The Masonic Lodge

A Study Outline

"... for Satan himself is

transformed into an angel of
Light."
2 Corinthians 11:14

by
Pastor Steve Harmon
Th.G., B.S., Th.M., Th.D.
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Introduction:

i. The claim of the Mason to the outside world is that

Masonry and Christianity are totally compatible.
ii. Masonry claims that they are not a religion, but a
fraternity to make better men in a better world.
iii. This study is to determine if the Masonic Lodge and
Christianity are indeed compatible, and if Masonry is a
religion.
iv. We have been permitted and even enjoined to judge
these things by the leadership of the Lodge itself:
- -"As a fraternity, we are always ready to be judged -
severely and critically" - Francis 0. Paul, Editorial, "The Test Never Changes".
v. The Mason is instructed to study the order or he will
hinder the order.
"The ignorant Freemason is a drone and an
encumbrance in the Order. He who does not study the
nature, the design, the history, and character of the
Institution, but from the hour of his initiation neither gives nor
received any ideas that could not be shared by a profane, is
of no more advantage to Masonry than Masonry is to him. The
true Mason seeks Light that darkness may be dispelled, and
knowledge that ignorance may be removed. The ignorant
aspirant, no matter how loudly he may have asked for Light, is
still a blind groper in the dark."
- Encyclopaedia Questionnaire, Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry.

vi. The sources quoted will all be authoritative Masonic

publications.

I. What is Masonry? A. Historically:

1. The Source of Freemasonry as given by writers on the
history of Freemasonry have, at different times, attributed its
origin to the following sources. - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry,
page 538.

a. The Patriarchal religion.

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b. The Ancient Pagan Mysteries.

c. The Temple of King Solomon.
d. The Crusaders.
e. The Knights Templar.
f. The Roman Colleges of Artificers.
g. The Operative Masons of the Middle Ages.
h. The Rosicrucians of the sixteenth century.
i. Oliver Cromwell, for the advancement of his political
schemes.
j. The Pretender, for the restoration of the House of Stuart to
the British throne.
k. Sir Christopher Wren at the building of St. Paul's
Cathedral.
I. Dr. Desaguliers and his associates in the year 1717.
2. "The First Masonic legislator whose memory is preserved to
us by History was Buddha, who, about a thousand years before
the Christian era, reformed the religion of Manous. He called to
the priesthood all men, without distinction of caste, who felt
themselves inspired by God to instruct men." - Pike's Morals and
Dogma.

3. The first Grand Lodge was founded in London in 1717 A.D.

The Lodge can be accurately brought back to this point.
4. America's Greatest Historical Figure, George
Washington.
a. He was initiated, November 4, 1752, in the Lodge at
Fredericksburg, Va.
b. March 3, 1753, Washington passed a Fellow-Craft.
c. August 4, 1753, Washington was raised to the degree of
Master Mason.
d. George Washington abandoned the Lodge early in life.
B. Definition. 1. Names.
a. The Lodge.
b. Freemasonry.
c. Speculative Masonry.
d. Blue Lodge.
e. York Rite.
f. Scottish Rite.
g. Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons (A. F. & A. M).
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2. Nature. By Nature the Masonic Lodge is a secret

society.
3. Their Definitions:
a. "It is a science which is engaged in the search after
Divine Truth, which employs symbolism as its method of
instruction. - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 268.
b. Masonry is "that religious and mystical society whose aim
is moral perfection on the basis of general equality and
fraternity" - Macke/s Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 269.
c. "Freemasonry, in its broadest and most comprehensive
sense, is a system of morality and social ethics, a primitive
religion, and a philosophy of life ... incorporating a broad
humanitarianism ... It is a religion without a creed, being of no
sect but finding truth in all... It seeks truth but does not define
truth ... - Coll, "A Comprehensive View of Freemasonry".
C. The Blue Lodge. There are three degrees conferred in
the Blue Lodge.
1. 1st Degree. Entered Apprentice.
Here a man is initiated into the beginning mysteries of the
fraternity of Freemasonry.
2. 2nd Degree. Fellow Craft.
3. 3rd Degree. Master Mason.
D. As a Master Mason - there are three choices.
1. Stop at the point of being a Master Mason.
2. Enter the Scottish Rite, which advances by numerical
degrees.
3. Enter the York Rite, which advances by Chapter,
Council, and Commandery degrees.
E. The Scottish Rite.
1. The Lodge of Perfection.
a. 4th degree. Secret Master.
b. 5th degree. Perfect Master.
c. 6th degree. Intimate Secretary.
d. 7th degree. Provost & Judge.
e. 8th degree. Intendent of the Building.
f. 9th degree. Elu of the Nine.
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g. 10th degree. Elu of the Fifteen.

h. 11th degree. Elu of the Twelve.
i. 12th degree. Master Architect.
j. 13th degree. Royal Arch of Solomon.
k. 14th degree. Perfect Elu.
2. Chapter Rose Croix.
a. 15th degree. Knight of the East or Sword.
b. 16th degree. Prince of Jerusalem.
c. 17th degree. Knight of the East and West.
d. 18th degree. Knight Rose Croix.
3. Council of Kadosh.
a. 19th degree. Grand Pontiff.
b. 20th degree. Master of the Symbolic Lodge.
c. 21st degree. Noachite or Prussian Knight.
d. 22nd degree. Knight of the Royal Axe.
e. 23rd degree. Chief of the Tabernacle.
f. 24th degree. Prince of the Tabernacle.
g. 25th degree. Knight of the Brazen Serpent.
h. 26th degree. Prince of Mercy.
i. 27th degree. Knight Commander of the Temple.
j. 28th degree. Knight of the Sun.
k. 29th degree. Knight of St. Andrew.
I. 30th degree. Knight of Kadosh.
4. Consistory.
a. 31st degree. Inspector Inquisitor.
b. 32nd degree. Master of the Royal Secret.
c. 33rd degree. (Active or Honorary)
F. The York Rite.
1. Chapter (capitular degrees).
a. Mark Master.
b. Past Master (Virtual).
c. Most Excellent Master.
d. Royal Arch Mason.
2. Council (cryptic degrees).
a. Royal Master.
b. Select Master.
c. Super Excellent Master.
3. Commandery (chivalric degrees).
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DIAGRAM OF THE ORDERS OF MASONRY
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a. Order of the Red Cross.

