Truth Magazine

By the late W. Curtis Porter

I cannot conceive of there having ever been a time in all the history of the church that distinctive preaching was not needed. Perhaps there have been periods of that history in which such preaching was more sorely needed than at other times; but, if so, the failure of some to preach a distinctive gospel was responsible for the increase of the need for it. And it may be that there was never a time when the need of distinctive preaching was more imperative than now. We have entirely too much preaching that means nothing, and the need of the hour is for men who have the courage to preach a distinctive message.

To me it is no compliment to a speaker for the audience to be unable to place him. I have heard it said of preachers: “He has preached in our community for two weeks, but people could not tell by his preaching to what church he belonged; he was an orthodox preacher.” While such things have been said by way of compliment, to me they shout their criticism and are not complimentary words at all. Whenever a man is so vague, indefinite, or general in his preaching that his auditors cannot place him, or identify him, there is something seriously wrong. A preacher is certainly not filling his mission as a preacher when his pulpit proclamations are characterized by such vagueness. I am talking, of course, about a preacher who stands identified with the church of the Lord. I am not so much concerned about how other preachers preach. If they are preaching the doctrines of men, there is nothing vital to the soul lost if they never become definite about it.

And yet if I were a member of some human church, I would want my preacher to preach the things for which the church stands. If I were a member of the Baptist Church, I would want my preacher to preach a Baptist; and if I belonged to the Methodist Church, I would want my preacher to preach a doctrine that would be distinctively Methodist; and the same goes for any other denomination. In any case I would expect my preacher to preach definitely the doctrines of that denomination. Then since I am a member of the church of Christ, should I expect less of the preachers of that institution? The world will lose nothing of importance if denominationalism is not distinctively preached; but if the gospel of Jesus Christ is not preached in a distinctive manner, a great loss is incurred.

Who Preaches What

There is a vast difference between the truth of the gospel and the theories of denominationalism, and that difference ought to be held up to the people who hear. Jesus said: “Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matt. 15:13). Why, then, make any compromise with such plants? Or why fail to show that human institutions are not growth from a heavenly planting? I am just certain of the fact that it often becomes necessary to tell who preaches what. This would not be so necessary if denominational preachers would preach the doctrines of their churches, but they are like some of my brethren would be if they listened to the clamor of the audience for “soft preaching.” They have no distinctive message to proclaim. Consequently the average member of denominations does not know the doctrines of his church. You may preach ever so strongly upon some point of error, but he does not know you are talking about his doctrine, for his preacher has not preached it; such things have been kept from him. To this there are some exceptions, but the condition is very general.

In order for a member of the Baptist Church to know that you are contrasting the truth with Baptist error it becomes necessary to .state that the error is taught by the Baptist Church. Otherwise he may not discover that you have taken his doctrine apart. The need of this was very forcibly impressed upon me as a result of one of my own sermons. I was engaged in a mission meeting near where I was laboring for the church. At one service I preached on the subject, “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” I contrasted truth with error and showed plainly what the Bible teaches about that subject. When the service had been concluded, a stranger came to me, took me by the hand, and complimented very highly that sermon, stating that he believed every bit of it. Upon later inquiry I found that he was the main leader of the Baptist Church of that community. And yet I had been preaching things that were in direct conflict with the doctrines of the church to which he belonged! The next day a conversation was heard over the telephone in which one lady told another that she should have been at meeting last night, for she would have heard one of the best Baptist sermons that she ever heard. And yet I had not failed to preach the truth! However they did not know the teaching of the Baptist Church; and if I had told who preaches what, they would have seen the difference. At least,, they would not have accused me of preaching Baptist doctrine!

I know that harm can be done by mentioning denominations in the spirit of sarcasm. There is a difference between Jesus Christ and the apostles did not hesitate to let men know they were lost. Paul called Elymas a “child of the devil,” an “enemy of all righteousness” (Acts 13:10). There was no reason for Elymas to think that Paul considered him in a safe condition. Peter plainly told Simon to repent and pray that God might forgive him (Acts 8:20-23). He let him know that he stood condemned. And Jesus said the Pharisees were children of hell (Matt. 23:15). With such worthy examples before us, why should we fail to preach so that men in sin and sectarianism can see that they need to be saved?

