6.30 pm, Sunday 9 August 1998

It's difficult to determine the origins of the Masonic Lodge, also known as Freemasonry. Some Masons claim that Adam and Eve were the first Masons, and that the fig leaves they wore were the society's first aprons!

The earliest historical records of the practice of Freemasonry date from London in 1717, with the first minutes of a Masonic meeting at 1723. Around this time James Anderson wrote his Constitutions, a revision of a 14th century stonemason's Christian guidebook. Through the 18th and 19th centuries Lodges sprang up all over Britain and its colonies, as well as the United States.

Freemasons progress through a series of degrees involving secret oaths and rituals. All Masons are initiated into the "Blue Lodge," consisting of three degrees. Upon completion of the third degree the candidate attains the rank of "Master Mason."

From this point a Mason may pursue further degrees through one of two paths: the "York Rite" or the more popular "Scottish Rite." There are also affiliated minor orders.

We'll approach the subject of Freemasonry by examining three questions. Is Freemasonry a religion or merely a fraternal society? Is it compatible with Christianity? And what public statements have mainstream Christian denominations made regarding their members' involvement in Freemasonry?

** 1. Is Freemasonry a religion or merely a fraternal society? **

The New Dictionary of Theology (Leicester: IVP, 1988) defines a religion as "belief in God or gods, together with the practical results of such a belief as expressed in worship, ritual, a particular view of the world and of the nature and destiny of man, and the way someone ought to live his daily life" (p. 575).

Some Masons argue that their society is not a religion but merely a fraternal society. We can apply this definition to their beliefs and practices, looking at their own writings, to identify whether Freemasonry is secular or religious.

If it is a religion, then Christian Freemasons need to explain why they practice another religion, no matter how compatible it is with Christian faith.

First, as to belief in God or gods, the first degree candidate is asked, "In whom do you put your trust?" and he answers, "In God."

According to Manly Hall, a 33rd degree Mason, the brothers should "enter the temple (i.e. Lodge) in reverence, for it is in truth the dwelling place of a Great Spirit, the Spirit of Masonry" (The Lost Keys of Freemasonry (Richmond: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1976) 100).

Second, regarding the expression of religious belief in ritual, worship, worldview and human destiny, the testimony is equally convincing. "Our lodges stand on holy ground," says the First Degree Ritual, Tracing Board (p. 76), "because the first lodge was consecrated by three grand offerings thereon made, which met with Divine approbation (Abraham, David and Solomon). Those three did then, do now, and I trust ever will, render the ground of Freemasonry holy."

Hall, in The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, states that "the mason must realise that his true initiation is a spiritual and not a physical ritual" (p. 34). In The Worshipful Master and What He Should Know (A. Lewis Publishers, 1975), G. Blakey explains that "the hoodwink [ritual blindfold?] represents the darkness before birth, before education and spiritual enlightenment" (p. 32).

As Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia reveals, Freemasons even have special funeral rites: "a religious service to commit the body of a deceased brother to the dust whence it came and to speed the liberated spirit back to the Great Source of Light. Many Freemasons make this flight with no other guarantee of a safe landing than their belief in the religion of Freemasonry" (New York: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1961) 512.

Third, do the religious beliefs of Freemasonry influence a member's daily life? They do. In the first degree ritual, a candidate receives a 24-inch gavel, symbolising the extent and cost of his work, and a compass to remind him that "perseverance is necessary to establish perfection, that the rude material can receive its fine polish from repeated efforts alone, and that nothing short of indefatigable exertion can induce the habit of virtue, enlighten the mind, and purify the soul" (First Degree Ritual, Working Tools, pp. 71-72).

A Freemason's daily life is also influenced by the spiritual power of the first three degrees: "There he stands (outside) our portals, on the threshold of this new Masonic life, in darkness, helplessness, and ignorance. Having been wandering amid the errors and covered only with the pollutions of the outer and profane world, he comes inquiringly to our doors, seeking the new birth, and asking a withdrawal of the veil which conceals divine truth from his uninitiated sight" (A. Mackey, A Manual of the Lodge (New York: Charles Merrill, 1870) 20).