b. Order of the Knights of Malta.
c. Order of the knights Templar commandery.
G. Why you will not find these things out by asking a
Mason.
1. He made a vow of secrecy, even to death. Here is the
oath of an Entered Apprentice Mason.
"I, Peter Gabe, of my own free will and accord, in
presence of Almighty God, and this Worshipful Lodge,
erected to Him, and dedicated to the holy Sts. John, do
hereby and hereon, (Master presses his gavel on
candidate's knuckles) most solemnly and sincerely promise
and swear I will always hail, ever conceal, and never reveal,
any of the arts, parts, or points of the hidden mysteries of
Ancient Free Masonry, which may have been, or hereafter
shall be, at this time, or any future period, communicated to
me, as such, to any person or persons whomsoever, except it
be to a free and lawful Mason .... binding myself under no less
penalty than that of having my throat cut across, my tongue
torn out by its roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of
the sea .... should I ever knowingly violate this my Entered
Apprentice obligation. So help me God, and keep me
steadfast in the due performance of the same. - Duncan's Masonic
Ritual and Monitor, pages 34-35.

2. The Blue Lodge is Purposely Deceived.

"The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of
the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the
Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false
interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand
them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands
them.... It is well enough for the mass of those called
Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degrees;
and whoso attempts to undeceive them will labor in vain, and
without any true reward violate his obligations as an Adept." -
Pike's Morals and Dogma, page 819.

II. Is Masonry a Religion?

A The Definition of Religion: Webster's Dictionary, page 995.
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1. The belief in God or the supernatural, for service and

worship.
2.. Commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance.
3. A personal or institutionalized system of beliefs and
practices.
B. Mason's proclaim publicly that Masonry is not a Religion.
1. Alphonse Cerza. "Let There Be Light A Study in Anti-Masonry", page 41.

a. It does not meet the Definition of a religion.

b. It offers no system or teaching of Salvation.
c. It has no creed, no confession of faith, no theology, and no
ritual of worship.
d. It has no symbols that are religious, like the symbols that are
found in a church.
2. Dr. M. W. Thomas S. Roy, Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge in Massachusetts. (ibid., page 41).
"By any definition of religion accepted by our critics, we
cannot qualify as a religion ..."
3. We will follow Alphonse Cerza's criteria to determine if
Masonry is a religion.
C. IT DOES NOT MEET THE DEFINITION OF RELIGION.
Many Masons attest that it not only meets the definition of
religion but that Masonry is the only true religion.
1. "There has been a needless expenditure of ingenuity and
talent, by a large number of Masonic orators and essayists, in
the endeavor to prove that Masonry is not a religion. This has
undoubtedly arisen ... from a fear ... the opponents of Masonry
would be enabled successfully to establish ... that the Masons
were disposed to substitute the teachings of their Order for the
truths of Christianity. ... I am not disposed to yield, on the
subject of the religious character of Masonry ... I contend ... that
Masonry is, in every sense of the word ... an eminently religious
institution - that it is indebted solely to the religious element
which it contains for its origin .... the statutes ... owe their
sanction to the Masonic idea of the
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nature and perfections of God ... which idea was the very object
and design of its origin. ... (Masonry) teaches fundamental
religious truth ... to demonstrate, that it is, in every philosophical
sense of the word, a religious institution .... Masonry, then is,
indeed, a religious institution; and on this ground mainly, if not
alone, should the religious Mason defend it." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia
of Freemasonry, pages 617-619.

2. Pike's Morals and Dogma.

a. "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its
teachings are instruction in religion." - Page 213.
b. "Religion, to obtain currency and influence with the great
mass of mankind, must needs be alloyed with such an amount of
error as to place it... attainable ... religion of the many must
necessarily be more incorrect than that of the refined and
reflective few ... Truth might not have reached us, if it had not
borrowed the wings of error.... He (the Mason) believes that God
has made men with different intellectual capacities; and enabled
some, by superior intellectual power, to see and originate truths
which are hidden from the mass of men." – Page 224.
c. "Humanity has never really had but one religion and one
worship." - Page 102.
d. "It (Masonry) is the universal, eternal, immutable religion,
such as God planted it in the heart of universal humanity." - Page
219.

3. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia.

a. "Freemasonry certainly requires a belief in the existence of,
and man's dependence upon, a Supreme Being to which he is
responsible. What can a church add to that, except to bring into
fellowship those who have like feelings? That is exactly what the
lodge does .... Perhaps the most we can say is that Freemasonry
has not generally been regarded as a sect or denomination,
though it may become so if its religious practices, creeds, tenets,
and dogma increase as much in the future as they have in the
past." -page 512.
b. "Freemasonry has a religious service to commit the body of
a deceased brother to the dust whence it came, and to speed the
liberated spirit back to the Great Source of Light. Many
Freemasons make this flight with no other guarantee of
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a safe landing than their belief in the religion of

Freemasonry." - page 512.
D. IT OFFERS NO SYSTEM OR TEACHING OF
SALVATION.
But it does!!
1. God accepts you according to what is in your heart and
what your works include.
a. "The All seeing eye ... under whose watchful care ...
beholds the inmost recesses of the human heart, and will
reward us according to our works." - Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry, page
129.

b. Ecclesiastes 9:3 "...the heart of the sons of men is full of evil,

and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to
the dead."
c. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast."
2. Life and conduct reward man with eternal life in the
"Celestial Lodge Above."
a."...he, therefore, who wears the lambskin as a badge of a
Mason Is thereby continually reminded of that purity of life and
conduct that is essentially necessary to his gaining admission
into that Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect
of the universe presides." - Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, page 50.
b. Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and
our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
c. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
3. No Vicarious Atonement for Salvation.
a. "Masonry does not teach salvation by faith, nor the
Vicarious Atonement. Go through its degrees, study the history
as taught by its great masters. You cannot find that it teaches
this doctrine. Boldly I claim that this doctrine (vicarious
atonement) does not make Christian, but it does make
criminals." - Clymer, "Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry", pages 10-11.
b. Hebrews 9:24-28 "For Christ is not entered in the holy places
made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he
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should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy
place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have
suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of
the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgement: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation.
4. Practicing the precepts and seeking entrance gets one into
heaven.
a. "May we so practice thy precepts that we may finally obtain
thy promises and find an entrance through the gates into the
Temple and city of our God." - Mackey, "Masonic Ritualist", page 17.
b. John 10:9 I (Jesus) am the door: by me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
5. Promoting the welfare of others.
a. Freemasons "Mutually promote the welfare and
happiness of each other to the honor and glory of God and THE
SALVATION OF OUR OWN SOULS." (emphasis by author) -
(IBID.) page 238.

