“...But the Freemasons having no faith in those things which we have learned by the revelation of God, deny that our first parents sinned, and consequently think that free will is not at all weakened and inclined to evil. On the contrary, exaggerating rather our natural virtue and excellence and placing therein alone the principle and rule of justice, they cannot even imagine that there is any need at all of a constant struggle and a perfect steadfastness to overcome the violence and rule of our passions.
“What therefore the sect of the Freemasons is, and what course it pursues, appears sufficiently from the summary We have briefly given. Their chief dogmas are so greatly and manifestly at variance with reason, that nothing can be more perverse. To wish to destroy the religion and the Church which God Himself established, and whose perpetuity He insures by His protection, and to bring back after a lapse of eighteen centuries the manners and customs of the pagans, is signal folly and audacious impiety. Neither is it less horrible nor more tolerable that they should repudiate the benefits which Jesus Christ has mercifully obtained, not only for individuals, but also for the family and for civil society, benefits which, even according to the judgment and testimony of enemies of Christianity, are very great. In this insane and wicked endeavor we may almost see the implacable hatred and spirit of revenge with which Satan himself is inflamed against Jesus Christ. So also the studious endeavor of the Freemasons to destroy the chief foundations of justice and honesty, and to cooperate with those who would wish, as if they were mere animals, to do what they please, tends only to the ignominious and disgraceful ruin of the human race.”
The document concludes with this warning:
“Let no one be deceived by a pretense of honesty. It may seem to some that Freemasons demand nothing that is openly contrary to religion and morality; but as the whole principle and object of the sect lies in what is vicious and criminal, to join with these men or in any way to help them cannot be lawful.”
Thus, you have the explanation of why Pike wrote the Scottish rituals in such a derogatory fashion directed toward the Catholic Church. Now you see the reason why the skull with the papal tiara is stabbed and the symbol is called an imposture. However, this is not a valid explanation of why the second skull is bowed down to and is referred to as “the immortal martyr of virtue.” So that there will be no misunderstanding, the second skull with the laurel wreath is not the Christ as some members of the Order believe. It is Hiram. So we have the Grand Master and the candidate for the Degree bowing down to a little known brass worker of the Old Testament, and he is called “immortal martyr of virtue.” Is this what is referred to as “thou shalt have no other gods before me”? Should a Christian be bowing before the memory of a man who is believed to be immortal, other than Jesus Christ?
This should also present quite a problem to the Jewish member. This would certainly be a violation of the commandment that says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me!” This is a rerun of the Israelites in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. They bowed to the Egyptian calf and lost the promise. I wonder what their modern justification of Scottish Rite is? I believe their God, Jehovah, and not the Great Architect of the Universe, will accept no reason for this disobedience.
And lastly, the third oath of this thirtieth degree should be most incompatible to Christianity of them all. As the Grand Provost of Justice points a sword at the heart of the candidate, the Candidate swears among other things to:
“I furthermore solemnly promise and swear never to slander a Knight Kadosh, and never to cause him any prejudice either by word or action. And should I ever infringe or violate any of my obligations I now take, I do from this moment accept and consent to undergo the sentence which may be ‘pronounced against me by this dreaded tribunal, which I hereby acknowledge as my Supreme Judge. All of which I promise to do, under the penalty of death. So help me God.”
Can a Christian agree and promise under a penalty of death that someone is his “Supreme Judge” other than God? The answer is obvious: NO! But how can the Christian member of Scottish Rite justify this oath? Some say that it is not taken to be what it says, while others grin and say that they were not listening. I believe that those men who call themselves Christian who have taken this oath and refuse to denounce it are indeed under a penalty of death, but not a Masonic one—an eternal one!
