A refutation of the Masonic religion

[TimothyH]

For myself I do not need any more proof than Humanum Genus. But…they use the King James version of the bible. Refute them on the same basis you would refute a Protestant.

They have to swear an oath of secrecy with death being the result of them not keeping the oath. Even if that’s for hee haw Catholics are not to do those things, if I’m wrong please tell me.

There are a lot of freemasonry books out there, their own books I might add, that start to dabble in gnosticism.

I would guess these would be the starting points of where to refute them.

I agree about John Salza, as well. He is a good resource for this.

This simply is not true. Freemasons don’t swear an oath to die.

Freemasons are not limited to the King James Bible. There are non-Christian Freemasons who don’t even use the Bible.

I know this because my father was a Freemason, three time master of his local lodge. He never owned King James Bible and never swore an oath promising to die if he broke secrecy. He kept his masonic books in his top dresser drawer and simply asked our family to be respectful of his wish that they not be touched, that’s all.

-Tim-

 

[sticknstring73]

They DO swear an oath of secrecy, DEATH is the penalty for breaking it whether or not the person swearing is taking it seriously or not. Look up Masonic Bible on Amazon, come back and tell me which version it is. Yes I know there are non-Christian freemasons,all they care about is if you believe in “A” God and those people swear on THEIR respective bibles. This starts to get into the heresy of indifferentism and gnosticism.

To the OP, look it up outside of CA forum, go to youtube and look up John Salza and freemasonry as he explains it very well and he has a personal experience with it. The answers are not that hard to find, probably because people take things like this very lightly in our time, but as Christians these are serious problems just the same.

 

[Brendan_64]

While historically there has been some sort of requirement of belief in a superior power, I think some lodges accept atheists as members and explain the GAOTU as some sort of Spinoza-type pantheistic ‘deity’, where nature itself is ‘God’.

Explaining GAOTU as a type of pantheistic deity is to effectively hold a creed on the nature of God. that is in effect a religious doctrine. I know pagans who hold similar belief on nature as being God. And as far as accepting atheists, Buddhism is a religion and it is full of atheists.

Freemasonry has prayers and these prayers are to GAOTU.

An organisation that meets (in secret) and says prayers to a god is a religion.

sacred-texts.com/mas/omtx/omtx03.htm

 

[Micosil]

Explaining GAOTU as a type of pantheistic deity is to effectively hold a creed on the nature of God. that is in effect a religious doctrine. I know pagans who hold similar belief on nature as being God. And as far as accepting atheists, Buddhism is a religion and it is full of atheists.

Freemasonry has prayers and these prayers are to GAOTU.

An organisation that meets (in secret) and says prayers to a god is a religion.

sacred-texts.com/mas/omtx/omtx03.htm

This is correct. As a matter of fact, I remember now, a recent lodge meeting my friend had involved some sort of prayer that he claimed made him nervous/feel awkward as an atheist. Go figure.

 

[TimothyH]

They DO swear an oath of secrecy, DEATH is the penalty for breaking it whether or not the person swearing is taking it seriously or not. Look up Masonic Bible on Amazon, come back and tell me which version it is. Yes I know there are non-Christian freemasons,all they care about is if you believe in “A” God and those people swear on THEIR respective bibles. This starts to get into the heresy of indifferentism and gnosticism.

To the OP, look it up outside of CA forum, go to youtube and look up John Salza and freemasonry as he explains it very well and he has a personal experience with it. The answers are not that hard to find, probably because people take things like this very lightly in our time, but as Christians these are serious problems just the same.

My father was a master mason. He never took an oath to die.

It’s not a “Masonic Bible.” It is the KJV with notes and features of interest to Freemasons. They make the same thing for nurses and soldiers and “The Hunter’s Bible” and “The Firefighter’s Bible.”

-Tim-

 

[Micosil]

My father was a master mason. He never took an oath to die.

It’s not a “Masonic Bible.” It is the KJV with notes and features of interest to Freemasons. They make the same thing for nurses and soldiers and “The Hunter’s Bible” and “The Firefighter’s Bible.”

-Tim-

Interesting.

 

[TimothyH]

Explaining GAOTU as a type of pantheistic deity is to effectively hold a creed on the nature of God. that is in effect a religious doctrine. I know pagans who hold similar belief on nature as being God. And as far as accepting atheists, Buddhism is a religion and it is full of atheists.

Freemasonry has prayers and these prayers are to GAOTU.

An organisation that meets (in secret) and says prayers to a god is a religion.

sacred-texts.com/mas/omtx/omtx03.htm

No Brendan. GAOTU is not a pantheistic deity.

GAOTU stands for Great Architect of the Universe. It is simply a label they use to refer to God, Jesus, Allah or whatever God the individual Freemason happens to believe in.