b. Mark 14:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and
whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not
always.
6. Do not fear, you are saved if your follow the Lodge.
a. "He who approaches our altar in good faith and by the light
which we bring him receives our teachings into a heart already
prepared and lives a life in conformity with the principles which he
here imbues, has come into an invaluable possession and need
have no fear when the word shall come calling him into the
hereafter but that he will be received as a living stone fit for a
temple not made with hands." – Minnesota Proceedings, 1895, Page 66.
b. Philippians 2:12-13 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in
my absence, 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.
7. The Pass of the Pure and Blameless life.
a. "What higher conception could we have of the Master's Word
than the pass whereby we can find immortality and
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entrance into the Grand Lodge on High? We are told that the
pass is the pass of a pure and blameless life." - J. OTIS BALL.
The Builder, Volume 1, Page 287.
b. Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
8. Good and Faithful Servant.
a. "Let us, therefore labor faithfully in the present, looking
forward to the reward promised to him who performs his whole
duty, and the past, present, and future of each and everyone
will entitle him to the salutation: 'Well done, good and faithful
servant'." - Quarterly Bulletin. October 1917, page 123.
b. Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity.
9. Salvation the reward of a pious and virtuous life.
a. (Prayer at the close of a Masonic Funeral) - "And after our
departure hence in peace and in Thy favor, we may be
received into Thine everlasting kingdom, to enjoy, in union with
the souls of our departed friends, the just reward of a pious and
virtuous life." - Webb, "Freemason's Monitor page 107.
b. John 3:18 He that believeth on him (Jesus Christ) is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God.
E. IT HAS NO CREED, NO CONFESSION OF FAITH, no
theology, AND NO RITUAL OF WORSHIP. (Theology will be
dealt with separately.)
1. Definition of Creed: (Webster's page 305).

a. A set of fundamental beliefs.

b. A guiding principle, or opinion on a subject.
2. Definition of Confession (of faith): (Webster's page 273).
a. A formal statement of religious beliefs.
b. A pronouncing of faith in a deity.
3. Definition of Ritual (of Worship): (Webster's page 1018).
a. The established form for a ceremony.
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b. A system of rites.
c. Any normal and customarily repeated act or series of acts.
4. Freemasonry Requires:
a. A Mason must confess his faith in a supreme being.
1). "God. A belief in the existence of God is an essential point
of Speculative Masonry - so essential, indeed, that it is a
landmark of the Order that no Atheist can be made a Mason."
- Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry page 301.
2). "The Mason regards God as a Moral Governor, as well as
an Original Creator; as a God at hand, and not merely one afar
off in the distance of infinite space, and in the remoteness of Past
or Future Eternity." - Pike's Morals and Dogma page 224.
b. A Mason must believe in the immortality of the soul.
1). "… the Human Soul is the image of God, and it existed
before the body; that the object of its terrestrial life is to
disengage itself of its body or its sepulchre; and that it will
ascend to the Heavenly regions whenever it shall be purified
... - Pike's Morals and Dogma page 252- 253.
2). "... without a belief in personal immortality, religion is
surely like an arch resting on one pillar, like a bridge ending in
an abyss .... It was the professed teachings of the Ancient
Mysteries, where, in the concluding rites of their initiation, the
restoration of the hero of their legend was a symbol of the
immortal life. So, too, the same doctrine is taught by a similar
legendary and symbolic method in the Third Degree of
Masonry." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry. Page 237.
c. A Mason must give service to a god. "...man can create his
immortality in his works. That is the immortality possible to every
man. And the only immortal things, as Dr. Drummond says, are
these: 'Now abideth faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is
love.' And in man's work in the world love translates itself
concretely in service. That is eternal, immortal. To serve others is
to live forever. They may rest from their labors' but 'their works do
follow them." - Edward Bok, "The Greatest Word in Our Language", page 32.
d. A Mason must say prayers to deity. "Hence it is of
indispensable obligation that a lodge, a Chapter, or any other
Masonic body, should be both opened and closed with prayer ...
the obligation is strictly observed." Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry,
Page 577.
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e. A Mason must swear oath's of secrecy in God's name.

1). "No atheist can be a Mason, and the reason usually
assigned is that, lacking a belief in Deity, no obligation can be
binding." -...AND GIVE THEM PROPER INSTRUCTION, page 23.
2). "So help me God..." - Entered Apprentice Oath. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and
Monitor, page 35.

5. Freemasonry contains things specifically given to the church.

a. Baptism.
1). "Lavation with pure water, or baptism; because to cleanse
the body is emblematical of purifying the soul; and because it
conduces to the bodily health, and virtue is the health of the
soul, as sin and vice are its malady and sickness ... thereby we
are set apart and dedicated to the service and priesthood of the
Beautiful, the True, and the Good: - and robes of white,
emblems of candor, purity, and truth." - Pike's Morals and Dogma, page 538-539.
2). "The term 'Masonic Baptism'... is simply a lustration or
purification by water, a ceremony which was common to all the
ancient initiations." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 97.
3). Acts 8:35-38 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the
same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on
their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See,
here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If
thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered
and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he
commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into
the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him."
b. The Lord's Supper.
1). "The fraternal supper, of bread which nourishes, and of
wine which refreshes and exhilarates, symbolical of the time
which is to come, when all mankind shall be one great
harmonious brotherhood ... And thus, in the bread we eat, and
in the wine we drink to-night, may enter into and form part of us
the identical particles of matter that once formed parts of the
material bodies called Moses, Confucius, Plato, Socrates, or
Jesus of Nazareth. In the truest sense, we eat and drink the
bodies of the dead; and cannot say that there is a single atom
of our blood or body, the ownership of which some other soul
might dispute with us.... To our Jewish
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Brethren, this supper is symbolical of the Passover: to the

