Freemasonry Explained
Based upon research by Willie Martin
Table of Contents
Freemasonry
The Secrets of Freemasonry Are Not Taught In The Lodge
Jewish Elements In Freemasonry
How Far Modern Judaism is Identified with Freemasonry
Modern Judaism -- The Talmud
The Cabala
Occultism or Hermeticism
Judaism and the Origin of Freemasonry
Identity of Masonic and Cabalistic Theology
Special Jewish Rites in Freemasonry
Identity of Jewish and Masonic Anti-Christian Policy
Jews and Freemasons in Finance and in the Revolutionary Movement
Jews in the Inner Circles of Freemasonry
Growing Power of the Jews coequal with Growth of Freemasonry
Modern Examples of Judeo-Masonic Activities
Objectives of Jewish Masonic Policy
1. Freemasonry has its own revelation
2. Masonry has its own temples
3. Freemasonry has its altars
4. Masonry has its religious symbols and emblems
5. It has its confession of faith
6. Masonry has its own priests
7. The religion administered by these religious officials is Masonry
8. Masonry has its own peculiar religious forms
9. Masonry has its authorized rituals or book of forms
10. It has its own peculiar worship
11. Freemasonry has its own distinctive deity whom it worships and adores Christian ABC's
Freemasonry Explained -- Part 2
Freemasonry Explained -- Part 3
Freemasonry
"The governments of the present day," spoke Benjamin Disraeli, former Prime Minister of England, "have to deal not merely with other governments, with emperors, kings and ministers, but also with the secret societies which have everywhere their unscrupulous agents, and can at the last moment upset all the governments' plans."
"It is not emperors or kings, nor princes," said Cardinal Manning a year later, "that direct the course of affairs in the East (i.e. the Balkans). There is something else over them and behind them; and that thing is more powerful than they."
"Including almost every nation," wrote Leo XIII a quarter of a century still later, "in its immense grasp it unites itself with other sects of which it is the real inspiration and the hidden motive power. It first attracts and then retains its associates by the bait of worldly advantage which it secures for them. It bends governments to its will sometimes by promises, sometimes by threats. It has found its way into every class of society, and forms an invisible and irresponsible power, an independent government, as it were, within the body corporate of the lawful state."
All these words apply with even greater force today.
Within the bosom of almost every State in Europe and America there exist at the present time secret societies firmly established and actively functioning. Like a parasite embedded within the human body, which needs must be a constant source of pain, disease and unrest, these underground associations are something apart from the natural life and activities of the State.
They are linked up directly, or indirectly by a community of principles, aims and methods, with the great International Masonic Order, controled and financed from behind the scenes by the "Learned Elders of Zion". Aided by international finance, the press, and other more unscrupulous means, Freemasonry and allied forces can paralyze legitimate government activities and thwart its endeavors for the protection and prosperity of the people.
During the past two centuries Freemasonry has been an ever-growing power in European and American politics, taking an increasing role in directing the course of events, until today it is almost a super-government "bestriding our narrow world like a colossus."
Freemasonry is the central enemy of the Christian Church. The partial dechristianization of France, the unification of the German States under an anti-Christian hegemony (1871), the temporary destruction of the Papal monarchy, the Portuguese revolution, the constant upheavals and revolutions in South America, and the ruse of Bolshevism have all worked under the guidance and with the aid of secret societies among which Freemasonry is the paramount.
Today we see an apparent paradox wherein the government of the capitalistic United States aids and abets the disruptive and tyrannical measures of anti-Christian government of Mexico, which (unknown to the average American citizen), is avowedly Bolshevist in principle and aim, and openly professes a close alliance with Russia. We also see the capitalistic press in a conspiracy of silence or misrepresentation regarding Mexico.
The phenomena ceases to be strange when we recollect that the capitalistic press, the governments of America, Mexico and Russia, apparently antagonistic to one another in many ways, are all equally Masonic and more or less under Jewish control or influence.
Hence, in past years, when Italy and Spain attempted to revert from Liberalism to restore something of a Christian régime, the leaders of the movement in each case made it one of their first cares to suppress or expel the Masonic secret societies. The results are familiar to every student of contemporary history.
The forces of international Freemasonry (Judaism), through the press and the news agencies, have carried on a persistent campaign of misrepresentation against the newly established governments. Obstinate efforts were made in both countries to overthrow them by assassinations or uprisings; although in the meantime the restored Christian organizations, incomplete and confronted with difficulties as they were, had inaugurated a new era of security, prosperity and social peace. Freemasonry exerts its influence beyond political and military spheres as its more subtle and permeating activities are in the social and intellectual life of the people. During the past two hundred years Western society has become permeated by Masonic and Liberal principles which operate as a dissolvent on the whole Christian system.
The striking contrast between the tenor of the repeated Papal pronouncements on Freemasonry (the strength and uncompromising character of which have never weakened or wavered during the past two thousand years), and the attitude of so many well-meaning Christians towards it, seems to be an indication of the extent to which the Masonic and Liberal mentality has interpenetrated our public life. This attitude and the prevailing ignorance among the Christians' teaching as to the real character of Freemasonry, and Judaism, are an effect of the Masonic characteristic of Jewish methods; and which has led a great Christian publicist to say that modern so-called history is largely a conspiracy against the truth.
Mr. Belloc has called attention to the conspiracy of silence in regard to the "Jews" which is (or was until recent times) so noticeable in English society and English literature. Up to the post-war period, or at least up to the Russian revolution, there existed an unwritten rule prohibiting all special reference to the "Jews" as such; while all the time the leading members of the Jewish nation were silently interpenetrating the higher ranks of English, French and American society and gradually winning control of nearly the entire economic and political life of the three nations.
Nearly sixty years before, the penetrating mind of Bishop Ketteler had observed a similar phenomenon in regard to Freemasonry. German and French publicists, historians and university professors, themselves predominantly Masonic, scarcely ever referred to Freemasonry in their ordinary writings or public lectures; although some of these same men knew well, and actually described in works destined only for Masonic readers the dominating influence of the Masonic movement upon public life. "By a general consent or conspiracy," wrote Ketteler, "among European writers Freemasonry alone is regarded as a sacrosanct subject, which no one must touch upon. Everybody fears to speak of it as if it were a kind of evil spirit. This strange position of affairs is of itself a proof of the immense power which Freemasonry exercises in the world."
Although there is a considerable mass of continental literature, especially in French, German and Italian, dealing with Freemasonry from the Christian standpoint, there is very little of the kind in English.
Indeed, the seventeen-page article in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" by Herman Gruber, a German Jesuit, is (until this book), we believe, the only comprehensive study of Freemasonry in the English language. How small has been the interest taken in the subject among English speaking Christians is further illustrated by the fact that there is no English version of the Papal condemnations of Freemasonry.
All this would at first sight seem strange in view of the fact that the English speaking countries are the real stronghold of Freemasonry, while they contain at the same time countless Christians. The explanation is that the large Christian population, the greater part of which is of the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic people, nowhere forms a homogeneous Christian body maintaining its own Christian social system and traditions.
They are scattered over immense areas, intermingled with non-Christian or anti-Christian populations like the Christian communities of the early centuries within the Roman Empire: or if homogeneous, or mostly so as in America, they have had a Liberal social system forced upon them. They are thus largely out of touch with True Christian culture and tradition; and have to maintain a constant struggle in defense of the bare essentials of their Christian life. It is clear that in such circumstances a Christian social literature must be slow growing.
Apropos of all this the words of Ed Eckert, are worthy of consideration: "No statesman can understand the present epoch, nor the motives underlying international events, nor the developments in the political and social life of the nations, nor even the very meaning of certain current phrases and terms, in a word, he sees only the facts but cannot fathom their import, and knows not what attitude to adopt in their regard, unless he has made a profound study of Freemasonry and has made himself master of all that appertains to its character and activities."
It is peculiarly difficult to treat the subject of Freemasonry with justice and accuracy, and to avoid saying too little or too much. The veil of secrecy under which Freemasons usually strive to hide, not only their activities and aims, but even their moral and philosophic teaching; the ambiguous character of the formulas they employ; the apparent inconsistency of the policies they adopt of support at different times or in different places.
All conspire to make the subject obscure and elusive. Again, the ingrained belief of many Irish and English Christians, well informed in may other subjects, that Anglo-American and Irish Freemasonry is something different from Continental Freemasonry, and is comparatively harmless if not praiseworthy; and the fact that this belief is sincerely shared by many Freemasons themselves, make it harder to convince the average inquirer of the pernicious character of all Freemasonry, and the perils to religion and society, and above all to our own country, which it contains.
Martin L. Wagner in his book "Freemasonry" relates that: "The essence of Freemasonry, that in its peculiar religious ideas, and doctrines, has survived from the periods of remotest antiquity until the present time, and continues with a persistence that is marvelous."
"It is diffused over the whole habitable portion of the globe. Like the mysterious force or energy in nature upon which it is based, the essence or data has been constant, but the forms in which it has found expression, have varied in the different ages and among different people. The marvel lies in this persistence."
"Crushed in one form it arises in another. Outlawed or exposed in one institution it evades detection by taking refuge under a different name, ritual and symbolism. Though the old "temples" in which it thrived in the past ages have either been destroyed, or fallen into decay, it erects for itself a new one, in which it propagates its doctrines."
"Like that mysterious life energy in nature, which perpetually dying renews itself in like, similar, yet different forms, so its peculiar religious ideas and doctrines dying with the decadence of the old satellites reappear in like, similar yet different institutions and cults."
"In its modern form, and organization, Freemasonry has had a checkered career, although it seems to defy all forces that tend to disintegrate institutions. Nor do we expect that this Interpretation will materially diminish its strength, curb its power, or check its progress."
"So long as there is unregenerate human nature, so long will the root of Freemasonry find a congenial soil, and keep alive the organization in some form. Exposure may check it and induce many of its followers, who have been lured by its pretenses, to repudiate it, but the thing itself doubtless will continue to live in some form."
In 1826 when Wm. Morgan published his "Exposure" there were 50,000 Freemasons in the United States. On the strength of that exposure, 45,000 left the order, because they thought what Morgan made public was the essence of Freemasonry, whereas it was merely the form, the clothing, the cloak in which the real doctrine, was concealed and veiled.
Continental Masonry was little if any affected by Morgan's exposure because the craft there discerned the deeper meaning of the ritual and monitorial Lectures, while the comparatively few American Masons at that time, apprehended its true recondite teachings. These latter knew the Narrative, but not the Doctrine.
Since then the order has grown rapidly in numbers, popularity, and in influence, so that at present (1921) there are about 1,500,000 Masons in the United States and a great number in foreign countries. It has become a world wide organization, so that it is literally true that "in its language men of every land converse."
There is a reason for this persistence of Freemasonry, for this rapid recovery from what was then thought to be its death blow, and for this rapid growth. Masons contend, and we believe the contention is well founded, that Morgan's Exposure does not expose the essence, the doctrines of Freemasonry. Unless there be given the key to Freemasonry, these exposures are of no material value. They present only the exoteric side of Freemasonry.
To perceive the esoteric side, or the real teachings, the key for the interpretation of its ceremonies, allegories, and symbols is essential. These exposures by seceding Masons, exhibit only the trappings, in and under which the essence of Freemasonry, is concealed.