Praying to the “Great Architect of the Universe” is similar to the ecumenical prayers any Protestant Pastor or Catholic Clergy will pray when in a group of mixed religion. Jesus or Allah are not mentioned by name in ecumenical prayers. The prayer may reference a 'Loving creator" or some other generic term. GAOTU is just a similar ecumenical term, that’s all.

Freemasons are not secret. Their lodges are on Main St. in every town. They close the doors when they meet the same way any other organization close their doors when they meet. The weekly clergy meeting at my Church is closed and they don’t discuss what happens but that doesn’t make the Church a secret organization any more than Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is incompatible with Catholicism for many reasons but these simply are not true. Honestly, there is a lot of histrionics and misinformation here. I wish everyone would calm down.

-Tim-

 

[Micosil]

No Brendan. GAOTU is not a pantheistic deity.

GAOTU stands for Great Architect of the Universe. It is simply a label they use to refer to God, Jesus, Allah or whatever God the individual Freemason happens to believe in.

Praying to the Great Architect of the Universe is similar to the ecumenical prayers any Protestant Pastor or Catholic Clergy will pray when in a group of mixed religion. Jesus or Allah are not mentioned by name in ecumenical prayers. The prayer may reference a 'Loving creator" or some other generic term. GAOTU is just a similar ecumenical term, that’s all.

Honestly, there is a lot of histrionics and misinformation here. I wish everyone would calm down.

-Tim-

I can assure you, some lodges do allow atheists in, atheists that don’t believe in any Creator deity as any Jew, Christian, Muslim, Baha’i, etc. (monotheist) would believe in. My friend wouldn’t be a Freemason otherwise.

 

[TimothyH]

I can assure you, some lodges do allow atheists in, atheists that don’t believe in any Creator deity as any Jew, Christian, Muslim, Baha’i, etc. (monotheist) would believe in. My friend wouldn’t be a Freemason otherwise.

That’s fine, but the Great Architect of the Universe is not a pantheistic deity. It is just an ecumenical label such as “Loving Creator” or any other reference to God given in any number of ecumenical prayers.

-Tim-

 

[sticknstring73]

Here are two good resources I found, this should help.

Ex-Masons for Jesus
emfj.org/

And an essay from ewtn called the Masonic Religion
ewtn.com/library/NEWAGE/MASONREL.TXT

 

[Brendan_64]

That’s fine, but the Great Architect of the Universe is not a pantheistic deity. It is just an ecumenical label such as “Loving Creator” or any other reference to God given in any number of ecumenical prayers.

-Tim-

So if they are a kind of ecumenical gathering praying to a “Loving Creator” then they are at least a religious grouping. They have their own set prayers, their own rituals, their own oaths. And they have a creed in their belief in a god who is the Great Architect of the Universe. Why include such features if they are simply a social club/charitable organisation? .

And they are swear an oath not to reveal details of their rituals etc. to anyone. Why all the need for secrecy? Why the threat of terrible consequences should this oath be broken?

 

[TimothyH]

So if they are a kind of ecumenical gathering praying to a “Loving Creator” then they are at least a religious grouping. They have their own set prayers, their own rituals, their own oaths. And they have a creed in their belief in a god who is the Great Architect of the Universe. Why include such features if they are simply a social club/charitable organisation? .

And they are swear an oath not to reveal details of their rituals etc. to anyone. Why all the need for secrecy? Why the threat of terrible consequences should this oath be broken?

I never said the Freemasons were an “ecumenical gathering”. Ecumenical gathering are your words, not mine. I said that the term Great Architect of the Universe was an ecumenical term. Those were my words. You said that GAOTU was a pantheistic deity. I am telling you that it is not, that’s all. Nothing more.

I also said nothing about social club or charitable organization. Those are your words, not mine. I made no attempt to define what they are. I said that certain aspects of their organization are held in private. The Loyal Order of Moose or the Rotarians have closed meetings. My bicycle club has closed meetings. That doesn’t make it a secret organization.

The Nights of Columbus have secret oaths and private meetings. By your measure the KofC is a “secret organization”. I didn’t join KofC because of their secret oath. They wouldn’t tell me what the oath says. I’m not going to swear a secret oath, something I can’t hear ahead of time and therefore can’t understand until the moment I swear it.

-Tim-

 

[commenter]

The Nights of Columbus have secret oaths and private meetings. By your measure the KofC is a “secret organization”. I didn’t join KofC because of their secret oath. They wouldn’t tell me what the oath says. I’m not going to swear a secret oath, something I can’t hear ahead of time and therefore can’t understand until the moment I swear it.

As a member of the Knights of Columbus, I encourage you to talk to a priest you feel confident in, about the Knights; particularly a priest who is a member - I think over a third are members, in the US. He might offer some clarification as to what it is not. Or else talk to a priest who says he is not a member.

There are no meetings where priests are excluded. We usually have our priest-chaplain at our meetings, including meetings when new members join. Not everyone who joins chooses to get active in the K of C, but I have never met anyone who said he was stressed or concerned about the entry process.