Before I bring up today’s discussion topic, I would like to give a huge Thank You to everyone who posted on Emeth’s Pandemic Discussion yesterday. As was pointed out in that discussion, the pandemic has become a massive and divisive political issue, and of course on both sides the media (for profit) is doing all that it can to fan the flames as are political types (for campaign cash.)
It is a sad reality of today’s world that media makes money off hate and division within our society, and likewise, that division is the easiest way for campaign coffers to be filled.
But, as was proven in yesterday’s discussion, Freemasonry can be different. It isn’t always different, some commenters mentioned conflict within Lodges, but it can be different, for here on Emeth we had a very well populated discussion, including folks from all sides of the issue, and it remained perfectly civil. I thank you for that, very much.
I thank you as well for the perspectives that were shared. As I am being contacted continually about this, your views of it, from all sides, are extremely valuable to me.
Enough about that though, let’s discuss religious tests.
Freemasonry in Washington has, as we all know, a religious test. One must profess a belief in Deity if one is to become a Freemason.
Some Regular Grand Lodges go a touch further, and have some additional language, but not too much.
If memory serves, one must be avowedly Christian if one is to become a Freemason in Sweden.
This past week, the Knights Templar of this country considered an extremely detailed ‘Attestation of Faith’ that one would be required to sign if he were to receive the Degrees (orders I believe they are referred to) of that body. The stated goal was to ensure that only Christians could become Knights Templar, but I was raised in an extremely mainline Christian denomination, and educated in it’s schools, and I’m not quite sure that members of that massive denomination would have actually fit under the ‘Attestation of Faith’ as it was written. I certainly know that some other denominations would have been well outside of it. I understand that the resolution failed.
Lastly of course is France. The Grand Orient of France has no religious test, and as a result is not recognized as legitimate Freemasonry by the overwhelming majority of Grand Lodges throughout the world. (This is not the only reason, but it is the primary reason.)
Of course, discussion of religion is banned within our Lodges, because it tends to cause division.
Clearly this is correct, as evidenced by both the efforts to bring an ‘Attestation of Faith’ into the Knights Templar, and the de-recognition of the Grand Orient so many decades ago.
So let’s chat about it…
Should Freemasonry have religious tests?
As with every Thursday, we will have a Live Open Thread for those with a paid subscription to Emeth today. The email opening the thread will go out at 8:00 AM.
Yes. Freemasonry is freemasonry. We do not change it, because then its no longer freemasonry. Should we change the circumabulations to Robert frost poetry, remove all references to god in our degrees? Eliminate the chaplain chair? Stop all prayers and stop saying so mote it be? Take out the all seeing eye decorating many lodges?
Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that requires belief in a supreme being. Without those simple tenets, it is no longer freemasonry.
Certainly we need to have an “Attestation” of faith to a “Supreme Being”. As WB Glenn states we’re Freemason, not the Rotary or some other service organization. Prayer and the Bible are an integral part of our Rituals. It’s important to guard the West Gate, but beyond a candidates affirmation of faith we mustn’t conduct inquisitions to “root out non-believers”. A man’s word should mean something. The bigger question though, what will the different GLs do if such a resolution it passed? Any group or concordat body within Masonry that creates division should be looked at with a critical eye. Division has no place in our gentle Craft. The question that is currently used in the GL of Washington is sufficient.
In your last part, I disagree. Concordant bodies can do whatever they want. If the Templars want to require their members to believe in something, that's up to them. Others that don't share that belief simply don't have to join. I don't think it's divisive in itself. Concordant bodies as a whole are divisive, as they tend to pull men away from blue lodges towards their particular brand of masonry, but we've had this discussion before. But the templars have always been the "Christian" part of masonry. Now, I've had brothers explain away that requirement by watering down that part of their obligation. I think that attestation was simply to say, "no, this is who we are and have always been". Nothing more.
I've had old, well revered and respected long time masons make statements that freemasonry is a Christian organization. It's not, and never has been, and I was quite surprised to hear those gentlemen make such a claim. They were, of course, duly corrected of that notion.
Our religious test is exactly as rigorous as it needs to be.
Inslee has reportedly required public employees to *explain* just how their religious beliefs contradict the new vaccine mandate. Can you imagine having to prove your religion is good enough for the state?