This essence of the institution, the real Freemasonry, does not consist of the forms, grips, ceremonies, symbols, nor of the ritualistic ceremonial, nor of the monitorial instruction. The real Freemasonry lies concealed beneath these, and is as densely veiled to the Mason as to the profane, and the key to it, "not one Mason in ten thousand possesses, not even suspects that it exists."
The Secrets of Freemasonry Are Not Taught In The Lodge
The facts upon which the ritual is based are old and have become obscure, or forgotten, or lost in the ritualistic accretions so that it is necessary for the Mason if he would understand Freemasonry, to recover that meaning.
The large majority of the craft do not comprehend these facts because of the dense veils thrown around them. They see and learn only the outward forms, and the less the ignorant Mason knows, the more will he admire and believe.
What then is this thing which constitutes the mystic tie that holds its adherents in such a compact brotherhood? What is it that defeats all efforts to weaken it or to destroy it? It is the peculiar religion, which constitutes the essence, the life, the heart, the soul of this institution.
The organization, despotic in its government, its oaths, horrible in their penalties, its ceremonies, impressively solemn, its secrets, mysteries in their nature, are all designed to conceal and to protect from profane eyes, this Religion. Religion is its mystic tie.
Religion has ever been and is even now the most powerful factor in human activities. In some form it has been the motor back of the commanders of the armies, and of statesmen that founded the great world empires of the past, that animated and upheld the most despotic governments, that fomented the bloodiest revolutions, that precipitated nations into sanguinary conflicts and that united alien peoples into almost indissoluble unions; that established the most arbitrary and despotic priest craft, enforced intellectual thralldom, and the tyranny of rulers. It has instigated, sustained and justified the most dastardly, atrocious, barbarous, and licentious acts in human annals, as well as the most liberal, just and pure.
It has inspired the erection of the most stupendous, most elaborate, and the most costly structures as monuments to its power, and as shrines for its gods. It has produced the finest specimens of art, voiced the sweetest and holiest of song and inspired the loftiest flights of the intellect in all the realms of human knowledge. It has transformed human perverts into saints, and changed moral creatures into demons of lust, fury, and crime.
It has enabled timid women and children to defy the threats of tyrants, and smile upon the terrors of the dungeon, flames, and death. It has cemented brotherhoods and cults into unions which defeat the sagacity of statesmen, the erudition of jurists, the skill of marshals, the power of kings and the anathemas of popes, to destroy. Religion is without doubt the most powerful motor in man, and religion is the motor in Freemasonry.
Freemasonry in its chief and essential features, IS a Religion, and as such it has marks and elements which are peculiar to itself but which also differentiate it from Christianity. These vital and essential elements in this religion are not spiritual facts and spiritual mysteries, but Carnal and Psychical, the facts of life and the mysteries involved in the generation and reproduction of life, and from their nature appeal most powerfully to man.
They relate to the living principle in man and to his dominant passion namely the desire to procreate. They therefore excite the passions, awaken the emotions, impress profoundly his mind, and engage most deeply his thought.
That there should exist a certain amount of misunderstanding both within and without the Order as to the real aims and nature of Freemasonry is inevitable, even independently of any fraudulent desire of secrecy or misrepresentation on the part of the Order itself.
Thus, to take one notable example, what ignorance do we not sometimes find even among Christians, not to speak evil of Masonry, of the real spirit and teachings of the Order. Even of those that are imbued with the True Christian spirit how small a percentage are capable of analyzing it or explaining it to others or pointing out its essential opposition to the spirit of Christianity, because almost everyone has a family member who is either a Mason or an Eastern Star; and not wishing to believe that their loved ones could possibly belong to such a Satanic organization.
If this is true of the Christian Church, notwithstanding its open declaration of its doctrines, practices and aims, and its continuous efforts to make them understood by all, is it such a matter of wonder that there are multitudes of Freemasons, at least in the outer circles of the Order (and high officials are often only in the outer circles) who, although staunch supporters of Freemasonry, know in reality little or nothing of the real aims and character of the Order to which they belong and which they support?
It is true that the oaths of absolute secrecy which all take, and which are manifestly unlawful, seem to preclude the possibility of entire good faith (at least in the case of members that are thoughtful or intelligent), but they are consistent with ignorance of the real nature of Freemasonry.
But in addition to all this, Freemasonry is far from being an open and honest association like the Christian Church. The latter, even from the beginning, "lays all its cards on the table." It will not receive a neophyte till he is made fully aware of the teachings he has to accept and the manifold obligations he is undertaking. Freemasonry, on the other hand, is a secret society.
We believe that we have shown in this book the real character and aims of the Order is to deceive, at least in part, not only the outside public, but even the vast majority of their own members. Hence these latter are utilized as instruments for purposes which they do not understand, while they are solemnly sworn to secrecy even as regard to the very little which they may actually know.
Masonic Benevolence: First as to Masonic benevolence. We do not deny that many individual Freemasons, at least of the outer circles of the Order, are men of natural goodness and kindliness.
It is also true that Masons assist each other a good deal, and that in America, as in all countries in which Masons have secured influence and power, non-Masons, and especially Christians, have to suffer from the systematic and oftentimes unscrupulous partiality which Freemasons show, even in the exercise of public functions, toward members of the Craft. It is true, moreover, that Masons, even in their corporate capacity, do sometimes take part in works of benevolence or philanthropy.
But Masonic benevolence as such is of a type quite different from that upheld and enforced by Christian teaching. it has no reference to the love of Our Divine Lord, whose divinity Freemasonry does not recognize, nor to the spiritual welfare of either giver or recipient; and is practically confined to the members and dependents of the Craft. It is in fact purely or mainly utilitarian, and is one of the means utilized to win credit for Freemasonry with its own lower grades and with outsiders.
Freemasons' Belief in God: Secondly, as regard to the belief in God, which the Anglo-American have to profess. It is well known that the symbolic and somewhat cryptic term, "The Grand Architect of the Universe," by which they designate their God, does not necessarily mean a personal God in the Christian sense, and that the profession of faith in the Grand Architect, which the English-speaking Masons still retain as one of the "landmarks" of their sect, is so vague that practically any kind of Atheism, Materialism, Pantheism, or Polytheism may be covered by it.
It can be shown conclusively from authentic Masonic documents that the Masons' "Grand Architect" is very far indeed from being identical with the God of the Christians, and that the phrase is in reality of a formula, which may be used to indicate the object of worship chosen by the particular individual that uses it, whatever that object may be; besides in real esoteric Masonry, which is the center on which the whole order pivots, the object of worship, is a material and not a spiritual being, or if a spiritual being, that being seems to be none other than Satan, the spirit of evil, and is proven by Albert Pike in his book "Morals and Dogma."
The formula of the Grand Architect . . . is the most large-minded and righteous affirmation of the immense principle of existence, and may represent as well the (revolutionary) God of Mazzini as the Satan of Carducci (in his celebrated Hymn to Satan); God as the fountain of love, not of hatred; Satan as the Genius of the good, not of the bad.
Freemasonry and Christianity: It is untrue that Masonry inculcates or Implies any kind of belief in Christianity! Even the English Masonic manuals distinctly repudiate any such claim. We read: "It does not even require of the members of the Masonic order a profession of Christianity; but freely admits Jews, Mohammedans, and others who reject Christian doctrine."
Again, Albert Pike, admittedly among the best and most authentic exponents of Masonic teaching, wrote: "Masonry propagates no creed except its own simple and sublime one taught by nature and reason. There never has been a false religion in the world. The permanent, one, universal revelation is written in visible nature . . . There is but one religion, one dogma, one legitimate belief."
In other words the religion of Masonry is Naturalism, the very antithesis of Christianity. Again, not only I sit untrue that Freemasonry requires or imposes a belief in Christianity, but the very contrary is the case. For the one and only thing in which Freemasonry is everywhere and always consistent with itself is antagonism to Christianity.
Its Anti-Social Principles: The natural organization of the family is also undermined. Governments often refuse to see in it the indivisible and fundamental unit in the social organism. It is deprived of its religious consecration which even the pagan nations of previous ages usually retained; and the principle of allowing the individual to dispose freely of the hereditary family homestead or estate had undermined its stability by removing its economic foundation.
The right of private property, which from time immemorial has been at the basis of society, is now attacked; and new combinations and arrangements are conceived for employing and feeding the masses of humanity. Again, the natural organization of labor (founded upon reciprocal duties and rights as between master and man) which is traditional everywhere and in all periods of recorded history has been upset.
The man is proclaimed the equal in all respects with the master: while the latter is exempted in the exercise of his property rights from all natural duties and responsibilities towards the man. The result is the unnatural and destructive class war now raging or being stirred up in most countries of the civilized world.
Masonic Moral and Social System: In the Christian concept of society, morals as well as social rights and duties are founded upon man's relation to God and the example and teaching of Our Divine Lord.
The whole Christian organization of society has been erected upon this basis. In the Masonic idea human virtue and morality are independent of the Deity, and the Law of Christ whose Divinity is ignored or denied. Hence, Freemasonry is essentially opposed to Christianity and destructive of the Christian organization of society. it is Naturalism, which may be described as a scientifically elaborated system of paganism.
The following extracts from a very able and remarkable address delivered by the Belgian Liberal and Masonic leader, Goblet d'Aviella, at a select Masonic gathering in Brussels (1877), will serve to illustrate more fully the essential opposition of Freemasonry to Christianity: "Experience proves that this program (of negation and destruction) is not sufficient if we are to battle with devotedness and enthusiasm . . . against a Church which is doubly powerful owing alike to its rôle in the past and its lofty aspiration for the future, which excels in the skill, the numbers and the discipline of its adherents, which addresses itself to every age and sex and rank in life, which binds its members to itself by so many and such powerful bonds in every sphere of human activity.
To meet such an adversary with weapons equal to his own, the Liberals have to complete their program by a consistent system of positive teaching, envisaging men in every relation and aspect of human nature, and enabling them to solve the great problems of modern society. Such a system will supplement the political associations by giving them a rallying-point on a moral, philosophical, religious and social plane . . . The Masonic lodges are the only places in which one can study and formulate with fullness and scientific objectivity the whole series of problems which affect men's rights, duties, mutual relations, and final destiny . . .
Freemasonry being at the same time traditional and progressive, local and cosmopolitan . . . transcends time and space. It rests on traditions whose origin is lost in the twilight of history: it possesses a symbolism whose mystic beauty does not exclude an actual beauty of its own. It has in fine an imposing ceremonial to lend sanction to all the solemn facts and realities of life.
It is by means of this fullness of organization that Freemasonry is in a position to rival its great enemy, the Christian religion. It is thus that it becomes the natural, I will even add the necessary, complement of Liberalism . . .
Impress therefore on your neophytes that Freemasonry is not, as some superficial observers suppose, a child's play, a convivial society . . . much less a purely benevolent institution, or even a replica of our political associations . . . Tell them that Freemasonry is above and beyond all a school of perfection and scientific formation and propaganda, a sort of laboratory where the great ideas of modern social life are combined and fashioned into a consistent whole with a view to their propagation in the world outside in a tangible and practical shape. Tell them in one word that we are the philosophers of Liberalism. Tell them all this, but with the reserve which Masonic secrecy requires."