-Originally appeared in the Gospel Advocate, but reprinted here from the West End Contender, Aug. 1, 1956.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 46, pp. 737, 747
November 20, 1980

By Owen H. Thomas

Those who have an understanding of the teachings of Christ and are also acquainted with the teachings and practices of Masonry, find it difficult to understand why anyone would want to be a Mason. It is even harder for them to understand why anyone claiming to be a Christian would want to be a Mason. But the sad truth is that there are several members of the Lord’s church who are practitioners of the false religion of Masonry. It is the conviction of this writer that the majority of Masons are deliberately deceived by the Masonic Lodge as to its true nature and teachings, and that if they knew these things at the beginning they would never become members of the Lodge.

When one makes the charge that the Masonic Lodge is a religious institution, Masons in the lower degrees will vehemently deny it and accuse them of misrepresentation. They are honest in this because they have been led to believe it by their instructors in the higher degrees. It is not the purpose of this article to prove that Masonry is a religion; another article in this series will deal with that point. But I do want to show from their own writings that they deliberately deceive their initiates as to the real meaning of the symbols and teachings of the lodge, and to point out some other things which most Masons do not know about the lodge.

All quotations in this article are taken from Morals And Dogma of the Ancient And Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, edited by Albert Pike and “prepared for the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States and published by its authority.” Now, as to the proof that they practice deception, I ask that you consider the following statements.

The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them. Their true explication is reserved for the Adepts, the Princes of Masonry. The whole body of the Royal and Sacerdotal Art was hidden so carefully, centuries since, in the High Degrees, as that it is even yet impossible to solve many of the enigmas which they contain. It is well enough for the mass of those called Masons, to imagine that all is contained in the Blue Degrees; and whoso attempts to undeceive them will labor in vain, and without any true reward violate his obligations as an Adept. Masonry is the veritable Sphinx, buried to the head in the sands heaped round it by the ages (Morals And Dogma, p. 819).

Masonry, like all the religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it . . . . So Masonry jealously conceals its secrets, and intentionally leads conceited interpreters astray (Ibid., pp. 104, 105).

It is only after the initiates have proven themselves willing to accept and do whatever they are told by the “Princes of Masonry” that they are permitted to the higher degrees where the real meaning of the symbols and a true understanding of the teaching is revealed unto them. “You have taken the first step over its threshold, the first step toward the inner sanctuary and heart of the temple. You are in the path that leads up the slope of the mountain of Truth; and it depends upon your secrecy, obedience, and fidelity, whether you will advance or remain stationary” (Ibid., pp. 106, 107). “Secrecy is indispensable in a Mason of whatever Degree. it is the first and almost the only lesson taught to the Entered Apprentice” (Ibid., p. 109).

Masonry does not believe and teach that God has revealed all truth unto mankind in the Bible as promised by Jesus in John 16:13 and affirmed as being so by Jude (v. 3). “We hold that God has so ordered matters in this beautiful and harmonious, but mysteriously-governed Universe, that one great mind after another will arise, from time to time, as such are needed, to reveal to men the truths that are wanted, and the amount of truth that can be borne. He so arranges, that nature and the course of events shall send men into the world, endowed with that higher mental and moral organization, in which grand truths, and sublime gleams of spiritual light will spontaneously and inevitably arise. These speak to men by inspiration” (Ibid., p. 225). In fact, they deny the need for any written revelation from God: “He considers that if there were no written revelation, he could safely rest the hopes that animate him and the principles that guide him, on the deductions of reason and the convictions of instinct and consciousness. He can find a sure foundation for his religious belief, in these deductions of the intellect and convictions of the heart” (Ibid, p. 226).

Masonry teaches that “no human being can with certainty say, in the clash and conflict of hostile faiths and creeds, what is truth, or that he is surely in possession of it” (Ibid, p. 160). “Perfect truth is not attainable anywhere” (Ibid, p. 223), and “No man can say that he hath as sure possession of the truth as of a chattel” (Ibid, p. 166). Therefore, they believe that, “No man is responsible for the rightness of his faith; but only for the uprightness of it” (Ibid., p. 166). It is on this basis that they accept and approve all religions. That they do not understand nor believe the truth as taught by Jesus Christ is evident from this statement: “Its teachings are eminently practical; and its statutes can be obeyed by every just, upright, and honest man, no matter what his faith or creed” (Ibid, p. 138). This statement is an outright indictment against ever person who believes the Bible to contain the perfect revelation of God’s will and that it is the absolute truth. It accuses those who believe that faith in Jesus Christ is essential to salvation as being either dishonest, unjust, or not upright, for Masonry teaches that faith in Jesus Christ is not essential and that the Bible does not contain all the truth, and that if you are just, upright, and honest, you can accept their teachings. I deny it!

