance, lust, passions, and sins. As the Volume of Sacred Law reminds us, it is not that which has power to kill the body that we need most to shun, but that which has power to destroy the spirit. ("The Hiramic Legend," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 10 No. 2)

In 1965 the British Broadcasting Corporation presented a television documentary dealing with the Masonic ritual. James Dewar was the producer. Later he published this book, as a by-product of his researches. It is very good, and quite sympathetic, even though the author is not a Freemason. He outlines the history of Masonry, explains the concordant and orders, tells about the various exposures, and the various workings. He gives what purports to be the complete Craft ceremony as taught by the Emulation Lodge of Improvement. He discusses the relationship between Christianity and Masonry, includes a chapter on the English Charities, and (very important) reports on the government investigation of Masonry carried out in South Africa in 1964. He has some curious observations about the motives that prompt men to join lodges. There are occasional misstatements; and if your Masonry consists of nothing but ritual, you may be in for a shock; but altogether this is a competent and interesting study. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 10 No. 3)

First of all, let me give you the real meaning of the word myth. The dictionary definition is far from adequate in defining what the church means by myth. To put it as simply as possible, a myth is a story enshrining a truth. Details in the story mayor may not be true in the sense of historically factual data, but at the same time, it will embody a truth that is easily recognizable. For example, if I were to tell you Aesop's fable of the hare and the tor1oise, you would readily admit that the story has no basis in historical truth, but it bears a truth for all to learn. It is in essence a myth. At the risk of offending those who take a literalist view of scripture, or for that matter, a similar literalist view of our Masonic work, (and I fail to see how any serious practioner of Masonry can really take a literal view of the Bible, 'the Inspired Word of God', or if he is an honest historian, the work in our degrees) may I point to the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2; there are two stories of creation to be found. The one we are most familiar with, Genesis 1:1-2:3. is a highly polished acrostic poem. Genesis 2:2-25 is a very primitive account of creation. If you were a literaist, accepting every word of scripture, as written under the Hand of God. tell me which account is true? In the creation story God created Adam and Eve, the first two people on earth.
They have two sons, Cain and Abel, Cain killed Abel and went into a far country (the land of Nod) and took unto himself a wife. Historically, these stories don't hold water, but as myth the truth they enshrine has given us some of the finest insights into the creative activity of God, the source of evil, blood feuds and the beginnings of civilization that can be found anywhere in the written history of mankind. What I am trying to say to you in a nutshell is- 'Don't be afraid of myth, whether Biblical or the Masonic extension of the Biblical, for it enshrines truth in such a way as to make the story a memorable whole. As it is stated in the book 'Beyond the Pillars' P, 67, 'Our ritual makes no pretense of reciting history or communicating facts, It does claim to provide moral instruction'.
I trust that is sufficient to establish the credentials of myth as a viable part of both scripture and Masonic art and I will refrain from further discourse on this point and get on with an examination of some of the myths of our tradition. ("The Myths of Masonry," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 1)

It is interesting to note that the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night which led the children of Israel out of their Egyptian bondage was none other than the Lord himself and it was a single pillar which separated the Israelites from the Egyptians during the day and night. Our tradition makes them two miraculous pillars, and the prototypes of the two great pillars that stood at the P.W. or E. of K.S.T. According to the Biblical account, the pillars were a conspicuous feature of the porch of the Temple. Names were given them and in the Hebrew tradition, names contained meaning but the V.O.S.L. does not ascribe them as commemorating any particular person. Of the porch itself, a very brief description is given. It is stated to have been 20 cubits broad, the width of the house and 10 cubits deep and was probably the same height as the temple, 30 cubits. The pillars which stood at the entrance were in front of the porch and detached from it. The winding staircases were the entrances to the second and third floors of the side chambers of the building.
The temple was enclosed in 'courts'. The Great Court surrounded the temple and the Royal Buildings and the Inner Court which was on a higher level than the Great Court was known as the court of the priest, and surrounded the temple itself. Then there was the temple court inside the porchway and entrance to the temple where the altar and the Holy of Holies were situated. It was into the Holy of Holies that the Ark of the covenant was placed, and the High Priest entered once a year on the Day of Atonement. ("The Myths of Masonry," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 1)

Question 50: Why does the word BOAZ denote 'in strength'?
Answer 50: It is a good Hebrew word and that is what it means. In Bible times it was customary to give names to children indicating some characteristic of the child, or the gratitude or pious wish of the parents. To quote only one example out of thousands of cases, the name 'Samuel' means 'heard of God', because his mother's fervent prayer for a son had been heard and answered by the Almighty.
Similar practice applied in naming places, objects, and landmarks, especially those connected with some important event that deserved to be commemorated, e.g. 'Beersheba' means 'the well of the covenant'. (Abraham's covenant with God).
The name BO-AZ is a composite of two words; BO= 'in Him' or 'in it'; (is) 'strength'. Thus the name of Boaz, as a member of a wealthy and powerful family, means 'In him is strength'. The same name, applied to one of the Pillars of the Temple, means 'In Him (God) is strength'. The full significance of the name is best understood when we read the names of both Pillars together, and they imply that 'God, in His strength, will establish'. With those two names Solomon was expressing his gratitude to the Almighty, who had promised that He would establish the throne of his father's Kingdom for ever. In the Hebrew versions of that promise (1. Chron. XVII, v. 12, and 11 Samuel VII, v. 13) the key word 'establish' is from the same root as JACHIN, the pillar-name. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 1)

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Freemasonry was considered an 'international conspiracy' detrimental to German Nationalism. As early as 1929 attacks on the fraternity began to appear in the press. An 'anti-Masonic' story always made the front page. These attacks used misinformation, inuendo and outright lies to ridicule the rituals, purposes and officers of the craft. Freemasonry's real crime was that its members, although mostly wealthy, well-educated and Christian, formed an international and religious toleration that fanatical Nazism could not condone. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 1)

3. The pillar Jachin appears in 1 Kings, 7:21 and again in II Chron. 3:17 and it was named, according to custom in Bible lands with a commemorative name, which means 'He (God) will establish.' Neither the pillar nor its name had anything to do with the wrongly styled Assistant High Priest. The two pillars were completed and named before the dedication of the Temple, and each of the names chosen was intended to express Solomon's gratitude to the Almighty. The Masonic use of the name belongs strictly to the pillar alone. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 2)

At I Kings, VII, v. 16, '...and he made two chapiters...', there is a marginal note, 'Or pommels', ie globular features. At this stage the Geneva Bible clearly indicates that the chapiters were globes or spheres, and not the crown-shaped heads to the pillars that we would understand them to be.
Among the illustrations to this chapter in the Geneva Bible there are several interesting engravings of the Temple and its equipment, including a sketch of a pillar, surmounted by a shallow capital, with an ornamental globe poised on top. A marginal note to this illustration speaks of 'The height of the chapiter or round ball upon the pillar of five cubites hight...' (My italics.) So the chapiter was a round ball.
At II Chron., IV, v. 12, the same Bible gives a new interpretation, '...two pillars, and the bowles, and the chapiters on the top of the two pillars...' Here it is evident that the 'bowles' and the chapiters were two separate features.
Whether we incline to bowls or globes, there is yet another interpretation which would exclude both. The accounts in both Kings and Chrionicles refer to the pomegranate decoration which was attached to the 'bowles' or bellies of the chapiters (I Kings, VII, v. 41' 42, and II Chron., IV, V. 12, 13), and from these passages it is a perfectly proper inference that the chapiters were themselves 'bowl-shaped', and that there were neither bowls nor globes above them.
Although the globes were finally adopted in Masonic furniture and decoration as head-pieces to Solomon's Pillars, they came in very slowly, and during a large part of the eighteenth century there was no uniformity of practice on this point. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 2)

The problems relating to the furnishings of the lodge do not end with Solomon's two pillars. As early as 1710 an entirely different set of three pillars makes its appearance in the catechisms and exposures. They appear for the first time in the Dumfries No.4 MS, which is dated about 1710:

