About 1860 a noted Masonic writer and authority named J.M. Ragon, reinstituted the Masonic Baptisms of the young through what was called “Ritual of Adoption.” The ceremony was only available to the children of Masons that had attained the age of seven. The ceremony was described as follows on page 39 of the above cited Freemason’s Encyclopaedia:
“The Master lays hands on the children, places honey on their lips, dips the right hand of each in water and gives them bread and wine. An apron is put about them and they receive white gloves as a gift, after which they are saluted by the Master with a triple kiss of peace on the cheeks and forehead. They are also consecrated, with hands extended over the head. In fine, they are proclaimed adopted Lowtons and children of the Lodge.”
Another reference to baptism comes from page 287 of the same encyclopaedia quote from above. This is under the subtitle of “Waters of Cleansing” and applies to adults who are passing through initiation.
“Prior to any initiation the Candidate from all time was required to undergo that which is termed in the Mysteries a Rite of Lustration. The external was not, of course, without the inward cleansing by the hypothesis of such procedure and was obviously symbolical. The Candidate passed through a kind of baptism, the intention and significance of which were in analogy with those of the Christian Rite performed on every child of the present age. It had correspondence also with the sacrament of penance. The baptismal rite is regarded at this day by the great churches as automatically communicating a grace and creating a condition in the recipient, and this confusion of the sign with the thing it signified seems to have been characteristic also of the old Temple procedure: the ceremonial act looms so largely in the records that the spirit and meaning behind it emerge nowhere; but they may by possibility have been present in the consciousness of the Mysteries as these were formulated at the beginning, while something must be allowed—here and there—for a state of awareness in the Candidate respecting the meaning behind ceremonial. As the act of will is exercised by sponsors on behalf of the child in baptism, so the Candidate for initiation—though, in a sense, he has also sponsors—exercises it on his own behalf, and some in the old days who sought the secret life of the Temples with zeal of heart may have brought a certain understanding as a warrant for desire and aid.”
As you can see the Masons use baptism as a form of cleansing in preparation for initiation into the Order. In most instances it is cleansing through water as in the scriptures, and it is a form of repentance. Page 287 of the above quoted encyclopaedia provides:
“It so happens that the preliminaries in question [baptism] are practically those which are imposed on every person who has placed himself under any form of spiritual direction, and thus far therefore the regimen which preceded initiation translates easily into corresponding terms of ordinary devotional life. So rendered, the initial processes comprehend repentance—which is the rebaptism of a sinner - prayer, fasting and works of charity.”
Purification by Fasting
Another form of preparation of the Candidate deals with dietary fasting. They believe that by the reduction of diet the channels of communication are cleansed between the soul and the world-soul. This is particularly true regarding the preparation of the Candidate in the Rites to come. Page 288 of the Freemason’s Encyclopaedia defines this necessity:
“Purification by Fasting—In this way we come to understand why it was that—in some modified form or strict, for the regimen varied—fasting was expected of the Candidate. The intellectual philosophy of initiation—for there was certainly this in the background, if not something deeper—regarded the senses as a clouded means of communication between the soul and the world soul: it endeavored by the reduction of diet and other precautions to cleanse the channels of communication for the purpose of the Rite to come, to modify and—so far as possible to transfigure the appeal of things manifested through the senses and thus to create within the recipient a new point of relationship towards that which was external to himself. I shall not need to say that such purification and such an altered standpoint, on one or another degree, are required of all persons who are elected to any spiritual life.”
Have you any doubts remaining that Masonry is a religion? Rebirth, resurrection, salvation, baptism and fasting is a part, and perhaps by far the most important part, of the Masonic doctrine, or should I say religion? But, there is more!
Purification by Prayer
Prayer is cited by the Masons as a part of the purification of the Candidate for initiation in attaining his “born-again” experience on becoming a Master Mason. However, they also teach that prayer should be put in practice by the everyday Mason. Unfortunately, they limit prayer to that which is reasonable and coincides with law and order and does not disturb universal harmony. Page 288 of the Mason’s Encyclopaedia points this out:
“Prayer also was imposed on the Postulant, at least in the sense of the external Rites, Festivals and Offices of the Temple on their external side, and sometimes in one that was deeper. I can speak of it only in the light of our present understanding on the mystical side, for I think in my heart that it was dead and empty in the pagan world of the West. We are told that the prayer of the just man availeth much, and the reason is that it coincides with the law and the order. In other words, it is fulfilled—or becomes an operating power—because it lies wholly within the sovereign reason of things. The prayer which suspends that reason or is contrary to such law avails nothing, unless indeed as a disturbing element in the universal harmony. The mountains which are moved by supplication, even as by faith, are within us, not without us, and the Kingdom and the bread which we ask for are not of this external world.”