I plead with those who are already in the Masonic Lodge and with all who are contemplating becoming members, to consider these things. I ask you: can an institution that knowingly and deliberately practices deception upon its members be of God? Can you honestly accept and believe a doctrine that denies the Bible as being true? Can you honestly and in good conscience support an institution that denies that faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is essential to one being justified before God?

QUESTIONS

1. Do most Masons in the lower degrees believe Masonry is a religion?
2. Does the Masonic Lodge want its initiates, or new members, to understand the truth about Masonry?
3. What do the “Princes of Masonry” do to keep the new members from understanding the true meaning of their symbols and teachings?
4. Name three things which those in the lower degrees must do if they want to advance to the higher degree?
5. Do Masons believe that the Bible or any written revelation is necessary to their belief?
6. Do you believe one can believe the Bible and also accept the teaching of the Masonic Lodge? If so, please explain why.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 732-733
November 13, 1980

By Dudley Ross Spears

The title of this article is much like the question asked by Amos, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Anyone who has given serious study to what the New Testament teaches about the church of the Lord and what the Masonic Lodge stands for becomes vividly aware of the drastic difference between the two institutions. It is difficult to understand how one can know enough to become a member of the New Testament church and think it right to engage in those things which Masonry practices and teaches.

Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). Every Mason who is a member of the Lord’s church ought to remember this each time he hears his brother Masons say something about their “Worshipful Master,” or “the Grand Master” of the Lodge. How a member of the church could call anyone “Master” in any respect is beyond comprehension. No one can be a faithful Christian without recognizing Christ as the one and only supreme Master of life. The loyal Mason has a “Master” of the Lodge to which he belongs.

The incompatibility of the Lord’s church and the Masonic Lodge is manifest in many vital and fundamental areas. Those who try to ignore or justify these incongruities “set themselves in opposition to themselves” (2 Tim. 2:25, MacKnight). The member of the church who tries to uphold the teaching and practice of Masonry is hopelessly self-contradictory and in almost complete disagreement with his brethren in Christ. When an honest person studies the matter in the light of biblical teaching, finding this inconsistency, he will either quit the Lodge or quit the church. It is the purpose of this article to amplify those inconsistencies and urge Christians to quit the Lodges and any other secret or non-secret religious societies.

One of the more blatant areas of disagreement between the Lord’s church and the Masonic Lodge is discrimination. Masons discriminate against anyone who happens to have been born with a physical deformity. In the physical qualifications Masons list is that one must be hale and entire. Here is what one of the greatest Masonic authorities said.

The physical qualifications contribute to the utility of the Fraternity, because he who is deficient in any of his limbs or members, and who is not in the possession of all his natural senses and endowments, is unable to perform, with pleasure to himself or credit to the Fraternity, those peculiar labors in which all should take an equal part. He thus becomes a drone in the hive, and so far impairs the usefulness of the Lodge as ‘a place where Freemasons assemble to work, and to instruct and improve themselves in the mysteries of their ancient science’.(1)

A further elaboration on the physical qualifications shows that Masons require a candidate to be “at least twenty-one years of age, upright in body, with the senses of a man, not deformed or dismembered, but hale and entire limbs as a man ought to be.”(2) If you happen to have been the victim of war or accident and are without one of your limbs or body parts, the Masons will not have you. The physical condition of a man does not affect the qualification of an individual for membership in the Lord’s church. Such discrimination is condemned (James 2:1-5). If there is the wonderful life in Masonry we are often told is there, why would they eliminate any from membership in such an organization? “My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” (vs. 1).

All one must do to be a member of the Lord’s church is to have obedient faith in Jesus as the Son of God. When the first gospel sermon was preached, proclaiming the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, the audience cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). These convicted people were told, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins . . .” (vs. 38). Those who gladly received the words Peter uttered obeyed the commands and were added to the church right then (Acts 2:41, 47). Even those who were physically deformed were qualified.

The nature of membership in the Lord’s church is such that is sinful to be a member of any other religious order like Masonry. The church of the Lord is the sum total of the saved ones. It is the sum total of all those who have been called out of “darkness and delivered into the kingdom of the Son of His (God’s) love” (Col. 1:13). Being in this called out group is being in the body of Christ, of which there is “but one body” (1 Cor. 12:20). Those in that body possess “all spiritual blessings in Christ” (Eph. 1:3) and are said to be “made full in him” (Col. 2:10).