Q. How many pillars is in your lodge?
A. Three.
Q. What are these?
A. Ye square the compass & ye Bible. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 2)

The Geneva Bible of 1560 was one of the early illustrated Bibles that contained a picture of the pillar surmounted by an ornamental sphere, not a map; but there are several illustrations, produced about the same time and later, showing the pillars surmounted by hemispheres or bowls, and the Authorized Version of the Bible at 1 Kings vii. v. 41. speaks of 'the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars...' Whether they were really bowls or globes cannot now be determined, but it is quite certain that they were not maps, either celestial or terrestrial.
Solomon's Temple was completed. according to Usher, in 1005 B.C. (Graetz, the Jewish historian. says 1007). The earliest known map of the world is believed to have been designed, some 400 years later, by Anaximander (c. 611-546 B.C.) who held that it was flat and shaped like a cylinder of great thickness, bounded round its circumference by water. and suspended in the circular vault of the heavens.
During the next 1500 years or so, the science of cartography made very little progress, although celestial globes were already known in the time of Bede, A.D. 637-735. The map-makers were generally agreed that the world was flat, though they differed as to whether it was an 'oblong-square', or oval, orcircular. The fathers of the Christian Church did not encourage scientific pursuits and it was not until the period c. A.D. 1100-1250 that the sphericity of the globe began to find acceptance among philosophers and scholars. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 2)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

Prior to the masonic union of the Antients and Moderns in 1813, English freemasonry was certainly Christian in character. Candidates were of the Christian Faith, and it was the Bible that was open in lodges. However, the rapid expansion of the Craft to all corners of the globe resulted in many non-Christians seeking admission. It was therefore necessary to modify the 'Christian position' of the Craft to absorb these pressures. It emerged that a man could be made a mason if he possessed a belief in a Supreme Being, and the Bible came to be called the 'Volume of the Sacred Law'. This position seems to have emerged during the eighteenth century. The concept of the Volume of the Sacred Law became officially part of the British masonry in 1929, although it had long been recognized by that time. This altered position allowed men of all the great faiths of the world to join the fraternity. In countries such as India where many faiths are represented, it is far from uncommon to see in lodges many different Volumes of the Sacred Law placed together on the altar. Of course, England is a Christian country, and the vast majority of English masons in England profess the Christian Faith.
All regular jurisdictions came to accept the Supreme Being and the Volume of the Sacred Law as essential characteristics when examining another Grand Lodge with a view to recognition. However, internal 'religious policies' vary somewhat more than this. In the United States, while acknowledging the right of masons to profess which faith they choose, American Webb-form ritual remains quite Christian in character. The development of American ritual precedes that of current English ritual. In most Scandinavian countries, the rituals are most Christian in character, and membership is still restricted to men who profess the Christian Faith. However, in comparatively recent years, the Scandinavians have granted the rights of membership to non-Christian masons who have received the degrees abroad. In terms of the masonic visitor, it is enough to realize that every major creed is recognized in the masonic world, and that in his masonic travels he is likely to encounter them. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 11 No. 4)

Question 57:When, for the first time, was the Chaplain brought into Masonry? When did the office of Chaplain appear in our ritual and work?
Answer 57:Two questions, both difficult to answer because our early records are so scarce. The Old Charges, our earliest Masonic documents with some 130 versions running from c. 1390 up to the mid-18th century, all begin with an opening prayer, but there is never the least hint of a Chaplain.
Our earliest group of ritual documents (Catechisms and exposures) runs from 1696 to 1730, seventeen texts in all. Only one of them contains a Prayer copied from the Old Charges, and still no mention of a Chaplain. The more ample versions, which begin in 1760 are similarly unhelpful.
The Rev James Anderson, D.D. was Minister of a Presbyterian Church in London. He served as Junior Grand Warden in 1722 and compiled and published the first Book of Constitutions of the first Grand Lodge in 1723; but he never served the Grand Lodge or his own Lodge as Chaplain. Dr. John T. Oesaguliers, D.C.L (Oxon.), F.R.S., was admitted to clerical orders and was Chaplain to the Duke of Chandos. He was also a scientist, and he served as Grand Master in 1719, Deputy Grand Master in 1722, 1723 and 1726; but he never held office as Chaplain.
A London newspaper, Read's Journal, reported in 1733, that the Rev. Mr. Orator Henley had been 'chosen by the Freemasons as their Chaplain', implying that this was a Grand Lodge appointment, but there is no confirmation of this in Grand Lodge records.
The premier Grand Lodge appointed the Rev. William Dodd, LL.D. as Grand Chaplain in 1775, its first recorded appointment to that office. It was a bad choice. In 1777, Dodd, brought to ruin by his own extravagance, forged his patron's signature (Lord Chesterfield's) to a bond of some 4,000 pounds. He was arrested and tried at the Old Bailey and hanged on 27 June 1777.
The Antients' Grand Lodge appointed their first Grand Chaplain in 1772 and continuously thereafter, up to the union of the Grand Lodges in 1813.
The earliest records I have been able to trace of the appointment of Chaplains in a private lodge are in the minutes of the Alfred Lodge in the University of Oxford. That lodge was erected and warranted on 13th December 1769 and it had five Reverend gentlemen among its founders. On that same day, the Rev. John Willis, M.A. was appointed Chaplain, and Chaplains were continuously appointed until 1783 when the Lodge ceased to function. The Lodge was erased in 1790.
There is also a record of the appointment of a famous Welsh poet, the Rev. Goronwy Owen as Chaplain to the St. George and Dragon Lodge at Liverpool in 1775. A search in the histories of a large number of our oldest Lodges shows that even in the late 18th century they did not trouble to appoint Chaplains, although they had qualified Ministers among their members. Around the 1780s there are several records of the appointment of a Chaplain in one year, followed by a number of years when the office remained vacant. The minutes of the Lodge of Antiquity (original No.1, now No.2) may be a typical example. A Chaplain was appointed in 1779; another, after a gap of several years, in 1787 after which the Office remained vacant until 1809.
It must be emphasized that under English Constitution, our Masters are not obliged to appoint a Chaplain. That office was always optional and the option was made official in 1815 when the first B. of C. of the United Grand Lodge listed the 'Chaplain. Treasurer, Secretary' as Officers who might be added to the compulsory list of Master, two Wardens, two Deacons. Inner Guard and Tyler. That permission did not create too much of a stir and I quote only two examples:
The Lodge of Probity No.61 , Halifax, Yorkshire, was founded in 1738. Its first Chaplain was appointed in 1853.
The Globe Lodge No.23, was constituted in London in 1723 and its first Chaplain was appointed 200 years later, in 1923!
As to your question on 'the Chaplain's appearance in our ritual and work', I cannot speak for Masonic jurisdictions overseas. In England, I do not know of a single 'working' that prescribes that particular parts of the ritual must be recited by the Chaplain. I would quote our 'Bristol Working', which contains several readings from the Bible during the course of the ceremonies (in addition to the usual prayers). The instructions usually say that they are to be read by 'The W.M. (or Chaplain)'! ("Questions and Answers,") Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 12 No. 1)

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Scottish lodges have several offices largely unknown in other regular jurisdictions. The full list of possible officers is as follows: The Right Worshipful Master, Immediate Past Master, Deputy Master, Substitute Master, Worshipful Senior Warden, Worshipful Junior Warden, Secretary, Treasurer, Almoner, Chaplain, Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon, Director of Ceremonies, Architect, Jeweller, Bible Bearer, Organist, Bard, Sword Bearer, Piper, Marshall, Inner Guard, Tyler (or Outer Guard), and Stewards. Not every lodge will elect (or appoint) every one of these officers this depending to some extent on the form of ritual used, or simply tradition. Some of the additional officers have little in the way of defined duties. A Jeweller is largely responsible for lodge regalia, and its distribution and collection at meetings. The Bible Bearer, as the name suggests, is responsible for the care of the Lodges Sacred Volume. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 12 No. 2)

