That Freemasonry is "a religious institution" with a new birth, a redeemer, offering, to the faithful, salvation at last in that grand celestial Lodge above, none who are informed will deny. However, that is the problem. Many people have never tried to learn anything about Masonry. So they do not know what it is. Those who are in the Masonic Lodge either do not know very much about it or when the truth is presented about it, will not admit it.
        Masonry has some "secrets" about it and I suppose some of these "secrets" most of us care little about learning. However, one can learn enough about it to know that a Christian has no business being a member of the Lodge.
        In this article I will be quoting from official Masonic works. I have double-checked all quotations in the article and have either the books quoted from in my library or a photocopy of the pages from the books quoted. I suggest that if you have copies of these works and would like to check the quotations, be sure you have the same edition I am quoting from. I have found that quotes are on different pages in different editions. The quotations in this article are from the following official Masonic works:

1. Tennessee Craftsman or Masonic Textbook, 1942 Reprint of Sixth Edition, February, 1931.
2. Kentucky Monitor by Henry Pirtle, 10th Edition, 1921.
3. Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike, 1932 edition.
4. 2 volumes, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by Albert Mackey, 1929 edition, Revised and Enlarged by Robert Clegg.
5. 5 volumes, A Library of Freemasonry, 1906 edition.

Origin of Freemasonry
        Dr. Mackey says at one time the origin of Masonry was placed "at the building of Solomon's Temple" (Encyclopedia, page 87) but goes on to say, "I confess that I cannot find any incontrovertible evidence that would trace Freemasonry, as now organized, beyond the Building Corporations of the Middle Ages" (Encyclopedia, page 87) which he says "its age may not exceed five or six hundred years" (Encyclopedia, page 88). Dr. Mackey further says that Masonry may be connected "with the Ancient Mysteries of Greece, of Syria, and of Egypt" (Encyclopedia, page 88; emphasis mine, T.G.O.).
        Albert Pike connects Masonry with the mysteries of ancient paganism. He says, "These old controversies have died away, and the old faiths have faded into oblivion. But Masonry still survives, vigorous and strong, as when philosophy was taught in the schools of Alexandria . . . ." (Morals and Dogma, pages 274-275; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). Pike says "our ancient brethren . . . took their philosophy from the Old Theology of the Egyptians, as Moses and Solomon had done" (Morals and Dogma, page 289; emphasis mine, T.G.O.) Pike further says that men sought "the wisdom of the Egyptian Initiates" for the purpose of "to seek the admission into the mysteries of Osiris and Isis" and that "from Egypt" "afterward these mysteries were introduced successively into Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Sicily, and Italy" (Morals and Dogma, page 363; emphasis mine, T.G.O.).
        With Pike saying Masonry is connected with the mysteries of ancient paganism, one can understand Mackey's statement "that its body came out of the Middle Ages, but that its spirit is to be traced to a far remoter period" (Encyclopedia, page 88). Mackey says, "The theory, then, that I advance on the subject of the Antiquity of Freemasonry is this: I maintain that, in its present peculiar organization, it is the successor, with certainty, of the Building Corporations of the Middle Ages, and through them, with less certainty but with great probability, of the Roman College of Artificers" (Encyclopedia, page 88).
        Further, Mackey says, "Of Grand Lodges thus constituted, we have no written evidence previous to the year 1717, when Freemasonry was revived in England . . . . The true history of Grand Lodges commences, therefore, from what has been called the Era of the Revival. In 1716 four old Lodges in London determined, if possible, to revive the Institution from its depressed state, and accordingly they met in February, 1717 at the Apple-Tree Tavern, whose name has thus been rendered famous for all time; and after placing the oldest Master Mason, who was a Master of a Lodge, in the chair, they constituted themselves into a Grand Lodge, and forthwith "revived the Quarterly Communications of the officers of Lodges called the Grand Lodge .... On the following Saint John the Baptist's Day (June 24, T.G.O.) the Grand Lodge was duly organized and Antony Sayer, Gentleman, was elected Grand Master" (Encyclopedia, page 416).
        Thus, from the testimony of Masonic works one learns that Masonry, based upon the philosophy of ancient paganism, was organized in London on June 24, 1717.

