Freemasonry & Christianity!

Some Christian groups have taken the view that their particular denomination is the only true church and that all other religions are false, that their church is the guardian of the morals of the world, and that there is no such thing as neutrality. They take the position that if you are not within the fold of their Church you are, by necessity, an opponent to it. The truth about the matter is that it is these particular Churches that are against Freemasonry while the Craft always retains a neutral position related to any specific religion.

Freemasonry has no official voice. Its members are free to act and think as they deem best. If any individual Mason, in the exercise of his right of free speech, makes any statement against any church it is not the Craft that is speaking. The Ancient Landmarks, which are the basis and fundamental law of Freemasonry, clearly and emphatically state that the Craft is not to take part in any religious or political movement, discussion, or position. Each member must follow the dictates of his own conscience in these matters.

Some ultra-conservative Protestant devotees of the Holy Bible have taken the position that any organization that does not include Christ is by necessity anti-Christian. They urge the point that using the Holy Bible in a lodge and not recognizing Christ as the one and only God is irreligious; they also claim that permitting Jews and others to be in the same group while there is prayer and reverence is sacrilegious. All that can be said of these Christians is that they have studied the words of Christ and closed their hearts to the spirit of toleration that pervades the gentle teachings of the Master. That men of every creed can meet in harmony is the credit of Freemasonry; that these religious extremists cannot accept the existence of so tolerant a group as the Masons is to their discredit.

We quote from the speech of M.W. Thomas S. Roy, D.D., now Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts:

"When Freemasonry accepts a Christian, or a Jew, or a Buddhist, or a Mohammedan, it does not accept him as such, but as a man, worthy to be received into the Order. We ask him to pledge himself to the highest and holiest loyalty in his life to be true to his vows. To ask him to vow on a book in which he did not believe would be the kind of hypocrisy condemned by the highest teachings of the Christian religion. To say that we reject Christ because we do not mention him would be a reasonable as to say that we reject the prophecies of Isaiah because we do not mention them. It is the glory of Masonry that a man who believes implicitly in the deity of Christ, and a man who says he cannot go that far, can meet as brothers in their acknowledgement of the sovereignty of the Supreme Being, the Maker of Heaven and earth, and in acknowledgement of their duty to love Him with heart and mind and soul and strength. They can unite in fulfilling the great purpose of Freemasonry, the development of human character, and the establishment of the collective life of mankind in brotherhood. In doing this we dare to hope that we are more than neutral in helping the church in its great task.

"We are not a religion, and we are not anti-religious. We are a completely tolerant organization. We stand for the values that are Supreme in the life of the church, and we are sure that he who is true to the principles he learns in Freemasonry will be a better Church member because of it. Indeed, just the other day I heard the Rector of the largest Episcopal Church in another city say that he was a better Christian and a better Rector because of his Freemasonry. Freemasonry rightfully conceived and practiced will enhance every worthy loyalty in man's life. It will not weaken a man's loyalty to his Church, but will strengthen it by the increased sense of responsibility to God and dependence on God taught in our ritual. "It will not drain his strength from the service of the church, but increase his strength for the service of the church. It will not draw him away from the doctrine of his church, but stimulate his interest in the values of religion that enrich and ennoble the life of man."

The Reverend J. L. C. Dart, an Episcopal minister, in his article "Christianity and Freemasonry", printed in 'Theology' (a London magazine), in answer to the Hannah book said: "At present regular Freemasonry is not a separate religion, or a schism, withdrawing men from the Church into its organization. So far from doing that, it exhorts its members to discharge faithfully the duties of the particular religion to which they belong." And he concludes his article by saying: "I am a Catholic and a priest. If I believed that Freemasonry compromised either my allegiance to my Saviour, or my loyalty to His Church, I would drop it as I would a rattlesnake. But I know that it does not and I know what I am talking about."

The claim that Freemasonry is anti-religious is always made by those religions that are totalitarian in character. A religion that is ruled by an autocratic group, or takes the position that it is the only true religion, or that all others are wrong, cannot tolerate any group that takes a broad and sympathetic attitude towards all religions. These groups always take the position that there is no such thing as neutrality; you are either with us or, by necessity, you are against us. All reasonable minds will agree that there is such a thing as neutrality; that failure to agree does not necessarily mean that you are an opponent.

Much of the trouble in this world results from this autocratic attitude that one must agree with a certain church or be on the way to perdition.

It is worthy of note that there was no formal church opposition to Freemasonry prior to 1738. It is possible that this first Papal Bull was the result of a change in the rules of the Craft. Prior to 1717 the Ancient Charges admonished Masons to be "loyal to God and Holy Church". The Constitution of the 1717 Grand Lodge, in the liberal spirit of the age, changed this to read that a Mason be of that "religion in which all men agree."

Alec Mellor, a French lawyer and devout Roman Catholic who has become a member of the Craft, has given the matter serious attention and study and has expressed the opinion that the Encyclical of 1738 was issued because of political reasons.

It is sometimes claimed that Freemasonry encourages religious indifference. How can this be true when one of the main requirements of membership in a Masonic lodge is that the members believe in God? Many parts of the ritual teach reverence to God; the Bible is displayed in every lodge in Christian countries; and the sacred book of the particular place is an integral part of a lodge in other countries. On of the things that Freemasonry teaches that its members should be religious. But in the eyes of some churches this is not enough; in order to meet the approval of these churches, an organization must go one step further and must endorse this church and condemn all others. Freemasonry is determined in its view that its members must believe in God, and it is equally determined that these same members shall be free to select their own religions.

When these churches say that Masons are left free to attack the church it merely means that the mere lack of a specific prohibition against opposing this church must, of necessity, meant that the members will take it for granted that they can attack the church. Every Mason knows that there is nothing in Freemasonry that imposes a duty on them to attack any church. To the contrary, every Mason is taught that while he is free to follow his own religion he must also respect the religion of other men. These churches, on the other hand, do not recognize any such thing as religious tolerance or neutrality; they believe that one who is neutral must be opposed to the church as a matter of course.

The fact that so many clergymen of different denominations can be Masons and find no conflict in carrying on their duties is proof enough that Freemasonry is not a religion. The fact that most Masons belong to some church is additional proof that Freemasonry is not a religion. And if some men belong to no church and find enough spiritual strength in the ceremonies and philosophy of the Craft it is not the fault of Freemasonry. In these cases we should feel proud that the Craft is able to fill a void in the life of some persons who have been unable to find spiritual strength elsewhere.

The moral teachings of Freemasonry are in no way opposed to the gentle beliefs of Christianity. It is not possible to find any lesson taught in the ceremonies of Freemasonry that can be called anti-Christian. The basic principles of Freemasonry are the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. Are these not also the basic principles of Christianity?

Taken from an article written by Alphonse Cerza; 'LET THERE BE LIGHT"
Published by the Masonic Service Association.

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