Masonry must stay far away from such abuses, or it will collapse, or deserve to.
"Religion" to me is simply man creating God which loses all consideration of who is the creator and who is the creation. One has only to read the book of Job to understand how God feels about that. I have yet to find the verse in my Bible which states, "There is One God in Three Persons." (Thank you Constantine the Great - Roman Emperor in the 4th century ) I can't even find a verse where God is referred to as a person. My view is God does not have human traits but rather mankind has Godly traits but not all of them.
I find it interesting that God is represented often by an equilateral triangle which is a two dimensional representation. Clearly God is at least 3 dimensional if one ponders the nature of His creation. I like to think of God more symbolically as a regular Icosahedron. A 20 sided polyhedron which can be found in a Magic 8 ball. Interestingly, each side or perspective in a magic 8 ball is different yet equal in shape and size. That to me is only a symbolic representation and I believe God has more than 20 sides but 20 is a concept I can grasp.
Freemasonry allows for me to have that belief. Jesus to me followed the requirements of sacrifice as outlined in the Old Testament. First born male without blemish. He obeyed God willingly as both the High Priest and the Sacrificial Lamb allowing the Romans to crucify him as the Jews under Jewish Law could not. In so doing he did not commit suicide which would have been a blemish. He paid a debt he did not owe for a debt I could never pay. To me this is the beginning and end of what Christianity means to me. Al the rest is fluff arrived to by consensus of man.
What I love about Freemasonry is that we practice faith without religion. When I was investigated the question came up, do I believe in God. I said that I didn't believe that God was some guy with a long white beard sitting on a cloud and directing our lives. I do believe that God is an more of an idea that reminds us that we're here for a reason, that there's a central force that's bigger than any of us, and that was my way to believe in God. My investigators smiled and said I gave them a good answer.
I favor a test of faith, but absolutely not a test of religion. If we're not supposed to talk about religion it seems rather hypocritical and intrusive to require a specific representation about religious affiliation. Our frequent references to the Holy Bible can confuse the matter so it's critical that we explain that we look to the VOSL for it's symbolic teachings and not for its alignments with any particular religion.
One of the reasons I haven't continued my York Rite journey to the Knights Templar is what I understand to be its obligations regarding Christian beliefs (that, and the funny hats). I was raised Christian, but the KT obligations contradict our general stance on religion.
I've come to the place where I don't care where you get your God, I just care that you get one.
I have sat in Lodge with men of many differing faiths--Christians of all denominations, Jews of several differing denominations, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, even self-professed Pagans (yes, Pagans acknowledge a "higher power"). I have seen all manner of "Volumes of Sacred Law" on the Altar, and have witnessed Masters being installed with their reverent hands on them. To me, there is a big difference between being religious and being spiritual. We, as humans *need* someone/something we can acknowledge as being more powerful than ourselves. I don't make light of anyone's particular belief system. If it works for them, that's fine by me. And that belief system is as emotional and personal as a toothbrush, in the same way that political beliefs are emotional and personal. That's why we do not allow those two topics to be addressed inside the Lodge Room. We ask the petitioner to acknowledge a Higher Power because we don't admit athiests to our ranks. How that petitioner acknowledges and serves the Higher Power of his choice is up to him, not me. I think one of the reasons we require acknowledgement of God, however the individual sees that God is because someone who does not acknowledge a God believes only in himself. Such men are dangerous, are seeking our company only for their own purposes, and should not be welcomed. I have explained to non-Masons that we are most emphatically *NOT* a cult, nor a new religion. We seek spirituality for self-improvement. Just my thoughts...
Yes, “Free” “Masonry” is part of Libertas (Latin for liberty or Freedom) the Goddess of Freedom (Statue of Liberty) who would be “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The freedom to choose what God or a Supreme Being is and how to worship is one of my core beliefs. Belief in a Supreme Being (isn’t that what is required to become a Mason?)