Masonry is totally incompatible with the Christian doctrine from serving different gods, to offering separate salvation plans and ultimately restricting the application to a chosen few. Masonry tolerates a member’s religion so long as it does not conflict with the oaths that the Mason has taken. These oaths are so many and so lengthy that the average Mason does not recall what he has promised or sworn to under a penalty of a horrible death. He has no idea what he has given away in so far as his Christian beliefs are concerned. He may, and most probably has, given away his salvation.
Some will read this and believe that this is too harsh a conclusion and that this is too narrow a judgment to place on millions of men living, as well as those millions that have died in Masonry. However, the Word of God means what it says and must be obeyed. To the Christian the way is narrow and straight. A Christian cannot partake of another Gospel, particularly when another plan of salvation is tolerated and taught. Christ is the only redeemer of the world. If He is not, then He was the biggest liar that ever lived and God must wear an apron. If He does, then I am lost, undone and in deep darkness. But I don’t believe I have missed and I have staked my life on this! What must a Christian Mason stake his life on? Masonry or Christianity? They must make this choice before death.
Chapter 13: Toleration
It is believed that Masonry teaches and practices Toleration. Donn A. Cass in his little book Negro Freemasonry and Segregation wrote favorably of the Masons and summed up this subject as follows:
“It teaches Toleration, and inculcates in the strongest manner that great leading idea of the Ancient Art—that belief in the one true God, and a moral and virtuous life, constitute the only religious requisites needed to enable a man to be a Mason (page 144).
“...The true Mason loves not only his kindred and his country, but all mankind; not only the good, but also the evil among his brethren...
“The old theologies, the philosophies of religion of ancient times, will not suffice us now; there are errors to be made away with, and their places supplied with new truths, radiant with the glories of heaven. There are great wrongs and evils in Church and State, in domestic, social, and public life, to be righted and outgrown.
“It sees with the eye of memory the ruthless extermination of all the people, of all sexes and ages—because it was their misfortune not to know the god of the Hebrews, or to worship him under the wrong name—by the savage troops of Moses and Joshua... (page 145).
“...Therefore she teaches her votaries [members] that toleration is one of the chief duties of every good Mason. The Masonic system regards all the human race as members of one great family—as having the same origin and the same destination; all the distinctions of rank, lineage, or nativity, are alike unknown” (page 147).
All the above is false when the record and history of Masonry is measured against such high and glorious ideas of “toleration.” I will begin this discussion with the requirements for membership in Masonry. Before a candidate can enter the Lodge for entry into the first degree on Masonry he is asked if the candidate is “worthy and well qualified, of lawful age, a man, freeborn, of good repute...” Now, unless I have missed the point entirely, this would exclude the following people from seeking entry: women, blacks, and young people under age 21.
Let’s go further. In the oath of the third degree, Master Mason degree, the candidate swears to the following under penalty of death:
“Further, that I will not aid, nor be present at, the initiation, passing, or raising of a woman, an old man in his dotage, a young man in his nonage, an atheist, a madman, or fool, knowing them to be such.
“Further, that I will not sit in
a Lodge of clandestine made Masons, nor converse on the subject of Masonry with a clandestine-made Mason, nor with one who has been expelled or suspended from a lodge, while under the sentence, knowing him or them to be such.”
Now we have quite a list of people that are excluded from an organization that teaches toleration to all people as one great family. But there is still another group of people that are excluded, the physically handicapped. To be a Mason a man must be able to perform a day’s labor for a just pay. So the group has grown to women, blacks, young people, old people and the physically handicapped.
Some will take issue with the claim that Masons exclude blacks from their Order. A review of the history of the black issue in Freemasonry will support my claim. In discussing this issue certain terms must be defined. The word “clandestine” will be used in referring to Prince Hall Freemasonry (Black Masonry) and the best definition I could find comes from Waite’s New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry on page xiv:
“Clandestine—A very unsatisfactory term used to designate unauthorized Lodges, etc. The word connotes that which is done in secret against the law, but the characteristic of irregular Masonries is anything but to work in hiddenness.”