In the eighteenth century up to, perhaps, the year 1780, Freemasons Lodges on the Continent were allied with religion and loyalty, and were, perhaps, more aristocratic even than in England. The Higher and Christian Degrees were exclusively practised in France, Spain and Portugal. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 12 No. 2)

Masonic philanthropy today extends more than $525 million per year or $1.4 million per day to charity, and 58% of this goes to members of the general public, all totally free. Nor do we claim this Masonic philanthropic outreach as any means of personal salvation, any way by which a Mason might believe he is paving his way to Heaven. Salvation, grace, and faith are within the province of the Church. Freemasonry, as a fraternity, has nothing to say about salvation. The Bible is guide enough for every individual when it says faith without works is dead.
Clearly, faith without understanding or toleration can only divide people. Religions, transformed into single- minded zealotry, become fiercely competitive. Many claim for themselves the exclusive mandate to speak and act for God. In contrast, Masonry believes religious differences between human beings are how we respond to God, the Father of all, who is continually pouring His love and His blessings on us. The Masonic Fraternity has its deepest roots in Christianity and therefore espouses the central teaching of the "New Law" as taught by our Lord Jesus Christ, "to love one another". Freemasonry is dedicated to helping men of every faith to live by principles fundamental to Christianity. The attacks on Freemasonry, in my opinion, display little of the love, joy, and peace of Christ. Instead of love, they offer hate; instead of knowledge they offer bias; instead of the joy of spiritual self-fulfillment, they offer a thirst for battle; instead of peace and harmony, they offer violent verbal attacks.
If I may be so bold as to offer my voice as that of all Freemasons and Americans as well as the voice of the many thousands of spirit-filled, Bible-believing, Church-supporting Southern Baptists who are also Lodge-attending and Lodge-supporting Masons, I again offer the truth so well stated by that great Southern Baptist and Freemason, George W. Truett: "The right to private judgement is the crown jewel of humanity, and for any person or institution to dare to come between the soul and God is a blasphemous impertinence and a defamation of the crown-rights of the Son of God". (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 13 No. 1)

Resolutions represent the opinions of the messengers present and voting, but in recent years resolutions have been used as if they were binding on SBC agencies, institutions, churches, and employees of SBC agencies and institutions. The resolution urges ―all Southern Baptists to refrain from participation or membership in organizations with teachings, oaths, or mystical knowledge which are contrary to the Bible and to the public expression of our faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ‖. Although the resolution does not mention Freemasonry, many observers believe it was directed at Freemasonry. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 13 No. 2)

WHICH GOTHIC OR MANUSCRIPT CONSTITUTIONS (HEREAFTER CALLED GOTHIC) CONTAINED THE FIRST LINK BETWEEN THE CRAFT AND KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE?
The Cooke Manuscript of 1410. Harry Carr in Grand Lodge recorded this from this Manuscript: "And at the making of Solomon's Temple that King David began- King David loved all Masons, and he gave them charges right nigh as they are now. And at the making of the Temple in Solomon's time, as it is said in the Bible, in III Book of Kings...that Solomon had four score thousand Masons at his work; and the King's son of Tyre was his Master Mason." ("Masonic Trivia [and Facts]," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 13 No. 3)

A MAJOR GROUP OF HISTORIANS BELIEVE FREEMASONRY DESCENDED FROM STONEMASONS. HOW LONG HAVE THESE CRAFTSMEN BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
It is generally agreed that stonemasons, in some form, have existed all over the world since the dawn of time, long before the building of the pyramids in
Egypt. Actually it takes no stretch of the imagination to realize there had to be stone masons, and other craftsmen, since men first began to build edifices to protect them from the elements. This would require some type of organizing, leading to some type of organization. Stories in the Bible and other old historical documents readily verify this theory.
HOW LONG HAVE LODGES WITH SPECULATIVE MASONS BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
To be historically accurate, one cannot go beyond six centuries to find lodges of masons accepting men other than operative craftsmen. And for many centuries few, other than actual craftsmen, were accepted. But it's not unreasonable to assume clerics and other educated men were readily united with the craftsmen (most of whom couldn't read or write). ("Masonic Trivia [and Facts]," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 13 No. 3)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

The Bible refers to two Jerusalems. One, the material city of that name, the other symbolic,‖Holy City‖ Maybe if we look hard enough, we can find, or even create, a second Joppa We have just looked at the physical Joppa Now ....
Joppa is not mentioned by name many times in the Bible. We have already seen that it is cited specifically as the port that was used to receive timbers and supplies for Solomons building projects and again for a like purpose at the second building of the temple. And it was at Joppa that Peter raised Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead and later at the home of Simon the tanner, had the vision of a calling to carry his ministry to the gentiles. But we cannot overlook the story of Jonah, Remember Jonah was called by God to go to Ninevah and preach against his wickedness, fearing the mission Jonah attempted to flee Israeli and the presence of God himself by going to Tarshish through Joppa. The ship in which he sailed from Joppa was caught in a storm, and Jonah was thrown into the sea by the crew to save themselves and was swallowed by a large fish. After three days in the belly of the fish and after much repenting, he was cast upon the shore and only then did he follow the bidding of the Lord. ("Why Joppa?" Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 13 No. 3)

Ironically, some people complain about the Bible used in Lodge being referred to as the furniture of the Lodge. No disrespect is intended. Indeed, just the opposite is true. Masons use the word furniture in its original meaning of essential equipment. Since no Lodge can meet without an open Volume of the Sacred Law, (which in North America is almost always the Bible) the Bible is essential and given a special place of honor as the furniture for every regular Lodge. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 14 No. 2)

Masonry does not imply salvation may be attained by one's good works. Masonry does not teach any path to salvation. That is the duty of a Church, not a Fraternity. The closest Masonry comes to this issue is to point to the open Bible, and tell the Mason to search there for the path to eternal life. Masonry does believe in the importance of good works, but as a matter of gratitude to God for His many great gifts and as a matter of individual moral and social responsibility. The path to salvation is found in each Masons house of worship, not in his Lodge. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 14 No. 2)

Question 76(a):Is there music or a chant for the verses from Ecclesiastes XIII, which are recited in the M.M. degree.
Question 76(b)Can you explain the early part of Ecclesiastes XIII 'while the evil days come not'?
Question 76(c)During the reading of Ecclesiastes XIII, should not the brethren be standing, with the S. of F.?
Answer 76(a):The reading of the first eight verses from Ecclesiastes XIII, is a poem on the disabilities of old age, the decline of the senses and physical faculties. It is not an obligatory part of our M.M. degree in English usage and we hear it more often in the Provinces than in London. Now for the answers to three questions from three different brethren:
I have never heard the verses chanted or set to music. Your Grand Lodge Organist will be able to answer your question with authority.
Answer 76(b): The original Hebrew is difficult and the translation you quote from the Authorized Version is confusing. I greatly prefer the version in The Bible designed to be read as Literature, p.769:
Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, or ever (i.e. before) the evil days come, And the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, "I have no pleasure in them".
In plain language, the Preacher says, "Remember to thank the Almighty while you are still young, for all the blessings of health, before it is too late, and you no longer enjoy them".
Answer 76(c): Normally, all the brethren would be standing before the verses are read and while the Chaplain reads them. But the reading is not a Prayer, though the S. of F. is customary at that time. Your procedure is probably governed by the Grand Committee on Ritual or some similar body. If in doubt, get in touch with your Grand Secretary. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 14 No. 2)

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Certain critics claim the recommended readings for the Degrees of Masonry are pagan in origin. ―Pagan‖, as they are using the term, simply means "pre-Christian". The major purpose of Masonry is the study of man's intellectual and moral history for the purpose of developing ourselves morally and intellectually. Such a study has to start with the concepts of man and God as held by early cultures and evidenced in their mythologies. The Greeks and Romans, as well as earlier peoples, had much of importance to say on many topics, including religion. The idea that a physician must act in the best interests of his patient comes from the pagan Hippocrates, and the concept that the government cannot break into your house and take what it wants on a whim comes from the pagan Aristotle. None of us would want to live in a world without these ideas. In almost every fieldlaw, government, music, philosophy, mathematics, etc.it is necessary to review the work of early writers and thinkers. Masonry is no exception. But to study the work of ancient cultures is not the same thing as to do what they did or believe what they believed. And no Mason is ever told what he should believe in matters of faith. That is not the task of a fraternity, nor a public library, nor the government. That is the duty of a person's revealed religion and is appropriately expressed through his or her church. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 14 No. 2)