Membership in the body of Christ, the church, puts one in a right relationship with the Father and in order to have that to begin with sinners are told “come ye out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). Not only are we to sever our relationship with all darkness and sin, but we are to remain separate from it. That is why we appeal to Masons to quit the Lodge and be a faithful Christian. Sever your relationship with all darkness and error. Please read 2 Cor. 14-16 and notice the four contrasting pairs between which Paul says no fellowship can exist. (1) righteousness and iniquity, (2) light and darkness, (3) believers and unbelievers, and (4) the temple of God and idolatry. In these areas you will now see that Masonry is on one end and the church is on the other end of the contrasting elements – and no fellowship can exist between them.

There is a reply that often is made by Masons who claim membership in the church. They say, “Masonry is not a religious society and does not conflict with my service to the Lord.” Elsewhere in this issue this matter is dealt with, but I would just point out that Albert Mackey wrote, “Masonry, then, is indeed, a religious institution; and on this ground mainly, if not alone, should the religious Mason defend it”(3)Here is a man who knew more about Masonry than any of us today can know. He says that Masonry is a religious institution and should be defended “mainly, if not alone,” on the ground of its religious character. I urge my brethren who are Masons to either give up Masonry or defend it like the scholars and teachers of Masonry define it. Now notice the complete dichotomy between Masonry and the Lord’s church in these areas.

1. The Iniquity of Masonry. The term used in 2 Cor. 6 for “iniquity” means, “a lawless attitude.” It is the same as saying that something has no scriptural authority to exist. There is not the slightest authority in the scriptures for the existence of Masonry or anything like it. The Masonic claim to be able to trace its roots back to the time of King Solomon has no more merit than the Catholic claim to be able to reach back to Peter as their first “pope.” The word “iniquity” is defined, “What is not in harmony with the law, what contradicts the law.”(4) This article will show many contradictions Masonry makes to the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Here is how Masonry regards the inspiration of the Bible.

The Mason believes that God has arranged this glorious but perplexing world with a purpose, and on a plan. He holds that every man sent upon this earth, and especially every man of superior capacity, has a duty to perform, a mission to fulfill, a baptism to be baptized with; that every great and good man possesses some portion of God’s truth, which he must proclaim to the world, and which must bear fruit in his own bosom. In a true and simple sense, he believes all the pure, wise, and intellectual to be inspired, and to be so for the instruction, advancement and elevation of mankind. That kind of inspiration, like God’s omnipresence is not limited to the few writers claimed by Jews, Christians, or Moslems, but is co-extensive with the race.(5)

Can one be a member of the Lord’s church and hold such a view of inspiration? But some may say that they do not believe what the Masons say about “inspiration.” But would the same individual allow preachers, teachers and gospel writers to publish such things in the name of Christianity? It is done in the name of Masonry. The Masonic position on revelation equates the Koran with the Bible and any sort of “pure, wise and intellectual” writing or saying. Yet, the Bible claims that the scriptures alone are “inspired of God” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).

2. The Darkness of Masonry. The Mason never comes to the full light of Truth. He cannot. Masonry denies that there is such an attainable truth possible. Here is another reliable Masonic scholar and teacher who says,

The doctrines of the Bible are often not clothed in the language of strict truth, but in that which was fittest to convey to a rude and ignorant people the practical essentials of the doctrine.(6)

Perhaps you thought that the Bible was written language of “strict truth” but the Masonic scholars do not. Even though our Lord said of God’s word, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17), according to Masonry, that is not “strict truth.” However, when Peter referred to the word he called it “a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Pet. 1:19).

Now please observe that Masonry does not believe in an absolute truth that you can attain.

It is our duty always to press forward in search; for though absolute truth is unattainable, yet the amount of error in our views is capable of progressive and perpetual diminution; and thus Masonry is a continual struggle toward the light.(7)

Possibly you thought that truth was absolute and attainable – but not if you held the views of Masonry. But again, some may say “I do not agree with them on that.” Would you retain your membership in the church if every preacher that came along preached that? If not, then why maintain membership in something that officially has taught for years what you know is a contradiction to the Bible?

The last quote from Pike reminds us of a Biblical statement. Paul described some as, “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). That is Masonry, perfectly described. They are always in a “continual struggle toward the light,” but viewing it as an impossible task, for truth is, to them, unattainable. Even though Jesus said He is the truth (John 14:6), Masonry denies Truth is attainable. Albert Mackey said that every Mason should “strive incessantly for light, and especially for the light eternal!”(8) As a Christian and a member of the Lord’s church, you have all the light there is in the world and are commanded to walk in that light (1 John 1:7). Masonry admittedly does not walk in the light. They have never found it yet – how could they walk in it?