On September 29, 1784, The Grand Lodge of England issued a charter in the name of African Lodge No. 459 to a man named Prince Hall and fourteen companions in Boston, Massachusetts. Ordinarily this would have been no historical occasion. However, the fact that these men were all black made a great difference and its legality is discussed to modern day in Masonic lodges throughout America. Thus, the birth of black Freemasonry in this country under the name of “Prince Hall Freemasonry.” The attitude of white Masonry is best explained by Cass at page 84:
“The growth and development of Negro Freemasonry since the organization of Prince Hall Grand Lodge has been marked by a number of struggles and controversies, many of which have been described in this work. Not the least of these difficulties has been the prejudiced attitude of many white Masons and Masonic bodies, who have steadily refused to recognize the historically accurate evidence which proves conclusively the legitimacy and regularity of the larger majority of Negro Lodges.”
Masonic authority, Dr. Mackey, author of Jurisprudence of Freemasonry and many other noted Masonic works, states in his Voice of Masonry, Volume 14, page 423:
“Racial prejudice existed in American Masonry, but it would be unjust to charge the organized Masonic institution because of the personal prejudice of some of its members. And that the Prince Hall Lodge of Boston, whether originally legal or not, certainly lost its legality, subsequently, if it ever had it. And whether legal or not, as a particular Lodge, it could, under no law of Masonry be recognized in this country, or assume of its own volition the functions of a Grand Lodge. Therefore all subordinate Lodges formed under its obedience are irregular and their members are clandestine.”
This opinion is carried to this day in mainline Blue Lodge Masonry. With few exceptions there are no black members in a “regular” Masonic lodge. Hence, you are referred to the Masonic oath of the Master Mason vowing to never discuss Masonry or to sit at the initiation of a “clandestine” Mason. A black Mason is restricted to the Prince Hall Masonry and is clandestine. Under no circumstances are such allowed in a Masonic Lodge meeting or function of the Lodge.
As an example of the attitude of the grand lodges in the southern area of America toward the black Masonry issue I recommend a work done by Loretta J. Williams entitled Black Freemasonry and Middle-class Realities. She quotes a letter written by the Grand Lodge of Mississippi in 1908 to the New Jersey Grand Lodge after news of an initiation of a black man into the mainline body:
“Masonry never contemplated that her privileges should be extended to a race, totally, morally and intellectually incapacitated to discharge the obligations which they assume or have conferred upon them in a Masonic Lodge. It is no answer that there are exceptions to this general character of the race. We legislate for the race and not for the exceptions. We hold that affiliation with negroes is contrary to the teachings of Masonry, and is dangerous to the interest of the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons.”
This attitude was the norm and not the exception at that time. In fact, the birth of the Ku Klux Klan is credited to the Masons by many scholars of Masonic history.
The founder of the Ku Klux Klan was a former confederate general and a Freemason, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The Scottish Rite creator, Albert Pike held the office of Chief Justice of the Klan while he was simultaneously Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite. Pike’s racism was well known. He expressed his concept of Masonic toleration and brotherhood rather succinctly when he wrote:
“I took my obligation to white men, not to negroes. When I have to accept negroes as brothers or leave Masonry, I shall leave it.”
Pike is also credited with writing the original ritual of the Klan. The reader is recommended to review Joseph A. Walkes, Jr., book entitled Black Square and Compass for the views of Pike and other Masonic authorities on, this subject.
The connection between the Ku Klux Klan and Masonry has been the subject of several historians. William Pierce Randel’s work entitled The Ku Klux Klan provided at page 200:
“The Klan shared its Protestant restrictiveness with the Masons and more than once sought to capitalize on the parallel. Kleagles commonly remarked to prospects, in an offhand manner, that ‘the Klan is, in fact, a Masonic movement.’ Many leading Klansmen, in both the old Klan and the new, were Masons; [Hiram] Evans himself had gained the 32nd Degree.”
