The Perfect Ashlar

[Rev Wayne]

I've seen quite a few details of the symbolism and some very specific things that point to Christianity, but nothing as interesting as this one:

A Christian Outlook on Masonic Symbolism​

Christ spoke in parables, using rich symbolism to get across the messages that He hoped to convey. Sometimes those listening had a difficult time understanding the wisdom that Christ was imparting, but in the end the message seemed to get across, although the Apostles sometimes needed a little prompting to get the full effect. Symbolism is one of the oldest, most perfect ways to explain a principle. What it all comes down to is that a picture is worth a thousand words. In a nutshell, symbolism is a picture of an idea. This picture forms in our mind, allowing us to break down and analyze each of the individual parts of the image without having to muddle through pages and pages of endless text, hoping to glean the best parts out, those most pertinant to our lives.[The first image in this series is concerning the Rough and Perfect Ashlars. I would not hope to claim the wisdom of this imagery, but rather to explain it in brief here. The Masonic scholar who presented these notions was William Leslie Wilmshurst, a devoutly Christian Mason who used scripture in his books to bring great depth of understanding. I'll explain it from my own understanding and experience.
Ashlars are building stones, much like bricks, that are used to build walls and castles. These building stones are solid and sturdy, and make up much of the structures in the Holy Land. King Solomon's Temple would have been built of such stones. They are a reminder to Masons as to the state of the soul as we enter the world, rough and unworked. An ashlar is not ready for use in building until it has been honed into a perfect ashlar.
The Rough Ashlar is a stone, raw in its form. As we first come into the world, we are in a raw form, in a state of being outside of the Father in Sin. If we were to exist outside of God, we would always be in that rough state, never becoming more than we are, and never finding our place eternally with Him. Once we accept Christ into our lives, His Grace helps us to chip away those rough edges. As we grow in our faith closer to Him, we eventually become the Perfect Ashlar, a stone devoid of fault. How can we be in this perfect state, you might ask? It is only through the Blood of Christ who washes away the roughness. When we pass to that Eternal Kingdom, the House not made with hands, our stone is added with the rest to build God's new Jerusalem, as explained in Scripture.
Moreover, the Perfect Ashlar holds a beautiful secret. One might say that any imagery can be placed in a Christian light if you look hard enough, but the Ashlar gives up its greatest secret to those who would look. "Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find." (Luke 11:9) As with anything in Masonry, the Perfect Ashlar is on the square. It is a perfect cube, equidistant in its points. If you unfold this cube and lay the sides out as a flat, two dimensional object, you see the truth of the Perfect Ashlar. It forms a Cross. Not only a Cross, but the Cross, that of Christ himself. The Ashlar teaches that if we are to be a part of God's Eternal Kingdom, it must be done through the Cross, for it is only through Calvary's Cross that we can leave our Rough, sinful states behind and attain the Grace of Salvation.--David Will, The Real Secret of Freemasonry, Responses to "anti-Masonic" groups,

That started me searching, and I was surprised at just how much material there was which concurs with it:

Ashlar:

A cube and a three-dimensional representation of the Christian cross. When Peter Solomon´s ring is put into the circumpunct in the cube and turned 33 degrees, the cube changes into a cross. (From Dan Brown's website discussion of his most recent book)
The Lost Symbol background

Man, when purified and elevated by devotion and right living, is typified by the cube, and in another school of thought, by the figure which is formed by unfolding the sides of the cube. If a cardboard model be formed of such a cube and the sides unfolded and laid flat they will assume the form of the cross, where it will be noticed that four squares form the vertical part of the cross and three the horizontal, thus giving that highly significant combination of the three and four which we have before referred to. (The American Tyler-Keystone, Vol. 24, p. 163.)

Let us next take one very beautiful instance of double meaning in Masonic symbolism--the perfect ashlar. As appertaining to the Senior Warden, it is the symbol of that human perfection, which, not having attained, we press towards. But has the Worshipful Master no cubic stone? Indeed he has, though not visible in the Lodge for the Brethren to moralise upon. It is the perfect ashlar unfolded. Cut a piece of stiff paper so that it will fold without any overlapping into a hollow cube. You have thereby fashioned a Cross, my Brother, the age-long symbol of sacrifice. The perfect ashlar can be opened in no other way. (W. Henry Topley and W.W. Covey-Crump, The Craft and the Royal Arch, p. 26-27)

When the Perfect Cube is opened out we have six squares in the form of a cross. (George M. Martin, British Masonic Miscellany, Part 2, p. 80)

In today's newspaper is a puzzle which, for my purposes, shows the connection between The Mind - as portrayed as a box or cube - and Jesus, or the Christ Consciousness. See how the cube, when layed out flat, becomes the Cross - the symbol of Christ:

--From "Seeing is Believing," blogsite, from 6/9/2006
Seeing Is Believing - Chapter 18-7

The EA, you will remember, found and worked upon a stone rough, as it was taken from the quarry, and he fashioned it into an ASHLAR, which, although still rough and unfinished, was still a recognisable CUBE, the ROUGH ASHLAR."