Christian Mason, of that eaten by Christ and His disciples,
when celebrating the Passover" - Pike's Morals And Dogma, page 533-540.
2). 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 ...That the Lord Jesus the same
night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had
given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body,
which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the
same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying,
This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye
drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of
the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the
Lord. ... For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
c. Receiving of tithes and offerings.
1). The Consumer Credit Counseling Service showed a
formula for financial planning ("Life is a Family Affair," August
91). Please ask them what percentage we should allow for
church and Masonic dues. ... Charity, the great Masonic tenet
has been excluded from the formula. The exercise of charity
should be in every financial plan." – Northern Light, November 1991, page 26.
2). Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all of the tithes into the
storehouse...
F. The Bible is our Creed, Confession of Faith, and Ritual of
Worship.
How does the Lodge view our Bible?
1. Does the Bible stand alone or is it one of many?
a. "The Grand Lodge of England sanctions the use of
'seven or more' sacred books ...
(1) Our own Bible ...
(2) The Vedas...
(3) The Tripitaka ...
(4) The Koran...
(5) The Tao Teh King ...
(6) The Books of Confucius known as the Five Classics
(7) The Send Avesta"
- Rose "Seven Sacred Books", Indiana Freemason, September 1951, page 11.

b. Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth

the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in
this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the
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book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of
life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in
this book.
2. There is a law beyond the Bible for the Masons.
a. "Every Mason is obliged by tenure to obey the moral law.
Now this moral law is not to be considered as confined to the
decalogue of Moses, within which narrow limits the ecclesiastical
writers technically retain it, but rather as alluding to what is called
the lex naturae, or the law of nature." - Mackey's Textbook of Masonic
Jurisprudence, page 502.

b. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.
c. Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by NATURE THE
CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others.
3. The Bible is only a "BELIEVED TO BE" Word of God.
a. "God's Holy Book, His revelation to us, is the guide in our
search for light. ...Old Testament...New Testament...Koran...
Veda. But whatever book it is, it is the Holy Book of the seeker
for Light and that which he BELIEVES TO BE the Word of God.
The Holy Book, together with the square and the compasses, are
the great lights of Masonry." - Pike's Morals and Dogma.
b. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God
without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye
heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,
the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
4. God can be found in the different volumes of the Faith of
Man.
a. "Therefore it (Masonry) invites to its altar men of all faiths,
knowing that... while they read different volumes, they are in fact
reading the same vast Book of the Faith of Man as revealed in
the struggle and sorrow of the race in its quest of God." - Quarterly
Bulletin, July 1915, page 17.

b. Romans 10:13-17 For whosoever shall call upon the name of

the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him of whom
they have not believed? and how shall they believe in whom they
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have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And
how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, How
beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and
bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the
gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
c. 2 Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the
scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.
5. Is the Bible really important?
a. "To require that a candidate profess a Belief in the Divine
Authority of the Bible is a serious innovation in the very body of
Masonry.... In fact, Blue Lodge Masonry has nothing to do with
the Bible. It is not founded on the Bible. If it were, it would not be
Masonry." - Chase, Digest of Masonic Law, pages 206-208.
b. "The obligation of the candidate is always to be taken on the
sacred book or books of his religion, that he may deem it more
solemn and binding..." - Pike's Morals and Dogma, page 11.
c. John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words,
hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day.
d. Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
6. What is the Bible or Holy Book of the Masons?
a. "Beautifully, above the great wide chaos of human errors,
shines the calm, clear light of natural human religion, revealing to
us God.... Beautiful around stretches off every way the Universe,
the Great Bible of God. Material nature is its Old Testament,
millions of years old, thick with eternal truths under our feet,
glittering with everlasting glories over our heads; and Human
Nature is the New Testament from the infinite God, every day
revealing a new page as Time turns over the leaves." - Pike's Morals
and Dogma, page 715.

b. Deuteronomy 18:19 And it shall come to pass, that

whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in
my name, I will require it of him.
7. Is the Bible really True?
a. "The Doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the
language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey
 18

to a rude and ignorant people the practical essentials of the

doctrine." - Pike's Morals and Dogmas, page 224.
b. "The Bible, with all allegories it contains, expresses in an
INCOMPLETE and veiled manner only, the religious science
of the Hebrews. The doctrine of Moses and the Prophets,
identical at bottom with that of the ancient Egyptians, also had
its outward meaning and its veils. The Hebrew books were
written only to recall to memory the traditions: and they were
written in Symbols unintelligible to the Profane."- ibid.page 744,
745.
G. IT HAS NO SYMBOLS THAT ARE RELIGIOUS, LIKE THE
SYMBOLS THAT ARE FOUND IN A CHURCH.
1. "A Historical fact, a figure, a word, a letter, a
number, a rite, a custom, the parable or vision of a prophet,
veils the most profound truths; and he who has the key of
science will interpret all according to the light he possesses.
Again we see the symbolism of Masonry, and the search of
the Candidate for light. 'Let men of narrow minds withdraw,'
he says, 'with closed ears. We transmit the divine mysteries to
those who have received the sacred initiation, to those who
practice true piety, and who are not enslaved by the empty
trappings of words or the preconceived opinions of the pagans.'" -
Pike's Morals and Dogma, page 250-251.

2. "Albert Pike, great scholar that he was, once said: 'The

symbolism of Masonry is the soul of Masonry. Every symbol of
a Lodge is a religious teacher, the mute teacher also of morals
and philosophy. It is in its ancient symbols and in the
knowledge of their true meanings that the preeminence of
Freemasonry over all other orders consists... By its symbols it
will reign without a peer when it learns again what its
symbols mean, and that each is the embodiment of some
great, old, rare, truth.'" - Taylor, The Story of Our Craft.
3. "In Freemasonry, all the instructions in its mysteries are
communicated in the form of symbols. Founded, as a
speculative science, on an operative art, it has taken the
working - tools of the profession which it spiritualizes, the
terms of architecture, the Temple of Solomon, and everything
that is connected with its traditional history, and adopting them
as symbols, it teaches its great moral
19
 20

and philosophical lessons by a system of symbolism. But its

symbols are not confined to material objects as were the
hieroglyphics of the Egyptians. Its myths and legends are also,
for the most part, symbolic. Often a legend, unauthenticated by
history, distorted by anachronisms, and possibly absurd in its
pretensions if viewed historically or as a narrative of actual
occurrences, when interpreted as a symbol, is found to impress
the mind with some great SPIRITUAL and philosophical truth.
The legends of Masonry are parables, and a parable is only a
spoken symbol. By its utterance, says, Adam Clarke,
'SPIRITUAL things are better understood, and make a deeper
impression on attentive mind.'" - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry,
page 752.