From its own description of itself, Masonry is to be regarded as a Religion, that is if one can conceive religion without a god. It has to do with "divine truth," and has its special system of morals and worship and its own peculiar liturgy, ritual and symbolism. It aims, like the Christian Church, at training the mind and molding the character of its members in accordance with its own peculiar ideals, and strives to propagate its tenets and morals among all mankind. The works of Ragon, Pike, Mackey, and other Masonic authors are largely occupied in unfolding the Masonic doctrines concerning the ruling powers of the universe, and describing the rites and observances by which man is to render due homage to them.
A.G. Mackey writes, and all Masonic authors corroborate his words: "Masonry is undoubtedly a religious institution . . . its religion being of the universal kind, in which all men agree." Hence, Masonry as a religion is the very antithesis of dogmatic Christianity, which is Catholicism. It is at best some kind of common denominator which belongs equally to all religions (except the true one) and none, a religion in which Protestants, pagans, idolaters, Mohammedans, Hindus, Parsees, Buddhists, Theosophists, Mormons, etc., may all meet on common religious ground. Christians, however, are excluded, for the true religion cannot vary or contradict itself. Hence, both Christian and Masonic authorities agree that the two systems are mutually exclusive.
In order to appreciate fully the implications contained in the universality of the Masonic creed, which is a fundamental principle in Freemasonry, we must remember that the Freemasons put forward their system as supplying a perfect and all-sufficing religion, "making a man complete in morality and intelligence, with a state or religion added to ensure him the protection of the deity, and to guard him from going astray, so that 'nothing more can be suggested which the soul of man requires.'"
Hence, Masonry is meant to be a complete religious system, whose fundamental principle is a recognition and worship of "The Grand Architect of the Universe." Those who are only in the outer circles of the fraternity may not at first understand who or what that Grand Architect is. Little by little, however, the system and all that underlies it become more apparent; and, as the initiated studies the symbolism and ritual more deeply, he comes to realize the full worth of that moral, intellectual, and religious formation which Masonry imparts, and which "contains all that the soul of man requires."
Owing to the policy of deception which Masonic leaders avowedly adopt, it is difficult to analyse with accuracy and certitude the essence of the underlying religion of Masonry, and we shall not attempt the analysis here. Suffice it to say that the real inner Masonic religion upon which the whole system hinges is founded upon some type of Cabalistic or Jewish Pantheism, and implies, or is, a deification and worship of unregenerate humanity. Its degrading character is indicated sufficiently for our present purpose by the nature of the symbolism and cult with which esoteric Masonry is associated. According to the vast majority of the great Masonic authors, the Masonic secret cult is derived from the ancient "mysteries" of India, Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
These mysteries are nothing more or less than those obscene and undescribable forms of worship, in which the generative processes of nature, symbolized by the human organs of reproduction, were the object of licentious homage. That this worship is the real pivot of the Masonic religion, and the center of Masonic ritual and symbolism, incredible as it may seem, does not admit of reasonable doubt. For although it is denied by some Anglo-American writers, such as the English Oliver, their denials and their attitude show inconsistency and, in face of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, cannot be seriously maintained.
Hence, whatever one may hold as to the identity of the Masonic deity, called the Great Architect, namely, whether or not it be Satan himself, this much at least is certain, that the religion of Masonry is closely connected with the most hideous and degraded of the pre-Christian cults, one which is commonly believed to betray the direct and immediate influence of the Evil One.
Most of the Masonic symbolism, in its original and proper meaning, refers primarily to the Solar and Phallic worship, associated with the mysteries above referred to. This fact is testified by the great authorities of Anglo-American Freemasonry: Pike, Mackey, Thomas Webb Smith, William Preston, and Hutcheson. Ragon, the "Sacred Author," adds his testimony to that of the Anglo-American writers. Ragon expressly says that the Masonic God is the God of the Pyramids, thus identifying the Masonic cult with the religion of the ancient Egyptians; and this epitome of the Masonic creed is fully justified by the interpretation of the Masonic rites and symbols furnished by Ragon himself, and the recognized Anglo-American Masonic authorities.
In order to convey a succinct but intelligible account of this difficult portion of our subject which, to be frank, we fear to handle, we believe we cannot do better than transcribe a passage from the "Lyceum," pp. 224-225 written several years ago, in which the distinguished writer already referred to, with a pen more skilled than ours, strives to convey, "within the limits which respect for his readers imposes . . . what, according to the authorized interpretation . . . of the Craft, is the symbolical purport of the rites admitting to one or other of the Masonic degrees.
The three first degrees of the Order -- those of the Apprentice, of Fellow Craft or Companion Mason, and of Master Mason, common to all the rites of Masonry are known as symbolic degrees. The candidate is admitted to them by a series of fantastic ceremonies, which we need not describe in detail . . . the full significance of which . . . is not yet revealed to him. He learns nothing but the symbols and the sacred words themselves. He is besides copiously edified by allusions to God and the Bible, the deeper meaning of which is withheld till he reaches the higher degrees of the Order. Indeed, it is not till he arrives at the thirty-third degree (in the Ancient Scottish rite) that of Sovereign Grand Inspector-General, that the genuine 'mysteries' which underlie these outward forms are laid bare to him. When the final stage of the illumination is reached he learns such truths as the following: 'The rite of initiation for Apprentice Masons represents in dramatic fashion the origin or birth of the Nature of God, of the Great All. It imports the non-existence of a supernatural personal God . . . It signifies that no being is wholly material, that the two principles, matter and form, male and female, are always two in one and one in two, eternally generating. It signifies that God is a bi-sexual being, a hermaphrodite, and that creation is the beginning of the process of generation.
The initiation rite of the Second Degree represents the normal condition of the Nature of God, always in labor, always generating. It imports that God is a hermaphrodite, that His name has always signified the God of Generation . . . Jehovah . . . signifies He-She, that is, the two sexes in one. . . . The dual principle, male and female, is represented by the square and the compass: by the compass, symbol of Osiris, the male; and by the square, symbol of the earth, Isis, the female.
The initiating rite of the Master's Degree introduces us to the story of Hiram, one of the architects of Solomon's Temple, as related in the Targum. But Hiram must be regarded here as an allegorical being, symbolizing the 'Grand Architect of the Universe.' In this rite the process of generation is represented as complete; God and the name of God, which the candidate is supposed to have been seeking, are discovered. The name of the deity thus revealed is Moabon -- the name given to the child of Lot and his daughter, the earth. This deity is also called Mac-Benac, 'Offspring of Putrefaction,' inasmuch as death and decomposition must precede the beginning of life; and the seed must die before the plant lives.
This (says Ragon) is the important phenomenon, the ineffable mystery, the key of nature which the ancient sages succeeded in discovering, and which they adopted as the basis of their doctrines, and the subject of their legends . . . the Legend of the Ages. Understood according to this interpretation, the revolting atrocities of Saturn, and of the incestuous Phaedra, etc., are nothing else than interesting enigmas, which involve facts well worthy of being handed down to us.'
It is not necessary to pursue the explanation further, or to introduce you into the still deeper "mysteries" of Masonry. We spare you any description of the ritual of the higher degrees, such as the blasphemous profanations of the history of the Last Supper and death of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ, which occur in the ritual of initiation into the eighteenth or Rose-Croix degree. What has been said so far, and will be said later, will suffice to illustrate the character of the "divine truth," the discovery and propagation of which are represented as the essential scope of Freemasonry; and to indicate that nature of the peculiar system of morality which Masonic allegory veils, and its symbols illustrate.
It is easily understood how inveterate the antagonism between Freemasonry and Christianity; they are opposed to each other as uncompromisingly as light is to darkness, goodness to evil, or as Satan is to God.
The Masonic Secret: From the authentic definitions of Freemasonry which we have already quoted, as well as from other authoritative Masonic writings, we gather that the descriptions given by Freemasons themselves of the character and aims of the Masonic association are not to be interpreted in the obvious sense of the words used, but have allegorical and symbolic significations. "Almost every one of the ancient Masonic symbols," writes Albert Pike, "has four distinct meanings, one, as it were, within the other, the moral, the political, the philosophical, and the spiritual meaning."
Thus, according to the same authoritative witness, Hiram, Christ, Molay are regarded as symbols representing "Humanity," seeing that they were each and all the apostles of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity;" the cross is by no means a specifically Christian symbol but, as it is hinted, is closely connected with a certain peculiar cult, does not at all refer to the sacred Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, but is Masonically read "Igne Natura Renovatur Integra" (all nature is renewed by {Masonic} fire); for the regeneration of nature by the influence of the sun symbolizes the spiritual regeneration of mankind by the sacred fire of Masonry as a purely naturalistic institution. Christ dying on the cross is for Masonry "the greatest among the apostles of Humanity, braving Roman despotism and the fanaticism and bigotry of the priesthood."
From Masonic official documents we also know that the vast majority, even of the Masonic brotherhood, do not understand the full trend or purpose of Masonic teaching and activities. They are instructed only by slow degrees, and are admitted more and more into the secrets of the Craft in proportion as they become morally attuned to the Masonic ideals, and thus capable of understanding the higher degrees of the Order.
"Part of the symbols," again writes Pike, "are displayed . . . to the initiated, but he is intentionally led astray by false interpretations." And again, "Masonry conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts, the Sages, and the Elect; and uses false explanations of its symbols to mislead those deserving to be misled."
The character of the inner Masonic religion, as above described, supplies one obvious explanation of the veil of mystery under which Masonry thus hides its real self; of the horrible oaths by which it binds its votaries, especially those of the higher degrees, not to reveal its secrets; and of the essential element of occultism which is so prominent a feature in every aspect of Freemasonry. These efforts towards profound secrecy are in no wise relaxed, even where the power of Freemasonry is predominant, and the Masons have nothing to fear from the interference of the civil authorities.
Why (writes Père Deschamps), now especially, when Masonry is everywhere protected and everywhere triumphant, why does it still continue to have its secret lodges, its initiations, its dreadful oaths? Manifestly . . . it is obliged to do so, for it has many things to hide, many secrets which public opinion would revolt from, and upon which it cannot afford to let in the light of day. In reality, however, as another writer truly says, Freemasonry has only one central secret, which is the pivot of the whole Masonic system, and which cannot be openly proclaimed to its dupes whether within the sect or without.
"Freemasonry is Satan's army on earth; it is in a certain sense Satan himself, the Adversary of God and of the children of God (True Israelites -- not "Jews"). It is revolt personified, the irreverent impious revolt that blasphemes against God . . . That is its secret, which is the foundation of all its symbolism in the high grades as well as in the low."
Freemasonry and Satanism: In all that we have so far said, the religion and morals of Freemasonry are only partially revealed, in as far, namely, as direct and conclusive proof may be drawn from their own official publications to which Cowans may access.
Limits of space and other reasons preclude us from discussing the deeper and more intimate nature of the Masonic secret: how far, namely, the Masonic cult is to be identified with the "formal" worship of Satan, the arch-enemy of mankind, and how far Satan physically co-operates in Masonic activity.
That this is the case is hinted at in some of the Papal condemnations. If one takes into consideration (writes the Editor of the Acta Sanctae Sedis) the immense development which these secret societies have attained; the length of time they are persevering in their vigor; their furious aggressiveness; the tenacity with which their members cling to the association and to the false principles it professes.
The persevering mutual co-operation of so many different types of men in the promotion of evil; one can hardly deny that the "Supreme Architect" of these associations (seeing that the cause must be proportioned to the effect) can be none other than he who in the sacred writings is styled the "Prince of the World." And that Satan himself, even by his physical co-operation, directs and inspires at least the leaders of these bodies, physically co-operating with them.
