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HOUSMAIL
HM033
27 August 1999 CAN A CHRISTIAN BE A FREEMASON? If any
of my readers are FREEMASONS let me hasten to assure you that I have no wish
to offend. But
I AM exercising my right to freedom of speech, to say here that I do not
believe that membership of the Freemasons is in any way compatible with the
TRUE Abrahamic Faith revealed in the Bible. Some
Masons may disagree with my generalised description of the "craft"
given here. Given the wide variations in emphasis and practice encountered
from place to place, it is inevitable that this short paper cannot satisfy
all of them. Its purpose is simply to highlight a few of the issues which I
believe should be regarded as totally inconsistent with being a disciple of
Jesus. IS
FREEMASONRY A RELIGION? Freemasons
will claim that it is not. Personally, I think they are confused about what
constitutes a religion! However, the point is not worth arguing. Religion or
not, there are "Rituals" in Freemasonry, and things associated with
those Rituals, which are totally incompatible with the religion of those who
espouse the Abrahamic Faith. Just a few of these are discussed below. GOD
AND FREEMASONS It is
a condition of entry to membership that applicants believe in a "supreme
being" of some sort.[1] It does not matter which "god" that is, so long as
there is one! It is possible to encounter lodges where the membership is
exclusively "Christian". There are others where the mix can include
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and anyone else who believes in a
"god" of some sort as a supreme being. An atheist cannot
become a Mason! To
avoid giving offence to a membership comprised of mixed faiths, Masons refer
to "God" as "Supreme Architect of the Universe". It is
left to the individual member to decide in their own heart which
"god" they mean by the term. For some, it could be the Christian
God, but for others in the same lodge, it could just as easily be Buddha, Ra,
Molech, Baal, or even Satan! For
a Christian to place himself in a situation where it is a condition of
membership that all "gods" are assumed to be of equal worth, is
a denial of Abrahamic Faith! It falls far short of our calling to
proclaim the Father of Jesus as the ONE TRUE GOD, (John 17:3) and Jesus as the ONLY NAME under Heaven whereby
salvation can be found. (Acts 4:12) Personally, I regard THAT as a VERY serious
"unequal yoking". (2 Corinthians 3:14) PRAYER
IN THE NAME OF JESUS Prayers
are said as a regular part of Masonic rituals. In most lodges, except those
which are exclusively "Christian", prayer "in the name of
Jesus" is forbidden, to avoid giving offence to members who are not
Christian. OATHS Applicants
are required to take an OATH of secrecy before admittance to membership .....
AND BEFORE THEY KNOW WHAT THOSE SECRETS ARE! The oath must be sworn on the
Bible, or whatever other book is held sacred in the religion of the
applicant. The usual oath contains terrible consequences, including DEATH,
for those who break it. Masons
today will claim that the penalties of the oath, are "symbolic
only", and that no one is killed for violating the oaths of Masonry.
However, that is not the real issue! For
anyone committed to follow Jesus, the swearing of any oath at all, is a
breach of a prior covenant. And that SIN is doubly compounded when it is
known that an oath sworn before God, is only "symbolic". THAT makes
it an intentional UNTRUTH, which is a far cry from "let your yea be yea"! (Matthew 5:37) THE
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL Whether
or not Freemasonry acknowledges itself as a religion, one Masonic source I
found confirms that belief in the "Immortality of The Soul" is a
condition of membership![1] In Lodges
where that is so, any who profess Abrahamic Faith in Conditional Immortality,
could only become members by denying their faith! Belief
in the Immortality of the Soul is built into Masonic Funeral rites.[2] CHURCH
ELDERS AND FREEMASONRY I
have read statistics which claim that in some parts of the world, as many as
15% of Church members, are also members of a Lodge. That indicates widespread
ignorance of the incompatibilities between Christianity and Freemasonry. It
also means that those who preach and teach, are certain, sooner or later, to
encounter some for whom acceptance of the Gospel will mean severing their
membership in a Masonic Lodge. It pays to be prepared in advance to help new
converts with that decision. Church
Elders who become aware of Masons in their own Churches, will need to
consider very seriously, just how that could compromise the witness by their
Church, for the Gospel Of the Kingdom Of God. Occasionally
one hears of cases where Church elders, and even pastors, are active members
of the Freemasons. I find that very sad. I certainly don't want to start a
war about this! But it is my personal conviction that shepherds who do not
know what is wrong with that, fall short of the qualifications described by
Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and Titus 1:5-9. CONCLUSION Freemasonry
claims that it is not a religion. However, it insists that all
"gods" are equal. Religion
or not, that is support for a FALSE GOSPEL. The only real Gospel is about THE
SON OF THE ONE TRUE GOD. Worship of all other "gods" leads only to
eternal death. And
when that is coupled with the Immortality of the Soul, it offers a FALSE
HOPE, which is no hope at all. The only real hope of immortality offered by
the Gospel, depends on the resurrection of our bodies. Allon Notes
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