H. What do the Religious Symbols of Masonry Really Represent.

1. Phallus. (This definition will be necessary for reference, it
is a primary meaning for many of the Masonic religious
symbols.) - Webster, page 880.
a. Representation of the penis.
b. Taken from the Greek word 'phallos' which means penis.
c. Phallicism - The worship of the GENERATIVE PRINCIPLE
as symbolized by the phallus.
2. G.
a. "In Masonry it is given as the initial of God." - Mackey's
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 287.

b. "As in all Roman Catholic and in many Protestant

churches the cross, engraved or sculptured in some prominent
position, will be found as the expressive symbol of Christianity,
so in every Masonic Lodge a letter G may be seen in the east,
either painted on the wall or sculptured in wood or metal, and
suspended over the Master's chair. This is, in fact, if not the
most prominent, certainly the most familiar, of all the symbols of
Freemasonry." - IBID., page2 87.
c. "The letter G, which ornaments the Master's Lodge, is ...
expressive of the name of the Grand Architect of the Universe"
or "the term G. A. O. T. U. ... that it may be applied by every
brother to the object of his adoration." - IBID., page 288.
21
 22

d. "the generative principle, represented by the letter G." -

Pike's Morals and Dogma, Page 632.

e. "the conjunction of the organs of generation of the two

sexes, was an emblem of the same.... The Egyptians
consecrated the Phallus in the Mysteries of Osiris and Isis ...
these emblems were not consecrated by the Egyptians alone,
but by every people." -IBID., page 656.
3. Point within a Circle.
a. "The lectures of Freemasonry give what modern
Monitors have made an exoteric explanation of the symbol, in
telling us that the point represents an individual brother, the
circle the boundary line of his duty to God and man," - Mackey's
Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 573.

b. "the true history of its connection with the phallus of the

Ancient Mysteries. The Phallus ... expressed by the male
generative principle." - IBID., page 573.
c. "We have seen that the phallus and the point within a
circle come from the same source, and must have been
identical in signification." -IBID., page 573.
4. Compass. (One of the greater lights.)
a. "Those who delight to trace our emblems ... origin, find in
the compasses a symbol of the sun, the circular pivot
representing the body of the luminary, and the diverging legs
his rays." - IBID., Page 174.
b. See Sun for full meaning.
5. Square. (One of the Greater Lights.)
a. "to square our actions and to keep them within due
bounds." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 708.
b. In the illustration "you see a triangle upon a square, both of
these contained in a circle; and above this, standing upon a
dragon, a human body, with two arms only, but two heads, one
male and the other female. By the side of the male head is
the Sun, and by the female head the Moon, the crescent
within the circle of the full moon. And the hand on the male
side holds a Compass, and that on the female side, a Square." -
Pike's Morals and Dogma, page 850.

c. Observation - The Square then represents the female

sexual organ; see detail under the moon.
23
 24

6. Sun. (One of the three lesser lights).

a. "As the source of material light, it reminds the Mason of
that intellectual light" - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 736.
b. "we find perpetual allusion to the sun with his life-
bestowing rays." - IBID., page 737.
c. "To the Sun, too, as the regenerator or revivifier of all
things, is the Phallic worship, which made a prominent part of
the mysteries, to be attributed." - IBID., page 737.
7. Moon.
a. "In Egypt, Osiris was the sun, and Isis the moon; in Syria,
Adonis was the sun, and Ashtaroth the moon; the Greeks
adorned her as Diana, and Hecate; ... In Short, moon worship
was as widely disseminated as sun-worship." - Mackey's
Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 491.
b. "The Moon was the symbol of the Passive capacity of
nature to produce, the female, of which the life-giving power
and energy was the male." - Pike's Morals and Dogma, page 13.
c. "the Sun and Moon [are] emblems of the two DIVINE
SEXES and the two CREATIVE FORCES" - IBID., page 305.
I. It has no creed, no confession of faith. NO THEOLOGY, and
no ritual of worship. (Theology will be dealt with now.)
1. Definition: Webster's page 1223. "The study of God and His
relation to the World."
2. "There has never been a time since the revival of
Freemasonry, when this belief in God as a superintending
power did not form part of the system.... There never was a
time when the dogma did not form an essential part of the
Masonic System." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 301.
3. Specific teachings by Masonry of God. - Pike's Morals and Dogma,
page 224 - 227.

a. 'The Mason regards God as a Moral Governor, as well as

an Original Creator... as taking a watchful and presiding interest
in the affairs of the world"
b. "God is the great Source of the World of Life and Matter
c. "God has made man with different intellectual capacities"
d. "It is His will that mankind should make some great step
forward"
 25

e. "God has so ordered matters in this ... Universe, ... and

sublime gleams of spiritual light will spontaneously and
inevitably arise."
f. "God has arranged this glorious but perplexing world with
a purpose, and on a plan."
g. "The conscience is the very voice of Deity."
h. A Mason "is satisfied that God IS; and a Wise and Good
Being is the author of the starry heavens above him"
i. "He is our Father; and we are all brethren."
j. "To complain and lament is to murmur against God's will,
and worse than unbelief."
4. There is a study of God and his relation to the world in
Masonry, we will compare these teachings with true, Bible
Christianity.
J. Of God.
1. They believe in "A" god.
a. "A belief in God - This constitutes the sole creed of a
Mason - at least the only creed that he is required to Profess" -
Mackey, Masonic Ritualist, page 44.

b. To believe in God is not enough.

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou
doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
2. They profess faith in a particular god that Masons serve.
a. "At your entrance into the lodge you professed faith in
God; that God whom we as Masons reverence and serve" -
Lodge Covenant in Entered Apprentice's Degree, Standard Freemasonry Illustrated, page 106.

b. If you have professed faith in God and then join the lodge
you are professing faith in the god of the Masons, who is no
god.
Galatians 4:8-9 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did
service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that
ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again
to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to
be in bondage?
3. Is the God of the Bible the Mason's God?
a. "God is equally present with the pious Hindu in the temple,
the Jew in the synagogue, the Mohammedan in the
 26

mosque, and the Christian in the church." - Godfrey Higgins in an article on

God, Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 301.

b. The Hindu believe in many gods.