Concerning the question here raised, this may be said with certainty: Freemasons formally and expressly associate their sect and religion with the Phallic worship and the ancient pagan mysteries, and with the Bacchic rites practiced in ancient Egypt and Greece, and thence introduced into Rome, where the cult was made criminal and banned, even by the pagan Roman government.
A similar cult was practiced at least to some extent, even in the ages of Christianity, by not a few of the more degraded of the heretical sects that have sprung up from time to time. Among these were the early Gnostics, the Manichaeans, the Albigenses, and several other sectaries of the fourteenth and later centuries.
All these sectaries, although differing widely in many details of their doctrine and practices, show a certain family likeness; and all are claimed by the modern Freemasons as their exemplars, their predecessors, and their forebears.
Like the modern Freemasons, they had their secret signs, their initiations, their cryptic symbols, their uncanny ceremonials, and their horrible oaths. All, like the Freemasons, sought darkness, secrecy, falsehood, and evasion, and shunned the light of day.
It is certain that all these sectaries, notwithstanding their many-sided divergences, had in common some doctrinal elements and mystical cult which Freemasonry inherits, and which, whatever it be in itself, is not only opposed to Christianity, but is bitterly aggressively antagonistic . . . and shows an avowed and undying hostility to the True God!
An interesting side-light on this part of our subject is had from the opinions and discussions of Catholic theologians who treat the question of magic and diabolical interference in human affairs. It is the ordinary view that one of the demon's apparent objects in offering assistance to men is to gain worship for himself, and to wreak his spite on God by mimicry of the sacred rites of the Church, and by outrages on the Holy Eucharist.
It is also an interesting phenomenon that a certain well-defined consistency seems to run through almost all the teaching which professes to come from spirits in spiritualistic seances and such like. The demon strives to throw ridicule upon the dogma of Hell, and returns constantly to the suggestion that one religion is as good as another, profited that it is not the Christian religion.
How closely all this is connected with the spirit and teaching of Freemasonry it is not necessary to elaborate. The spirit of evil, although crafty and eminently protean, cannot alter his essential character, so that his different activities will always betray a certain fundamental similarity.
It is beyond doubt (writes Belliot) that there exists in the world today an organized religion, which is a veritable "religion of evil"; and that that religion is Freemasonry. Its god is identical with the deity worshiped by the Ophites (the extreme section of the Manichaeans) of old, in the shape of a serpent, and which, (as some authorities assert, the heretical section of) the Templars adored under the name of Baphomet.
In brief, it is Satan himself, with or without disguise. In fact, it has actually occurred on several occasions that Freemasons have openly celebrated the praises of the satanic god: In 1882, at Turin, where Carducci's "Hymn to Satan" was chanted in the crowded theater; at Palermo, where Ripsardi, another panegyrist of Satan, was received in triumph in a public school; at Geneva, where the standard of Satan was set up and honored during a public celebration (September 20, 1884); at Rome, where Professor Maranelli delivered in the course of the same year a public eulogium of Satan; at Brussels, where the Society of Free Thought gave a public conference on the Rehabilitation of Satan.
Again, it is undeniable that demon-worship is suggested by several of the Masonic rites and ceremonies; and that an atmosphere pervades them all, which, to put the matter mildly, is uncanny and repulsive to the Christian mind.
If this interpretation of Freemasonry be adopted, a full light is thrown on all its history, activities, and achievements; and it would seem that no other explanation can furnish an adequate key to its seeming contradictions, its lying spirit, its many-sided and apparently mutually-destructive tendencies.
Freemasonry and Anti-Christ: It is outside our scope to discuss the difficult and complicated question touched upon by Pius X, and which, since his day, has received further light, as to whether, or how far Freemasonry is to be identified with Anti-Christ. "So extreme," writes that holy Pontiff in his first Encyclical, "is the general perversion that there is room to fear that we are experiencing the foretaste and beginnings of the evils which are to come at the end of time, and that the Son of Perdition, of whom the Apostle speaks, has already arrived upon the earth." Many years have passed since these words were addressed to the Catholic Church; and few will deny that today the reason for fearing what the (so-called) Holy Father suggests are much graver than ever before.
Without committing ourselves to any opinion on so uncertain a subject, we will close this portion of our sketch by a striking passage, in which Rev. T.A. Burbage, writing in the "Catholic Bulletin" some twelve years ago, summarizes an interesting discussion of the subject: "It (Freemasonry) bears, unmistakably, the brand of Anti-Christ. To an extraordinary extent it fulfills the substance of that tradition which has been handed down from generation to generation. 'It is opposed to every existing worship true and false.' It is opposed to Christianity, Muhammadanism, Judaism, to the religions of Buddha and Confucius, and to every other perversion of religious thought that has hitherto exited. It insists on building temples and raising altars of its own. It has its own special ritual and ceremonies, its priesthood, and its secret worship. It has set up its new-fangled paganism as a substitute for the religion (Christianity) of the True God. It wallows in blasphemy and in crimes of bloodshed and injustice."
It has despoiled and profaned churches. It has robbed and cast out the ministers of Almighty God. It has torn the children from the fold of Christ. It has delivered individuals to torture and death, and plunged nations into sanguinary wars. It has done these things, and many things more with a hypocritical pretense to virtue and love of humanity that could scarcely be surpassed by the father of lies, from which it springs.
No such embodiment of evil has ever existed in this world, or is every likely to exist. Heresies have existed that have imperilled human souls and damaged the cause of God. Men have bound themselves together for the promotion of unjust and evil ends. But we search in vain for anything that strikes so deliberately and persistently at everything that the uncontaminated human soul holds sacred. Unless Anti-Christ be Satan incarnate as some indeed have held, then Freemasonry is Anti-Christ.
The institution fascinates the imagination and charms the disciple with these mysteries of life with which it deals and professes to unfold. It is hard to conceive of anything more exquisitely fitted to appeal to the natural man and incite him to fidelity than is this institution, because it deals not with the spiritual side of his nature, but with the carnal and psychical, and makes the gratification of those carnal desires a sacred privilege and a solemn duty.
It is a religion which makes the mystery of procreation the objective fact upon which it rests; the mysterious life generating principle in man the object of adoration and worship; the generative acts the pattern for its rites and ceremonies; the generative organs the basis of its symbolism, and the passions the inspiring spirit. The peculiar charm and fascination which Freemasonry has for its disciples is to be accounted for on this intimate connection between the religious ideas which it holds and inculcates, and the functions of sex in the reproductive processes.
It conceives of the divine nature as residing in man, and that it is especially active and expressive in the sexual passion; and that the gratification of this passion is pleasing to the deity and is the duty of the Mason. It aims to make passion, therefore, sacred by making its gratification a moral and religious duty. On its theological side, Freemasonry is a sort of Pantheism, the deity being the generative principle, the reproductive power which pervades all animated nature. And as this power inheres in man, it is viewed as "incarnate in humanity in toto," thus establishing man's union and unity with the divine nature.
In the deification and worship of this generative principle, Freemasonry makes the dominant carnal passion the subjective fact upon which this Religion is based. The two constituent elements of this Masonic religion are the idea of the divine nature in man, and man's cooperation with the divine nature in the reproduction of life.
This generation of human beings through sex agencies, is the "great work" of Freemasons, which it characterizes as "building a temple for the indwelling of the Great Architect of the Universe." Upon this "temple every Freemason is enjoined to labor." With desire as its deity, the procreative instinct for its animating spirit, humanity for the temple of its god, and the origin and destiny of the human soul for its mystery, Freemasonry appeals most powerfully to the natural man.
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
It is contended by some that Freemasonry is unworthy of serious notice and investigation, and that it will eventually decay, and lose its charm and influence. In this opinion we do not concur. It is a sex cult, and like its prototypes and predecessors, will always have a large and influential following. Sex cults always have had a strange fascination for mankind.
The ancient ethnic religions were sex cults, and more less secret. So long as public sentiment frowns upon indecencies, excesses, and sexual uncleanness, such cults can not exist except under esoteric forms. Their existence depends upon secrecy.
If then these secrets of Freemasonry become known to the general public surely all decent and self respecting men who have been lured into the lodge under its veiled pleas of morality will leave it because of shame. They will confess their deeds, and burn their books. But so long as carnal minded men deify passion and worship it in secret, so long will there be men who will defend this religion and who will worship at its shrines.
Over against this ancient religion modernized and veiled under a new name, and taught in the language and imagery of a builder's craft; Masons are thus taught that we as followers of Jesus Christ, must oppose the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God, the facts, the claims, the doctrines of His Gospel.
We hold that Christianity is the pillar of society, the only safeguard of the nations, the parent of social order, the ground of that Truth, which alone is able to curb the passions, to teach men to love Truth, to practice charity, and to guarantee to each individual his inalienable rights.
Christianity must not ignore its rivals and enemies, who hold down the Truth in unrighteousness. Christianity must enter their dark chambers and bring to light the "hidden things of darkness." It must not only point out the "cunningly devised fables whereby men lie in wait to deceive," but also set forth its testimonies over against all other claimants for man's service, devotion, and worship.
In the facts, acts and teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Truth involved in them, the religious sentiment in man finds its steadfast anchor, its fullest, purest, highest and most symmetrical development and expression.
Freemasonry with its boastful claims to antiquity, universality and sublime morality, can not offer any valid reason why it should not be investigated, compared with Christianity, and tested in the light of history and of the Word of God. We must oppose the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God over against the mystery of procreation; of spiritual entities and facts over against the psychical mysteries of these cults; spiritual regeneration over against carnal generation.
The most dangerous antagonists of Christianity in its earliest days were the worship of Isis, under various modifications as Demeter, Cybele, Diana, or as the power of fertility; and Mithraism, the worship of the generative power under the aspect of light.
"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."
The most deadly enemy of Christianity for all time is Judaism and its Jewish adherents. Therefore, we must present the:
Jewish Element In Freemasonry
On March 23, 1928, the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office (the Roman Catholic Church) issued an important decree containing the decision of the Holy See on "the nature and purpose of the Association called the 'Friends of Israel,' and on the pamphlet entitled 'Pax super Israel,' edited by the directors of the Association."
Although "many priests, bishops and even cardinals gave their adhesion to this association," the Sacred Congregation condemns and completely suppress it, by reason of "its mode of acting and speaking which is out of harmony with the traditional sense of the Church, the mind of the Fathers, and even the Sacred liturgy itself."
Implications of the Church's Condemnation of "The Friends of Israel.": The secularist Press, which is mostly controlled by the great Jewish financiers, immediately showed its appreciation of the importance of the decree by striving to misrepresent it as a gesture of disapproval on the part of the Holy See of certain Catholic anti-Masonic writers, whereas the contrary is the case.
The decree is an authoritative reassertion of the traditional attitude of the Church towards the Jewish people. The Church desires sincerely the conversion of the Jews to the Faith. But she cannot compromise with them any more than she can with the Modernists or even with the so-called Anglo-Catholics.
Hence, in the present decree, the Holy See takes prudent measures against the Jewish infiltrations into the Church, which were being attempted through the medium of the condemned association and pamphlet. On the other hand, she also reprobates as contrary to the Christian spirit and teaching, Anti-Semitism, properly so-called, just as she reprobates anti-Germanism or any other similar anti-ism that would imply "racial or national hatred."