The F.C. took this rough ashlar and still further smoothed and prepared it, so that it presented itself to us as a perfect cube, the "PERFECT ASHLAR."

In the M.M. degree we find no specific stone, yet the Perfect Ashlar appears, and is seen to be sacrificed - opened out, so that its six faces, lying flat, form for us the shape of a Latin Cross, as the basis of our o ... g .... or c .... n. (J.R. Cleland, "The Craft Journey: A Discussion of Some of its Finger-Posts and Milestones," Part 7 http://98.15.203.119/ebooks/Grimoires%20and%20Magick%20Related/(digimob)%20Student%20of%20the%20Occult%20Mega-Torrent%20%232.1%20(A%20-%20G)/Freemasonry/Dormer%20Masonic%20Study%20Circle/37%20-%20The%20Craft%20Journey%20Part%207%20Conclusion.txt )

Our Craft still perpetuates the ancient 'Tau' - Cross on every Master's apron, whilst the secret of the Cross is concealed behind our working tools, the Square, Level and Plumbrule, which form a cross when placed together in a certain way. All these ideas are summed up in a phrase of the great Christian initiate (Thomas a Kempis): 'So bear thy cross that one day it may bear thee,' the Masonic equivalent of which is the charge given to every E.A. Mason that from the 'foundation' of his natural personality he shall proceed to erect a 'superstructure' perfect in all its parts and honourable to the builder." ("The Perfect Ashlar and The Living Stone," by W. L. Wilmshurst.)

Brethren will remember the symbolical significance of the first of these solids as explained in the lecture on the First T.B. In the Craft the stone of true die or square is the symbol of mature manhood "after a life well spent in acts of piety and virtue." It has a correspondence with the other symbol just mentioned, the interlaced triangles, for whereas this has twelve points and six lines, the cube has twelve lines, or edges, and six surfaces. The cube is such that its sides coincide with three planes at right-angles; it is the first of the Platonic solids to which this applies. The cube is thus in its structure triadic, and is a peculiarly apt symbol for the human personality with its threefold nature, hand, heart, and head; intellect, will, And feelings; thought, actions, and desires; body, soul, and spirit. To apply this idea still further, consider on a point of a cube. From it radiate three lines, which correspond to the components of the triads just mentioned. In the rough ashlar these are rough and irregular. By the exercise of the three Working Tools, a straight-edge, a chisel (also represented by a line), and a gavel (represented by two lines at right angles), the rough material is wrought into due form and the perfection of the whole brought into manifestation. So in the individual, the material is rough, albeit sound, stone; else he would not have been accepted as a candidate, but by the exercise of the Working Tools of the personality, purified thought, action, and desire, the individual is wrought into due form and the hidden Master brought to light. This can be exemplified by opening the perfect cube up into the form of a Cross, when the hidden man of the heart, represented by the middle square, will be seen surrounded by the other five perfect squares, which correspond to the five purified senses. (F. V. Mataraly, "The Spiritual Significance of Some of Our Symbols," Lodge of Living Stones #4957)

 

[Rev Wayne]

I see there are comments on another thread talking about a new thread opening. What's wrong with this one? Cat got your tongue?

Watch Skip's next move, it's so predictable it's ROFL: I changed the avatar to my own picture, which will prompt from him a knee-jerk comment about putting myself in place of the church, simply because the previous avatar was a picture of a church.

Pretty small stuff coming from someone who can substitute rectangles for cubes, staircases for ladders, and MSA articles for ritual--not to mention, inane arguments for anything resembling common sense.

 

[Skip Sampson]

I've seen quite a few details of the symbolism and some very specific things that point to Christianity, but nothing as interesting as this one:

Wayne:
Your post is very strange. I can only wonder why your bothered to submit it to public inspection. There are several problems with it, the most important of which is that your commentaries aren't consistent with today’s Freemasonry. Rather being a cube, as your sources assume, the Ashlar’s are rectangular solids. You will note this fact supported on page 21 of the SC Ahiman Rezon, where the picture clearly shows them as such. When you fold out a rectangular solid, you do not get the cross your references so desperately seek. Mackey also addresses this issue:

In Sir Christopher Wren's use of "ashlar" (he was member of Lodge of Antiquity) the stone had a dimension of 1 x 1 x 2 feet; and many building records, some of them very old, mention similar dimensions; certainly, the "perpend" or "perfect" ashlar almost never was a cube, because there are few places in a wall where a cube will serve. Because in our own symbolism the Perfect Ashlar is a cube, a number of commentators on symbolism have drawn out of it pages of speculation on the properties of the cube, and on esoteric meanings they believe those properties to possess; the weight possessed by those theorizing is proportionate to the knowledge and intelligence of the commentator; but in any event these cubic interpretations do not have the authority of Masonic history behind them. (cited in Masonic Dictionary website)

This is not a recent thing, as this quote indicates:

In the “True Masonic Chart” published by R.W. Jeremy L. Cross in 1820, appear pictures of the Rough and Perfect Ashlars, showing them substantially as we know them today. It is noteworthy that the stones illustrated are more than twice as long as wide and high, which seems to bear out the idea that the Perfect Ashlar, at least, was once the Perpend Ashlar. (MSA Short Talk Bulletin, 1933)

So to find Christian meaning in the Ashlars, your sources must first redefine them.