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one
baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through
all, and in you all.
I Corinthians 8:5-6 For though there be that are called gods,
whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords
many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all
things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all
things, and we by him.
c. The Jew believes in a God not associated with Jesus
Christ; this god is not the God of the Bible.
John 8:19,54-55 Then said they unto him, Where is thy
Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye
had known me, ye should have known my Father also. Jesus
answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father
that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye
have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say I know him
not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his
saying.
d. The Mohammedan also believes in a god disassociated
with Christ.
4. The Masonic God is not just, merciful, or beneficial.
a. "So soon as Man begins to laud his God and endow him
with the most perfect human attributes such as justice, mercy,
beneficence, etc., the Divine Essence is depreciated and
despoiled" - Coil, Henry Wilson. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia. Macoy Publishing and
Masonic Supply: New York, 1961; page 516.

b. God is just.
Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his
ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right
is he.
c. God is merciful.
Deuteronomy 4:31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he
will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of
thy fathers which he sware unto them.
d. God is beneficial.
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with
benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
 27

5. The Masonic god is not he God of the Old Testament, nor can
he be known, named, or approached.
a. "Men have to decide whether they want a God tike the
ancient Hebrew Yahweh, a partisan tribal god, with whom they
can talk and argue and from whom they can hide if necessary, or
a boundless, eternal, universal, undenominational, and
international Divine Spirit, so vastly removed from the speck
called man, that he can not be known, named or approached." -
Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, page 916.

b. God is the God of the Old Testament.

Luke 20:37-38 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses
shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of
the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
c. God can be known.
Jeremiah 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he
understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise
lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in
these things I delight, saith the LORD.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
d. God can be Named.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I
not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
e. God can be approached.
Isaiah 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my
ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the
ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice;
they take delight in approaching to God.
Jeremiah 30:21-22 And their nobles shall be of themselves,
and their govenor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will
cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is
this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.
And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
6. Is Lucifer the Masonic God?
a. "That which we must say to the crowd is: we worship a god,
but it is the god that one adores without superstition. To you
Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may
repeat it to the brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees- the
Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high
degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If
Lucifer were not god, would Adonay[SIC] (Jesus)
 28

... calumniate (spread false and harmful statements about)

him?... Yes, Lucifer is God..." - Pike, General Albert, "The Freemason" (the
organ of English Freemasonry), January 19th, 1935.

b. "LUCIFER, the Light - Bearer! Strange and mysterious

name to give the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the
Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors
intolerable blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!
for traditions are full of Divine Revelations and Inspirations: and
Inspiration is not of one Age nor of one Creed. Plato and Philo,
also, were inspired." - Pike, Morals and Dogma, page 321.
c. "Satan is not a black god, ... but a Force, created for good,
but which may serve evil. It is the instrument of Liberty or Free
Will. They represent this force, which presides over the physical
generation, under the mythological and homed form of the God
Pan; thence came the he-goat of the Sabbat, brother of the
Ancient Serpent, and the Light-Bearer or Phosphor, of which the
poets have made the false Lucifer of the legend." - Pike's Morals and
Dogma, page 102.

d. Lucifer means Light bearer, and the Masons are always

seeking further light.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness;
whose end shall be according to their works.
e. Lucifer seeks exaltation and worship, but will be condemned.
Isaiah 14:12-15 HOW art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, l will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also
upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Ezekiel 28: 12-18 ...Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up
the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in
Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering,
...the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in
thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub
that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy
mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the
stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou
was created, till iniquity was found in thee. ... therefore I will cast
thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee,
 29

O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire... therefore will
I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I
will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all of them
that behold thee.
7. Jah-Bel-On the Eneffable Name of God.
a. E.H.P. (Excellent High Priest); I will now explain to you the
Key to the mysterious characters pertaining to this degree, and
which you have solemnly sworn never to reveal unlawfully, and to
immediately destroy when it has served its purpose. It consists of
six straight lines intersecting each other at right angles, the
figures thus formed when combined with a dot corresponding
each to each with the twenty six letters of our English alphabet as
follows:" - "Royal Arch Standard" page 92. [See also Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry, pages
247 - 250.]

b. "This is the correct arrangement of the Royal Arch Key, as

may be seen by comparing it with the characters on the sides
and base of the triangle." IBID., page 92.

c. On the Left side are the letters J-A-H. A name for God.
 30

Psalms 68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol
him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice
before him.
d. On the Right side are the letters B-E-L. A name for the
false god of the Old Testament, Baal.
Jeremiah 50:2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and
set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken,
Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are
confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
Jeremiah 51:44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will
bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the
nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of
Babylon shall fall.
e. On the Base are the letters O-N. A name for the Sun God
of Egypt and Babylon.
f. "the Royal Arch Degree is founded on the number three....
Among the Syrians, the Chaldeans, the Phoenicians and others,
the ineffable name of Deity was Bel, Bal, Bul, Baal, or Belin ....
Again, the Egyptians and Hindus reverenced On or Om, i. e.,
Aun, or Aum, as the name of their chief Deity. ... a third ... Juba,
Jao, Jah, Jehovah, and Jove. In a word, the letters of the name
are perishable, and the pronunciation of little moment; but the
Being himself is ineffable, incomprehensible, and worthy of our
utmost veneration. (whether) He was called by ... Jah, ... Bel, ...
or On." - Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry, Page 250.
g. "Bel, ... has, with Jah and On, been introduced into the
Royal Arch system as a representative of the
Tetragrammaton" - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, Page 102.
8. The story of God and Satan in the fall of man is reversed.
a. "...the Demons forbade Adam to eat the fruit of 'knowledge
of good and evil,' by which he would have known the Empire of
Light and that of Darkness. He obeyed; an Angel of Light induced
him to transgress, and gave him the means of victory; but the
Demons created Eve, who seduces him into an act of
Sensualism, that enfeebled him, and bound him anew in the
bonds of matter." - P ik e 's Morals and Dogma, Page 567.
b. Genesis 2:16 - 3:6 And the Lord God commanded the man,
saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it... And the
serpent said unto the woman ... your eyes shall be opened she
 31

took the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her; and he did eat.
K. Of Jesus Christ.
1, Christianity and Christ are accepted only in that some of the
"truth" of Masonry can be found in Christian teaching.
a. "I am constrained to believe, [some have] fallen into a
great error in calling the Master Mason's Degree a Christian
institution. It is true that it embraces ... truths of Christianity
upon the subject of the immortality of the soul and the
resurrection of the body; but this was to be presumed, because
Freemasonry is truth, and all truth must be identical. ... If
Masonry were simply a Christian institution, the Jew and the
Moslem, the Brahman and the Buddhist, could not
conscientiously partake of its illumination. But its universality is
its boast. In its language citizens of every nation may converse;
at its altar men of all religions may kneel; to its creed disciples
of every faith may subscribe." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 148-
149.

