| Introduction
Freemasonry is back on the front burner. The success of works such as The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure only affirm that people are hungry for answers. Secular historians have quietly been joining the discussion, publishing works such as The Secret Architecture of the Nation’s Capital. Churches are dusting off old discussions and asking questions about the content of Masonry’s teachings.
My purpose in developing this website is not to attack Masonry, but rather to examine the compatibility, or lack of it, between the Lodge and Christianity. I affirm that Masons do many wonderful acts of charity and are generally upstanding members of the community. At issue, however, is whether a Christian can fully believe the teachings of the Lodge and the teachings of Jesus at the same time. It is my belief that an examination of the teachings of the Lodge and the Bible place the two on a collision course from the beginning. Freemasonry at a GlanceFreemasonry is a secret society. It is a carefully designed system of spiritual and philosophical teachings developed and refined over the last three centuries. Members are progressively presented with a weave of paganism, occultism, and semi-biblical story lines within the monitors, teachings, and rituals of the Lodge. Core doctrines are gradually revealed through initiation rites, which contain moral dramas, mystical symbols, teachings and oaths. Men will join the Lodge for many reasons. Many join to gain business contacts; others join to carry on a family tradition. Some are attracted to the charitable aspects of the organization. Some, indeed, join Freemasonry because they are aware of its esoteric teaching. Freemasonry consists of a number of different rites unified in core beliefs. In addition to this organization, a number of groups are related enough to these core teachings that they require Masonic initiation prior to application. It is reported that there are at least 160 organizations in this category.1 Freemasonry is considered to be the largest secret society in the world and the parent system for hundreds of ensuing fraternal orders. It is estimated that there are about 2 million Masons in the U.S., accounting for 40% of the world count. Affiliated Masonic bodies include the Blue Lodge, The Scottish Rite, the York Rite, the Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, Royal Arch Masons, Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem, Social Order of the Beaucent, Shriners, DeMolay, Rainbows, Amaranth, Job’s daughters, Grottoes, and the Tall Cedars. Freemasonry does not allow women in many of its organizations and has not historically been friendly to minorities. Freemasonry begins with the Blue Lodge. The Blue Lodge confers degrees 1-3, and completed initiates are called Master Masons. There are approximately 1,800,000 Blue Lodge Masons in the United States. A majority of Blue Lodge Masons will advance to either the Scottish Rite or the York Rite. These two ladders give more insight into Masonic light and use different degree systems. Before the year 2000, a prerequisite of Shrine membership was completion of the either the Scottish Rite or York Rite system. The Lodge: An American InstitutionFreemasonry's impact on America has been profound. Many of America’s founding fathers were Masons. George Washington and many of his closest generals were Masons. At least 42% of the generals commissioned by the Continental Congress were Masons, or soon would become Masons.2 George Washington was sworn into office by a Past Master of New York on a Bible brought from a Masonic Lodge.3 A total of fourteen presidents were members of the Craft. Its influence can be seen in the planning of the Federal District as well as the dedication of many of the nation’s public monuments and buildings. Masonic symbols can be found on the dollar bill as well as the Great Seal of the United States. The Capital building of the new republic was dedicated by George Washington dressed in a Masonic apron using craft symbols of oil, corn, and wine. A silver plate identified the new republic with Freemasonry, as the inscription read, "in the thirteenth year of American independence…and in the year of Masonry, 5793.”4 It is estimated that by 1880, 20% of American males were initiated into lodges based on the Masonic model.5 It is no wonder that from 1941 to 1971 more than half of the Supreme Court Justices were Masons.6 To quote David Thomas, founder of Wendy’s International, “There is no doubt in my mind that Masonry is the cornerstone of America.”7 It hasn't been all good press. People have raised questions concerning the oaths, the teachings, and the exclusivity of the Masonic Lodge. Early in America's history, President John Quincy Adams questioned the secret alliances in Freemasonry and saw it as a threat to a fair judiciary and democracy.8 The Morgan affair in the early part of the 19th century led to a nation asking why Masons would silence a brother in such a brutal manner. William Morgan, a Mason, threatened to publish the secrets of the first three degrees, the Blue Lodge. He mysteriously vanished, with his body never being found. In addition, revivalist Charles Finney and President Blanchard of Wheaton College warned a 19th century church of the paganism in the Lodge. Finney, himself a former Mason, shared that the awakening that touched the northeastern United States was a direct result of churches waking up to the incompatibility of the Lodge and Christianity.9 Roots of FreemasonryFreemasonry as a fraternal secret society officially began with the founding of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717.10 Theories as to its roots are as varied as authors, although certain key points seem to be mutually accepted. It is believed that Freemasonry as a secret society arose out of the practical masons, who operated as stone workers' guilds during the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. So-called speculative masons joined these guilds as observers in the 17th century. They applied an esoteric meaning to the stone workers' tools and applied them to their own lives. Soon, speculative masons began to outnumber practical masons. Suddenly