Secondly, your discussion misses the obvious. Here is how your GL views them:

The movable jewels are the Rough Ashlar, the Perfect Ashlar, and the Trestle-Board.

The rough ashlar is a stone as taken from the quarry in its rude and natural state.

The perfect ashlar is a stone made ready by the hands of the workman, to be adjusted by the working tools of the fellow-craft. The trestle-board is for the master workman to draw his designs upon.

By the rough ashlar we are reminded of our rude and imperfect state by nature; by the perfect ashlar, that state of perfection at which we hope to arrive by a virtuous education, our own endeavor, and the blessing of God; and by the trestle-board we are also reminded that, as the operative workman erects his temporal building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the master on his trestle-board, so should we, both operative and speculative, endeavor to erect our spiritual building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the Supreme Architect of the Universe, in the great books of nature and revelation, which are our spiritual, moral and masonic trestle-board.

To every Mason, whatever may be his peculiar religious creed, that revelation of the Deity which is recognized by his religion becomes his trestle-board. Thus, the trestle-board of the Jewish Mason is the Old Testament; of the Christian, the Old and the New; of the Mohammedan, the Koran. (SC GL, Ahiman Rezon, 2010 edition, pgs. 97 – 98)

There is nothing Christian therein. First, the Christian does not hope to arrive at a state of perfection; rather, he seeks to conform to Christ. Secondly, the progress Masonry promises to perfection depends mainly on the Mason's own individual efforts, with "blessing of God" thrown in almost as an afterthought. Any progress the Christian makes is through the power of the Spirit that dwells within him. Third, the AR clearly equates the Bible with any other 'holy' book that the Mason may proclaim. Since a Mason's personal trestle-board does not have to be the Bible, one cannot claim a biblical basis for what Masonry is and does. It's the VSL that is Masonry's great light, as the above highlights extraordinarily well.

You should have paid more attention to David Will's implied warning:

One might say that any imagery can be placed in a Christian light if you look hard enough

You are looking so hard to justify your involvement that you can no longer see what's in front of you. That you would post such drivel highlights that conclusion. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Rev Wayne]

There is nothing Christian therein. First, the Christian does not hope to arrive at a state of perfection; rather, he seeks to conform to Christ. Secondly, the progress Masonry promises to perfection depends mainly on the Mason's own individual efforts, with "blessing of God" thrown in almost as an afterthought. Any progress the Christian makes is through the power of the Spirit that dwells within him. Third, the AR clearly equates the Bible with any other 'holy' book that the Mason may proclaim. Since a Mason's personal trestle-board does not have to be the Bible, one cannot claim a biblical basis for what Masonry is and does. It's the VSL that is Masonry's great light, as the above highlights extraordinarily well.

Well, thanks for your input--or perhaps it would be more apt to call it nonput. Let's look at your meanderings:

First, the Christian does not hope to arrive at a state of perfection; rather, he seeks to conform to Christ.

Did you forget that Masonry's expressions depend heavily on King James? That would be an egregious error in considering anything concerning Masonry's biblical foundation. Your error is very evident simply by examining several of the pertinent Scriptures:

Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (Gen. 6:9)

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Gen. 17:1)

Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. (Deu. 18:13)

Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. (1 Kgs. 8:61)

Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. (1 Kgs. 15:14)

Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD (1 Chr. 29:9)

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. (2 Chr. 16:9)

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8)

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. (Psa. 37:37)

For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. (Pro. 2:21)

The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way. (Pro. 11:5)

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. (Luke 6:40)

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: (1 Cor. 2:6)

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. (2 Cor. 13:11)

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Eph. 4:13)

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded (Phil. 3:15)

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Col. 1:28)

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Col. 4:12)

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3:17)

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Heb. 13:20-21)

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:4)

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. (1 Peter 5:10)

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
(1 John 4:17-18)

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. (Rev. 3:2)


There seems to be quite a bit you've overlooked here. Individuals in the Bible are described as being perfect, we are commanded to be perfect, I don't see how you could have missed them, they are so numerous. Are you sure you had a Bible when you researched this one?

Secondly, the progress Masonry promises to perfection depends mainly on the Mason's own individual efforts, with "blessing of God" thrown in almost as an afterthought.

Are you sure you even read what was posted? You sure can't tell it by your comments. For instance:

Once we accept Christ into our lives, His Grace helps us to chip away those rough edges. As we grow in our faith closer to Him, we eventually become the Perfect Ashlar, a stone devoid of fault. How can we be in this perfect state, you might ask? It is only through the Blood of Christ who washes away the roughness.

the secret of the Cross is concealed behind our working tools, the Square, Level and Plumbrule, which form a cross when placed together in a certain way. All these ideas are summed up in a phrase of the great Christian initiate (Thomas a Kempis): 'So bear thy cross that one day it may bear thee,'

The first article also cited Wilmshurst's statement that the Christian Mason has "the cross as his working tool."

Any progress the Christian makes is through the power of the Spirit that dwells within him.

