Realize it is a Spiritual Issue

We have been told that Freemasonry and secret societies in general are social organizations with an emphasis on charity.  We have been told that they are a way to make connections and succeed in business.  Although the above statements may be true, they do not represent a complete picture of the lodge system in America.

Freemasonry and many secret societies are carefully devised systems of spiritual and moral teachings that have developed over time.  A unifying factor within secret societies is the concept of initiation and ritual.  A central theme in many secret societies is that of ceremonial death and rebirth. The fertility religions of Greece, Egypt, and Rome figure prominently in many.  In addition, these secret societies often employ loose themes from the Old and New Testaments.  

Freemasonry thus develops a syncretistic approach to spiritual things, borrowing from many sources.  It is a mosaic of differing belief systems, including the esoteric.  There is a quiet thread that ties many secret societies together - a mystical element with roots in the western magical tradition.  A quick example of this tie is the reliance on the Kabbala by the Scottish Rite.

In his book, Morals and Dogmas, on page 372, Albert Pike, a leading 19th century Mason, affirms that “magic” was supplanted erroneously by “faith” as Christianity emerged out of Judaism. 

Freemasonry, according to Pike, wants to turn back the clock.  Men and women who have been initiated in Freemasonry and its allied societies have taken oaths to protect and cherish these truths.

God clearly warns His people about idolatry. 

The words of Job seem especially noteworthy:

"If I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon in its splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high."  (Job 31:26,27) 

In the eighth chapter of Ezekiel, we read of the twenty-five men bowing down to the sun.  The sun and moon were the two primary objects of worship during these ancient times.  The sun was the visible representation of a male deity, and the moon was its female counterpart.  These individuals were looking to a deity which manifested itself as the sun. 

It was at this time that the Lord’s Glory left the Temple.  It is interesting that Freemasonry freely uses representations of solar and lunar deities in its monitors and rituals.  Other secret societies, such as the Grange, make constant use of Roman pagan deities such as Ceres, Flora, and Pomona.  Christians should remember that failure to recognize deities as the ones now featured in the Grange could have caused a 1st century Christian to lose his or her life.

This is a serious spiritual issue and should be treated as such.