But to follow the direction of Leo XIII and "tear away the mask from Freemasonry and let it be seen as it really is," is not anti-Semitism even when the Freemasons in question are "Jews"; and needless to say, the Holy See does not follow the example of the Masonic sectaries in so misapplying the term.
- That much of the external trappings of Freemasonry, such as its ritual, its terminology, its legends, etc., are of Jewish origin;
- That the philosophy or religion of esoteric Freemasonry (that is of the inner circles and controlling power) is practically identical with the doctrines of the Jewish Cabala (Kabbalah), which is the religion or philosophy of a certain section of the Jews;
- That a certain group of Jews, probably very few in number, but of immense influence and power, are leading Freemasons; and
- That a somewhat larger group of very influential Jews pursue the same ends as Freemasons, and use similar means, and are at least in close alliance with them.
Hence, although the Jewish element in Freemasonry is of predominant importance, and although it may be true that the Masonic Jewish leaders do often exploit for their evil purposes Jewish solidarity and internationalism, and the age-long antipathy between Judaism and Christianity, one cannot on that account justly accuse or condemn the Jewish people as a whole. Indeed, the facts of the case point to the conclusion that the rank and file of the Jews suffer no less, possibly even more, than the Christians from the unscrupulous and altogether wicked activities of the ruling Masonic junta.
Bernard Lazare, the Jewish apologist, refers to the Talmud as "the creator of the Jewish nation, and the mold of the Jewish soul." The Talmud has, in fact, been the principal factor in forming the national character of the modern Jewish nation, and of holding the Jews together as one people.
The Talmudic compilation is deeply impregnated with opposition to Christianity. In medieval times not only was the Talmud strictly forbidden to all Catholics, but the possession of the Talmudic books was regarded, before the Protestant revolt, as a criminal offense in most of the States of Europe. The most offending and anti-Christian passages of the Talmud are, however, apparently omitted in the ordinary English translations and hand-books; and, probably, are unknown to most Jews brought up and educated in these countries, just as the esoteric teachings and real objects of Freemasonry are unknown to the vast majority of those that adhere to the Masonic sect or lend it their support.
These latter are mainly founded on the Neo-Platonic philosophy and the doctrines of the early Gnostics, and are closely connected with the occult worship of the Eastern sectaries of both ancient and modern times, which have continued since the early ages of the Christian era and even before that period, to infiltrate through the medium of the rabbinical writings into the Jewish religious system. The philosophic and religious teachings of the Cabala illustrate and explain the strong tendency to occultism and false mysticism, which a section of the Jews have always manifested, and which they and the Freemasons have helped so much to propagate in the modern world.
For a long time the Jews were excluded from most of the German, English, and French lodges; and up to the end of the eighteenth century the total number of Jewish Freemasons was inconsiderable. Again, the assertion that the real founders of German Illuminism and French Martinism, which are the sources of the worst and most destructive elements in Freemasonry, were Jews, has been proven over the years. Elias Ashmole (1617-1646), the celebrated English antiquarian, and the founder of the Oxford Museum, to whom is probably due the first introduction of Hermeticism into the English Masonic lodges in the seventeenth century, long before the formal inauguration of speculative Freemasonry, was not a Jew.
Again, it can be proven that Weishaupt, Martinez Pasqualis, or Joseph Balsamo, commonly known were Jews, and these were largely due the Illuminist and Martinist influences in the Freemasonry of the eighteenth century. Even at the present day it is well-known (although the fact does not prove anything) that many Masonic lodges refuse to admit Jews, as they fear their dominating influence, and find by experience that Jews, once admitted, soon acquire the mastery of the lodge.
On the other hand, it is certain that the Jewish Cabalistic tradition was one of the principal mediums through which Eastern occultism (which has so many times come to the surface in European history) has been transmitted to modern Europe; and that many, if not all, of the recognized founders of the eighteenth-century Illuminism (which included Weishaupt, Pasqualis, and Cagliostro) were initiated into its secrets by Jewish Cabalists or drew their inspiration and their methods from the Jewish esoteric writings. The Jewish apologist, Bernard Lazare, states that "there were Cabalistic Jews around the cradle of Freemasonry, as certain rites still in existence conclusively show."
Besides the existence of the Cabalistic element in Masonic morals and dogma there are numerous other indications which point to the important influence of Judaism on the early formation and development of Freemasonry. The Masonic coat-of-arms still used by the Grand Lodge of England is of Jewish design. Some of the more important legends of Freemasonry, especially the Legend of Hiram, on which much of Masonic rite is founded, are Jewish. "The technical language, symbolism, and rites of Masonry are full of Jewish ideas and terms . . . In the Scottish rite, the dates of all the official documents are given according to the Hebrew month and the Jewish era; and use is made of the older forms of the Jewish alphabet." Hence, approved Jewish writers generally recognize that practically the whole Masonic ritual is of Jewish origin.
Although during the eighteenth century the number of Jews in the Masonic lodges, was purported to have been few, the prejudice against them was lessened or eliminated as a result of the movement towards Jewish emancipation, which was itself largely due to Liberal and Masonic influences; and since the middle of the nineteenth century the Cabalistic Jewish element became predominant at least in Continental Freemasonry.
Thus, while Jews are said to be excluded from the so-called "Christian" lodges of Germany, the influence of the latter is now over-shadowed by those lodges which admit Jews, and in which the Jewish element more or less prevails. Even in 1900 there were at least 800 such lodges in the German Empire exclusive of the B'nai B'rith lodges, which are entirely Jewish. So marked, indeed, is the dominance of the Jewish element in Freemasonry that the Masonic Journal Latomia (February, 1928) quotes a saying of Ludendorf: "The Freemasons are the henchmen of the Jews." Again it was the Jews which introduced Freemasonry into the United States; and Jews have always been a powerful influence in the American Masonic organizations.
Special Jewish Rites in Freemasonry: The Masonic rite of Mizraim, which includes no less than ninety degrees, and is, perhaps, the most esoteric and highly elaborated of all the Masonic rites, has been founded by Jews. So also has been the order of B'nai B'rith ("Sons of the Alliance" sometimes called the "Sons of the Covenant"), and several other organizations of a similar type. The Masonic rite of Mizraim belongs mainly to Europe, and some of its lodges are exclusively Jewish. The order of B'nai B'rith, which is altogether Jewish, is (or rather was up to a few years ago) mainly American, and if not formally and professedly Masonic, bears a striking resemblance to Freemasonry, in its organization and avowed objects, and is in intimate alliance with Masonry.
Masonry tolerates everything except a narrow clericalism (Catholicism) and it possesses a special attraction for the Jews. Clericalism has always persecuted Masonry everywhere it can . . . and the spirit of persecution has attracted the Jews towards Masonry by an invisible but potent bond of sympathy. In London there are no less than five Jewish lodges. There are some also at Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.
It is generally admitted, that the revolutionary outbreaks of the nineteenth century, were the result of Jewish influence, and the work of Freemasonry. That international finance is also largely dominated by Freemasonry is also generally admitted.
Disraeli, himself Jewish, and an enthusiastic admirer of the "Jews", called attention in an oft-quoted passage to the dominant but hidden influence of the Jews in the political and economic life of Europe: "That mysterious Russian diplomacy which so alarms Western Europe was organized and principally carried on by Jews; that mighty revolution which is at this moment preparing in Germany, which will be in fact a second and greater Reformation, and of which so little is yet known in England, is entirely developing under the auspices of the Jews, who almost monopolize the professorial chairs in Germany . . . I hear of peace and war in the newspapers, but I am never alarmed, except when I am informed that the sovereigns want treasure; then I know that monarchs are serious. A few years ago we (a Jewish family of financiers, in whose name he speaks) were applied to by Russia . . . I resolved to go myself to St. Petersburg. I had an interview with the Russian Minister of Finance, Count Cancrin. I behold the son of a Lithuanian Jew . . . I resolved on repairing to Spain from Russia. I had an audience with the Spanish Minister, Senor Mendezabel: I behold one like myself, the son of a Nuovo-Christiano, a Jew of Aragon . . . I went straight to Paris to consult the President of the French Council: I beheld the son of a French Jew. 'And is Soult a Jew?' 'Yes! and several of the French Marshals, Massena, for example.' The President of the French Council made an application to the Prussian Minister . . . Count Arnim entered the Cabinet, and I beheld a Prussian Jew. So you see, my dear Coningsby, that the world is governed by very different personages to what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes."
That the hidden influences (which Disraeli here connects with Jews) dominating the Liberal governments of Europe during the last century were also closely allied with Freemasonry we have already shown, and it is now commonly admitted.
This same writer brings forward evidence of the existence in Germany, Italy, and London, of supreme lodges of this type, controlled by a Jewish majority, and quite unknown to the general body of Freemasons. He mentions two supreme lodges in London which none but Jews are allowed to enter, and in which the different threads of the contemporary revolutionary conspiracies, which were elaborated in the outer lodges, were brought together and co-ordinated; and another lodge, at Rome, also exclusively Jewish, which, he says, was the supreme tribunal of the revolution against Christianity.
On the same subject M. Doinel, at one time member of the Council of the Grand Orient, who became a Christian, wrote: "How often have I heard the Freemasons lament the dominance of the Jews . . . Ever since the Revolution the Jews have taken possession of the Masonic lodges more and more completely: and their dominance is now unquestioned. The Cabala rules as mistress in the inner lodges; and the Jewish spirit dominates the lower grades . . . In the mind of Satan the synagogue has an all important part to play . . . The great enemy counts on the Jews to govern Masonry as he counts on Masonry to destroy the Church of Jesus Christ (Christianity)."
Leroy-Beaulieu, a French Jewish apologist, describes the social ideals of modern Judaism: "Progress is the true Messiah, whose near advent she (Judaism) proclaims with all her hosannahs . . . The (French) Revolution was its introduction, our doctrine of human rights, its manifesto, and its signal was given to the world, when, at the approach of our Tricolor, the barriers of caste and the walls of the Ghetto fell to the ground . . . The emancipated Jew takes pride in working for its realization . . . assailing superannuated hierarchies, battling with prejudices . . . struggling to pave the way for future revolution."
The national aims and ideals here attributed to although they belong, probably, only to a comparatively small section of the Jewish nation, are practically identical with those of Freemasonry. Hence, an International Jewish synod held at Leipsic, 1869, passed the following resolution: "This Synod recognizes that the development and realization of modern ideas are the surest guarantee in favor of the Jewish race for the present and future."
It seems clear that the "modern ideas" here referred to are those of un-Christian Liberalism, of which Freemasonry has been the protagonist for the past two centuries, and more.
The professed objects of the "Universal Israelite Alliance," founded in 1860 (whose headquarters are in Paris, and which is probably the most influential and most representative body of the Jewish nation), are similar to the professed aims of Freemasonry. These objects are thus summarized by its founder, the Jew, Adolphe Cremieux, who for many years held the position of Grand Master of the Supreme Council of the Ancient Scottish Rite of Freemasonry: "The Universal Israelite Alliance . . . addresses itself to every type of worship. It wishes to penetrate all religions, as it has found access to all countries . . . Let all men of enlightenment, without distinction of sect, find a means of union in the Universal Israelite Association, whose aims are so noble, so broad, and so highly civilizing . . . To reach out a friendly hand to all who, although born in a different worship from ours, offer us the hand of fellowship, acknowledging that all religions which are based on morality and acknowledge God ought to be friendly towards one another: thus to destroy the barriers separating what is destined one day to be united, that is the grand supreme object of our Alliance . . . I summon to our Association our brethren of every form of worship. Let them come to us . . . Our grand mission is to put the Jewish population in touch with the authorities in every country . . . to make our voices heard in the cabinets of ministers and in the ears of princes, whatever be the religion that is despised, persecuted, or attacked."