Can the Christian Mason accept this teaching, doctrine or belief? Is prayer really that limited by nature? If so, what is the need for prayer? Let’s discuss this doctrine on prayer.
The Scripture the Masonic authority was attempting to quote is found in James 5:16, and it reads like this:
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Unfortunately he did not go to the very next verse and the one after that. They read:
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
“And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”
Elias’ prayer certainly defied nature! That was the purpose of James using the example of the mighty prayer of Elias. He is saying that Elias was no different than you or me, but because he was righteous and full of faith, his prayers were heard even though they stopped the rain for three years. The Masonic teaching is exactly opposite to what James was trying to tell the followers of Jesus Christ. It had nothing to do with nature or with reason. It has to do with righteousness and faith! To limit a prayer of a righteous man to “universal harmony” is a bunch of baloney, and robs the Christian Mason of his faith and power through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that whatever we ask of the Father in his name, it would be granted unto us. He did not put limitations upon that promise and, certainly, did not limit our prayers to reasonable requests consistent with law and order, and universal harmony. Our prayers are answered through the Holy Spirit who has no limitations.
The local Mason will deny and argue that Masonry is not a religion, but the reader can make his own decision. As for the men that wrote, created and developed the Masonic doctrine there is no confusion.
There is Albert Pike. He wrote and developed the revision of the Scottish Rite under the auspices of the Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., served as sovereign grand inspector of the Scottish Rite for many years and is considered American Freemasonry’s most eminent philosopher. Pike writes in his Morals and Dogma at page 213:
“Every Masonic lodge is a temple of religion and its teachings are instruction in religion.”
and, at page 161:
“But Masonry teaches, and has pr
eserved in their purity, the cardinal tenets of the old primitive faith, which underlie and are the foundation of all religions. All that ever existed have had a basis of truth; all have overlaid the truth with error.”
What Pike is saying is that Masonry is not only a religion, but that it is the universal religion. It has stripped sectarian religion of encrusted “errors” and reveals itself as the universal religion. While religion gathers superstition and error,· Masonry remains pure and undefiled. It becomes Christianity without Christ, Judaism without the law, Islam without the prophet.
Another noted Masonic authority, Albert A. Mackey, in his Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, at pages 617-619 writes:
“I contend, without any sort of hesitation, that Masonry is, in every sense of the word, except one, and that its least philosophical, an eminently religious institution... that without this religious element it would scarcely be worthy of cultivation by the wise and good... Who can deny that it is eminently a religious institution?... But the religion of Masonry is not sectarian... It is not Judaism, though there is nothing in it to offend the Jew; it is not Christianity, but there is nothing in it repugnant to the faith of a Christian. Its religion is that general one of nature and primitive revelation—handed down to us from some ancient and patriarchal priesthood—in which all men agree and in which no men can differ. It inculcates the practice of virtue, but supplies no scheme of redemption of sin.”
Mackey writes further in his Text Book of Masonic Jurisprudence at page 95:
“The truth is that Masonry is pure theism. The truth is that Masonry is undoubtedly a religious institution...which, handed down through a long succession of ages from that ancient priesthood who first taught it, embraces the great tenets of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul.”
And, again in his Encyclopaedia at page 731:
“The Religious Doctrines of Freemasonry are very simple and self-evident. They are darkened by no perplexities of sectarian theology but stand out in broad light, intelligible and acceptable by all minds, for they ask only for a belief in God and in the immortality of the soul.”
Mackey at page 619 adds:
“Look at its ancient landmarks, its sublime ceremonies, its profound symbols and allegories—all inculcating religious observance, and teaching religious truth, and who can deny that it is eminently a religious institution?... Masonry, then, is indeed a religious institution; and on this ground mainly, if not alone, should the religious Mason defend it.”
Contemporary Masonry’s most distinguished scholar and authority, Henry Wilson Coil, offers this opinion in his Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia at page 512:
“Some attempt to avoid the issue by saying that Freemasonry is not a religion but is religious, seeming to believe that the substitution of an adjective for a noun makes a fundamental difference. It would be as sensible to say that man had no intellect but was intellectual or that he had no honor but was honorable. The oft repeated aphorism: ‘Freemasonry is not a religion, but is most emphatically religion’s handmaid,’ has been challenged as meaningless, which it seems to be.”
Coil devoted over fifteen thousand words to this question and at page 512 asks these questions of his own:
“Does Freemasonry continually teach and insist upon a creed, tenet, and dogma? Does it have meetings characterized by the practice of rites and ceremonies in and by which its creed, tenet, and dogma are illustrated by myths, symbols, and allegories? If Freemasonry were not a religion, what would have to be done to make it such? Nothing would be necessary or at least nothing but to add more of the same.”