Masonry Is A Religion
        Most people do not know that Masonry is a religion and Masons who know it will not admit it. Masonry is just another human religious denomination seeking to offer salvation.
        Albert Pike says, "The religious faith thus taught by Masonry is indispensable to the attainments of the great ends of life" (Morals and Dogma, page 196; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). "Masonry is the legitimate successor - from the earliest times the custodian and depository of the great philosophical and religious truths, unknown to the world at large" (Ibid., page 210; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion" (Ibid., page 213). "This is the true religion revealed to the ancient patriarchs; which Masonry has taught for many centuries, and which it will continue to teach as long as time endures" (Ibid., page 214; emphasis mine, T.G.O.) "The Degree of Apprentice (first degree of Masonry, T.G.O.) . . . declares that Masonry is a worship" (Ibid., page 219; emphasis mine, T.G.O.) "Masonry is a worship" (Ibid.. page 526).
        Dr. Mackey says, "Freemasonry is a religious insitution (emphasis mine, T.G.O.) . . . it is of indispensable obligation that a Lodge, a Chapter, or any other Masonic Body, should be both opened and closed with prayer" (Encyclopedia, page 792). "Freemasonry may rightfully claim to be called a religious institution" (Ibid., page 847; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). "The religion of Freemasonry is not sectarian" (Ibid., page 847; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). "The tendency of all true Freemasonry is toward religion" (Ibid., page 847). "We contend, without any sort of hesitation, that Freemasonry in every sense of the word, except one, and that is at least philosophical, an eminently religious institution - is indebted solely to the religious element it contains for its origin as well as its continued existence, and that without this religious element it would scarcely be worthy of cultivation by the wise and good" (Ibid., page 847; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). "The doctrine of a resurrection to a future and eternal life constitutes an indispensable portion of the religious faith of Freemasonry" (Ibid., page 851).
        "Masonry is a religious institution" (Kentucky Monitor, page 28).

Masonry and the Bible
        Masonry teaches "The Holy Bible is given us as the rule and guide of our faith and practice" (Tennessee Craftsman, page 10); that is, the Bible is the rule and guide to the faith and practice of Masonry. Masonry also teaches that the "furniture of the Lodge consists of the Holy Bible" (Ibid., page 22).
        While on one hand it appears they respect the Bible, let us notice some other statements.
Albert Pike says, "The great Apostle Saint John did not borrow from the philosophy of Plato the opening of his Gospel. Plato, on the contrary, drank at the same springs with Saint John and Philo; and John in the opening verse of his paraphrase, states the first principles of a dogma common to many schools, but in language especially belonging to Philo, whom it is evident he had read" (Morals and Dogma, pages 99-100). Masonry teaches that John, Plato and Philo all drank from the same common school of thought and that John was influenced by Philo's language and not the revelation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Again Pike says, "The familiar lineaments of these doctrines will be recognized by all who read the Epistle of St. Paul, who wrote after Philo, the latter living till the reign of Caligala, and being the contemporary of Christ. And the Mason is familiar with these doctrines of Philo" (Ibid., page 252). The writing of Paul was not, according to Masonry, the "commandments of the Lord" (1 Cor. 14:37; see also 1 Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 3:1-5) but rather the "doctrines of Philo" after whom Paul wrote. Reading Pike again, he says, "The Gospel is preached from many a book and painting, from many a poem and fiction, and review and newspaper; and it is a painful error and miserable narrowness, not to recognize these widespread agencies of Heaven's providing; not to see and welcome these many-handed coadjutors to the great and good cause. The oracles of God do not speak from the pulpit alone" (Ibid., page 212-213).         Thus, Masonry, in addition to not holding to the inspiration of Scripture, teaches that the "Oracles of God" are spoken from pictures, newspapers, reviews, poems and even fiction. Again, "The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to a rude and ignorant people the practice essentials of the doctrine" (Ibid., page 224). Thus, the Bible, according to Masonry, teaches and tells lies. Pike again says, "Truth might not have reached us, if it had not borrowed the wings of Error" (Ibid., page 224). Also, he says, "What is Truth to the philosopher, would not be truth, nor have the effect of Truth, to the peasant" (Ibid., page 224). Thus, truth is not always the same. Pike says, "The religion taught by Moses, which, like the laws of Egypt enunciated the principle of exclusion, borrowed at every period of its existence, from all the creeds with which it comes in contact, while, by the studies of the learned and wise, it enriched itself with the most admirable principles of the religions of Egypt and Asia, it was changed, in the wanderings of the people, by everything that was most impure or seductive in the pagan manners and superstitions. It was one thing in the times of Moses and Aaron, another in those of David and Solomon, and still another in those of David and Philo" (Ibid., page 247). Thus, the Bible is not inspired of God but is a mixture of all beliefs into which the people of God come into contact, including paganism. This is what Mason's Albert Pike says of the Bible.
        Dr. Albert Mackey says, "The Bible is used among Freemasons as a symbol of the will of God, however it may be expressed. Therefore, whatever to any people express that will may be used as a substitute for the Bible in a Masonic Lodge. Thus, in a Lodge consisting entirely of Jews, the Old Testament alone may be placed upon the altar, and Turkish Freemasons may use the Koran. Whether it be the Gospel to the Christian, the Pentateuch to the Israelite, the Koran to the Mussulman, or the Vedas to the Brahman, it everywhere Masonically conveys the same idea - that of the symbolism of the Divine Will revealed to man" (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 133; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). Masonry teaches that the Koran will express the will of God just as well as the Bible. The Vedas would do just as well also, for the Bible is only the "symbol of the will of God." This is what Masons say about the Bible.