The Masonic Encyclopedia admits that, like Christianity, Freemasonry is also a religion, and that "the difference between a Lodge and a church is one of degree and not of kind" (Coil, Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 512; cf Lyndon Ellis, Blinded By the Lie, p. 42).

Freemasonry involves a belief in an all-powerful deity, the practice of prayers, pledges, oaths, hymns, readings from sacred literature, a particular view of human destiny, and teachings on sin, salvation and ethical action.

There is no doubt that Freemasonry is a religion. The question is: why do Christians who are also Freemasons practise a rival religion? Is it really another religion? Is Freemasonry incompatible with Christian faith?

** 2. Is Freemasonry compatible with Christianity? **

Many Christians who are Freemasons have researched neither its teachings nor its practices. What does Freemasonry teach about major Christian doctrines?

Freemasonry regards sacred books of other religions, such as the Koran, as equivalent to the Bible; and it expresses something less than commitment to the Bible itself: "the Bible, with all the allegories it contains, expresses, in an incomplete manner only, the religious science of the Hebrews" (A. Pike, Morals and Dogma (Charlestown: Southern Jurisdiction of the US, Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, 1958) 744).

Although when he wrote to the churches of Galatia, Paul did not have Freemasonry in mind, his words are pertinent to our present subject: "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all . . . If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned"! (Galatians 1:6-7a, 9b; cf 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Belief in God is essential to Freemasonry, but God is understood as the "Great Architect of the Universe," the "All-Seeing Eye," or the "Great Spirit." As Ellis says, "Freemasonry doesn't teach its members to have a relationship with Jesus, or with the Holy Spirit . . . But the Father of Freemasonry is absent, silent, violent, non-expressive, partial, prejudiced, and a perfectionist" (p. 160).

Still more significant, Freemasons believe that different religions acknowledge the same God, even if their members address him by different names. The Masonic Quarterly Bulletin of July 1915, for example, stated that Freemasonry "invites to its altar men of all faiths, knowing that, if they use different names for ‘the Nameless One of a hundred names,' they are praying to the one God and Father of all" (p. 17).

Contrast this to the explicit words of the first Commandment: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3; cf Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 4:10).

Regarding Jesus Christ, Freemasons emphasise his ethical teaching but marginalise or ignore his deity, his saving work, and his participation in the trinity of persons who form the one God of Christianity. They also place Jesus on a par with other great religious leaders: "[Freemasonry] reverences all the great reformers. It sees in Moses, the Lawgiver of the Jews, in Confucius and Zoroaster, in Jesus of Nazareth, and in the Arabian Iconoclast, great teachers of morality, and eminent reformers, if no more: and allows every brother of the Order to assign to each such higher and even divine character as his creed and truth require" (Pike, Morals and Dogma, 525).

The New Testament writers were unanimous in their affirmation that Jesus Christ was and is unique, and that his mission was equally unique, and that he was quite unlike other religious teachers. It is Jesus alone who died and rose again; it is Jesus alone of whom Paul declared: "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

In contrast to evangelical Christianity, Freemasonry denies the doctrines of original sin and human depravity. For example, in Carl Claudy's Little Masonic Library (vol. 4; 1946: 51), we're told that "The perfection is already within. All that is required is to remove the roughness and the excrescences [i.e. abnormal growth], ‘divesting our hearts and consciences of all devices and superfluities of life' to show forth the perfect man and Mason within. Thus the gavel becomes also the symbol of personal power."

Notice the emphasis on personal betterment and working toward perfection, which is said to be innate and within our grasp. The Bible teaches that none of us is righteous; in fact, we are slaves to sin until we ask Jesus to free us and forgive us (see Romans 3:23; 6:22-23; John 8:31-36). Likewise, John says: "If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).