The striking similarity between this program and the religious ideals of Freemasonry (humanism, cosmopolitanism, and non-sectarianism, or religious indifference) needs no elaboration. Again, practically all writers on the subject, including the Jews themselves, recognize the leading part which the Jews have played in the activities of the French Grand Orient. Thus we read in the Jewish Encyclopedia: "Jews have been most conspicuous in connection with Freemasonry in France since the Revolution."
Hence Pére Deschamps writes, of the present question: "Judaism itself is a kind of Freemasonry, owing to the national solidarity of the Jews, their cosmopolitanism, which set the Jews free from all local and patriotic ties, and finally, the opposition of the Jews to Christianity."
It is, in fact, the Cabalistic elements in Freemasonry that act as the main driving force in the envenomed and aggressive opposition of the latter to Christianity, and its never-flagging efforts for the undermining and destruction of the Christian organization of society. "This intimate connection between the two powers (Freemasonry and Cabalistic Judaism, writes R. Lambelin) is becoming so evident that there is no longer any attempt made to deny it. The Jewish lodges of B'nai B'rith, which originated in the English-speaking countries, have swarmed all over Europe, and even into Asia; and they assume the leadership of control in the whole Masonic organization. Under cover of Theosophy a new religion, which is specifically Jewish, though enveloped in a nebulous mist that obscures its character, is bidding fair to take the place of the traditional Christian belief which it flatters, and insensibly destroys."
After the Protestant revolt, and especially under the influence of Calvin, who was a Cabalistic Jew, sections of the Protestantism, such as the Huguenots in France, the Puritans in Britain, and the Dutch and Swiss Calvinists, the position of the Jews gradually improved more and more. Finally, with the rise of the Liberalism of the eighteenth century, which was fostered and promoted by Masonic influence, the Jews were accorded full rights of citizenship, first in France and then, owing to the expansion of the French Napoleonic Empire, in nearly every country of Europe and America. It is since that time that Freemasonry has risen to its present dominating influence in European life.
Numberless other examples could be quoted of the sinister and permeating influence of the Jewish leaders on modern political and social developments; all of which are also attributable to or closely associated with Freemasonry. Thus, Romania, where the Jews did not possess the full rights of citizenship, and were precluded from acquiring property in land was forced by Bismarck at the Congress of Berlin (1878) to grant them full civic rights.
In the year 1928 a memorandum was published on the Jewish question in Romania signed by several university professors and leaders of the Romanian nationalist party. It contained striking statistics, showing how the land, the industries, even the professorial chairs in the universities, were then owned or occupied by Jews. The tale told is in fact the story of the expropriation of a people by the peaceful penetration of an alien element.
At the Peace of Paris (1918-1919), dominated as is generally recognized, by Jewish Masonic influence, Poland was forced, in the same way, to grant such privileges to the Jews living within her borders as almost to constitute the Jewish colony a kind of State within the State. At the same Congress the Jewish leaders were accorded practical control of Palestine as a quasi-independent or incipient Jewish State under the protection of Britain.
Today Jewish financial and political power is especially felt in the countries which have fallen most completely under the influence of Freemasonry and un-Christian Liberalism, such as America, England, France, Germany, Russia, Romania and etc.
Hence it is, that many Christian writers on present-day Freemasonry and its anti-Christian activities frequently apply the epithet "Judeo-Masonic" to these latter in order to indicate the dominant influence of the Cabalistic section of the Jews in the world-wide movement against Christianity.
We have already referred to Rationalism and Hermeticism (including Theosophy, Christian Scientism, Spiritism, etc.) as characteristic of the Masonic religion and philosophy. These, which are put forward as a substitute for Christianity, are fast becoming more and more widespread in England and throughout the English-speaking world.
They are the most powerful dissolvents of whatever elements of True Christianity still survive among the Protestant populations. Infiltrations into the Judeo-Christian churches has been successful. This element is the most deadly and dangerous aspect of the whole Jewish Masonic movement; for it cuts deeper than anything else into Christian life, whose very foundation it attacks.
- The banishment of religion from all departments of government, and from all public institutions; and as a mark of the triumph of this policy, the removal of the Crucifix and all religious emblems from the legislative assemblies, the courts of justice, the public hospitals, the schools and university colleges, etc.
- The secularization of marriage.
- The establishment of a State system of so-called education which, at least in its primary stages, will be obligatory, gratuitous and conducted by the laity.
- Complete freedom of worship (at least for all religions except Christianity).
- Unrestrained liberty of the Press even in the propagation of irreligious doctrines and of principles subversive of morality; similar freedom for the stage, the movies and television, and for all manner of public activities, even when injurious to the public interest, such as the operation of the betting and gambling agencies, the trade in alcohol, drugs and etc.
- The elimination of all distinction between the sexes in education and in all departments of public life, and the promotion or encouragement of radical feminism.
The enemies of Christianity clothed these ideas in the language of the New Testament and of the Church. This was/is the secret of their power and influence. By skillfully veiling their pagan ideas under the terminology of Christian Doctrine many who thought themselves serving the Lord Jesus Christ were led unconsciously into the pagan cults.
And this is the method of Freemasonry. It clothes its pagan ideas in the garb of Christian truth, and in architectural imagery, and by means of these "cunningly devised fables," fascinating allegories, and pretended deference to the Word of God, it leads thousands of Christians into this organization under the impression that they are worshiping and serving the Almighty Jehovah, and makes it so difficult to expose its erroneous doctrines.
It is hard to reach error when it hides under the garb of the Truth. Can the Church of Christ then ignore with safety these antagonists, who profess such reverence for Truth, but set aside as the errors of a deluded people, and substitute for it the lie that has debauched its millions.
Research, exposure and testimony are essential to unmask this form of error, for hiding under the garb of Truth it can not be reached as candid error can. The writer offers this Interpretation as his testimony against this modern effort to hold down the Truth in unrighteousness.
The importance of the study of this subject can scarcely be overemphasized. The whole system is a giant evil. We firmly believe that it is the greatest foe that the Church has to contend against. It insidiously undermines and overthrows the very foundations of evangelical Christianity. Its tendency is to make men indifferent to doctrine and hostile to the positive teachings of revelation as embodied in the church’s creeds and catechisms.
In proportion as men understand, accept and assimilate the teachings of the lodge, in that proportion do they become indifferent if not hostile to an earnest evangelical Church. Masonry practically puts all the so-called sacred books of the east on an equality with the Bible.
This cannot help but lower the estimate of the Bible. It necessarily robs it of its unique, divine, inspired character. It encourages the dangerous and damaging idea that the Bible is to be regarded and treated like any other human production. We have long since felt that the secret society system, with Masonry at its head is responsible in a large measure for the rationalistic negative criticism of the Bible that is threatening to destroy Christianity.
It is high time that earnest believers in Christ and His Word should seriously study and understand the fundamental principles of Masonry and kindred man made organizations. It is too late in the day to say that no one can know these fundamental principles unless he is a member. The literature on the subject is voluminous. The Rituals can all be brought at a nominal price. Any one who will, can inform himself on the subject.
It is criminal for a minister of the gospel to be ignorant on the subject. No earnest and consecrated minister who will read the Rev. Mr. Wagner's book and the books to which he refers can be a Mason or a friend of Masonry. Mr Wagner knows what he says. He has studied the subject for years. He knows more about it than thousands of Masons do.
Many of these are good men, personally, and are Masons because they have never understood the underlying religious principles of the lodge. Such men leave the lodge when they learn what its real and fundamental religious teachings are. And they ought to be willing to be shown.
We believe that the Rev. Mr. Wagner has written a powerful book. His basic contention is that Masonry is a Religion. He shows that its religion is based on heathen cults and mythologies.
It has borrowed much from the Greeks, more from the Hindus, considerable from Egyptians, Persians, Arabians and others. It [Masonry] is a religion of nature. It is largely pantheistic. It [Masonry] deifies man. Like the ancient nature cults it puts a high estimate on the procreative powers of man. It deifies them. It builds a mystic symbolic cult around the procreative powers and their physical organs. The author claims and argues that the Masonic religion is permeated with Phallicism.
This shows up the ethics of Masonry. Here is proof, demonstrated proof, that the ethics of Masonry is abominable, vile and unworthy of a decent and an honest man. Again we can only charitably hope that Masons, as a class, have not seriously examined the true inwardness of the ethical system of their order. But there is no excuse for such ignorance. Serious and manly men ought to know what their order teaches. They ought to know that by belonging to the order they sanction its teachings. They ought to know that their example invites others to accept these teachings.
Surely it is high time for true believers in Christ and His Church to earnestly examine this world power and to ask themselves what it has to do with the startling apostasy of the masses from the Church, with the impurity and selfishness of the spirit of the age and with so much coldness, unbelief and laxness in the Church itself.
Freemasonry is essentially a Religious Institution, and it is in this aspect that we shall interpret it. Nowhere is definition more difficult than in the sphere of religion, but for our purpose it is not necessary that we give a definition that is in every particular comprehensive and exact.
In the wider sense the term refers to all the aspirations of man after God, but in its narrower sense it refers to the realization of these ideas or conceptions, after which man has struggled. In the wider sense it is applied to all foreshadows of the communion of man with God; as where the existence of a Supreme Being and man's obligation to serve Him, are acknowledged.
In the absolute sense, it is man's cheerful recognition and joyful service of a Supreme Personality, based upon the consciousness of reconciliation and a community of interests with Him. The term is popularly used to designate the various modes or systems which profess to lead man to communion with God. The communion of man with God is religion subjectively so called. The statement of the principles underlying this communion is religion objectively so called.
Religion, though a communion with God and of a decidedly subjective character, is also a life, and as much a social as an individual affair. Reciprocal contract between individual and individual is the general condition of its development, and thus originate common forms of the religious consciousness, and the common forms of its expressions in the outward religious life. Religious ceremonies, places for religious services, articles with which to perform the rites, and symbols for the expression of religious ideas, are the natural growths out of the religious consciousness and life.
Freemasonry, according to all accepted definitions, both of itself and of religion, is a religious institution, and viewed as to its essence and inner principles, is a religion. We cannot conceive of it as anything else, although there are many both Masons and non-Masons, who deny this religious character.
As a religion it has its subjective and objective sides. It has its peculiar religious experiences, beliefs, practices, and above all its peculiar conceptions and doctrines concerning the nature of the divine.
Like all recognized religions it has all the paraphernalia of religion, images, symbols, ceremonies, prayers, temples, altars, priests and worship. It has its own peculiar divine objects to which it pays divine honors and as we can not conceive of a religion without its rites and ceremonies, so we can not look upon these temples, altars, priests and rites of Freemasonry without the conviction that they are the outward expressions of a religious idea and system. Let us briefly notice this Masonic paraphernalia in detail.