Masonry and Truth
        While the Bible is truth (John 17:17) for it is the Word of God, not all then have knowledge of the truth. Man can know the truth by continuing in the Words of Jesus (John 8:32) which will cause them to know the truth. However, Masonry has a different idea about truth Pike says, "All truths are Truths of Period, and not truths for eternity" (Ibid., page 37). Further he says, "Masonry . . . uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would pervert it" (Ibid., pages 104-105). "It is the province of Masonry to teach all truths, not moral truth alone, but political and philosophical, and even religious truth so far as concerns the great and essential principles of each" (Ibid., page 148). Pike says that truth is not always the same; that Masonry on purpose deceives people and conceals the truth from them. He claims Masonry teaches all religious truth, but Christ said the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into all truth (John 16:13). Either the Holy Spirit did that and Masonry has no truth to teach or Masonry has to teach the truth because the Holy Spirit failed to teach the apostles all truth. Which do you believe, dear reader?
        Masonry has a lot of egotism to say, "Masonry is the . . . custodian and depository of the great . . . . religious truths, unknown to the world at large" (Ibid., page 210) and then say that she intentionally misleads people with her truth. The truth of the matter is that there is no truth known to the world of a religious nature that is not revealed by God unto mankind in the Bible (John 16:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Eph. 3:1-5; 1 Cor. 2:10-14; 2 Peter 1:3; Jude 3; Gal. 1:6-9; Jas. 1:25; 1 Peter 1:22-23; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
        While most people are not aware of it, Masonry teaches that men may worship deity in it and at last receive salvation. This the reader's attention is invited to consider.

"A God"
        As one enters Masonry, in the first degree, the Entered Apprentice, he is asked, "Do you seriously declare upon your honor, that you believe in a Supreme Being to whom all men are accountable?" (Tennessee Craftsman, page 6; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). This statement is found on page 7 of this same book, "The foundation on which Freemasonry rests is the belief in and acknowledgment of a Supreme Being." Belief in "a Supreme Being" will do for "No atheist . . . can be made a Mason" (Ibid., page 15).
        Dr. Albert Mackey says, "No disbeliever in the existence of a God can be made a Freemason." (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, page 847; emphasis mine, T.G.O.). One does not need to believe in Jehovah, just believe in "a God." The reason for this is Masonry is a universal religion taking into its membership even those who believe in pagan gods. "Masonry, as I understand it, lays claim to embrace all truth .... As it has borrowed and preserved truths from all the religions and philosophies of the past" (Joseph E. Morcombe, A Library-of Freemasonry, Vol. 5, page 496). Dr. Mackey says, "If Freemasonry were simply a Christian institution; the Jew and the Moslem, the Braham and the Buddhist could not conscientiously partake of its illumination; but its universality is its boast" (Ibid., page 579; emphasis mine, T.G.O.).
        Albert Pike says, "It is the universal, eternal, immutable religion, such as God planted it in the heart of universal humanity" (Morals and Dogma, page 219; emphasis mine T.G.O.). Pike further says, "Masonry around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Moslem, the Brahman, the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above all the Baalim, must needs leave it to each of its Initiates to look for the foundation of his faith and hope to the written scriptures of his own religion" (Ibid., page 226). Pike again says, "Masonry also has her mission to perform. With her traditions reaching back to the earliest times, and her symbols dating further back than even the monumental history of Egypt extends, she invites all men of all religions to enlist under her banners and to war against evil, ignorance, and wrong" (Ibid., page 311; emphasis mine, T.G.O.).
        Again quoting Pike, he says, "Masonry propagates no creed except its own most simple and sublime one; that universal religion, taught by Nature and Reason. Its Lodges are neither Jewish, Moslem, nor Christian Temples. It reiterates the precepts of morality of all religions. It venerates the character and commends the teachings of the great and good of all ages and of all countries. It extracts the good and not the evil, the truth and not the error, from all creeds; and acknowledges that there is much which is good and true in all" (Ibid., page 718). Since Masonry embraces the religions of the world, it can not require belief in Jehovah for this would exclude the most of the world. In order to accept Masons who believe in pagans, they require belief in "a God" or "a Supreme Being."