b. 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God, and eternal life.
c. John 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on
him ... And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free.
d. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
2. Christ was merely a man, his father was Joseph, until his
baptism, then he became divine, at least in a sense.
a. "Jesus ... to whom the Christos united himself in baptism
... Jesus Christ was the son of Joseph and Mary; but that the
Word, Wisdom, or Intelligence of God ... united itself with Him,
so that He might be said to be at once the Son of God, and God
Himself." - Pike's Morals and Dogma, Page 560,564.
b. Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fulness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To
redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons.
 32

c. Matthew 1:18-20 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this

wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before
they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make
her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost.
3. Christ is no more divine than other reformers, nor is He any
more divine than you can become.
a. "The finite spirits that rule over the several portions of the
Earth, seek to counteract this universal tendency to unity; and
from their influence, their laws, and arrangements, proceeds all
that checks, disturbs, or limits the original communion, which is
the basis of nature, ... From these finite spirits, the popular
religions of different nations derive their origin. As examples ...
Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and Christ. ... no distinction between
the latter and the wise and good men of every nation. ... any
other soul which could soar to the same height of contemplation,
might be regarded as equal with Him." - Pike's Morals and Dogma, Page 562.
b. Masonry "reverences all the great reformers. It sees in
Moses, the Lawgiver of the Jews, in Confucius and Zoroastor, in
Jesus of Nazareth, and in the Arabian Iconoclast, Great
Teachers of Morality, and Eminent Reformers, if no more..." - Pike's
Morals and Dogma, Page 525.

c. Philippians 2:10-11 That at the name of Jesus every knee

should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
4. Jesus Christ is omitted in the quoting of scripture in the
Lodge.
a. In the Mark Master Degree, 1 Peter 2:3-5 is quoted, but the
words 'by Jesus Christ' are omitted, he explains on the following
page that it is a 'slight, but necessary modification.' - Mackey in his
Masonic Ritualist, Page 271; states that

b. In a ritual of the Royal Arch Degree, while quoting 2

Thessalonians 3:6-16 each reference to Christ is omitted. - IBID.
pages 348-349,

c. Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
 33

crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here
before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must
be saved.
5. Prayer.
a. Prayer, though an intrical part of the Lodge, is forbidden in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for fear that it will offend a
non-Christian.
b. John 16:23-24 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Hereto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your
joy may be full.
c. John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will
do it.
d. Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
6. Masonry is the search for Light but Christ is forbidden.
a. In the Initiation of an entered apprentice, the Worshipful
Master asks: "ln your present condition, what do you most
desire?" and the Candidate responds: "Light." ... the Worshipful
Master later informs the initiate that "on being brought to light in
this degree, you discover both points of the compasses hid by the
square, which is to signify that you are yet in darkness ... having
only received the degree of an Entered Apprentice." - Duncan's Ritual
of Freemasonry, Page 35-36.

b. In the Initiation of the second degree the Fellow Craft. The

Worshipful Master asks: "In your present condition, what do you
most desire?" and the candidate is to reply: "More light". - Duncan's
Ritual of Freemasonry, Page 66.

c. "the Supreme Being is a center of Light ... that is the Light

for which all Masonic journeys are a search". - Pike's Morals and Dogma, Page
252.

d. John 1:9, 17 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world., For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ.
 34

e. John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the
light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life.
f. Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye
light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

III. Leaving The Lodge

A. Non payment of Dues.
1. Dues are "not a general Masonic duty, in which the Mason
is affected to the whole of the Craft, but an arrangement
between himself and his Lodge, with which the Grand Lodge
ought not to interfere. As the payment of dues is not a duty
owing to the Craft in general, so the non-payment of them is
not an offense against the Craft, but simply against his Lodge,
the only punishment for which should be striking from the roll or
discharge from membership. It is now the almost universal
opinion of Masonic jurists that suspension or expulsion from
the Order is a punishment that should never be inflicted for
non-payment of dues." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, Page 222.
2. You are not removed from Masonry simply because you
have not paid your dues.
B. Obligations cannot be canceled.
1. "The indelibility of the Masonic character, as expressed
in the often repeated maxim, 'once a Mason, always a Mason,'
is universally admitted. That is to say, no voluntary or even
forced withdrawal from the Order can cancel certain obligations
which have been contracted, and place the person withdrawing
in precisely the same relative position toward the Institution that
he had occupied before his initiation." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of
Freemasonry, Page 350.

2. "Expulsion is, of all Masonic penalties, the highest that can

be inflicted on a member of the Order, and hence it has been
often called a Masonic death. It deprives the expelled of all the
rights and privileges that he ever enjoyed, not only as a
member of the particular Lodge from which he has been
ejected, but also of those which were inherent in him as a
member of the Fraternity at
 35

large. He is at once as completely divested of his Masonic

character as though he had never been admitted, so far as
regards his rights, while his duties and obligations remain as
firm as ever, it being impossible for any human power to
cancel them." - Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 258.
3. Christ has the power to cancel these Obligations.
C. What does the Bible Say about Oaths, Secrecy, and Bonds
with those who are not Christians.
Ephesians 5:11-12 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to
speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Leviticus 5:4-5 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do
evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with
an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be
guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of
these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing.
Gaiatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you,,
let him be accursed.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteous-
ness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what
concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth
with and infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with
idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will
dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be
ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you.
C. Here is a sample letter which one could send to resign from
the Lodge. Taken from: Masonry, Beyond the Light, By William Schnoebelen.
To the Master, Officers, and members of
(Put your lodge name and number here)
Dear Friends,
It is with regret I submit my resignation from your Lodge, and
from all Masonic bodies. I have taken this step in spite of the fact
that I value very much the friendships and associations I have
developed within Masonry over the years. However, One whom I
love more than all of you has said, "He that loveth father of
mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth
 36

