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MASON4.TXT
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1991-07-08
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CUL:Who said a Christian can't be a Mason?
The Hebrew word "Messiah" and the Greek word "Christ" both mean
anointed; usually a consecrated person. When applied to Jesus, it means
"God's anointed one." The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is the
Christ in many places but the most definitive statements are found in
Mark 14:61, 62; Matthew 16:15-17; and John 4:25, 26.
To deny that Jesus is the Christ is to condemn oneself to eternal
damnation. 1 John 2:22, 23 says, "who is the liar but the one who
denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who
denies the Father and the Son. whoever denies the Son does not have the
Father, the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." Revelation
21:8 says that the unbelieving and liars will all be in the lake that
burns with fire and brimstone.
Masonic tradition teaches the worship of the supreme God, the Great
Architect of the Universe. Who is this God? Investigate the words of
Albert Pike, 33rd degree Mason and author of Morals and Dogma, p.226:
Masonry, around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Moslem,
the Brahmin, the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as
brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above all the
Ballim, 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.
God teaches in Exodus 20:3-5, that "You shall have no other gods
before Me, you shall not make for yourself an idol...you shall not
worship them or serve them..."
In Judges 1 and 2, the Israelites did not drive out the followers of
false gods and God's verdict was, "They shall become as thorns in your
sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you." (Judges 2:3) God's
commandment to us as Christians is not only should we not be bound
together with unbelievers, (2 Corinthians 6:14-17) but we should seek
to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20) by preaching the
saving gospel of Jesus Christ.
Freemasonry is in direct conflict with the Bible in that Masonry
condones communal worship of a generic deity:
To respect all forms of worship, to tolerate all political and
religious opinions; not to blame, and still less to condemn the
religion of others; not to seek to make converts; but to be content if
they have the religion of Socrates; a veneration for the Creator, the
religion of good works, and grateful acknowledgment of God's blessings.
(Morals and Dogma, p.333)
In order for Masonry to be acceptable to all faiths, it is necessary
to relegate the Bible to a position of equality among all religious
books:
The Book of the Law shall be an indispensable article of the lodge
furniture. This book, however, need not necessarily be the Holy Bible;
but according to the religious faith of the members of the lodge. It
may be the Koran, the Zend Avesta, or the Vedas or Shasters. (The
Freemasons Pocket Companion, p.44-45)
This statement, by implication, makes Jehovah God one god equal to
many; an interesting situation for the Masonic Christian whose
all-knowing God knows of no others (Isaiah 44:8).
The final straw is laid on the proverbial camel's back when the
deity of Jesus is denied by Albert Pike. On page 524 of Morals and
Dogma, he states,
We do not undervalue the importance of any Truth. We utter no word
that can be deemed irreverent by anyone of any faith.
(Jesus, in John 14:6, declares Himself to be the Truth,
exclusively.) In the same paragraph, Pike make the blasphemous
statement,
And as little do we tell the sincere Christian that Jesus of
Nazareth was but a man like us, or His history but the unreal revival
of an older legend.
In one paragraph, he destroys the very foundation of Christian
beliefs and then, as if he was totally oblivious to his own writings,
states on the facing page,
Thus Masonry disbelieves no truth, and teaches unbelief in no creed,
except so far as such creed may lower its lofty estimate of the Deity,
degrade Him to the level of the passions of humanity. (Morals and
Dogma, p.525)
The Gospel of the Bible is a gift to us from God and available to
all who simply believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer, the one
who died for sins and is resurrected. Christianity does not require a
special meeting place to conduct secret rituals that are sealed with
blood oaths. (Matthew 5:34-37; Luke 12:1-3) At your next lodge meeting,
ask yourself if you are worshiping the Great Architect of the Universe,
the God of all religions, or are you truly worshiping Jehovah God, the
one true God of the Bible. If your answer is the latter, then you must
ask yourself if your presence in the lodge is truly honoring and
glorifying your God.
In answer to the question, "Who said a Christian can't be a Mason?",
a modern paraphrase could be made from the words of God's prophet
Elijah:
How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the
Lord is God, follow Him; but if the "Great Architect of the Universe"
isGod, follow him." (1 Kings 18:21)
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name
(besides Jesus) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Acts 4:12; Mark 4:9)