Before I was given the Orders of the Temple, I was told I had to believe in Christ or Vow to protect Christendom. A couple of months ago I was directed to place petitions in the hands of a distinguished Brother that had showed some interest in becoming a Templar. I gave directions to two of my Companions to complete the task. I made a point to read the new petitions. I was disturbed in what the Orders of the Temple stated…I am relieved that the Attestation of Faith failed at the Grand Encampment. What Freddy Silva and other researchers state that Bernard of Clairvaux created the Order of Knights Templar. That they in pubic gave allegiance to the Pope & Catholic Church but in private worshiped the feminine aspect of God. In essence they were Gnostics.
William Henry states before the Romans burned Alexandria, it was the great center of learning and was highly influenced by Buddhists Monks. After being influenced by what they had learned, three orders of Jewish Priesthoods returned to Palestine. The Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. Fast Forward, William states that John The Baptist was a High Priest of the Essenes and initiated his cousin Yeshua “Jesus.” The Templars never dedicated a temple to Jesus, They dedicated Temples to John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. Perhaps I have gone too far, but to answer the question, yes, we need to have a Spiritual Test.
I need to learn more about the Buddhist influence. I theorized 20 years ago that if Jesus was a real person and not just an allegorical figure, that it stands to reason that the lost years between 12 and 30 must have been learning in a tradition outside of pharisee Judaism, and the tenets of Christianity are very similar to Buddhism.
I’m loving this discussion board, and feel it to be conducive to the fraternity itself. It’s a breath of fresh air to share ideas of current political and religious topics, which understandably can cause a divide in any setting. Our fraternity runs deep with politics and religion but is pretty much forbidden to discuss, seemingly likened to an oxymoron. It can be healthy and beneficial to discuss particularly with the division and confusion that has been stirred by media platforms. It was very cordial and pleasant here though. Many wars and discords have come about because of politics and religion divisions. It seems the over-all consensus was to keep solidary and virtues a priority. Discernments of what is truth, I feel the jury is still out, but freedom and liberty is our foundation.
Tying in conduct on these subjects to Masonry we find outlined for us, the first three of our Liberal Sciences that starts with Grammar; teaching a man to speak and write truly; the second is Rhetoric that teaches a man to speak well, in subtle terms; the third is Dialectic, or Logic, that teaches a man to discern truth from falsehood. In Kabbalah these three attributes are represented by the letter Shin, illustrated as a three lined crown shape with three flame shapes on top, called yud, which is translates as fire or flame (light, light, light). Furthermore, Shin, as representing here is the flame of Shekinah, the Holy Spirit (divine feminine aspect), blossoming in the heart of one who is awakening to self as an embodiment of the Logos; the Living Word and the Light and Love that is the presence of the Divine within each of us. In the Constitution of Free-Masonry, it is said Adam must have had the liberal sciences engraved on his heart. If you look at the illustration of the human heart, cut in half, the lower chamber has the shape of this letter, Shin, with its two upper chambers. Shin has two pronunciations, when a dot (called nikkud) is placed on the upper-right side is pronounced as sheen, meaning kind hearted; when the dot is placed on the upper-left hand side, it is pronounced sin, which emphasizes judgment or severity; a sin-full heart.
The numeric value of the letter Shin is 300; just like in academia, a perfect score is 100. So if you are 100 percent in all three liberal sciences (Grammar, Rhetoric, & Dialectic), you are represented by the letter Shin, also a temple that the Holy Spirit can reside in. When adding this letter to the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), you get the Pentagrammaton (YHSHWH), with is pronounced as Yeshua; the Greek name (Iesous); the English word Jesus. In philosophies taught in some inner circles, such as Jakob Bohme, Saint Martin, Jean-Baptiste Willermoz and Athanasius Kircher, all elaborated on the esoteric knowledge that Jesus Christ is the lost Word; the life, truth and the way. Which is represented by the letter Shin, and the pentagram. In Masonry, as you may recall in the third degree, there is a grip given, which has five points and a word I cannot reveal. However in ancient Arabic used by Sufi’s there is a word named mahaba which translates as charity and love. This is the law Christ gave and taught on extensively.
Even though I love learning about various religions and mythologies (my first published book in 2006, was about the commonality and progressive teachings of the world’s top religions), it is my opinion that without the sincere belief in Jesus as representing the offspring of the one true and highest God, all efforts in our fraternity would serve no purpose to its initiate, esoterically. Unless, one enjoys the fraternity for the exoteric experience; socializing and drinking spirits. Reflective of the church, some delve into spiritual edification while some are harmful to spiritual evolution, such as outlined in the Rosicrucian and Knight Templars History, specifically against the Catholic and Moorish regimes. This statement should come as no shock, if you are familiar with its history and the persecutions of both regimes to what they labelled as heretical or infidels.