Coventry Cathedral has become an international symbol of reconciliation. The site of a devastating air raid by the Luftwaffe early in the war that was intended to destroy the British automobile industry centered there with the production of Merlin engines that were vital for our aircraft, tanks, and small seacraft. One approaches the new Cathedral by passing through the ruins of the old one, which had stood since the fourteenth century.
One is reminded of the terrible destruction and devastation of the war years as the broken walls surround you and the empty window frames which once held some of the finest colored glass images in Europe rise stark and empty. A crude symbolic cross constructed of the charred remains of timbers from the old cathedral stands triumphantly over the broken alter and reminds one of the vicious horror and ravage of the war years.
Bold deeply engraved gilded letters on a stone tablet below the cross, put there by German Christians, petition - "Father Forgive".
Entering the new Cathedral one finds the architecture overwhelming in its strength and beauty. Attention is focused past the dark expressionless walls to the altar and a vast tapestry depicting the glory of Christ and the message of Calvary, the image of hope and faith through the ages for Christians, and through the dark days of devastation, despair, and crises for our civilized world during World War II.
Looking back from the altar the brilliance of the engraved images of saints and angels of the past on the glass panels of the entire west wall transcend time to capture the spirit, sacrifice and quest for enlightenment and salvation of our Christian forebearers.
The majestic coloured glass window panels are so positioned in the cathedral walls that they are only seen when facing away from the altar.
The cathedral architecture presents a dynamic Christian spiritual message.
Through life and its crises, Christians act and proceed in faith keeping the image of Christ and His message of hope, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal before us. It is only as Christians look at the past from their perspective of Calvary that they see the great brave actions and accomplishments of the past in the true colour and perspective that they merit. As we can see the grand mosaic of brilliant colours entering the calm and tranquil cathedral we are reminded of the brilliant acts of heroism, courage and sacrifice and the simple loyalty and perseverance which now shine as brilliant lights for our encouragement. We give thanks for what was offered to preserve our heritage of freedom, liberty and the right to choose the way we live.
Coventry Cathedral is a brilliant architectural statement of the spiritual strength that sustained us, the colourful sacrificial service of the people that overcame the evil of war, and the international spirit of reconciliation on which a lasting peace must rest.

Father Forgive Us, Father Forgive Them, Father Forgive Us All.

Thoughts after visiting Coventry Cathedral following participation in the D-Day Commemorative services and activities in Normandy in June 1994, and with recollections of service with the R.C.A.F. and a tour of operational flights in 6 Bomber Groups in 1944 that included participation in the invasion of Europe on 6 June, 1944. ("Coventry a Symbol of Reconciliation and Remembrance," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 14 No. 2)

The actual beginning of the Royal Arch as a degree, or ceremony, are not certain. It may have been among the 'Scots Masters' in England or in France. It was certainly known in Ireland in c. 1744, and was being conferred in England from 1752 onwards, in Lodges under the Antients Grand Lodge. The earliest documents on Royal Arch ritual date back to the 1760s and it is evident that there were substantial local variations. Today, the ceremony in its English form, standardized in 1834-35, consists of three main themes:

1. The Israelites' return from Babylon and the rebuilding of the Temple; all this is pure Biblical history.

2. The legend of the vault and the discovery if the sacred scroll, alter and word. This legend goes back to the early fathers of the Christian Church. In A.D. 400, Philostorgius gave a recognizable account of the vault legend and a greatly enlarged version was compiled by Nicephorus Callistus in the 14th century.

3. The esoteric section and the mode of communication.
(Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 14 No. 2)

WHAT'S A MASONIC BIBLE?
Bibles are popular gifts among Masons, frequently given to a man when he joins the lodge or at other special events. A Masonic Bible is the same book anyone thinks of as a Bible (it's usually the King James translation) with a special page in the front on which to write the name of the person who is receiving it and the occasion on which it is given. Sometimes there.is a special index or information section which shows the person where in the Bible to find the passages which are quoted in the Masonic ritual. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 1)

QUESTION 83: Why was H.A. in the Temple? He was not a priest. Did not someone see him stagger, 'faint and bleeding'?
ANSWER 83: The Temple was not yet complete and not yet dedicated. Our legend says that he had gone there to pray, but as the chief architect, or Master mason in charge, he could have been there whenever he pleased.
As to why nobody saw him during the attack, our legend says that he went there at 'high twelve', when the workmen would have gone to eat or to siesta. In any case, the attack is said to have taken place inside the building, and H.A. never came out; he only staggered from door to door inside the building. But please remember that we are dealing with a legend. The Bible tells us of his "parentage, of his remarkable skills in several Crafts and how Hiram, King of Tyre, sent him to Solomon with a remarkable recommendation; it also tells of his actual work on the Temple and its appurtenances. But that is all. Everything else that we say about him is pure legend designed to teach several lessons, but mainly (I believe) 'faithful unto death' and 'the hope of resurrection'. ("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 1)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

STONE IN CHRISTIAN TRADITION
The best example of the importance of stone in Christian teachings is, of course, the case of Simon the fisherman, called Peter (Petrus-the stone) by Jesus: 'I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church' (Matthew 16:18).
The Pope, as linear successor to Peter is called ‗Holy Father. The connection between Pater (father) and Petrus (stone) is obvious. In the Hebrew language as well, the same letters forming the word 'father' (av: alef-beth) appear in the word for 'stone' (even: alef beth-noon).
In another instance, Christ himself is compared to a rock (1 Cor. 10:4).
A passage in the book of Revelation (2:17) mentions a white stone with a secret name written on it, which only the recipient will understand. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 1)

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We are raised not to salvation, as that is the work of religion, but we are raised in order that brother to brother we share the anxious middle. In our anxiety we are not alone, under the all seeing eye of God, who is the Beginning, while we are in the anxious middle, individually and as a group until the end.
Whether the group is the family, the nation, the fraternity, the church, or whatever, all is under God who understands their anxiety. He shares in their conflict between good and evil and realizes they are a product of their culture, moral upbringing and religion. He oversees not as a judge or spy looking for faults but a God of love, who knows the complexities of the human mind and heart.
Masonry in this anxious middle should be in dialogue not conflict with the Christian Church. We should be seen as assisting one another, but never claiming masonry provides the means of salvation, contrary to the manner in which certain parts of our ritual are interpreted, especially the working tools in the Fellow Craft degree. As you listen to that lecture with Christianity central in your mind, especially the Gospel of Christ, interpret those tools in the light of His teaching.
Coming back to the Volume of the Sacred Law and this time to the writings of the Prophet Micah, he was asked "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord...? to which Micah replied " . . .and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God" The Prophet had pointed out, the Lord did not need the sacrifices of calves, fruit, corn or infants. Sounds beautiful, but everyone must acknowledge, extremely difficult to live.
To do justly, whether it is in terms of our political philosophy, personal convictions on how the laws of the country should be formulated and enforced, are complex issues that are vexing our country at this particular moment. To do justly, whether resident in British Columbia, North West Territory, Newfoundland, or anywhere else in Canada is no easy tasked This is especially true in or attitude to South Africa, China, Russia and where systems are falling apart in Europe politically and economically.
To love mercy is easy when we want others to be merciful to us, but how difficult to extend to others while coping with our anxieties over good and evil. In certain masonic bodies in the legend of Hiram, Solomon was not merciful to those responsible for the death of the Master. If we were a religion, we would have tried to reform or convert the Ruffians, show them the true way from a Christian point of view at the foot of the cross, confess and you are forgiven. Masonry looks at the reality of life in Solomon's day, when confession could still mean death, not mercy.
Now we come to the great challenge, to walk humbly with your God. I believe those who formulated our ritual in the culture and environment of 18th Century England, during the struggle between those who said you had to be a Christian in order to be a mason, and others claiming masonry should be open to all men, they realized masonry could only survive if each man is free to walk humbly with God, as he understands Him. Each man is free to learn within his environment, culture, moral standards and religious convictions.
We are each well aware everything of a Christian con-notation was not removed from our craft. John The Baptist and John The Apostle are revered by those who hold their annual installation on the 24th of June or the 27th of December. From a Christian standpoint John declared "In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" Christians believe Jesus was "That true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" we who are Christians believe we are not superior or better than our fellow mortals, be he Jew, Moslem or Sikh, or any other religion.
We believe under God that in His name we seek to bring the light of His Love to every situation whatever the cost in terms of suffering or otherwise. Not telling others they are lost, but trying to live in obedience to the Divine Law. All of us within the Church and as a mason say to God, be merciful to me a sinner.
REFERENCE
1. The Bible, King James version.
2. The Work, 1974.
3. Installation, 1972 Edition.
4. Creation And Fall - A Theological Interpretation Genesis I - 3, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, S.C.M. Press, 1959.
5. Morality And Beyond, Paul Tillich, Harper & Row Publishers, 1963.
(Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 2)