Masonry Offers Salvation
        Being a religious institution, Masonry offers to the faithful Mason salvation in heaven at last. Dr. Mackey says, "The doctrine of a resurrection to a future and eternal life constitutes an indispensable portion of the religious faith of Freemasonry" (Ibid., page 851). Dr. Mackey quotes a Masonic writer as saying, "It is the Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry that commands our unqualified esteem, and seals in our heart that love for the Institution which will produce an active religious faith and practice, and leads in the end to 'a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens' " (Ibid., page 1035). "The Covering of a Lodge is no less than the clouded canopy or starry-decked heaven, where all good Masons hope at last to arrive" (Kentucky Monitor, page 41).
        Masonry teaches that the redeemer of Masonry, Hiram Abiff, is "A kind messenger sent by our Supreme Grand Master to translate us from this imperfect to that allperfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Great Architect of the Universe' presides, forever reigns" (Kentucky Monitor, page 152; and Tennessee Craftsman, page 98).
        Masonry teaches only Masons will be saved. Pike says, "Let him who toils complain not, nor feel humiliated! Let him look up, and see his fellowworkmen there 'in God's Eternity; they alone surviving there" (Ibid., page 343; emphasis is Pike's, T.G.O.).
        If salvation may be had in Masonry, then the Bible and the Lord's Church would not be necessary. Jesus was to save people from sin (Matt. 1:21). Christ came to save the lost (Lk. 19:10). Christ shed his blood to save mankind (Matt. 26:28). Salvation can be had only in the name of Christ (Acts.4:12). Those who are saved, God adds to his church, not to Masonry (Acts 2:41, 47). Christ is the Savior of the body, which is his church (Eph. 5:23-27); therefore, Masonry is not necessary for salvation since men are reconciled unto God in the body of Christ (Eph. 2:13-16).
        Since Masonry claims to be a universal religion, it is necessary to believe in "a Supreme Being" which any pagan does, but faith in Jehovah is not required. By being faithful to Masonic teaching, one is assured by them of salvation in the Lodge above.
        Christ saves and those saved are added to his church. If men are saved by Christ, then Masonry is unnecessary. If men can be saved in Masonry, then Christ died in vain and his church was established in vain.
        Christ saves; his Church is essential. Therefore, Masonry is just another human system, promising men salvation, but not able to save.