I do think it to be a bit odd and serves no purpose to exclude any member looking for more light, because of the basis of his religion, though. As its states in the Book of Luke, 9:50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
I would just like to point out that believing in a supreme being, and being religous are not synonymous. I believe in a supreme being, but am not part of a religon. The spiritual dimension is important to Freemasonry and should not be removed, and i feel GLs that remove that requirement are not Freemasons, in my opinion.
Yes. Freemasonry is freemasonry. We do not change it, because then its no longer freemasonry. Should we change the circumabulations to Robert frost poetry, remove all references to god in our degrees? Eliminate the chaplain chair? Stop all prayers and stop saying so mote it be? Take out the all seeing eye decorating many lodges?
Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that requires belief in a supreme being. Without those simple tenets, it is no longer freemasonry.
Certainly we need to have an “Attestation” of faith to a “Supreme Being”. As WB Glenn states we’re Freemason, not the Rotary or some other service organization. Prayer and the Bible are an integral part of our Rituals. It’s important to guard the West Gate, but beyond a candidates affirmation of faith we mustn’t conduct inquisitions to “root out non-believers”. A man’s word should mean something. The bigger question though, what will the different GLs do if such a resolution it passed? Any group or concordat body within Masonry that creates division should be looked at with a critical eye. Division has no place in our gentle Craft. The question that is currently used in the GL of Washington is sufficient.
In your last part, I disagree. Concordant bodies can do whatever they want. If the Templars want to require their members to believe in something, that's up to them. Others that don't share that belief simply don't have to join. I don't think it's divisive in itself. Concordant bodies as a whole are divisive, as they tend to pull men away from blue lodges towards their particular brand of masonry, but we've had this discussion before. But the templars have always been the "Christian" part of masonry. Now, I've had brothers explain away that requirement by watering down that part of their obligation. I think that attestation was simply to say, "no, this is who we are and have always been". Nothing more.
I've had old, well revered and respected long time masons make statements that freemasonry is a Christian organization. It's not, and never has been, and I was quite surprised to hear those gentlemen make such a claim. They were, of course, duly corrected of that notion.
Our religious test is exactly as rigorous as it needs to be.
Inslee has reportedly required public employees to *explain* just how their religious beliefs contradict the new vaccine mandate. Can you imagine having to prove your religion is good enough for the state?
Masonry must stay far away from such abuses, or it will collapse, or deserve to.
"Religion" to me is simply man creating God which loses all consideration of who is the creator and who is the creation. One has only to read the book of Job to understand how God feels about that. I have yet to find the verse in my Bible which states, "There is One God in Three Persons." (Thank you Constantine the Great - Roman Emperor in the 4th century ) I can't even find a verse where God is referred to as a person. My view is God does not have human traits but rather mankind has Godly traits but not all of them.
I find it interesting that God is represented often by an equilateral triangle which is a two dimensional representation. Clearly God is at least 3 dimensional if one ponders the nature of His creation. I like to think of God more symbolically as a regular Icosahedron. A 20 sided polyhedron which can be found in a Magic 8 ball. Interestingly, each side or perspective in a magic 8 ball is different yet equal in shape and size. That to me is only a symbolic representation and I believe God has more than 20 sides but 20 is a concept I can grasp.
Freemasonry allows for me to have that belief. Jesus to me followed the requirements of sacrifice as outlined in the Old Testament. First born male without blemish. He obeyed God willingly as both the High Priest and the Sacrificial Lamb allowing the Romans to crucify him as the Jews under Jewish Law could not. In so doing he did not commit suicide which would have been a blemish. He paid a debt he did not owe for a debt I could never pay. To me this is the beginning and end of what Christianity means to me. Al the rest is fluff arrived to by consensus of man.
What I love about Freemasonry is that we practice faith without religion. When I was investigated the question came up, do I believe in God. I said that I didn't believe that God was some guy with a long white beard sitting on a cloud and directing our lives. I do believe that God is an more of an idea that reminds us that we're here for a reason, that there's a central force that's bigger than any of us, and that was my way to believe in God. My investigators smiled and said I gave them a good answer.