R.W. Bro. C.E. Drew - this is a little departure from our normal format and R.W. Bro. Fairley indicated that possibly there may be some questions to him that you may want to approach at this time, instead of our normal reviews that we would have on a paper. Are there or is there any brother who would like to ask any question of Bro. Fairley?
R.W. Bro. Jack Pos - since there appears to be some hesitant perhaps my question may encourage others. We in the anxious middle, who do not know the beginning nor the end, would like to speculate a little on the end. That is, a bit of philosophy on immortality. Therefore, I would ask the question. . Where do we go when we die? From writings and paintings, we perceive a glorious ascension through white cumulus clouds and beautiful music from heavenly instruments; but where in the Bible do we find anything that tells or speaks of man's reception by 'St. Peter' at the pearly gates amid the sounds of 'Gabriel's horn'? if there is nothing in the Holy Book, then what is there to look forward to after death?
R.W. Bro. Jack Pos - since there appears to be some hesitant perhaps my question may encourage others. We in the anxious middle, who do not know the beginning nor the end, would like to speculate a little on the end. That is, a bit of philosophy on immortality. Therefore, I would ask the question. . Where do we go when we die? From writings and paintings, we perceive a glorious ascension through white cumulus clouds and beautiful music from heavenly instruments; but where in the Bible do we find anything that tells or speaks of man's reception by 'St. Peter' at the pearly gates amid the sounds of 'Gabriel's horn'? if there is nothing in the Holy Book, then what is there to look forward to after death?
R.W. Bro. Fairley - Well of course Jack knows, as well as the rest of us do, that the spirit shall return unto God who gave it according to Ecclesiastes. The question falls, in terms of geographical location, and there is no geographical location from a Christian point of view. We go into perfect love. Those of us who are committed to the Christian faith, and I made a personal commitment when I was 18 or 19 years of age, worship a Person, not a moral principle. In the Armed Forces, in industry, and in the ministry, I have met all kinds of people, in every conceivable situation, and I am still convinced, to go into perfect love, which I cannot explain, but accept in faith. The imagination of the artist is their conception, arising from writings out of their culture, morality and religious convictions, set in the times and century in which they lived.
This is their concept of that which is beautiful. The pearly gates, the streets paved with gold, is in contrast to the poverty of the people who had nothing at all. There were those who had mental images of running water, of pure water, while living in a desert, or they had to go miles be-fore they got water. Whatever is in contrast to the poverty or poor conditions in which they lived was Paradise. To mention Paradise is to express that which is beautiful, where the mind is free from the tension caused through knowing good and evil, is living in a state of perfect love. It is not a geographical vision, it is a state of being in relation to the Creator. From a Christian point of view, perfect love is a gift through faith in God's Son. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 2)

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QUESTION: Why did the High Priest entrust the dedication of King Solomon's Temple to his Assistant instead of doing it himself
ANSWER: There is a dreadful confusion in this question, largely caused by some of the compilers of our ritual who were never content to leave well enough alone.
Determined to dot all the i's and cross all the t's, whenever they came to a problem they could not solve they invented - with disastrous results.:
First, let it be clear that, according to the Bible neither the High Priest nor 'his Assistant' played any part in the dedication of the Temple and, indeed, they are not mentioned at all in that context. Solomon presided alone; he spoke and he prayed. (I Kings, viii, and 11 Chron., vi and vii).
The pillar Jachin, appears in I Kings, vii, 21 and II Chron., iii, and it was named, according to custom in Bible lands, with an allusive or commemorative name which means 'He [God] will establish'. Neither the pillar nor its name had anything to do with Jachin, the wrongly styled 'Assistant High Priest: That name appears at the head of the 21st division of Priests, among the twenty-four divisions listed in I Chron, xxiv. It must be emphasized, however, that no Priest is named in the ac-counts of the dedication of the Temple, either in Kings or Chronicles.
Having established the facts of the Bible story, we may now turn to the offending phrases in the ritual, where, at the relevant point in the S.W.'s examination of the Candidate, we are told that the pillar, Jachin, was: so named after Jachin, a priest who assisted at its [the Temple's] dedication.
There are numerous versions of this statement, all in the same vein. Some rituals say 'who officiated'; some call him the 'Assistant High Priest' and every one of these at-tempts to fill in the details of the story simply adds to the confusion!
To summarize:
(a) The two pillars were completed and named before the dedication of the Temple and each of the names was designed to symbolize or express Solomon's gratitude to The Almighty. Neither of them was named after a Priest!

(b) Jachin certainly did not officiate at the dedication. If he assisted at all (and he was certainly not mentioned in that connection) he assisted only by his presence, in the same way as guests are deemed to 'assist'- by their presence alone - at a wedding.
(c) The Masonic use of the pillar name belongs strictly to the pillar alone. The introduction of the 'priest who officiated' is an error arising from the excessive zeal of the compilers of the ritual.
("Questions and Answers," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 2)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