If Freemasonry adopts the view of secular humanism in relation to our sins, neither does it offer any clear plan for human salvation. All it really offers is a vague allusion in the Masonic funeral service "to a certain ‘pass' whereby we may obtain entrance into the Grand Lodge above . . . (and) immortality. We are told that this pass is the pass of a pure and blameless life" (Ball, The Builder, 1:287). Contrast this with Romans 1:16-17; John 14:1-6).

Freemasonry also shares commonalities with witchcraft and the occult. In his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, A. Mackey reveals that "much light, it must be confessed, is thrown on many of the mystical names in the higher degrees by these dogmas of magic; and hence magic furnishes a curious and interesting study for the Freemason" (Philadelphia: McClure, 1924: 459).

Some occult rituals and practices adopted by Freemasonry - and carrying with them their occult symbolism - include the twelve star signs on the roof of a Masonic Lodge; the serpent eating its tail; circumambulation; the inverted five-pointed star; the equilateral triangle and other geometric shapes; the point within a circle; the speaking of mantras and of sacred words not mentioned in the Bible; the east-west alignment of Masonic Lodges; the three basic degrees of initiation; and the practice of striking a blindfolded initiate on the head before giving him new light (see also J.F. Newton, ‘The degrees of Masonry,' Little Masonic Library (vol. 4; 1946: 171-252)).

The Bible forbids believers to be involved in any form of witchcraft or occultism (see Deuteronomy 18:10-11; Exodus 7-8; Leviticus 19:31; 1 Samuel 28).

Many evangelical Christians also see conflicts between Freemasonry and biblical teaching in the areas of the taking of secret oaths and the practice of racism among Freemasons.

** 3. What public statements have mainstream Christian denominations made ** regarding their members' involvement in Freemasonry?

Interestingly, the only avowedly Christian tradition that is not permitted to participate in Freemasonry, so far as I know, is Mormonism, many of whose rituals bear strong similarity to those practiced in Masonic Lodges.

On the other hand, most Christian churches forbid members to be involved in Masonic Lodges. The Roman Catholic church has long opposed Freemasonry. Again, so far as I know, no Christian denomination in the world that has undertaken a serious investigation of Freemasonry this century has subsequently affirmed the involvement of Christians in the Lodge.

The Lutheran Church of Australia has stated that "all organisations, whether secret and oath-bound or open, which are either avowedly religious, or practise the forms of religion, without confessing as a matter of principle the Triune God and Jesus Christ as the Son of God come in the flesh and our Saviour from sin . . . are anti-Christian" (Doctrinal Statements and Theological Opinions, 1956).

The Baptist Union of Scotland concluded that "total obedience to Christ precludes joining any organisation such as the Masonic movement which seems to demand a whole-hearted allegiance to itself, and at the same time refuses to divulge all that is involved in that allegiance prior to joining . . . The initiate is required to commit himself to Masonry in a way that a Christian should only commit himself to Christ" (1965).

The Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland concluded its inquiry into Freemasonry by declaring that "there is an inherent incompatibility between Freemasonry and the Christian faith. Also that commitment within the movement is inconsistent with a Christian's commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord" (1988).

The Presbyterian Church of Queensland noted that "Freemasonry transgresses the first three Commandments by its use of titles and attributes of God not revealed in Scripture" (The Lodge and Presbyterianism, 1987: 20)).

Its Victorian counterpart went further in its 1997 Assembly Minutes: "[We] declare Freemasonry to be totally incompatible with Christianity and therefore sinful . . . [We] request all ministers and elders to act pastorally in the church in a manner appropriate to their situation for the help and deliverance of Freemasons."

Similar statements have been made by the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Salvation Army (both in Australia and at its 1991 International Leaders' Conference), and by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney.

In the face of such united opposition by Christian denominations to their members' involvement in Freemasonry, and in the face of the fact that Christianity is incompatible with Freemasonry on biblical and theological grounds, it is surprising that - apparently - no Baptist Union in Australia has made a public declaration on the issue one way or the other.

