| by James Steinle (Swanville, Minnesota) |
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| “Is it acceptable for a member of the Body of Christ to also be a member of the Masons or any affiliated group?” and “Is it proper to hold Sabbath services in a masonic hall?” I was intrigued by the questions asked by someone if it was proper to be a mason or to have services in a Masonic hall. Some years back I was able to procure a book written by Albert Pike in 1871 called Morals and Dogma. Albert Pike was the one who wrote how the three world wars would come about (just lacking the last one yet). I always figured it would be a great research book for the big questions surrounding the Mason questions. There is a lot of information on the internet about the Masons, both pro (https://masonicfind.com/how-to-join-the-freemasons) and con (https://www.cuttingedge.org/free13.html). I don’t know if the ‘con’ people have all the right answers either. I see from some of the articles that Masons or Freemasonry put a lot of emphasis on the Temple of Solomon and the Ark. In a pro-article it mentions, “The fact that God’s name is not mentioned is not due to paganism but shows tolerance towards other people’s beliefs.” (https://masonicfind.com/can-christians-be-freemasons) “Freemasons mention the Supreme Being (or Great Architect of the Universe), but they do not see this as paganism as when they think of the Supreme Being they are thinking of God, who they believe is the real great Architect of the Universe.” The question this brings up in my mind is, which God or god are they referring to, Yehovah El Shaddai (the All-Mighty God), or the god of this world, the Adversary (ha Satan), the great deceiver? The Mason’s say, “Freemasonry is all about uniting men of good character, even if they are from different ethnic or social backgrounds.” So, Freemasonry can sound good; the question is, is it? Peter in Acts 4 and talking under inspiration of the Set-apart Spirit and in relation to Yayshua Messiah or Jesus Christ, says in verse 12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Why do Masons not want any name used in their ‘temples or halls? Just so they don’t offend others of different beliefs. That would put me off. How would that fit in with having a service in one of their halls? Albert Pike was a 33rd degree Mason and an educated and smart man. I don’t know that he would appreciate what modern Mason rituals and rules are like now. He didn’t even like what they were like in his day. He wrote in his book about the Masons in his day, “Masonry long wandered in error. Instead of improving, it degenerated from its primitive simplicity, and retrograded toward a system, distorted by stupidity and ignorance, which unable to construct a beautiful machine, made a complicated one. Less than 200 years ago, its organization was simple, and altogether moral. Its emblems, allegories, and ceremonies easy to be understood, and their purpose and object readily to be seen.” (page 325, Morals and Dogma). I do not know that I can answer for that other person who asked the questions about Masons, but for me, I do not plan on becoming a member of the Masons, nor would I want to attend a service using their temple or hall. Why complicate the life we have in the simplicity of our Master Yayshua with something that is questionable? |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Masons and Masonic Halls Article by James Steinle Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| I totally agree with James Steinle’s assessment of the Masons but for a totally different reason. Back in the early 2000’s Darwin and I were both disfellowshipped from “The United Church of God an International Association for cause (of course). But before we were disfellowshipped the church here in Bismarck North Dakota had been holding Sabbath Services in a Masonic Lodge for well over a decade. I am originally from Wisconsin and the church there met mostly in schools. So, until I moved to North Dakota in 1999 I had essentially never been in a Masonic Lodge or Hall. However, as I looked over the podium either before or after services one day, I noted that professionally imprinted into the podium of the Masonic Lodge were the symbols of Satan. Years before this while living in Wisconsin I knew a whole family that was involved in the Masonic Lodge and one day I was at their house and their 12 year old daughter was showing me her dress for “Job’s Daughters” a part of the Masonic Lodge there and it looked exactly like the dresses I once saw in some sort of satanic movie I was watching as a teenager where these very young girls were doing some sort of circle dance around a sacrifice. When I asked her what they do at “Job’s Daughters” I was told that the dress was for a secret ceremony and that is all she could tell me. So, for those reasons I would avoid even going into a Masonic Lodge in the future. |
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