It is no different with the Christian who happens also to be a Mason. Let me illustrate with yet another statement from those cited in the OP:

Let us next take one very beautiful instance of double meaning in Masonic symbolism--the perfect ashlar. As appertaining to the Senior Warden, it is the symbol of that human perfection, which, not having attained, we press towards.

This last one is a direct reference to the thought expressed by St. Paul in Philippians 3, who also reminds us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil. 2:12-13)

Gee, how do you like that? Paul says first to "work out your own salvation," then throws in that it's "God which worketh in you" as an "afterthought."

As a Christian, naturally I don't believe that. I'm just illustrating for you that the problem is not in what you think you see in your view, it's in your viewfinder. Your criticisms are like the proverbial self-fulfilling prophecy, you find what you wish to find, and if you do not, you create it, because your whole attitude as you look at it is skewed in the direction you wish it to go.

Third, the AR clearly equates the Bible with any other 'holy' book that the Mason may proclaim.

Don't know how you got that from anything you posted. The trestleboard is not a statement equating anything at all, it simply lists examples of what an individual Mason would probably choose for his own trestleboard. That's simply freedom of choice left up to the individual. It says nothing about any of the books being equal, or non-equal, or any other description of them. And as you well know, that one piece you cited is far from being the only thing AR has to say about the Bible, it is elsewhere declared to be the book which must be on the altar for a lodge to be "just and legally constituted (87)," it is the only book present on the altar when the lodge opens, it is "the rule and guide of our faith (73)," it is "the light which enlightens the path of our duty to God (73)," it is part of the furniture of the lodge (94), it is "the inestimable gift of God to man (94)," it is the "first Great Light presented to a candidate (165)," and "the Great Light of Masonry" (235 & 244). All of these things are declared of the Holy Bible, and none of these things are declared of the "other VSL's" you keep referring to.

Since a Mason's personal trestle-board does not have to be the Bible, one cannot claim a biblical basis for what Masonry is and does.

A glaring non sequitur. What one's trestle-board is, does not and cannot change what the foundation of the ritual is. And that foundation is clearly the Bible, as has been demonstrated on this forum repeatedly.

It's the VSL that is Masonry's great light, as the above highlights extraordinarily well.

You really need to decide what you wish to address here, Masonry everywhere else, or Masonry as I know it and experience it in South Carolina. It clearly is not one size fits all, and no one can force that false construct upon it no matter how hard they try. You were fond at one time of citing strictly from Ahiman Rezon as a general principle, so you could more nearly apply it to the experience of whatever person you may happen to be addressing. When it was shown that Masonry's Grand Lodges clearly are not clones, you began abandoning that position rather quickly. Now you seem to be attempting a return to that stance. By all means, I welcome you to do so. Since Ahiman Rezon states very specifically, not once, not twice, but three times, that the Great Light is the Bible, I don't think anyone here will take your speculations over the AR's indisputably specific declaration of what is the Great Light of Masonry.

Maybe if you guys would give up trying to spin VSL and trestleboard statements into Great Light statements, you wouldn't find yourselves continually picking up the pieces of every post you enter. You are looking so hard to justify your accusations that you can no longer see what's in front of you. That you would make such an extraordinary number of oversights in only one post, only highlights that conclusion.

 

[Skip Sampson]

Catch-22 was an interesting book. In it there was a scene where a bomber crew member was treating an semi-conscious fellow crew-member for a minor wound on an extremity. He was careful about it and the book was quite clear about the time he took to get that wound done correctly. After binding the wound, he opened up the man's flak jacket to make him comfortable and most of the man's innards came flowing out. Turns out he had a major abdominal wound which the man didn't know about, making his careful efforts at healing pretty futile.

Your post brought back that recollection. You've focussed on fairly minor matters and managed to avoid the main point that your sources were badly mistaken in their view of what an ashlar is in Freemasonry; thus, your entire response was worthless. You also managed to highlight yet another problem with Freemasonry, and probably with your own Scriptural understanding. Pretty par for the course.

There seems to be quite a bit you've overlooked here. Individuals in the Bible are described as being perfect, we are commanded to be perfect, I don't see how you could have missed them, they are so numerous.

You've indeed carefully addressed a superficial issue, and missed the gaping wound. Worse, you've missed the greater point: the KJV incorrectly used the word 'perfect' in almost every place you've cited it. That's one of the faults with Masonry: excessive reliance on the KJV and failure to accommodate it's errors.

Of all your verses, only 3 actually use 'perfect' in the NIV: Matt 5:48, Col 1:28 and 1 John 4:18. The rest are translated with such words as blameless, wholeheartedly, fully committed, fully equipped, mature and so forth. Of the three using 'perfect,' Strong's 5046 and 5048 are used, both of which come from the root word for 'complete.' Both speak to such completion, or accomplished, not the 'perfection' Masonry would like its members to be.

Note all three of these verses:

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:48)

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (Col 1:28)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

In the first two, you may note the conditional: our 'perfection' relies on God. The third is marginally relevant to the conversation. Quite simply, I stand by my words. We are called to conform to Christ, as both the Matt and Col verses indicate, and not to make ourselves perfect by our own efforts.