In David M. Chalmers’ book Hooded Americanism the historian wrote at page 34:
“Whenever possible, F.Y. Clarke [a Klan leader] selected his salesmen from among members of other lodges, since they would be likely to be skilled in the world of ritualism and fraternal dynamics. He particularly favored Masons because of the size of their own order and because the chances were they would not be overly friendly toward Roman Catholics. Many Masonic leaders bitterly denounced and fought the Klan both for its divisive effects within their lodges and because they disapproved of violent intolerance. However, the rank and file turned to the Klan by the thousands, and the Scottish Rite Mason and Orange lodges were particularly rich hunting grounds.”
Another researcher, Lynn Dumenil, in a work entitled Freemasonry and American Culture written in 1984 documented the close connection of the Klan and Masonry and at pages 122 and 123 stated:
“Another indication that Masons were susceptible to the racism and anti-Semitism of the period [1920s] was the popularity of the Ku Klux Klan with Masons. Although no reliable figure exists, the KKK appears to have been quite successful in recruiting Masons to its ranks... While its influence in local lodges probably varied widely, the infiltration of the Klan was noticeable enough that most Grand Masters, prompted by unfavorable public opinion and dismay over the dissension the Klan was promoting within Masonry, found it necessary to make a statement either condemning the Ku Klux Klan or denying Masonry’s connection with it.”
A convert to the Klan was a man named Hugo Black. He was a high ranking Mason and eventually became a justice of the United States Supreme Court. His native state was Alabama and his widow wrote in her memoirs entitled Mr. Justice and Mrs. Black: The Memoirs of Hugo L. Black and Elizabeth Black printed in 1986 by Random House, wrote at page 70:
“The Klan in Alabama, Hugo said, was organized largely by Masons and he had been a Mason since he was twenty-one years old.”
The history of the Klan and Freemasonry is important only to show that the black man is not now, nor has he ever been accepted into the mainstream of Freemasonry. The best example of this statement is the fact that in the Southern District of the Scottish Rite which covers 35 southern and western states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota, out of approximately 620,000 members in 1989, there is not one black member! This is particularly unusual since its headquarters is in Washington, D.C. In all of the southern states in America the Masonic lodges, wit
hout exception, exclude the black man regardless of his qualifications. They appear to justify such an intolerant unspoken rule by saying that the black man can join the Prince Hall Masons even though it is “clandestine.” Strangely, the two systems have grown and developed parallel of each other. Why a local or national political candidate who happens to be a Mason escapes inquiries concerning his membership in an Order that excludes blacks in this day and age, is unexplainable. Neither can I find an instance where it has been researched.
So how can an Order that contains over five million members in the United States alone, with sixteen thousand lodges, bar so many classes of people be legal? Better yet, how can a religion that teaches “Toleration” not tolerate women, blacks, minors, paupers, disabled, senior citizens and boast of its virtues? Perhaps the answer is that the Masons tolerate ideas and not people. Its brotherhood is white and Protestant, and it is the most intolerant organized religion in the world.
Chapter 14: The Future of Freemasonry
A French Mason by the name of Blumenhagen wrote what the Freemason believes to be the future of the Order in 1820. This prophecy is included in Waites’ Encyclopaedia at page 74 of Volume I:
“The infancy and adolescence of the Order have passed at length away, and it has attained the age of virility. Before it has completed a third century of its existence, the world shall know it as it is. Watch therefore over the spirit of the association, foreseeing the time to come and the judgment of the world. Let our holy houses be raised in every corner of the earth: be the Order established solidly in the heart of every land. When the Masonic Temple shall shine over the whole universe, when its roof shall be the blue heaven, the poles its walls, the Throne and the Church its pillars, then will the powers of the earth themselves bow down before it, will deliver into our hands the domination of the world and bequeathe that freedom to the people which we have laid up in store for them. May the Master of the world give us yet another hundred years, and then shall we attain that end so ardently desired.”
The Gods of the Lodge Page 17