One thing is certain: Baptist churches in Australia are not exempt from the influence of Freemasonry, and many Australian Baptist churches have members who are also Freemasons.

In the United States, a resolution at the Southern Baptist Convention in the mid-1980s questioned the compatibility of Freemasonry with the denomination's doctrinal statements. Many Southern Baptist ministers and laypeople were practising Freemasons, and the resolution caused quite a stir.

The Convention directed the Home Mission Board to study the issue, but the Board side-stepped the issue, claiming that Freemasonry did not fall within the scope of its responsibilities since the Board's own Interfaith Witness Department did not recognise Freemasonry as a religion!

Eventually, in 1992, the Southern Baptist Convention formally directed the Interfaith Witness Department itself to study the compatibility of Southern Baptist and Masonic doctrine.

In March 1993 the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention published a report on Freemasonry. The report commended Freemasonry for its works of charity and education, and for upholding values such as honesty, integrity, industry and moral character; and noted several incompatibilities, such as the use of offensive titles such as "Worshipful Master," bloody oaths and obligations, the pagan and occult nature of many of the writings of past Masons, the Bible's shared role among other items in Masonic temples, the doctrine of salvation by works, the doctrine of universalism (i.e. that all will be saved), and the refusal of most American Masonic Lodges to admit African Americans to membership.

The report concluded with a strangely ambivalent statement reminiscent of the style of Sir Humphrey in Yes, Prime Minister: "In light of the fact that many tenets and teachings of Freemasonry are not compatible with Christianity and Southern Baptist doctrine, while others are compatible . . . we therefore recommend that consistent with our denomination's deep convictions regarding the priesthood of the believer and the autonomy of the local church, membership in a Masonic Order be a matter of personal conscience" ("A Report on Freemasonry" by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, reproduced in Christian News 31 (21), 24 May 1993: 3).

One of the ironies of this finding is that its faulty logic can be applied to Jehovah's Witnesses, yet Southern Baptists do not allow participation and cooperation of their members with Witnesses "as a matter of personal conscience"!

It seems to me that the otherwise stringently evangelical Southern Baptists have found it necessary to compromise their doctrine and witness when it comes to associations with Freemasonry. The lesson for Baptists in Australia is not to fall into the same trap when the issue is raised within our fellowships.

As I said at the beginning of this series of messages, if our churches were properly fulfilling our mission, many people would not need to have their felt needs met by cults and pseudo-Christian organisations. We have a biblical mandate to minister to the whole needs of people in our communities: spiritual, emotional, social and physical needs.

If you're personally involved in Freemasonry, do some research and decide where your allegiance lies. If you have friends or family who are involved, share with them your reservations and beliefs, and pray for them.

If you're approached by a Mason and encouraged to join, it pays to be prepared; ask some leading questions, and expect some serious and honest answers.

You owe it to yourself, and to those you influence, to seek the truth and to live in the light - the Light of the One true God who has fully revealed himself in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, who has died for your sins and who alone is able to free you from slavery, turn your darkness into light, and offer you the hope of eternal life.

Copyright © 1998 Rod Benson. All rights reserved. Sermon 180 presented at Blakehurst Baptist Church, Sydney, Australia, on Sunday 9 August 1998. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

[References to the experience of a Uniting Church minister friend with parishioners who were also Freemasons, and to an interview with an ex-Freemason during the service in which this sermon was preached, have been deleted from the text]

Recommended reading: Lyndon Ellis, How to Tell If You've Been Blinded By the Lie (Mt Walker, Qld: Wagtail Graphics, 1997). George A. Mather & Larry A. Nichols, Masonic Lodge (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995). L. James Rongstad, How to Respond to the Lodge (St Louis: Concordia, 1977).

[To order Lyndon Ellis' book, call (07) 3288 7799 or write to 49 Edwards St, FLINDERS VIEW 4305 AUSTRALIA.]