You really need to decide what you wish to address here, Masonry everywhere else, or Masonry as I know it and experience it in South Carolina.

Not really. I quote the AR when talking to you and your assistant because it's operative in your jurisdiction. Other sources are to show the commonality of the topic in other jurisdictions.

It clearly is not one size fits all, and no one can force that false construct upon it no matter how hard they try.

That ignores the vast areas of commonality among the GL's. Compare the EA rituals in them and you see quite a lot of that commonality. There certainly are differences here and there, but commonality occurs more than the exceptions.

Since Ahiman Rezon states very specifically, not once, not twice, but three times, that the Great Light is the Bible, I don't think anyone here will take your speculations over the AR's indisputably specific declaration of what is the Great Light of Masonry.

You are incorrect. Read the AR more carefully, for it also says:

Let us be true to the solemn ties of our fraternity, and loyal to the teachings of the Holy Scripture, the Great Light of Masonry. (AR, pg. 280, 2010 edition)

Note that 'Holy Scripture' does not automatically mean 'Holy Bible,' especially when seen in context of other quotes:

It is religious in that it teaches monotheism, the Volume of Sacred Law is open upon its altars whenever a Lodge is in session...(AR, pg. 486, 2010 edition)

XXI. That a book of the law of God must constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every Lodge. (AR, pg. 457, 2010 edition)

... there is always an altar or table with the Volume of Sacred Law open if a lodge is meeting... (SC GL Website)

I still take the position that the Bible is only the Great Light as long as Masons want it to be, and that whatever 'book of the law of God' a man chooses to be initiated on is referred to as the Great Light during the ritual, one way or another.

You are looking so hard to justify your accusations that you can no longer see what's in front of you.

Flattery will get you nowhere. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Rev Wayne]

You've indeed carefully addressed a superficial issue, and missed the gaping wound. Worse, you've missed the greater point: the KJV incorrectly used the word 'perfect' in almost every place you've cited it. That's one of the faults with Masonry: excessive reliance on the KJV and failure to accommodate it's errors.

Thanks for the translation comparison, which is absolutely irrelevant. And thanks for the lesson about KJV English, which, as you've described it, is also absolutely incorrect. You need to study more about KJV from neutral sources or something, because what you described is completely erroneous. The KJV did not "incorrectly use the word perfect." They used the word as it was understood at the time, and the translators did a commendable job in most aspects of translation.

No, what you have with the KJV in comparison with modern translations, is semantic shift. And it is perhaps no more in evidence anywhere else than in passages where this word appears. What happens over time with semantic shift is, words often either grow weaker (ameliorate) or grow stronger (pejorate). When I studied advanced grammar for my undergrad degree, I chose this very topic (KJV and semantic shift) for a research project we had to complete. Mostly the words I covered were of minimal or even one-time usage. But the one prime example by far in the focus of the paper was the word "perfect." This word clearly has become, not just more pejorative, but extremely so, during the intervening years since the KJV translators chose it to translate it thus.

But this is not a Masonic argument nor an antimasonic one, it's a Christian theological difference. If you really want to get some input on what the real fleshing-out of this word is from an Arminian stance, I highly recommend what is even to this day one of the best resources on the subject, "Christian Perfection," a treatise written by John Wesley. Wesley dealt with the same kinds of accusations at a time when the arguments were still fresh, being born only slightly less than a century after the first KJV printing. I find that interesting, since it means the semantic shift that DID occur after its printing, was fairly swift, and something that took place over the course of only one century rather than four.

The fact is, Calvinists have been overstating their stance concerning this particular issue for quite some time. It has only been in recent decades (and the popularity of the NIV, which you cite, has been a tremendous factor in it) that they have managed to move away from outright condemnation of "perfectionism" to acknowledge that the differences are merely semantic. That debate does not rage nearly as hotly as it once did, it has been tempered greatly by increased understanding on both sides, particularly understanding both the semantic shift since KJV, and the difference between the current English word "perfect" in comparison with the true understanding of the Greek teleios, the primary word that is so translated.

But IMO, criticizing the use of KJV in relation to those who choose to use it as Christians is not the way to go in the Christian debate on the issue; nor is criticizing its use in Masonry going to solve anything either. The word is often used in both in association with simply being "upright" (Job is described as "perfect" and "upright," Masonry speaks of the "perfect ashlar" and also speaks of "an upright man and Mason.") I don't think you have made your case for it being purely "human effort," simply because you declare it to be so. And please don't bother going to humongous lengths to try to disprove what I just said with endless citations of your spins, because I can come up with an equal and opposite counter showing that throughout, dependence on God is key.