3. The Unbelief of Masonry. The requirement of a belief in God in order to be a Mason indicates the depths of their unbelief. That may seem paradoxical, but notice the requirement first, and then what they mean by belief in God.

A belief in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the universe, is one of the most important landmarks of the Order. It has been always admitted that a denial of the existence of a Supreme and Superintending Power is an absolute disqualification for initiation.(9)

Here is what they mean when they talk about God. You will find it quite different to what the Bible says about God and what Jesus taught about God.

The religion of Masonry is cosmopolitan, universal; but the required belief in God is not incompatible with this universality; for it is the belief of all peoples. “Be assured,” says Godfrey Higgins, “that God is equally present with the pious Hindu in the temple, the Jew in the synagogue, the Mohammedan in the mosque, and the Christian in the church.”(10)

The apostle Paul wrote, “But to us there is but one God, the Father . . .” (1 Cor. 8:6). Ephesians affirms the same (Eph. 4:4). But Masonry allows that God is to the Christian exactly what Allah is to the Mohammedan and what Krishna is to the Hindu. And to those who do not believe this Masonic doctrine, again – would you remain a member of the church where you now worship if such were preached and not opposed? If not, why stay in the Masonic Lodge when it has been and still is one of their historic doctrines?

4. The Idolatry of Masonry. There are many things in Masonry which are idolatrous. Idolatry is the worship of images or symbols that represent a deity. This was strictly forbidden to the Jews and they were not allowed to have graven images of the likeness or representation of God (Exo. 20:3-4). But in the symbolism of Masonry, there are several such symbols and images. Albert Mackey tells us about “the All-seeing Eye.”

Both the Hebrews and the Egyptians appear to have derived its use from that natural inclination of figurative minds to select an organ as the symbol of the function which it is intended peculiarly to discharge.

On the same principle, the Egyptians represented Osiris, their chief deity, by the symbol of an open eye, and placed this hieroglyphic of him in all their temples. His symbolic name, on the monuments, was represented by the eye accompanying a throne, to which was sometimes what has been called a hatchet, but which I consider, may as correctly be supposed to be a representation of a square.(11)

Mackey affirmed that the important “symbol of the Supreme Being, borrowed by the freemasons from the nations of antiquity,”(12)

is a fitting representation of Masonry! This is pure and simple idolatry. If you think not – would you be willing to have the symbol of “the Allseeing Eye” put on the pulpit in the meeting house, on the Lord’s Table, or on the front of the meeting house? It is idolatry to the Mason just as much as it was to the ancient Egyptian who worshipped Osiris and made the same image – and Masonic teachers say it was borrowed by Masonry from the Egyptians.

The Bible teaches that we are to “flee idolatry” and to “keep yourselves from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14; 1 John 5:21). The next time you look at your Masonic ring or your Masonic Bible or enter your Lodge, remember from whom the Masons borrowed that “symbol of the Supreme Being.”

No man can serve two masters. No man can be a member of the Lord’s church and the Masonic Lodge without making an effort to serve two Masters. The question is, what religion will the honest man take? Are you satisfied with the Lord’s church and its completeness? My friend, there is nothing in the mystical, superstitious and ludicrous practices and beliefs of Masonry; they are practices dangerous to your salvation. “Come ye out from among them and be ye separate.”

Endnotes:

1. Albert G. Mackey, Masonry Defined – A Liberal Masonic Education, Memphis, Tenn: Masonic Supply Co., p. 337.

2. Ibid., p. 337.

3. Ibid., p. 355.

4. Hermann Cremer, D. D., Biblio-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, Edinburg: T & T Clark, p. 434.

5. Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Charleston, A. M. 5632, p. 225.

6. Ibid., p. 224.

7. Ibid., p. 223.

8. Mackey, p. 238.

9. Ibid., p. 166.

10. Ibid., p. 26.

11. Ibid., p. 28.

12. Ibid., p. 26.

QUESTIONS

1. What physical condition disqualifies one as a candidate for membership in the Lodge?
2. What is the difference in qualification for membership in the Lord’s church and membership In the Masonic Lodge?
3. What does Paul say Is that in which we are made full?
4. List the things that are contrasted in 2 Cor. 6:14-16.
5. What is meant by “iniquity”?
6. Can one walk in the light and walk as Masonry teaches?