those working in the guilds were not building edifices but rather mystical knowledge. The result was that the guilds shifted to a home for esoteric philosophy rather than actual craftsmen. In addition, various authors have traced the roots of the fraternity to the Rosicrucian Order, which seemed to have vanished as the Masonic Lodges began to flourish. Others have suggested that the Knights Templar tradition became the catalyst for the movement as it began in Scotland. Masons themselves like to believe that their Craft has an unbroken chain of adherents from the days of Noah, through Solomon, and others. In this way, great biblical figures such as John the Baptist are claimed to be Masons. Freemasonry blossomed in European culture at a time that witnessed a revival of interest in the classics and also in the occult. The Renaissance and Romantic periods created a seedbed of acceptance of the esoteric in Freemasonry. Mythical deities of Greece and Rome adorned high art and architecture throughout the period and were found in the works of the literary greats of the day. An additional root of Freemasonry oft mentioned is the Cabala. A link with this Jewish book of the occult can be seen in the higher degrees of Freemasonry. Interest in the Cabala grew in Spanish soil in the 12th century and slowly began to permeate Europe in both Jewish and non-Jewish circles. It may be suggested that, at the core, Freemasonry is the Cabala developed for a Christian milieu. In Their Own Words...Many attempts to gain an understanding of the Craft through past Masonic leaders are met with a disclaimer: no one person speaks for Masonry. This conveniently casts to the side unusual statements made by people like Pike, Mackey, and Manly Hall. What does speak for the Craft, however, are monitors that have been used through the years. Monitors are refined over the decades and may shift slightly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Still, monitors are a snapshot of the teachings of the Craft at a given period of time. Freemasonry must remain true to itself generation after generation, or it, in effect, ceases to be Masonry. The material presented herein will therefore use a collection of monitors as sources, with only sparing references to past Masons. The monitors will answer questions such as, "How can the Lodge be rooted in the occult, when the Bible is placed upon the altar?" and "How can the Lodge be pagan, when biblical references run through many of the degrees?" Masonic apologists attempt to paint anyone with questions as intolerant, ignorant, or just parroting lies. It is not intolerant to ask questions, it is not ignorant to seek answers, and it is not the parroting of lies when material is gleaned from their own sources, in the form of Masonic documents written to advanced Masons in the Craft. Freemasonry: A ReligionJust what is Freemasonry? It is a difficult question to answer, as the subject is so complex. An official definition from Mackey’s Lexicon of Freemasonry states it is a “beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.”11 But Mackey’s definition is just an outward definition, for as the initiate goes deeper, he uncovers the mystical nature of the Craft. Symbols are a primary means of teaching, and their meanings are quite complex. Often, the meaning of a symbol may shift through progress of degrees. Freemasonry, as is shown in their own documents, requires that the whole truth is not revealed at once, as initiates are deemed not yet ready to receive it. It may be startling for some to realize that scholars routinely place Freemasonry and its sister organizations firmly within the Western esoteric, or occult, tradition. In his book, Triumph of the Moon, author Ronald Hutton suggests that it was the structure of the secret society that bridged the world of magic and the occult into the modern age.12 Further affirming the link between Freemasonry and witchcraft, Hutton writes: "In an important sense, modern pagan witchcraft was to be the last (or at least the latest) outgrowth from the tradition which has begun with the Mason’s Word.”13 Many of the world’s foremost occultists such as Alphas Levi, Gerald Gardner, and Aleistar Crowley were Masons.14 Christians, and especially those in the Lodge, must ask why these men were so comfortable with the teachings and symbols of the Lodge. If it is true that Freemasonry constructs the altar by which all men can worship, how do Christians justify joining hands with those so deeply in witchcraft? Freemasonry gathers itself under a belief in the universal fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Although this seems quite benign on the outside, further teachings reveal a distinct religious system with a well-formulated systematic theology. There are specific definitions and concepts concerning deity, salvation, mankind, end times, evil, the temple, and the nature of the world around us. Indeed, all the subjects taught in any classic systematic theology can also be found, though changed, in Freemasonry. Freemasonry carries many words in sympathy with Christianity, but it generally changes the meanings. Freemasonry states publicly that it is not a religion, but in its monitors it suggests something quite different. It is indeed full of religious material, from the Blue Lodge to the Scottish Rite. That religious material is at odds with Christianity. Freemasons are in the membership of churches. This, in effect, places Freemasonry in the organization of churches. The film National Treasure reinforces the impact of secret societies on the church in America. The premise is simple: that the Knights Templar, and in their legacy the Masons, left a treasure in the founding of the United States. The treasure, as the film suggests through its location in Trinity Church, is at the base of the church in America. The treasure apparently came from Jerusalem through the Temples, but a glance at the contents in the movie gives a different picture. The treasure of the Temples deposited at the base of Trinity Church represents the accumulated storehouse of esoteric wisdom from Greece, Egypt, and the fertility religions of the Near East.
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