You are incorrect. Read the AR more carefully

You are incorrect, and you need to read my posts more carefully. You are incorrect to simply quote one instance of its use and thereby declare me "incorrect," when I clearly pointed out that there are FIVE. Here are the other four:

As the Bible is the first Great Light presented to a candidate . . . p. 165

The Holy Bible, the Great Light of Masonry, we entrust to your care. p. 235

The Holy Bible, the great light of Masonry, we intrust to your care. p. 244

W. M.—Brother Chaplain, read to us from Holy Writ, that Great Light in Masonry, p, 293

Notice that three of them specifically say Holy Bible, one does not. But check the context of the last one, and:

W. M.—Brother Chaplain, read to us from Holy Writ, that Great Light in Masonry, words of comfort and hope,to cheer us in our darkness and despondency.
The Chaplain will then proceed to the catafalque, where he will recite the following or other appropriate passages of Scripture:

Chaplain—But some men will say, how are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which lhou sowest is not quickened except to die; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain; It may chance of wheat or of some other pain; but God giveth it a hody as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh; hut there is one kind of flesh of men. another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial Is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also in the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, It is raIsed in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, It Is raised in glory; It is sown in weakness, It is raised In power; It is sown a natural body, it Is raised a spiritual body.

The reading continues, and is from 1 Corinthians 15. So in all four cases, it is clear what book was being referred to as the "Great Light."

And even in the one you selected, what you chose to single out comes from a funeral service, in which they have stated earlier:

(One or more of the following Scripture selections may be used.)

FIRST LESSON
121st Psalm

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. From whence cometh my help
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve
thy soul
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in

SECOND LESSON
(Selected verses from the 90th Psalm)

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as asleep. in the morning they are like grass which groweth up
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 0 satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.


THIRD LESSON
23rd Psalm

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to liedown in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me inthe presence of mine enemies thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

FOURTH LESSON
(Selected verses)

The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear; the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his tabernacle; yea, in the secret place of his dwelling shall he hide me.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time moved and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
The Lord of hosts is with us. Trust therefore in the Lord for with Jehovah there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption.

God shall wipe away all tears; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For the mercy of the Lord is From everlasting to everlasting.
With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord.
The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall my covenant of peace be removed saith the Lord whose mercy endureth forever.

All of these are commonly used in Christian funerals. In fact, the pocket resource for UM pastors, commonly used for graveside services, contains all three of these Psalms, and a couple more of the ones compiled in the last group, where I can easily spot the beginning verses of Psalm 27, Psalm 46, Revelation 21.

So to sum up, in three of the mentions of Great Light, "Holy Bible" is specified directly. In the other two, context clearly reveals it to be the book spoken of in the reference to "Great Light." More careful reading might have prevented your errors.

I still take the position that the Bible is only the Great Light as long as Masons want it to be, and that whatever 'book of the law of God' a man chooses to be initiated on is referred to as the Great Light during the ritual, one way or another.

You may "take whatever position" you wish, you have still not SHOWN thereby that the position you take is the truth. Naturally, it would be a delight to read anything you wish to share on the matter which bears more resemblance to evidence than to opinion.

By way of contrast, I have shown that in all five mentions of "Great Light" in Ahiman Rezon either state directly or by indisputable implication that the Bible is intended by the phrase "Great Light" in each instance of its use in Ahiman Rezon. Not surprising, since in SC, the Bible is clearly the book that resides on the altar to open the lodge (and if it is not present, the lodge is not legally constituted), it is clearly part of the furniture of the lodge, declared to be the rule and guide of our faith, declared to be the light which enlightens our pathway to God, declared to be the inestimable gift of God to man, and declared to be the first Great Light presented to a candidate.

 

[Skip Sampson]

The KJV did not "incorrectly use the word perfect." They used the word as it was understood at the time,

That's what I said: they did it incorrectly as their knowledge of Hebrew and Greek was lacking.

And please don't bother going to humongous lengths to try to disprove what I just said with endless citations of your spins,

You mean, don't resort to your tactics? Don't worry, I won't.

You are incorrect, and you need to read my posts more carefully.

Well, here's what you said:

Since Ahiman Rezon states very specifically, not once, not twice, but three times, that the Great Light is the Bible, I don't think anyone here will take your speculations over the AR's indisputably specific declaration of what is the Great Light of Masonry.

You conclusion is that the AR "indisputably" declares the Bible is the GL in Masonry and I showed you where the AR does not do so. You made an error, most likely due to not seeing the sections I quoted. It happens; don't compound the error by trying to squirm out of it by pointless, and seemingly endless, irrelevant paragraphs. Get over it. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Rev Wayne]

The KJV did not "incorrectly use the word perfect." They used the word as it was understood at the time,
That's what I said: they did it incorrectly as their knowledge of Hebrew and Greek was lacking.

Gee, Skip, are you now resorting to flat-footed lying? I've seen it from your erstwhile companion plenty of times, but this is unbelievable from you.

I'm speaking, of course, of you saying "that's what I said," when you know good and well it's NOT. Just as you also know good and well that the objections you raise about the use of the word "perfect" has nothing at all to do with the Hebrew & Greek, and everything to do with English semantic shift from 1611 to now. "Perfect" in KJV times was very little different from the sense as found in the Greek teleios. Since that time it has strengthened to the point that now it is almost exclusively used to describe an absolute perfection that it never had in its earlier usage.

And I can only surmise your comment about the Greek and Hebrew capabilities of the KJV scholars was made in ignorance. KJV used the best available translators and linguists of the time. The KJV was the culmination of all the work that had previously been done to put the Bible into a good, readable English.