Coil continues:
“That brings us to the real crux of the matter; the difference between the lodge and a church is one of degree and not of kind. Some think that, because it is not a strong or highly formalized of highly dogmatized religion such as the Roman Catholic Church where it is difficult to tell whether the congregation is worshiping God, Christ, or the Virgin Mary, it can be no religion at all. But a church of Friends [Quakers] exhibits even less formality and ritual than a Masonic lodge. The fact that Freemasonry is a mild religion does not mean it is no religion.”
Can the local Mason reasonably contend that Masonry is not a religion when the great Masonic writers and creators say otherwise? Perhaps he contends such because he has no idea what he is into, and has no incentive to find out. A universal religion? How ridiculous! But listen to Pike again at page 226:
“Masonry, around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Moslem, the Brahmin, the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above all Baalim, must needs leave to each of its Initiates to look for the foundation of his faith and hope to the written scriptures of his own religion. For itself it finds those truths definite enough, which are written by the finger of God upon the heart of man and on the pages of the book of nature.”
Masonry is a religion and one that is complete in itself. At no time does it refer a member to another source of religion such as a church. In fact, Masonry contends that the lodge is church enough, and that one can find in Freemasonry a completely satisfying spiritual home. Those that desert the church for the lodge would receive the commendation of the Masonic writer Sir John Cockburn, who contends, “Creeds arise, have their day and pass, but Masonry remains. It is built on the rock of truth, not on the shifting sands of superstition.”
Just what kind of religion is the subject of the next chapter? Is it compatible with Christianity? Is it really based upon the Bible as the local Mason so emphatically believes? The answers to these questions will surprise you and may disappoint a lot of Christian Masons.
Chapter 11: What Kind of Religion is Masonry?
Let us put one notion to rest that all local Masons believe. All claim that Masonry is based on the Bible! Not so. Masonry has nothing to do with the Bible. No special authority is placed on the Old or New Testament. A Masonic lodge of Muslims substitute the Koran, a predominately Hindu lodge the Vedas, etc. The Digest of Masonic Law, written by George Wingate Chase, makes it abundantly clear at page 207:
“To say that a candidate profess a belief in the divine authority of the Bible is a serious innovation in the very body of Masonry. The Jews, the Chinese, the Turks, each reject either the Old or the New Testament, or both, and yet we see no good reason why they should not be made Masons. In fact, Blue Lodge Masonry has nothing whatever to do with the Bible; it is not founded on the Bible. If it was, it would not be Masonry; it would be something else.”
Could that be any clearer? Masonry is not based upon the Bible! Period! Brother Pike strengthens this at page 11 of his Morals and Dogma:
“The Bible is an indispensable part of the furniture of a Christian lodge only because it is the sacred book of the Christian religion. The Hebrew Pentateuch in a Hebrew Lodge, and the Koran in a Mohammedan one, belong on the Altar; and one of these, and the Square and Compass, properly understood, are the Great Lights by which a Mason must walk and work. The obligation of the candidate is always to be taken on the sacred book or books or his religion, that he may deem it more solemn and binding; and therefore it was that you are of what religion you were. We have no other concern with your religious creed.”
Consequently, the Bible (or whatever) in the lodge room is not a standard of religious belief but only a symbol of a religious attitude toward life. No certain religion is required, and certainly not Christianity. The best example of Masonry being an independent and universal religion is the restriction that neither the church nor any other organization may participate in a Masonic funeral service. Read what Coil observes in his Encyclopedia at page 512:
“A man may be born without religious ceremony; he may be married without religious ceremony; but one moment comes to every man when he feels the need of that missing thing—when he comes to crossing into the great beyond. Freemasonry has a religious service to commit the body of a deceased brother to the dust whence it came and to speed the liberated spirit
back to the Great Source of Light. Many Freemasons make this flight with no other guarantee of a safe landing than their belief in the religion of Freemasonry.”
If the Bible is not the foundation upon which Freemasonry was laid, then upon what is this religion based? The root of Masonry is more than the Hiriamatic legend (which is only a myth). It goes back to the beginning of this work. It has to do with Osiris and the “ineffable name.” Yes, it is more than naming the doctrine as a religion of naturalism as the Roman Catholic Church has done on many occasions. It has to do with Egypt, the Instituted Mysteries and the other pagan legends of resurrections and gods. It has to do with the temptation of Eve and the fall of Lucifer—not man! Masonry is a misguided quest for Divine Wisdom. It is the same deal that slew foot offered Adam’s bride. As Eve discovered, Divine Wisdom was not available to her and she and her husband were brought down. The same is true of Masonry. They teach a religion of self-knowledge that is supposed to gain them immortality. If there is a label it is “Gnosticism.”
The word “gnosis” comes from the Greek language and means superior wisdom; knowledge of mysteries and spiritual truths, or wise. Masonry is wisdom teaching and its scholars agree. Wilmshurst in his Meaning of Masonry at page 87 and 88 states this in clear terms:
The Gods of the Lodge Page 13