1. Freemasonry has its own revelation.
Religion and revelation are correlative terms; that is the relation in which man places himself to deity in religion, presupposes the relation in which deity has placed himself to man in revelation, so there can be no religion without a revelation, either genuine or spurious, upon which it is based.
This revelation, in the opinion of its adherents, is the deity's message to them, and the source of their faith and the warrant for their practices. It is preserved either in the traditions of its priests, in the ceremonials, or recorded in permanent form which record becomes the Sacred Book of that particular religion. The writers are regarded as the spokesmen of deity, and their statements as his oracles. These sacred books become the rule of faith, of worship, and of life to the disciples.
Each of the so-called great religions has its sacred books or peculiar revelation upon which it is based, and which are important factors in their respective religious systems. Pre-eminent among these is Christianity, which has the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testament, which it holds as the sole revelation of God's will, and of human redemption and salvation, and the only rule of faith and sole authority in religious questions.
To these Christianity appeals for an explanation of its existence, and as a warrant for its authority, faith and work. It accepts these writings not because they have been placed in the canon, but because Christ is set forth in them, as the way, the truth and the life.
It rejects all other so-called revelations as spurious because they have not Christ in them. Christianity as a religion rests upon the revelation or manifestation of a Person, who is human and divine, who is the Savior of man and of whose nature, history, work and office the Bible is the authoritative, genuine and inerrant record.
Freemasonry is no exception to this principle, that is, that a religion presupposes a revelation. In one sense Freemasonry has more sacred books than any other religion for it tacitly accepts, receives and incorporates into its system all the sacred books of all religions. But it accepts them only as symbols of the will of God.
The revelation upon which Freemasonry as a religion is based is not a book written on parchment, but is the universe itself, in which it claims deity has revealed himself in a sufficiently perspicuous manner so as to be known and served acceptably by his intelligent creatures.
Nature, the material universe, is the revelation which is the correlative to the religion of Freemasonry. It regards all revelations which may be found in the sacred books of any religion, as republications of this primal, adequate and unerring revelation in Nature.
The sole revelation which Masonry recognizes as absolute and from which it derives its peculiar religious ideas, rites and warrant, is Nature or the Universe. Pike says that "the Universe is the uttered word of God," the "thought of God pronounced."
"The permanent one universal religion is written in visible nature and explained by the reason and is completed in the analogies of faith." Buck says, "God never manifested himself to be seen of men. Creation is his manifestation."
In the Masonic religion God is conceived of as an omnipotent, eternal, boundless and immutable principle, coeval and coextensive with space, in all, through all and above all, divinity immanent in Nature, alike the external cause and result, each without beginning or end, and each alternating forever.
According to Masonry the deity is clothed in the universe. Garrison says, "God created and must continually support the temple of the universe, which he not only forms but in which he also dwells as its eternal, all pervading, ever-present spirit."
All the more recent Masonic writers whom we have consulted agree that the universe is the sole revelation God ever made of Himself.
Nature then is the book in which Freemasonry finds the divine will expressed. Its sentiments are well expressed by Philo, namely, that Nature is the language in which God speaks. The human voice is made to be heard, but the voice of God to be seen, that what God says consists in acts, not in words. Thus it is clear for all to see, Masonry is the product of the Jewish Kabbalah (Cabala).
2. Masonry has its own temples.
A temple is an edifice erected and set apart in honor of some deity and used for his service and worship. In every prominent city of our land there is found a building which is called the Masonic Temple, erected and dedicated to the service and worship of the Great Architect of the Universe, the Masonic deity. These buildings in their arrangements and design are peculiar to Masonry.
They are the outward and unmistakable mark of an inner religious life and service. In their religious use these temples are distinctively Masonic, and as emphatically set forth a distinct religious system as the temple at Jerusalem set forth Judaism or those of the ancients set forth the worship of the deities to whom they were dedicated.
The construction of these Masonic temples is begun with services in honor of the Great Architect of the Universe, and when completed are dedicated to his worship with elaborate religious ceremonies. They are sacred edifices, devoted to the service and promulgation of a specific religion, whose name and designation is Freemasonry.
3. Freemasonry has its altars.
An altar is a table or pedestal upon which gifts and sacrifices are offered to some deity, and at which supplication and solemn covenants are made. It is especially a mark of religion, an evidence of religious service and worship. In sacred edifices it marks the "holy place" and is generally so situated that it is visible from all points in the sanctuary. The Masonic altar stands in the center of the lodge indicating that the religious acts there performed are the central things in the Masonic religious system.
The Masonic altar is specifically marked as such. Generally we find the distinctive symbols of Masonry engraved upon its sides, and always do the square and compass and the "book of the law" rest upon its top. It stands within the "triangle of lights," another specific Masonic mark. It is therefore an altar that is distinctively Masonic, and a mark of religion which is Masonic.
At this altar the candidate for Masonry kneels, and at it he solemnly swears allegiance to the institution, promising "ever to conceal and never to reveal any of the secret arts, parts, or points of the hidden mysteries of Masonry, which may have been heretofore, shall be at this time, or any future period communicated to him."
He then calls upon the Masonic deity to witness his oath and covenant, and binds himself by horrible penalties to be faithful to this Masonic covenant. This covenant from the Masonic viewpoint is paramount to all others which a Mason may enter.
It can never be repudiated nor laid aside. Says the Ritual, p. 30, "We obligate them by solemn and irrevocable ties to perform the requirements of, and avoid the things prohibited by Masonry." "No law of the land can affect it, no anathema of the church can weaken it."
4. Masonry has its religious symbols and emblems.
"An emblem comprises a larger series of thought than a symbol which may be said rather to illustrate some single special idea. All esoteric societies have made use of emblems and symbols, such as the Pythagorean Society, the Eleusinians, the Hermetic Brethren of Egypt, the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons. Many of these emblems it is not proper to divulge to the general eye, and a very minute difference may make an emblem or symbol differ widely in its meaning."
A symbol is a complex thought clothed in a sensuous form. In religion, symbols are sensuous emblems of spiritual acts and objects. The cross as a Christian symbol signifies, to many, that Jesus Christ bore in His own body on the tree, our sins, and that He has made everlasting atonement for them. It signifies that on it, the Lord of Glory died for man, the creature's sin.
It is a reminder of the purchase price of our redemption and a banner proclaiming the victory of Christ over sin, death and the grave. While it was for ages before our era a symbol of immortality, or of "life to come," among the pagan nations, it has become emphatically a Christian symbol from the stress the Christian writers laid upon the vicarious sufferings of Christ.
Islam has its symbol, the Crescent. It signifies the Turkish power and the religion permeating and upholding it. And so almost every religion has its symbols, which set forth some prominent phase or conception thereof, or some doctrine thereto peculiar.
Masonry, too, has its unique religious symbols, which are held sacred by Masons, and who make them prominent factors in their worship and covenants. The chief symbols are the holy book, the square, the compass, the all seeing eye, the letter G, etc. The commonly used tools of the stone masons, have also become emblems, jewels and symbols in the craft.
The square and compass were employed by operative masons, but Freemasonry incorporated them into its speculative system, and makes them the symbols of moral and religious principles and sacred objects. They occupy a very high place, as is evident from their presence everywhere in the system.
They are inscribed upon its altars and engraved upon its jewelry. They are as prominent among Masons as the scarab beetle was upon the amulets and religious symbols of the ancient Egyptians. Besides these symbols, Masonry also has a number of emblems and jewels, which have a moral and religious signification in the order, all of which show that Masonry is a religion.
These symbols are reverenced and adored by Masons, especially in their religious services in the lodge. They are used in the Masonic devotions as devoutly as the Romanist counts his beads and adores the crucifix. They are employed to impress the candidate in his initiation, to enforce the obligation and Masonic fidelity to brethren, and to secure favors, positions, and honors in social, political and commercial spheres.
Their use is as prominent in the moral and religious life of the Mason as are the rosaries, images and crosses in that of the Romanist. He appeals to these symbols to prove his sincerity and honesty in his business transactions, employing them as sacred representations of things which his religious scruples regard as inviolable.
And these symbols are peculiarly and exclusively Masonic. In some states they have legal protection making it a misdemeanor for a person not a Mason to use them or wear them even as an ornament.
5. It has its confession of faith.
In the Christian system there is an objective faith, unique and peculiar, which is the pure Christian religion. The rule of that faith is the Bible, the Word of God. That faith received, accepted and believed, makes an individual a Christian. The confession of that faith marks the individual as a Christian.
So also there is an objective and unique faith in the Masonic system. The reception, acceptance and belief of that faith makes men Masons. The confession thereof marks them as Masons. The rule of that faith is the universe. The moral and religious truths which Masons profess to discern in, and derive from the book of nature, constitute the objective faith of Masonry.
That objective faith it sets forth in allegory and symbol, but keeping it deeply veiled. Its symbols, rightly understood and Masonically interpreted, set forth that faith, and that faith accepted by an individual makes him a Mason. To this creed or faith Masonry requires assent from every one who would pass the threshold of its lodge. In this it is inexorable.
This confession of faith in the Masonic deity is its religious test, the test which determines whether the candidate is willing and qualified to receive, accept and live the Masonic religion. With the change of his faith, there is also a change of his religion, if words mean anything and there is any consistency in language.
What Masons believe is indicated in the following: "The creed of a Mason is the belief in God, the Supreme Architect of the heaven and earth, the dispenser of all good gifts and the judge of the quick and the dead."
"Masonry does not attempt to interfere with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples, except so far as it relates to the belief in the existence of God, and what necessarily results from that belief."
"The person who desires to be made a Mason must be a man believing in the existence of a Supreme Being, and of a future existence."
"The foundation upon which Masonry rests is the belief and acknowledgment of a Supreme Being."
"The creed of a Mason is brief. It is a creed which demands and receives the universal consent of all men. It is a belief in God, the Supreme Architect of heaven and earth."
Pike says "Masonry propagates no creed except its own most simple and sublime one taught by nature and reason. The permanent and universal revelation is written in visible nature and explained by the reason, and is completed by the wise analogies of faith. There is but one true religion, one dogma, one legitimate belief." This creed differentiates the Masonic god from the Christian's God. This confession of faith in this Masonic Deity carries with it the repudiation of all former faith and religious belief not in harmony with it.
"There is not only to be a change for the future, but also an extinction of the past, for the initiation is as it were a death to the world and a resurrection to a new life." This means the extinction of the religious life, faith and hopes of the past profane life. From the Masonic statements, there is no evasion of this conclusion. The ceremony of initiation is Religious. There is a demand for faith in a specific deity, who is not Jehovah, but the Masonic deity, and that fact requires a change in religious views before the ceremony can proceed.
It is a demand that his former faith, if not in harmony with the Masonic faith, be renounced, and repudiated, and extinguished, not openly but tacitly, and supplanted by a faith in "that God whom Masons worship and reverence." It is a distinctively Masonic confession of the Masonic faith in the Masonic god. And this initiation is also to be a resurrection to a new life, that is a new religious and moral life, and to become alive unto the Masonic Religious Life, requires death unto the former religious life.
6. Masonry has its own priests.
A priest is a religious official, whose duty is to perform specific religious acts. Masonry has its priests of various degrees. "The master of the lodge is its priest."
If a chaplain is appointed he simply represents the master in the devotions of the lodge. These officials offer the prayers to the Masonic god, the Great Architect of the Universe, and also have part in the public religious exercises in which the lodge may engage.