You conclusion is that the AR "indisputably" declares the Bible is the GL in Masonry and I showed you where the AR does not do so.

Well, no, you posted a claim, and I showed you your error. First of all, the "other contexts" of which you spoke are irrelevant, since the issue of which we speak is the "Great Light," while your citations were from discussions of the term VSL and the furniture of the lodge.

And even then, you miss the mark, because AR is equally clear about what constitutes the "furniture of the lodge":

The furniture of a Lodge consists of a Holy Bible, Square, and Compasses. (p. 94)

Items described as "furniture" are REQUIRED items in the lodge.

The furniture of a Lodge consists of a Ho]y Bible, Square, and Compasses. (p. 94)

The reference you provided merely states it in neutral terms. The one I just cited states it in definitive terms as pertains to SC.

And its meaning is pretty clear.

As for your citation of landmark 21, if you check the footnote, we find there is a further explanation to be found stated by Mackey:

I say, advisedly, Book

of the Law,

because it is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testaments shall be used. The " Book of the Law " is that volume which, by the religion of the country, is believed to contain the revealed will of 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; in a country where Judaism was the prevailing faith, the Old Testament alone would be sufficient; and in Mohammedan countries, and among Mohammedan Masons, the Koran might be substituted.

Some pertinent facts:

This country ain't Jewish;
and it shore ain't Mohammedan;
and it is plain fact that American lodges all have the Holy Bible as their "book of the law."

So a citation from AR about landmark 21 doesn't get you anywhere anyway, since we already know from the further explication of the landmarks, exactly what that "book of the law" is in SC, and in AR. The way we know that is to check what AR has to say about their required "book of the law" on p. 87-88, where the lodge is not legally constituted without it.


There are five references to "Great Light," three of them specifically call it the Holy Bible, and the context in which the other two appear CLEARLY reveals that the book spoken of in BOTH instances was the Holy Bible.

I do agree with you that "holy Scriptures" need not necessarily, in every instance it may be found, refer to the Bible. What is "indisputable," though, as I clearly pointed out and PROVED with citations from the relevant sections in AR, is that in BOTH INSTANCES CITED, context leaves no doubt it is the Holy Bible that was referenced.

You can get as huffy and pouty as you wish about this, but it's pretty straightforward and obvious, that when the W.M. says. . .

Brother Chaplain, read to us from Holy Writ, that Great Light in Masonry

. . . and then the chaplain starts reading from the Bible, that the "Great Light" reference was to the Bible.

It's equally clear that when AR states. . .

One or more of the following Scripture selections may be used

. . . and then proceeds to list several selections from the Bible, it is the Bible that is being referred to by "Scripture." And it is equally clear, not to mention consistent then, that when it makes another reference to "the Holy Scriptures, that Great Light of Masonry," within that same funeral service, it ain't talking about some other book, it's STILL talking about the Bible.

That's why it is "indisputable." Of course, by that is meant, that the truth of what was stated is indisputable, because any other conclusion is devoid of logic. Naturally, I did not mean someone could not dispute it if they wish, it's just that anyone who would do so would have to do so on the basis of something other than fact. Apparently that doesn't stop you.

You made an error, most likely due to not READING the sections in which "Great Light" appears. That's why I posted from the context, to show you where you missed it. It happens; don't compound the error by trying to squirm out of it by pointless, and seemingly endless, irrelevant paragraphs. Get over it.

RE: Post #7, Masons Called by God: The response will be, either (1) make some brief non-reply of avoidance to keep from unwittingly showing me right; or, (2) try all that much harder to deny trying to make the thread about me, declaring it to be overactive imagination or paranoia, or the like.

 

[Rev Wayne]

I can only wonder why your bothered to submit it to public inspection. There are several problems with it, the most important of which is that your commentaries aren't consistent with today’s Freemasonry.

Apparently you are not very well informed on "today's Freemasonry." Besides the incongruity of you speaking of "today's" Freemasonry, and then citing from Mackey's comments from over a century ago, there is the matter of what Mackey SAYS about what the perfect ashlar IS:

Because in our own symbolism the Perfect Ashlar is a cube, a number of commentators on symbolism have drawn out of it pages of speculation on the properties of the cube, and on esoteric meanings they believe those properties to possess; the weight possessed by those theorizing is proportionate to the knowledge and intelligence of the commentator; but in any event these cubic interpretations do not have the authority of Masonic history behind them.

Notice that he fully acknowledges that the Masonic symbolism of the Perfect Ashlar IS the cube. And it is not the ashlar as a cube that he suggests has no authority behind it, but the "cubic interpretations." One thing I have noticed about Mackey, before his awakening and renouncement of his former speculative theories about Masonry, anything that disagreed with the opinions he set forth, he automatically set about dissing, and he could be scathingly critical. One prime example was his disagreement with some things that Anderson wrote in his revision of his Constitutions in 1738, in which he attributed the comments to senility, despite the fact that they were corroborated by Oliver. In fact, Mackey could have out-snided even you, judging from this remark in that citation:

the weight possessed by those theorizing is proportionate to the knowledge and intelligence of the commentator

For him to admit that the symbolism of the perfect ashlar is the cube, then try to deny interpretations of it as such, hardly seems logical. Most of Masonry's symbols AND their interpretations, after all, came MUCH later than even Christopher Wren's time, and thus could also be declared not to "have the authority of Masonic history behind them."