For some time, the Ritual Committee of the Grand Lodge has been hard at work reviewing the present Ritual and Floorwork. It submitted recommended re-visions to the Grand Lodge Officers and the District Deputy Grand Masters - all of whom have responded with their recommendations to the committee. This revised document is now before the lodge officers and brethren for their review and comments. In as much as the revision will be on the agenda of the annual communication, your Grand Lodge officers believe that it is important that they discuss this matter with you.
The only change in the ritual is to move the ancient penalties from the obligation to the address given by the Worshipful Master to the candidate immediately after the obligation. To some brethren this move is long overdue. To other brethren this move is not warranted.
Your Grand Lodge officers are aware that our fraternity has been subjected to escalating criticism and defensive praise in recent years by several organizations and individuals - both within and without our fraternity. Indeed, several books have been written in response to this criticism.
In two such books, A Pilgrim's Path by John J. Robinson and like Boy Who Cried Wolf by Dr. Richard P. Thorn, the authors both of whom were Freemasons, saw no reason to remove the ancient penalties. However, others, such as Dr. Gary Leazer, whose out-spoken support of Freemasonry cost him his position with the Southern Baptist Organization, urged us to remove the ancient penalties from the obligation.
As in every issue involving change, there are two sides to be considered, and each side can advance reasons why it should or should not occur. Your Grand Lodge officers agree that we should not change our Ritual and Floorwork as a knee jerk reaction to criticism. However, we would be irresponsible if we did not recommend change where we believe it is warranted.
In the Boy Who Cried Wolf, at page 52, Dr. Thorn states:
"The obligation amused me and I had to smother a laugh. The idea that grown men would actually take such an oath seriously seemed ludicrous. But then I re-called that just before entering the lodge, I had been told that the only penalties Freemasonry ever imposes are reprimand, suspension and expulsion, and that all references to any other penalties are only symbolic in nature."
We, of course, presently require the explanation mentioned by Dr. Thorn at the conclusion of the degrees. Yet, in spite of this "disclaimer," we are still troubled with the inclusion of the ancient penalties during the solemn and moving part of a candidate's initiation - the moment he is professing to the Almighty, with his hand on the Sacred Volume, that he will keep and perform the same without equivocation. We have asked ourselves, is it right to make such a promise to God and to our fellow brethren knowing it not to be true? We have this concern not because of any criticism by professional anti-Freemasons such as Carlson, Pat Robertson, Ankerberg or Holly.
We have this concern because of our belief in the principles of our fraternity, wherein we dedicate our lives to reverence for God, truth in the conduct of our affairs with one another, and a determination to make good men better.
Brethren, we want our candidates to take their Ma-sonic oath seriously. We do not want them, as Dr. Thorn stated, to "smother a laugh" or to conclude the idea that grown men would actually take such an oath seriously seemed ludicrous. If we believe in our principles, it makes little sense to require the recitation of archaic, blood thirsty penalties, in the name of God with a hand solemnly resting upon the Holy Bible or other volume of the Sacred Law. The fact that we presently explain to a candidate that these penalties are solely symbolic tends to trivialize the essence of the obligation. This irreverence may even be a factor in the failure of many of our candidates to ever complete their degrees. Most certainly its inclusion in the obligation is not a factor in candidates joining Freemasonry or completing their degrees.
The revised Ritual and Floorwork was discussed at the midyear assembly of the District Deputy Grand Masters on January 22, 1995. At that time our Grand Chaplain, Rev. David J. Dean, addressed the issue of the bloody penalties forthrightly. He informed us that we should either remove the Holy Gospel from the altar or move the bloody penalties from the obligation. He declared the two are not compatible with one another.
For all of the foregoing reasons, your Grand Lodge officers support moving ancient penalties from the obligation and allowing the Worshipful Master to explain them as he approaches the candidate following the obligation. We recommend the adoption of the revised Ritual and Floorwork.
The Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Senior Warden, Grand Junior Warden, Grand Treasurer, Grand Secretary, Grand Lecturer, Grand Chaplain (Grand Lodge of Vermont).
Quoting from an accompanying article by the Grand Chaplain, Rev. David J. Dean:
As I think of thirty-eight years of social, ethical, political and philosophical upheaval, loaded words and phrases flash through my mind like so many covers of "Time." Civil rights, riots, assassinations, the drug scene, the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War, human rights, the New Left, the New Right, Vatican II, the Moral Majority, feminismthese suggest a few of the hurricanes that have been roaring through these years. They have been testing times for any Masonic Lodge seeking to witness to the power of Masonic teachings as a reality in our Masonic lives. Today, I rejoice that, by the grace of God and the backing of a loyal, under-standing and stimulating Grand Lodge of Vermont, I am able to say with an even greater confidence: "I am not ashamed to be a Mason!"
But I would be ashamed if I had to confess to you that my understanding of Masonry and our teachings had not budged one inch since 1958. I should like to think my Masonic eye is now on the practising Masonry in the twenty-first century. And the greatest gift is the grace to change one's mind.
This is a way of saying I no longer believe the Masonic Oath can continue to be given in fidelity to the Bible without the removal of the archaic penalties. Let the penalties be given by the Master to the candidate after the obligation. If the penalties are to be retained within the oath, then let us not require the Holy Bible be used as a symbol of our acceptance of the Third Degree.
This recommendation was adopted by the Grand Lodge of Vermont at their annual communication June 14, 1995.
It is presented solely for your edification and is the position of the Grand Lodge of Vermont.
Editor's Comments:
During the past eight years as editor of 'The Newsletter' there have been many questions received from subscribers. Most of them have been answered or the questioner directed to another information source for his answers. Among those that are asked most frequently, are those concerning the 'traditional penalties' of the obligations. Most are concerned that the impact of the words of the traditional penalties on the thoughts of an initiate is inappropriate and that it detracts from the solemnity of the ceremony and ritual. Later, and with instruction, most candidates understand the traditional background of the words - and their original significance and purpose. This later understanding does not ever remove the first impact of those words which seemed so out of place with the events that proceeded or followed the obligation. There is always only one chance to make a good first impression.
Do those words at that time and is that situation at the altar, detract from the import of the others that follow?
Several jurisdictions have removed the words of the traditional penalties (the so called 'Blood Oath' words), from the rest of the obligation that is given on the holy book representing the faith of the initiate. In some of those jurisdictions, the words reappear later in the 'traditional history' of the degree.
The questions show that concerns are present in the minds of many, and they also represent the whole spectrum of opinion from concerns that changes are imminent to concerns that there will not be any changes considered.
The foregoing article was published by the Southern California Research lodge as an information piece. It is representative of similar concerns and actions in other jurisdictions on this continent and overseas, including the Grand Lodge of England. ("Masonic Ritual.....Ancient Penalties of the Obligation," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 15 No. 3)

When I was Inner Guard I heard a wise Past Master give advice to the then Senior Warden. He told him that when saying that part of the Senior Warden's lecture which states that the pillar "on the left was called Boaz", if you point to the pillar on the left hand side of the picture, after lodge several past masters will come up to you and say "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You pointed to the wrong pillar." However, if when saying these words, you point to the other pillar, a different group of past masters will come up to you and say "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wrong pillar." So the best thing to do, while describing the pillars, is to wave your pointer vaguely in front of the picture, making sure not to point at anything!
Although it was sage advice, I thought that a definitive answer should be able to be found. What higher authority do we have on the Temple of King Solomon than the Volume of the Sacred Law? In 1 Kings 7:21 it says "He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the south and called it Jachin; and he set up the pillar on the north and called it Boaz." (1) Now this is from the New Revised Standard Version, which is a fairly recent translation. If you look at an old translation, like the King James Version you will find that the words left and right are used in place of north and south. Why the discrepancy? Well, it is because in ancient Hebrew the same word was used for both north and left. The Hebrews of that time described directions by facing the rising sun and then describing things as in front, behind, to the left, or to the right. (2) Thus most modern translations use the words north and south in this description.
So, can we now determine which pillar is which? No, we still need more information. The picture shows an archway opening onto a field with a stream
running through, but nothing which tells us which direction we are looking. But the answer lies in our work. In the ritual we hear that there were only three entrances to the Temple, and they were named - East, North and South! Now, the north entrance cannot have a north and a south pillar flanking it, and neither can the south. So this entrance shown on our picture must be the East, that is to say the entrance on the east side of the building - the entrance that faces out toward the East. Thus if you put yourself into the picture, looking out to the East, the pillar on your left is the North pillar, called Boaz; and that on your right, is the South pillar, called Jachin.
Brother Senior Wardens, when you do our lecture, go ahead and point with confidence. ("A Tale of Two Pillars," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 16 No. 3)

IN THE WEST - HISTORY AND HEROES
In the course of the floor work in the Second Degree, four heroes of the Hebrew people are recalled from historical events recorded in the Old Testament: Joshua, fights the battles of the Lord against the five kings of Canaan (6); Moses, delivers the Ten Commandments (7); Solomon, lays the foundation stone of the Temple, the house of the Lord God (8); and Jephthah, defeats the Ephraimites (9). In a brilliant study entitled Surpassing Wonder: the Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds recently published, Professor Donald Akenson argues convincingly that the historical chronicle recorded in the Old Testament was written as history to demonstrate "the Chosen People's entire relationship with Yahweh" to provide "the blueprint for a restoration of what he believed to be the central aspects of the religion of the Chosen People. In other words, a detailed record of the past was to serve as a detailed blueprint for the future." I suggest that Masonry uses these four heroic tales for precisely the same purpose: to inspire us to act with similar resolution and integrity, by imitating their confidence and trust in God the Lord - the world's Great Architect and Creator of heaven and earth, the Most High. These four great men, called to lead the people of Israel, in cases of difficulty and danger, looked to God for aid and God granted them success. The moral is clear: "The Fellow Craft, through these references and stories, is given a lesson on the recognition of God and on dependence upon Him for success in all those endeavours which a Mason should properly undertake." (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 16 No. 3)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

