John Salza
The following are FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that I commonly receive regarding Freemasonry. My answers, while providing some general information about Masonry, only scratch the surface of why Freemasonry is incompatible with the Christian faith. By way of background, I was a 32nd degree Mason and Shriner, as well as a Blue lodge officer and Proficiency cardholder. A Proficiency card is a rare Masonic credential conferred upon those Masons who are considered experts in Masonic ritual.
I spent several years in Freemasonry before rediscovering the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church. By God’s grace, I have written a book on the religious and moral teachings of Freemasonry and why these teachings are incompatible with Christianity. The book also discusses my personal struggles with Masonry and how I left the Lodge. My hope is that this book will serve as the most comprehensive resource in explaining why the teachings of the Lodge are irreconcilable with the Christian faith.
There are many misunderstandings among the general public about the organization called Freemasonry (also known as “Masonry” or “the Lodge”). While much of the public thinks that Freemasonry is just a fraternity, Masonry has been judged by every Christian church that has studied it to be a religion that is incompatible with Christianity.
Freemasonry has a very formal religious system which includes a belief in God as the Grand Architect of the Universe, the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body. Masonry also believes that man can achieve salvation by his good works, independent of God’s gift of grace. Notwithstanding its belief in God, resurrection of the body, and salvation by works, Masonry does not require its members to believe in Jesus Christ or His Church.
Freemasonry is also controversial because it keeps its religious and moral teachings secret behind the Lodge doors. To that end, Masonry requires its members to swear to God an oath that they will never reveal the teachings of the Lodge lest they be worthy of a gruesome death (for example, being worthy of having one’s throat cut across, heart plucked out, and body severed in two). While Masonry conditions its members to believe that Freemasonry is just a fraternity, it slowly draws its Christian members away from Jesus Christ by offering them a different plan of salvation through Masonic virtue and good works. By God’s grace, more and more men are leaving the Lodge each year and revealing the incompatibilities between Freemasonry and the Christian faith.
How does Freemasonry define itself?
While Masons claim that Freemasonry is just a fraternity, Masonry universally defines itself as “a regular system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols.” Thus, its own definition reveals that it is more than a fraternity. Freemasonry defines itself as such because it teaches a system of morality through allegory and symbolism that, when faithfully practiced, leads all Masons to “the celestial lodge above,” irrespective of their individual religious beliefs. Freemasonry is far more than a social club.
From a Christian perspective, any organization that claims to be a system of morality (especially one whose moral teachings are secret and are said to lead Masons to eternal life) must be evaluated in light of Scripture and the teachings of the Church. If the moral teachings of an organization are not rooted in God’s Revelation in Jesus Christ, they present incompatibilities with the Christian faith. As applied to Masonry, these incompatibilities include a denial of God’s gift of grace in the process of justification and salvation which come to us exclusively through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
What is the origin of Freemasonry?
The origins of Freemasonry are debated, even among Masons. Most Masons, however, agree that the birth of modern Freemasonry occurred in 1717 in England during the dawn of the Enlightenment period. During this period, there was an intellectual movement that spread throughout Europe called Rationalism, whereby human reason was exalted above God’s Revelation. This resulted in a religious subjectivism in which man could now decide what was true and what wasn’t true on matters of faith and morals. The Christian truths of the fall, original sin, and the necessity of redemption were abandoned. Ecclesiastical authority was also forsaken. God became a deistic “Grand Architect of the Universe” that was sought and worshiped in all religions. These elements have been preserved in modern Freemasonry.
Ironically, although almost every Protestant church has condemned Freemasonry, the movement of Rationalism actually brought about the Protestant Reformation. Luther and other Protestant “reformers” substituted private judgment for the teaching authority of the Catholic Church, and this has led to thousands of divisions within Christianity. But while Protestants have removed the teaching authority of the Church from their religion, Masons have removed Christ Himself.
What are Freemasonry’s teachings and practices?
Freemasonry is governed by certain fundamental and unalterable precepts that the organization calls “Landmarks.” Landmarks have been handed down from one Masonic generation to the next through secret rituals and oral tradition. While there is no consensus on all the Landmarks, most Masons agree that the Landmarks include a belief in God as the Grand Architect of the Universe, the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body.
The Landmarks also include the conferral of the death and resurrection rite of the third degree (also called the Hiramic legend), the teaching of moral and religious truths through symbolism, the requirement for secrecy, the necessity for candidates to have full use of their mental faculties and limbs (no physically or mentally handicapped men can become Masons) and the requirement of swearing covenant oaths with self-curses as a condition for membership.
Freemasonry also reverences all religious writings and places these writings on par with God’s written Word found in the Bible. Thus, Masonry places all religious writings on its altar (Book of Mormon, the Vedas, Zend Avesta, the Sohar, the Kabalah, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Upanishads or any other religious writing). This is because, unlike Christianity, Freemasonry does not believe that the Bible is the revealed written Word of God. Instead, Freemasonry views all religions as equally plausible attempts to explain the truth about God which, in the end, cannot be known.
How is Freemasonry organized?
Freemasonry is organized by lodges (also called Blue lodges) which come under the authority of a Grand Lodge and its Most Worshipful Grand Master. There are 51 Grand Lodges in the United States (one for each state and the district of Columbia). Each Grand Lodge is the governing authority for Freemasonry in a given jurisdiction, and all Blue lodges in that jurisdiction report to the respective Grand Lodge. There is, however, no single Grand Lodge or governing authority over the world’s Freemasonry. The principle officer of the Blue lodge is called the Worshipful Master. The Blue lodges, under the authority of its Grand Lodge, make men Masons through the conferral of ceremonial rituals called “degrees.”
There are three degrees in Freemasonry that are conferred by the Blue lodge – the Entered Apprentice (1st) degree, the Fellowcraft (2nd) degree, and the Master Mason (3rd) degree. A candidate is initiated an Entered Apprentice, passed to the degree of Fellowcraft, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason.
Who speaks for Freemasonry?
Masonic ritual is the principle authority that speaks for Freemasonry. While there is no exact uniformity in Masonic ritual from state to state, the rituals are essentially the same. Masons thus boast of the universality of Freemasonry. Moreover, although Masonic ritual is not identical from state to state, every Grand Lodge in the United States recognizes each other as practicing valid Freemasonry. This means that Masons from one state can visit a lodge in another state and are generally allowed to participate in the ritual work.
When a Christian criticizes the teachings of Freemasonry using the rituals, the Mason often evasively responds by saying “No one speaks for Freemasonry.” Such a response is not genuine, and is really just an effort to avoid addressing the rituals. Any honest Mason would admit that his Grand Lodge’s ritual is the authority that speaks for Masonry in his jurisdiction, and it is from these rituals that we learn of Masonry’s teachings about God, resurrection, and eternal life, without any requirement to believe in Jesus Christ.
The other important authority that explains the meaning of Masonry is the Masonic Bible. This Bible, which is typically the King James Version of the Old and New Testament, includes an extensive addendum of Masonic definitions and terminology. This book is generally given to Masons after they receive their third degree, and can be ordered from most Grand Lodges throughout the country. Other secondary authorities include writings by the friends of Masonry, such as Henry Wilson Coil, Albert Mackey, and Albert Pike, all of whom declare that Freemasonry is a religion and that this religion is not Christianity
Copyright 2001 – 2007 © by John Salza. All Rights Reserved.
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