Some Doctrines of Masonry
        (1) Masonry teaches Jesus Christ is not divine. "Divine or human, inspired or only a reforming Essene, it must be agreed that His teachings are far nobler, far purer, far less allayed with error and imperfections, far less of the earth earthly, than those of Socrates, Plato, Seneca, or Mahomet, or any of the great moralists and reformers of the world" (Albert Pike in Morals and Dogma, page 719). A human reformer teaching error and imperfections is the Masonic picture of Jesus.
        (2) Masonry is greater than the Lord's Church. "No institution was ever established on nobler principles, nor were ever more excellent rules and maxims laid down than are inculcated in the several Masonic Lectures" (Tennessee Craftsman, page 34 and Kentucky Monitor, pages 53-54).
        (3) Masonry teaches a new birth. "Your reception within the lodge is . . . your introduction into the life of Masonry. It is a symbol of the agonies of the first death and of the throes of a new birth. There you stood without our portals, on the threshold of this new Masonic life, in darkness, helplessness, and ignorance. Having been wandering amid the errors and covered over with the pollutions of the outer and profane world, you come inquiringly to our doors, seeking the new birth. Ceremonial preparations surrounded you, all of a significant character, to indicate to you that some great change was about to take place in your moral and intellectual condition. There was to be not simply a change for the future, but also an extinction of the past: for initiation is, as it were, a death to the world and a resurrection to a new life. And hence it was among the old Greeks the same word signified both "to die" and "to be initiated." But death to him who believes in immortality is but a new birth. The world is left behind-the chains of error and ignorance which had previously restrained you in moral and intellectual captivity art - to be broken - the portal of the Temple of a Future Life has been thrown widely open, and Masonry stands before you in all the glory of its form and beauty, to be fully revealed, however, only when the new birth has been completely accomplished" (Kentucky Monitor, page 26-27; emphasis mine, T.G.O.).
        (4) Masonry teaches the redeemer is Hiram Abiff instead of Jesus Christ. "All antiquity . . . believed in a future life, to be attained by purification and trials; in a state or successive states of reward and punishment; and in a Mediator or Redeemer, by whom the Evil Principle was to be overcome and the Supreme Deity reconciled to his creatures. The belief was general that He was to be born of a virgin and suffer a painful death. The Hindus called him Krishna; the Chinese, Kiountse; the Persians, Sosiosch; the Chaldeans, Dhouvanai; the Egyptians, Horus; Plato, Love; the Scandinavians, Balder; the Christians, Jesus; Masons, Hiram" (Kentucky Monitor, pages XIV-XV, emphasis mine, T.G.O ).
        (5) Masonry practices baptism. In the 26th degree of Masonry, Albert Pike says, "Q. What are the symbols of the purification necessary to make us perfect Masons? A. 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: -- unction or anointing with oil; because thereby we are set apart and dedicated to the service and priesthood of the Beautiful, the True, and the Good" (Morals and Dogma, pages 538-539).
        (6) Masonry observes a fraternal supper. In the 26th degree - "Q. What is to us the chief symbol of man's ultimate redemption and regeneration? A. The fraternal supper, of bread which nourishes and of wine which refreshes and exhilarates, symbolical of the time to come, when all mankind shall be one great harmonious brotherhood .... To our Jewish Brethren this supper is symbolical of the Passover: to the Christian Mason of that eaten by Christ and His Disciples when celebrating the Passover" (Morals and Dogma, pages 539-540).
        (7) Masonry teaches evolution. "For countless ages a fragment clings to its sun - a world in preparation; eventually it is thrown whirling into space to begin a separate existence - the birth of a world; the gases solidify, land and water appear - the period of development" (Kentucky Monitor, page 105).

The "Doctrine of Christ" in the Bible
        In Section VI, "Some Doctrines of Masonry," quotations were given to set forth in the language of Masonic authors their doctrine. Let us now contrast the error taught by Masons with the truth of Jesus Christ taught in the Bible.
        (1) Jesus is divine. The Word was in the beginning with God, was God, all things were created by the Word; the Word became flesh and dwelt among man. Christ is divine (John 1:1-17). God said Jesus was God, thus divine (Heb. 1:5-8). Thomas said Jesus was divine (John 20:28). Peter said Christ was divine (Matt. 16:16).
        (2) Christ's Church is the greatest institution. The Church was in the mind of God from eternity (Eph. 3:8-11). This is not so of any other institution. Jesus purchased the church with His blood (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25). Neither Masonry, nor any institution but the church, has been blood bought.
        (3) The new birth puts one into the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus said one "born again" would see the Kingdom of God, not Masonry (John 3:3). One born of water and the Spirit enters the Kingdom of God, not the Masonic Lodge (John 3:5). Peter said when one was "born again" they had been "redeemed", had purified your souls," had "obeyed the truth" and all of this by the preaching of the gospel (1 Pet. 1:18-25).
        (4) Christ is our Redeemer. One has redemption through the blood of Christ, in Christ, by translation into the Kingdom (Col. 1:13-14). Redemption is "with the precious blood of Christ" "which by the gospel is preached unto you" (1 Peter 1:18-25). Men are reconciled unto God (2 Cor. 5:17-21) not God reconciled unto men as Masonry teaches. Man, not God, sinned; therefore, man, not God needs to be reconciled.
        (5) Baptism is into Christ. Men are baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27). They are baptized to be saved (Mk. 16:16) and "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). This is a burial in water (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12). Upon being raised, one is to walk a new life (Rom. 6:3-7) and not to hear some "secret words" like "Mah-hah-bone."
       (6) Christ put the Lord's Supper in the Kingdom (Lk. 22:16). The Lord's Supper is to be observed upon the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). Its purpose is not physical food but "in remembrance of me" (1 Cor: 11:24-25). Whatever "supper" the Masonic Lodge eats is not the "Lord's Supper" instituted by Christ, for Christ did not put it in the Lodge.
        (7) The World Was Created. "All things were made by him" (John 1:3). "God that made the world and all things therein" (Acts 17:24). God "created all things by Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9). "All things were created" by Christ (Col. 1:16). Christ "made the worlds" (Heb. 1:2). God created man (Mt. 19:4; 1 Cor. 11:9); he did not evolve.

Truth Magazine XXII: 17, pp. 280-282        www.truthmagazine.com
April 27, 1978

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