WHO COMES HERE?
The epic tale of Jephthah, the Gileadite general - "a mighty man of valour" - is recounted in graphic detail. The story of his decisive defeat and complete rout of the Ephraimites is narrated as the theatrical background to explain the origin of the word Shibboleth.
In Hebrew, the word Shibboleth means "ear of grain" or "a flowing stream, floods of water". The Ephraimites, although speaking the same language as the Gileadites, spoke with a "foreign accent". Apparently they were unable to pronounce the letter "shin". Any word containing the sound "sh" could have been used as a test, but Shibboleth was aptly chosen at the passages of the River Jordan, because the fugitives were in fact required to say: "Let me pass over the water." The Reverend Bro. Dr. George Oliver (1782-1867), with his customary penchant for enriching historical fact by adding fanciful details, suggests that the battle between the Gileadites and the Ephraimites took place "in a field of standing corn." Perhaps the fields in the valley of the River Jordan were fertile meadows "covered over with corn". If indeed the bloody battle had been joined in a wheat-field on the banks of the Jordan, the choice of the word "Shibboleth" would be even more obvious.
In retreat, wading into the river, confronted and threatened by the dreaded demand, "Who comes here?", perhaps the words of the Psalmist rang in the ears of the terrified fugitive:
I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
... "In deep water" - indeed! They put him to the test to find the truth. He was slain, not for what he said, but for who he was. The moral is best expressed in the memorable words of the American philosopher-essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): "What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary." The candidate, however, is taught that the word "denotes plenty, and is usually designated in a F.C. [] by an E. of C. near a stream of water." This is clearly another case of Masonic linguistic license. Perhaps, as some scholars suggest, the transposition of literal meaning in our Ritual was introduced as a deliberate means to protect our secrets - a "shibboleth" in itself.

ABUNDANCE - PLENTY - WEALTH
"An ear of grain has been an emblem of plenty since the mists of antiquity shrouded the beginnings of mythology." Ceres is the Roman name of mother-earth, the protectress of agriculture, and the goddess of abundance. In Greek mythology, she is called Demeter, and the goddess is depicted wearing a garland of grain and carrying ears of grain in her hand. In our own time, Ceres lends her name to our breakfast "cereals".
The expression, "There's corn in Egypt" is used to mean that there is abundance, a plentiful supply. The arid land of Egypt, where rain rarely fell, owed its fertility directly to flooding of the Nile River. Similarly, where there was water in Palestine, there a plentiful harvest followed. From Solomon's time, under a settled and stable government, agriculture developed and commercial trade prospered. Grain for bread, olives for oil, and grapes for wine were the common commodities of trade, and produced wealth. Indeed, when our ancient brethren were given "a weekly allowance of corn, wine and oil," they were being paid for their labours in the current coin of the realm.
Grain - (the most common kinds were wheat, barley, spelt, rye, fitches, millet) - was exported, mainly to neighbouring Tyre. Solomon and Hiram were trading partners which partly accounted for their political alliance. Oil pressed from olives was used in food as we use butter, for fuel in lamps to light the home, with perfume added as a cosmetic, and as medicinal lotion. It was also used in religious ceremonial and sacrificial rites. Wine was the common beverage for refreshment.
"For all Freemasons corn, wine, and oil are symbols of sacrifice, of the fruits of labour, of wages earned." This moral lesson is derived from Hebrew mythology. In the Genesis story, Adam is condemned for disobedience and sentenced to servitude by the Lord God: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Thus, man must work and labour to earn his daily bread. Bread and Water are the barest necessities without which human life cannot be sustained - food and drink - and we commonly use the phrases, "the staff of life" and "the
water of life" to emphasize our dependence on them.
The Candidate is told that P. is "usually designated in a F.C. [] by an E. of C. near a stream of water". How many Candidates are still wondering where it is; how many F.C.s are still looking for it? Let's go back and stand just inside the P.W. or E. of the T., where the J.W. stands waiting to receive our P.W., and look out between the two G.Ps. There it is in plain view: "an E. of C. near a stream of water". Indeed, there appears to be a whole field of golden grain beside the river. Perhaps the artist was influenced by the good Dr. Oliver's account of the scene of Jephthah's victorious battle cited earlier.
"There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most High."
Psalm 46:4
Throughout the Old Testament, wells and springs are described as joyous and holy places where miracles may occur. In the East, an oasis in the desert provided refreshment and regeneration. Water was seen as a source of life, and lush vegetation as a symbol of life. ... "her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord" ... Such is Balaam's vision of God's chosen people, Israel, encamped in the desert:
how goodly are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwelling-places, Israel,
like long rows of palms,
like gardens by a river,
like lign-aloes planted by the Lord,
like cedars beside the water!
In this symbol the thoughtful and contemplative, or as we prefer to say, the Speculative Mason, reads much more into the word, "plenty". The F.C., having given the P.W., is now allowed to ascend the W.S. leading to the middle chamber of the T., there to receive his "wages of illumination, paid in specie, the gold of Truth", where his attention is drawn to the symbol of the Supreme Being, GOD, the G.G.O.T.U.
"Illumination by the inner light,
Shows all to him who meditates aright."
Arthur Ward : The Illuminative Way
On the Tracing Board the "stream of water" seems to flow on beneath the Temple, its disappearance suggesting that "truth" lies hidden within the depths of the allegorical temple, "implying that part of the Mystery teaching vanished from sight and was discoverable only by those who were prepared to go down into the Vault beneath the Temple," a rich allegory which becomes the basis of the ritual in the degrees conferred in the Royal Arch Chapter. Quite apart from Masonic symbolism, but lending support to it, symbologists point out that, "The wanderings of the Children of Israel and the earthly pilgrimage of the human soul are intimately involved with external or internal contact with water, the latter becoming an oasis of light and peace." This analogy is drawn in the Book of Proverbs, attributed by tradition to Solomon:
"Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
but a man of understanding will draw it out."
Listen to an excerpt from an early version of the Lecture. It is cast in the question and answer dialogue used in the eighteenth-century form of ritual.
Q. What does the pass word denote?
A. Plenty, which is the just reward of persevering industry.
Q. How is this pass word represented?
A. By an ear of corn, adjacent to a fall of water, which is intended to intimate that plenty is usually depicted among our masonic symbols.
Q. What is the moral we derive from this?
A. Here we imply, that while we are bountifully supplied with bread and water, we can never be destitute of the pure elements of life.
William Preston (1742-1818) : The Lecture in the Second Degree (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 16 No. 3)

The Masonic calendar traditionally dates from 4004 BCE; the creation of the universe, as computed by Bishop Ussher in 1611 and stated in the margins of older printings of the Authorized King James Bible. This was called the year of light (Anno Lucis). 4004 BCE was rounded to 4000 for simplicity. There is no Masonic significance in the date, other than a desire by early Masonic writers to create as ancient a lineage for Freemasonry as their imaginations would allow. ("Anno Lucis," Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 16 No. 4)

The charitable act, of course, predates Masonry. In First Corinthians, Chapter 13, verses 1 and 2, it is written:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
The apostle, in comparing Charity with Faith and Hope, called it the greatest of the three, and hence, in Masonry, Charity is made the top-most round of its mystical ladder. Such is the sentiment that constitutes the cementing bond of Freemasonry. (Masonic Education Newsletter, GL of Ontario, Vol. 16 No. 4)

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Rev Wayne · Jan 24, 2011

§402.060. ALTERNATE HOLY WRITINGS.
A candidate for a degree in Masonry may select an alternate Holy Writings on which he will be
obligated, but only under the following circumstances:
A. If the candidate does not wish to be obligated on the Holy Bible, he must select an
alternate Holy Writings in book form from a list promulgated from time to time by the
Grand Master of the Holy Writings of those recognized religions whose theology is not
inconsistent with a belief in a Supreme Being and a future existence. . . .