 

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 729-732
November 13, 1980

By Daniel H. King

One of the little-known facts about the Masonic way of life is its broad connections beyond the mere bounds of the lodge’s main body. Most people would be surprised to know that more than a hundred fraternal organizations have a relationship with Masonry, but they do not form part of its basic structure. Such are appendant groups or auxiliaries which exist apart from the main body of Freemasonry. Being primarily social or fun organizations they have no official standing but do draw their membership from the higher degrees of the craft. While they are especially prevalent in the United States, English Masons are forbidden to affiliate with any of these fun or quasiMasonic societies on pain of suspension.

A few of the major ones are the following:

1. Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Most of us will know them more commonly as “the Shriners.” This group is composed of Knights Templars or of 32nd degree Scottish Rite Masons. The Shrine has exactly the same aims and ideals as the Masons. It was founded in 1872 by two Americans, Walter M. Fleming, a physician, and William J. Florence, an actor. Shriners are noted for the hospitals they have established for Gripped and burned children in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These hospitals provide free medical treatment.

2. Daughters of the Nile. Wives of Shrine members may belong to this organ of the group. Although the confinement of membership to men is vigorously asserted and jealously guarded, more and more women and girl’s orders have attached themselves to the lodges simply by organizing and limiting their membership to female relatives of Master Masons, or in some cases of Knights Templar (York Rite) or Shriners. Many of these orders use and sometimes own interest in Masonic halls.

3. Order of the Eastern Star. Includes women relatives of Masons and Master Masons. It was founded in 1808.

4. Order of Job’s Daughters. An organization for girls who have relatives who are Masons.

5. Order of the Rainbow for Girls. A character-building group for girls over 12. Members must be recommended by a member of the Masonic Order or the Eastern Star, but need not be related to a Mason. The organization has about 215,000 members in about 3,300 assemblies in the U.S., Canada, and several other countries.

6. Order of DeMolay. An international organization of young men between the ages of 12 and 21. Since its founding in 1919. De Molay has initiated more than 2’/z million members. The order has 2,200 local chapters in the U.S. and a few other lands. Each chapter must have at least 25 members and be sponsored by a group of Masons or a Masonic body. Membership is open to boys of any religious persuasion of good character who are recommended by two chapter members or a senior De Molay or a master Mason. Frank S. Land, its founder, gave the group the names of several historical figures and they chose that of Jacques De Molay (ca. 1243-1314) as their title. De Molay was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templars, a famous group of French Crusaders. The ritual for the De Molay Order includes secret ceremonies and is based on seven points: filial love, reverence for God, courtesy, comradeship, fidelity, cleanness, and patriotism.

Other groups of some importance in Masonry are: the Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm or the Grotto, the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the Order of the Builders for boys, the White Shrine, and the Order of the Amaranth.

Members of the church of the Lord may be tempted to participate in some of these organizations thinking that they are simply fun groups that have no real or actual relationship with the Masonic Lodge. Too, they may be drawn to some of them on account of the high ethical principles which they advocate or the works of benevolence which they do. And at this point we would hasten to say that the Shriners especially are to be commended for the many charitable activities in which they engage. This is not a blanket commendation, of course, but credit would be given when it is due. Nevertheless, one must go on to say that our Lord forecast that the Judgment would see and hear many who call to remembrance the many acts of charity, etc., which they did – but performed lawlessly. Jesus remonstrates with them thus: “I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mt. 7:23).

To the Christian who thinks that he or she can be involved in these groups without sin, we offer the following: Elsewhere in this issue it has been demonstrated beyond question that Masonry is a religion and every Lodge is a Temple of religion (as per Albert Pike’s own words). Since it is a religion and a religious organization other than the one that Christ established, then we are left to conclude that it is a false religion. A Christian’s life is to be a manifestation of that which will glorify God (Mt. 5:16) through both example and influence. In addition, a child of the Father in heaven is to have “no fellowship (sharing, or joint participation) with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them” (Eph. 5:17). How is it conceivable for a Christian to consider his or her influence that which it ought to be while involved in one of the auxiliaries of a false religion? The purpose of such groups is obviously to promote Masonry and to spread its influence to others by encouraging the involvement of young men and boys, women and girls, in various phases of Masonic life and by drawing others to participate through their benevolent acts and charitable enterprises. Can a Christian seriously think that he or she can promote a false religion and be pleasing to the Lord? No Christian, you must make a choice. You cannot have Masonry in any of its forms and still please the Savior that redeemed you. I plead with you: do not be so foolish as to think so.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 45, pp. 728-729
November 13, 1980