son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew

10:37).
Those who call themselves Christians and believe in the name
of Jesus are called to that kind of radical discipleship. If I am to
be true to my Lord, Who loved me and gave Himself for me, then
I must keep His commandments. If I am called to love Him more
than my own family, how much more am I called to love him
more than friends and fraternal brothers?
Unfortunately, in spite of the fraternal love I bear you all, I find
that in following Jesus Christ, I must sever my ties with all forms
of the Masonic fraternity. This is no reflection upon you, or upon
the many good things that Masonry does. It is simply the fact that
Masonry does not honor Jesus Christ as the Almighty God who
came in the flesh to save us from our sins.
Our Lord said that, "He that is not with me is against me; and
he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad" (Matthew
12:30).
Masonry refuses to confess Jesus before men, and Jesus has
warned that, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,
him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before
my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).
Anything which presents itself as a moral or religious institution
and yet does not confess Christ as God is denying Jesus! I'm
deeply sorry, brothers, but I cannot be a part of such a thing.
Masonry establishes itself as a complement to one's church,
which sounds fine. Masonry has prayers, rituals and solemn
ceremonies in which the authority of the Bible is invoked. The
Lodge is not secular, but religious. But in my study of the Bible, it
seems clear that Masonry asks us, as Masons, to do things
contrary to Biblical teachings.
For example, Jesus commands us to "teach all nations"
(Matthew 28:19-20) and to preach the gospel to everyone (Mark
16:15), yet Masonic etiquette forbids me as a Christian from
sharing my Savior with my non-Christian Lodge brothers. I must
stand by politely and watch them go to hell, "for there is none
other name under heaven given among men , whereby we must
be saved" (Acts 4:12). Who am I to obey, my Lord or my Lodge?
 37

The very Bible which sits on the altar commands these things.
It is one of the "three great lights" of Masonry, and yet you ignore
its teachings for the sake of harmony!
Jesus also commands us not to swear oaths (Matthew 5:34-37)
and His sovereign command is echoed by James (5:12). Yet the
taking of solemn oaths is at the very heart of Masonic degree
work. My brothers, these things ought not to be! Finally, the
apostle Paul commands that believers in Jesus Christ be"...not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14).
I take my Masonic obligations very seriously, and for that
reason, I realize the cable-tow was a powerful yoke which bound
me to many Masons who do not worship the true God or His Son
Jesus, however sincere they may be in their devotions. I must
take the commands of my God more seriously. To remain in
Masonry is to compromise my fellowship with Jesus Who died for
me.
I realize that whatever benefits Masonry has, they cannot
possibly be compared with the joys of full friendship with the
Almighty Lord of the Universe Who died that I might live - and
Who loves all Masons, as I do, even though they allow Him no
place in their ceremonies.
You, my brothers, must decide for yourselves what you will do
with the god of Masonry, but "as for me and my house, we will
serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)
God bless you as you seek His will in this important matter.
In Christian Love,
(Your Name Signed Here)
 38

Bibliography
Quoted Sources. All are the very highest Masonic
Authorities.
Ball, J. Otis. The Builder. Volume 1.
Bok, Edward W. The Greatest Word in our Language. The Indiana Freemason
Franklin, Indiana: The Grand Lodge F. & A. M. of Indiana, January, 1952.
Cerza, Alphonse. Let There Be Light: A Study in Anti-Masonry. Silver Springs,
MD: The Masonic Service Association, 1983.
Chase. Digest of Masonic Law.
Coil, Henry Wilson. A Comprehensive View of Freemasonry. Richmond, VA:
Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., 1973.
________. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia. New York: Macoy Publishing and
Masonic Supply, 1961.
Cymer. Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry. [n.p.,n.d.].
Duncan, Malcolm C. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor. New York: David
McKay Co. Inc., [n.d.J.
Editorial. The Northern Light: A Window for Freemasonry. Lexington, Mass:
Supreme Council, 33 degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, November 1991.
Lodge Covenant in Entered Apprentice's Degree. Standard Freemasonry
Illustrated, page 106.
Mackey, Albert G. An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry. New York: The Masonic
History Company, 1924. Two Volumes.
_______ . Textbook of Masonic Jurisprudence.
_______. Masonic Ritualist.
Masonic Service Association. The Stupid Atheist ........... And Give Them Proper
Instruction. Silver Springs, MD: The Masonic Service Association, February 1986.
Merriam-Webster. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield,
Mass: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1989.
Minnesota Proceedings [n.a.] Minnesota: Grand Lodge, 1895.
Paul, Francis G. The Test Never Changes. The Northern Light: A Window for
Freemasonry. Lexington, Mass: Supreme Council, 33 degree, Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, February 1988.
Pike, Albert. Moral's and Dogma. Charleston, SC: The Supreme Council of the
Southern Jurisdiction, 1919.
_______ . The Freemason: the organ of English Freemasonry, January 19th,
1935.
Quarterly Bulletin. October 1917. July 1915.
Rose, Algernon. Seven Sacred Books. The Indiana Freemason Franklin,
Indiana: The Grand Lodge F. & A. M. of Indiana, September 1951.
Royal Arch Standard. Page 92.
Schnoebelen, William. Masonry, Beyond the Light, Chino, California: Chick
Publications, [n.d.].
Taylor, Lawrence R. The Story of Our Craft, Part VII—Landmarks And
Symbolism. The Indiana Freemason Franklin, Indiana: The Grand Lodge F. & A. M.
of Indiana, May, 1952.
Webb. Freemason's Monitor.
 39

Recommended Reading
Ankerberg, John and John Weldon. The Facts on The Masonic
Lodge: Does Masonry Conflict With the Christian Faith? Eugene,
Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, Inc., 1989.
Boehne, Rev. H. Paul and Chaplain Delvin E. Ressel.
Masonry in the Light of the Bible. St. Louis, Missouri:
Concordia Publishing House, 1954.
Chick, Jack T. The Curse of Baphomet. P. O. Box 662, Chino,
Ca: Chick Publications, [n.d.].
Decker, J. Edward, Jr. The Question of Freemasonry. P. O.
Box 1077, Issaquah, WA: Free the Masons Ministries, [n.d.].
Harris, Jack. Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult in our Midst.
Chattanooga, TN: Global Publishers, 1983.
Hunt, George L. Secret Societies: Can a Christian be a
member and still honor Christ? Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux
Brother, Inc., 1980.
Maier, Walter A., Jr. Should I Join A Fraternal Society? St.
Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1961.
McQuaig, C. F. The Masonic Report. [n.p.] & [n.d.].
Rongstad, L. James. How to Respond to ... The Lodge. St.
Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1977.
Schnoebelen, William. Masonry, Beyond the Light, Chino,
California: Chick Publications, [n.d.].
Tanner, Jerald and Sandra. Mormonism, Magic and Masonry.
Box 1884, Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1988.
Taylor, Rev. Harmon R. Freemasonry, A Grand Chaplain
Speaks Out. Issaquah, WA: Free the Masons Ministries,
November 25, 1984.