E. When an alternate Holy Writings is used during a degree, a closed Holy Bible of any size
must be on the altar; and
F. Alternate Holy Writings may be used only at a Lodge meeting during which a candidate
selecting the alternate Holy Writings receives a degree and on no other occasion. (California Masonic Code, 2006, p. 17-18)

We extend sympathy to those who have felt the lose of their loved ones. We pray for comfort to those whose hearts are sad. Strengthen them and give them faith to believe that death is but the beginning of life, the passing into Gods eternal Love.

May all find comfort from the promise we read from our Holy Bible. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

The separation is only for a time for we know if we keep the faith that we, too, will
join our loved ones gone before. Let us continue in labors of love and be faithful unto
death that we might someday receive from Him that glorious crown of life. (Proceedings, GL of KY, 2006, p. 251)

Section 2.01 Constitution
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. The officers of this Grand Lodge are:
1. Elective:
Grand Master
Deputy Grand Master
Senior Grand Warden
Junior Grand Warden
Grand Treasurer
Grand Secretary
2. Appointive:
Grand Chaplain
Grand Lecturer
Grand Orator
Grand Historian
Grand Marshal
Senior Grand Deacon
Junior Grand Deacon
Grand Standard Bearer
Grand Sword Bearer
Grand Bible Bearer
Senior Grand Steward
Junior Grand Steward
Grand Organist
Grand Tyler (Alaska Masonic Code, 2006)

Section 3.11 Constitution
OTHER GRAND OFFICERS, DUTIES. The Grand Marshal, Grand Deacons, Grand Standard Bearer, Grand Sword Bearer, Grand Bible Bearer, Grand Stewards, Grand Organist, and Grand Tyler perform the duties incident and appropriate to their respective places and such as the traditions, usages, and customs of the Craft prescribe and as the Grand Lodge or the Grand Master may from time to time direct. (Alaska Masonic Code, 2006)

Section 16.10 Bylaw
JEWELS AND APRONS.
1. The jewels of a Past Master and of the Officers of a Lodge are:
A. Past Master
the Blazing Sun within the Compasses extended on a Quadrant, or the Blazing Sun
within the Square and Compasses extended on a Quadrant.
B. Worshipful Master the Square
C. Senior Warden the Level
D. Junior Warden the Plumb
E. Treasurer the Crossed Keys
F. Secretary the Crossed Pens
G. Chaplain the Bible
H. Senior Deacon the Square and Compasses united with a Sun
I. Junior Deacon the Square and Compasses united with a Moon
J. Stewards the Cornucopia
K. Marshal the Crossed Batons
L. Organist the Lyre
M. Tyler the Sword (Alaska Masonic Code, 2006)

The order of procession is as follows:

The Tyler, with drawn sword;
Musicians;
Stewards, with white rods;
Master Masons;
Treasurer and Secretary;
Senior and Junior Wardens;
Past Masters;
The Bible Bearer;
(The Bible, Square and Compasses on a cushion covered with black cloth, is carried,
when practical, by the oldest member of the Lodge, and is supported by the Deacons with
crossed rods. The Marshal may seine escort on the left of the above line of officers.) (Alaska Masonic Code, instructions for a funeral procession, 2006)

THIRD SECTION. A LODGE
Is a certain number of Masons duly assembled, having the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses, with a charter or warrant empowering them to work. (GL of Maine, Blue Book)

COVERING OF A LODGE.
It is no less than the clouded canopy or starry decked heaven, where all good masons hope at last to arrive, by the aid of that theological ladder which Jacob in his vision saw ascending from earth to heaven called Jacob's Ladder, the three principal rounds of which are called Faith, Hope and Charity. The greatest of these is Charity, because our Faith may be lost in sight, Hope ends in fruition, but Charity extends beyond the grave through the boundless realms of eternity.

FURNITURE OF A LODGE.

The HOLY BIBLE, the SQUARE and the COMPASSES. The Holy Bible we dedicate to
God, the Square to the Master and the Compasses to the Craft. The Bible we dedicate 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 its use, we are taught to circumscribe our desires, and keep our passions within due bounds. (GL of Maine, Blue Book)

My Brother, With pleasure I invest you with this jewel of your office, the SQUARE. As the Square is employed by operative Masons to fit and adjust the stones of a building, that all the parts may properly agree, so you, as Master of this lodge, are admonished, by the symbolic meaning of the Square upon your breast, to preserve that moral deportment, among the members of your lodge, which should ever characterize good Masons; and to exert your authority to prevent illfeeling or angry
discussion arising to impair the harmony of their meetings. I also present to you the three Great Lights in Masonry: the Holy Bible Square and Compasses..
The Bible, the Great Light in Masonry will guide you to all truth, will direct your paths to the temple of happiness, and point out to you the whole duty of man. (GL of Maine, Blue Book)

On entering public buildings, the Bible, Square and Compasses and the Book of Constitutions should be placed in front of the Grand Master. (GL of Maine, Blue Book)

Lodges in ancient times were dedicated to King Solomon In modern times to St. John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, two eminent Christian patrons of Freemasonry; and since their time there has been represented in every regular and well-furnished lodge, a certain point within a circle embordered by two perpendicular parallel lines, representing Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. Upon the top of the circle rests the Book of Holy Scriptures. The point represents an individual Brother; the circle, the boundary line of his duty. In going around this circle, we necessarily touch on the two parallel lines, as well as on the Book of Holy Scriptures; and while a Mason keeps himself circumscribed within their precepts, it is impossible that he should materially err. (GL of Maine, Blue Book)

Bible, Square and Compasses, carried by an Acting or Past Master, supported by two Stewards. (List of items & persons for laying of a cornerstone, GL of Maine, Blue Book)

The Bible within a Circle. (List of jewels of a Past Master, GL of Maine, Blue Book)

The "Book of the Law" is that volume which, by the religion of the country, is believed to contain the revealed willof the Grand Architect of the Universe. Hence, in all Lodges in Christian countries, the "Book of the Law" is composed of the Old and New Testaments. (GL of Maine, Blue Book)

"GRAND LODGE OF MAINE", upholding on its three pillars the Bible, Square and Compasses, supported on the right by a Scythe, and on the left by an Anchor (part of the arms of the state), having within the Compasses, "REGIT" (the Bible rules and directs us) irradiated by the Polar Star (the emblem of Maine), and having above the whole the All-Seeing Eye. (Description of Maine's Grand Lodge Seal, Maine Constitutions, 2010)

A Bible is necessary in Blue Lodges in Maine. The Bible was adopted in its entirety as the Great Light in Masonry.[1858, p. 394; 1856, p. 125] (GL of Maine Constitution, 2010)

This logo is now the official insignia of the Masonic Service Association of the United States. Using the Square and Compasses, widely recognized as the visible symbol of Freemasonry, we have added the Book of Knowledge and the Eternal Flame. Both of these symbols are visible expressions of MSA involvement with the Masonic Fraternity and the public at large.
The Book of Knowledge symbolizes learning and faith since knowledge is available both through reading books and reading The Book or The Holy Bible, the rule and guide of our faith!
The Eternal Flame symbolizes hope and is best expressed through the hope given to patients by our Hospital Visitors through our National Hospital Visitation Program. Hope is also given to those who have suffered natural catastrophes and have had an appeal made on their behalf through our Disaster Relief Program. (MSA Short Talk Bulletin, "Masonic Service Association," 1988)

6. The Three Great Lights of Masonry are:
(a) Sun, Moon and stars (b) square, trowel and pillar (c) Holy Bible, square and
compasses (d) sun, moon and Master (GL of KY, Questions on the Constitution and Digest; the answer, of course, is "c")

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Biblical Content and/or Christian Interpretation II: Monitorial

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

An Ex-Mason for Jesus

Veteran

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

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

Simplicity + Sincerity = Serenity

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