You also stated:

You've focussed on fairly minor matters and managed to avoid the main point that your sources were badly mistaken in their view of what an ashlar is in Freemasonry

Actually, there are two ashlars in Freemasonry, which you don't seem to acknowledge with the above comment: the rough ashlar and the perfect ashlar. The perfect ashlar is the only one described as a cube, and even Mackey confirmed that symbolism to be correct, though you don't seem to have recognized or acknowledged that either. So for "today's" Freemasonry to recognize the perfect ashlar as a cube, is perfectly in line with Masonic symbolism. And no one had to "re-interpret what an ashlar is" to come up with the cube, since the perfect ashlar apparently is and always has been, a cube.

Had you bothered to check around anywhere in "today's" Freemasonry, you might have made the same discovery I did.I have seen an ad placed on various Masonic websites, advertising the following item, a fold-out perfect ashlar cube, displaying the very thing you try to deny. Notice that the top part of the cube as folded out, also exhibits the triple cross design around the sides:

 

[ChristianMasonJim]

I just don't get it. How tough is it to understand that the symbolism, heck the direct instruction, of the rough and smooth ashlars is in improving one's character? Please explain how is that not Christian morality.

 

[Skip Sampson]

Had you bothered to check around

Refer to the picture I noted in the AR. You might also check in your lodge, should you still attend. Your experts in Masonry can't tell the difference between a cube and a rectangular solid. Masonic scholarship in action. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Skip Sampson]

I just don't get it.

How true.

Please explain how is that not Christian morality.

Christian morality is found in conforming to Christ. Masonry's is in conforming to whatever men may decide is right. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Rev Wayne]

You might also check in your lodge, should you still atted (sic).

Wow, sounds like an exhortation to attend. Never can tell what to expect from you from one minute to the next.

Your experts in Masonry can't tell the difference between a cube and a rectangular solid.

No, it's you who can't tell the difference between a rough ashlar and a perfect ashlar.

 

[Rev Wayne]

Refer to the picture I noted in the AR.

Pictures are not declarative. Check the discussion of the ashlar, both rough and smooth, and you will find that AR defines it neither as a rectangle nor as a cube. Actually, they don't give it a shape at all.

And while you're checking that, it might be a good idea, since you consider pictures to be in some way declarative, to take a look at p. 17 and observe that it depicts a ladder and not a staircase.

 

[ChristianMasonJim]

Christian morality is found in conforming to Christ. Masonry's is in conforming to whatever men may decide is right.

So please explain how improving one's character is not conforming to Christ.

 

[Rev Wayne]

Reading further in Mackey, I came across a most fascinating point he makes elsewhere on the cube shape:

DOUBLE CUBE
A cubical figure, whose length is equal to twice its breadth and height. Solomon's Temple is said to have been of this figure, and hence it has sometimes been adopted as the symbol of a Masonic Lodge.

"Whose length is twice its breadth and height?" Where have we seen that before? Oh, that's right, it was in your other quote of Mackey:

In Sir Christopher Wren's use of "ashlar" (he was member of Lodge of Antiquity) the stone had a dimension of 1 x 1 x 2 feet; and many building records, some of them very old, mention similar dimensions; certainly, the "perpend" or "perfect" ashlar almost never was a cube, because there are few places in a wall where a cube will serve.

Cut that two-foot length in half and you've got two cubes, if I'm not mistaken. Interesting, too: use the double cube and you've got a symbol of Solomon's Temple; use the cube and you've got a symbol of the Holy of Holies, and you also get a cross symbol in foldout.

 

[ChristianMasonJim]

Or just unfold a hexahedron, and you can get a cross-like figure. Besides, isn't the Christian cross simply symbolic of what Jesus was crucified on? Some even have said it was a tree, so dimensions are obviously unclear.

 

[Skip Sampson]

Pictures are not declarative.

But one is worth a thousand words, and the picture in the AR suffices, except for those who just cannot admit an error.

And while you're checking that, it might be a good idea, since you consider pictures to be in some way declarative, to take a look at p. 17 and observe that it depicts a ladder and not a staircase.

We've already examined Masonry's errors on that subject. Just more proof that Masonic scholarship is an oxymoron. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Skip Sampson]

So please explain how improving one's character is not conforming to Christ.

We conform to Christ by the aid and assistance of the indwelling Spirit, that 'another comforter' Jesus promised. No Spirit, no conformance. Cordially, Skip.

 

[Skip Sampson]

Or just unfold a hexahedron, and you can get a cross-like figure. Besides, isn't the Christian cross simply symbolic of what Jesus was crucified on? Some even have said it was a tree, so dimensions are obviously unclear.

The point isn't the nature of the cross Jesus was crucified on; rather, it's the fact that Wayne's sources didn't know that the ashlars are rectangular solids, or they felt that they could redefine the physical world to meet their symbolic and spiritual needs. Cordially, Skip.