The chaplain, an appointive office, is generally a minister of the gospel who has been hoodwinked into the lodge, but the services he conducts in that capacity, are Masonic and not Christian. He wears the insignia of his office, addresses the prayers to the Masonic deity, and invokes special favors upon the lodge. The religion expressed or the service conducted is emphatically Masonic, and he who conducts it, is for the time being a Masonic priest.
7. The religion administered by these religious officials is Masonry.
It can not be anything else. The prayers are those provided by Masonic authorities; they are couched in unmistakable Masonic language and they express decidedly Masonic sentiment. The hymns are Masonic, and the scripture passages read are expurgated of all Christian sentiment, so as to make them Masonic. Such passages are taken with slight but necessary modification, says Mackey. The modification is necessary in order to make them agree in sentiment with the Masonic religion.
8. Masonry has its own peculiar religious forms.
Religious Ceremonies Are Proofs of Religion. They are the outward forms in which the inner life or the religious sentiment finds expression. As such they signify and mean something. In some cases impressive and elaborate ceremonies are employed to inspire the devotee with awe, to impress him with the solemnity of the transaction, and to intensify his sense of obligation and duty to deity, and to his fellowmen. Without some form of ceremony, religion would be useless. Rites and ceremonies from the very nature of the religious notions are essential to its power and influence over man. A purely abstract religion can not exist. To be effectual religion must be presented in a concrete form, in befitting and expressive ceremony.
It must be evident to the most indifferent observer that Freemasonry has its own and peculiar religious rites, services and ceremonies. These are the "forms of words" and "the forms of needs" in the institution. They are designed and used on the one hand, to impress profoundly the candidate for initiation, and on the other to strengthen the Mason in his peculiar faith. These ceremonies are the outward signs of a distinct inward religious life, which is Masonry.
They are designed to beget within the Mason the belief that Freemasonry deals with the most sacred things with befitting solemnity; that the lodge is a most holy place, and "that its floor is holy ground." The candidate is made to feel that the "all seeing eye" is looking down upon him, and that he is about to be ushered into the very presence of deity.
The whole procedure in the lodge whether opening, working, "refreshment" or "closing" is a religious ceremony, intensely and exclusively religious, more so than many services conducted in a Christian church. It is worship, ceremony, service, religion throughout, and therefore the conclusion is irresistible that Freemasonry is a religion.
The Masonic initiation is purely a religious ceremony. It is as much so as is a confirmation or baptism in the churches, or the solemnization of marriage, or the ordination of a minister of the gospel. It is a ceremony in which a solemn agreement is made in which the Masonic deity is recognized as a party to the covenant, and whose help is implored.
In this act certain duties are set forth and recognized, obligations are assumed, solemn promises are made, and the god of Masonry is called upon to witness and confirm the same.
The only difference between the purpose of the ceremonies of the church and of Masonry, is in the kind of religion practiced and set forth. If the church is a Religious Institution, Masonry is also.
The initiation proper is preceded by the instruction of the candidate as follows: "Mr. J.H., the institution of which you are about to become a member is by no means of a little and trifling nature, but of high importance and deep solemnity. Masonry consists of a course of ancient hieroglyphical and moral instruction, taught according to ancient usages by types, emblems and allegorical figures. Even the ceremony of your gaining admission within these walls is emblematic of an event, which all must sooner or later experience. It is emblematic of your final exit from this world to the world to come. You are doubtless aware that whatever a man possesses here on earth, whether it be titles, honors, or even his own reputation will not gain him admission into the celestial lodge above, but previous to his gaining admission there, he must become poor and penniless, blind and naked, dependent on the sovereign will of our Supreme Grand Master; and in order to impress these truths more forcibly upon your mind, it is necessary that you be divested of your outward apparel and clad in a garment furnished you by the lodge."
This explanation has an intensely religious flavor. Everything is symbolic. The entrance into the lodge, even to its minor details, is emblematic of his entrance into heaven. The lodge here is a type of the lodge above.
The Grand Master here represents the Grand Master in heaven. The titles and honors here, earthly titles, count for nothing, but the honors, titles and secrets bestowed by the lodge count for everything in the lodge above.
The garment furnished by the lodge symbolizes the Masonic righteousness which will admit him into the lodge above. All this is religious ceremony.
After further preparation and questioning, the initiation proper begins. To the question, "Who comes here?" the senior deacon replies for the candidate, "A poor blind candidate, who is desirous of being brought from darkness to light, and receiving a part of the rights, lights and benefits of this worshipful lodge erected to God and dedicated to the holy Saint John, as many a brother and fellow has done before him."
The candidate, after further instruction is ordered to kneel at the altar and attend prayer, when the lodge is called up and the following prayer is offered: "Vouchsafe thine aid Almighty Father of the Universe to this our present convention; and grant that this candidate for Masonry may dedicate and devote his life to thy service, and become a true and faithful brother among us. Endue him with a competence of thy divine wisdom, that by the secrets of our art, he may be better enabled to displace the blots of birth, love relief and truth, to the honor of thy holy name. Amen. So mote it be."
Then a confession of faith is demanded of the candidate, and the ceremony goes on, every step being a religious act, culminating at the altar where the oath is taken and the covenant entered into, which, according to Masonic teachers, is the highest obligation a man can assume here on earth.
The initiation is positively religious, a religious allegory. In a general way, the stripping of the candidate and putting on the garments of the lodge, is emblematic of his conversion to Masonry, that is putting off the vices of the profane life and putting on the virtues of Masonry, the exchange of the polluted and profane worldly honors for the sacred honors of Masonry. It is with this ceremony that the Mason, unknowingly, renounces Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and puts on the mantle of a false god!
This initiation is his regeneration fitting him for the celestial lodge above. He is ushered either barefooted or slipshod into the lodge, to symbolize that he is on holy ground. He is hoodwinked to symbolize that he is in spiritual darkness, and needs the glorious light of Masonry in order to be able to gain relief, seek truth and subdue his passions. He receives solemn instructions at the south, the west, and the east as to his duties. This is the symbolic pilgrimage and symbolizes life and soul's travails.
He is solemnly obligated to keep secret and sacred that which is committed to him in the lodge then and thereafter, and as an evidence of his sincerity of intention kisses the holy book, and is then freed from his cabletow, and by the removal of the hoodwink, is brought to Masonic light, amidst clapping of hands and stamping of feet. This is the shock of entrance and symbolizes the throes of the new birth, the birth into Masonry.
At the door of the lodge the candidate confesses his ignorance, blindness and servitude to his passions. At the threshold of his induction he confesses his faith in the Masonic deity. Within the lodge all is religious ceremony. The "divestment" and "reinvestment," the "declination" and "perambulation," "salutation" and "obligation," the "induction," "pilgrimage" and "ceremony," "prayers" and "lectures" are all religious and have a religious signification.
After his covenant "he is received as a brother among them." He is received and fellowshiped by the fraternity, is regarded no longer polluted and profane, and is then symbolically "placed" as a stone in the temple. He has been regenerated, purified and placed. All these are religious acts and ceremonies. It is too apparent to be denied.
Thus far we have had in mind the first degree only. The ceremonies in the higher degrees are more intensely religious than in the first degree. They advance until they become "sublime and ineffable." These ceremonies are all designed to set forth a peculiar religion and that religion is Masonry.
In the third degree, the climax of the ceremony is the mock murder and resurrection of Hiram Abiff, the "Christ" of Masonry. This is made as solemn as the factual nature of the thing will permit. But it is a religious ceremony, a resurrection service, by which the candidate becomes entitled to eternal life. In a sense it is in Masonry what the resurrection of Christ is in Christianity.
"Few candidates may be aware that Hiram whom they have represented and personified is ideally and precisely the same as Christ. Yet such is undoubtedly the case. This old philoposphy shows what Christ as a glyph menas, and how the Christ state results from real initiation, or from the evolution of the human into the divine."
9. Masonry has its authorized rituals or book of forms.
A ritual is a book containing a prescribed order or form for religious services. Rituals are external marks and evidences of the exercise of religion. Masonry has its authorized rituals and forms of service. They are in evidence in the lodge room, and in their public services, such as dedications, installations, and burials.
In the rituals these services are prescribed and the details indicated by appropriate rules. This stamps Masonry as religion, as much as the die stamps the precious metal as coin.
Masonry is the most ritualistic of all secret religions. It has its forms for everything, initiations in the various degrees, dedications of public buildings, either civil or Masonic, laying of corner stones, installations, burials, baptisms for infants and youths, and what not. And these prescribed forms are faithfully adhered to. No departure from them is permissible. These rituals are necessary in order to prevent this Masonic religion from becoming corrupted by omissions or additions, for every ceremony must be "in due form."
10. It has its own peculiar worship.
The members of the Masonic fraternity exercise themselves in their Masonic religion according to the forms of service prescribed by the order. They take part in these services, and do it heartily. They are as devout and reverent in the lodge, as is the Christian in his worship in the sanctuary. There are set prayers, distinctively Masonic, which are solemnly and reverently said.
There are responses in the religious services in the lodge, which they ardently repeat. There are genuflexions, postures, and attitudes, all emphatically religious and distinctively Masonic, which they cheerfully assume, and there are hymns and odes, also Masonic, which are joyously sung. These exercises would be very incongruous in a church because the religion they express is foreign to that which a Christian church teaches.
It also has a distinctive burial service for its dead. It is for those only who die in the Masonic faith. Only third degree Masons are entitled to Masonic burial. To hold this service for one who is not a Mason, would be from the Masonic viewpoint, sacrilege of the highest kind. And only Masons take part in the burial service.
It is not for the lips of the "profane." It is the exercise of a purely Masonic religion by men who have been made Masons in due form. It has a Baptismal service for infants and for youths. It has in some countries a marriage and communion service. It has all the external and essential marks of Religion. Whatever else may be found in Masonry, science, philosophy, history or ethics, the dominant factor in the institution is religion. Freemasonry is a Religion!
11. Freemasonry has its own distinctive deity whom it worships and adores.
Freemasonry professes to have in its possession a correct knowledge of the Great Architect of the Universe who in its view is the true God. This knowledge it professes to teach inerrantly to its disciples by means of its symbolism and ceremonies.
"I publish without reserve what has been involved in secrecy, not ashamed to tell you what you are not ashamed to worship."
Correctly stated it constitutes its body of divinity, its "divine truth which is the center of its system, the point from which all its radii diverge." Upon this correct knowledge of its deity and the doctrines concerning his attributes, nature and work, the institution is founded, and in this god idea is the key that unlocks its secrets, interprets its symbols and emblems, and explains its allegories and ceremonies. Given this god idea and the chaotic mass of objects, symbols, and philosophical remnants resolve themselves into system and order. This peculiar god idea, in order to conceal its true nature, the institution deeply veils and conceals beneath the garments of Christianity, "So as to lead conceited interpreters astray." Freemasonry then, has a system of divinity, a body of doctrine concerning this Great Architect. This doctrine it holds as absolutely correct both in content and in statement. In its opinion it is the Truth of the Divine.
This Masonic doctrine concerning the divine is as may be expected, peculiar to this institution. It (Masonry) has nothing in common with Christian Theology, except certain theological terms, which it employs not in the Christian but in the Masonic sense. masonic1.htm