I favor a test of faith, but absolutely not a test of religion. If we're not supposed to talk about religion it seems rather hypocritical and intrusive to require a specific representation about religious affiliation. Our frequent references to the Holy Bible can confuse the matter so it's critical that we explain that we look to the VOSL for it's symbolic teachings and not for its alignments with any particular religion.
One of the reasons I haven't continued my York Rite journey to the Knights Templar is what I understand to be its obligations regarding Christian beliefs (that, and the funny hats). I was raised Christian, but the KT obligations contradict our general stance on religion.
I've come to the place where I don't care where you get your God, I just care that you get one.
I have sat in Lodge with men of many differing faiths--Christians of all denominations, Jews of several differing denominations, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, even self-professed Pagans (yes, Pagans acknowledge a "higher power"). I have seen all manner of "Volumes of Sacred Law" on the Altar, and have witnessed Masters being installed with their reverent hands on them. To me, there is a big difference between being religious and being spiritual. We, as humans *need* someone/something we can acknowledge as being more powerful than ourselves. I don't make light of anyone's particular belief system. If it works for them, that's fine by me. And that belief system is as emotional and personal as a toothbrush, in the same way that political beliefs are emotional and personal. That's why we do not allow those two topics to be addressed inside the Lodge Room. We ask the petitioner to acknowledge a Higher Power because we don't admit athiests to our ranks. How that petitioner acknowledges and serves the Higher Power of his choice is up to him, not me. I think one of the reasons we require acknowledgement of God, however the individual sees that God is because someone who does not acknowledge a God believes only in himself. Such men are dangerous, are seeking our company only for their own purposes, and should not be welcomed. I have explained to non-Masons that we are most emphatically *NOT* a cult, nor a new religion. We seek spirituality for self-improvement. Just my thoughts...
Does Freemasonry need to have religious tests?
Yes, “Free” “Masonry” is part of Libertas (Latin for liberty or Freedom) the Goddess of Freedom (Statue of Liberty) who would be “Liberty Enlightening the World.” The freedom to choose what God or a Supreme Being is and how to worship is one of my core beliefs. Belief in a Supreme Being (isn’t that what is required to become a Mason?)
Before I was given the Orders of the Temple, I was told I had to believe in Christ or Vow to protect Christendom. A couple of months ago I was directed to place petitions in the hands of a distinguished Brother that had showed some interest in becoming a Templar. I gave directions to two of my Companions to complete the task. I made a point to read the new petitions. I was disturbed in what the Orders of the Temple stated…I am relieved that the Attestation of Faith failed at the Grand Encampment. What Freddy Silva and other researchers state that Bernard of Clairvaux created the Order of Knights Templar. That they in pubic gave allegiance to the Pope & Catholic Church but in private worshiped the feminine aspect of God. In essence they were Gnostics.
William Henry states before the Romans burned Alexandria, it was the great center of learning and was highly influenced by Buddhists Monks. After being influenced by what they had learned, three orders of Jewish Priesthoods returned to Palestine. The Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. Fast Forward, William states that John The Baptist was a High Priest of the Essenes and initiated his cousin Yeshua “Jesus.” The Templars never dedicated a temple to Jesus, They dedicated Temples to John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. Perhaps I have gone too far, but to answer the question, yes, we need to have a Spiritual Test.
I need to learn more about the Buddhist influence. I theorized 20 years ago that if Jesus was a real person and not just an allegorical figure, that it stands to reason that the lost years between 12 and 30 must have been learning in a tradition outside of pharisee Judaism, and the tenets of Christianity are very similar to Buddhism.
… and perhaps to Zen, and to Stoicism.
I’m loving this discussion board, and feel it to be conducive to the fraternity itself. It’s a breath of fresh air to share ideas of current political and religious topics, which understandably can cause a divide in any setting. Our fraternity runs deep with politics and religion but is pretty much forbidden to discuss, seemingly likened to an oxymoron. It can be healthy and beneficial to discuss particularly with the division and confusion that has been stirred by media platforms. It was very cordial and pleasant here though. Many wars and discords have come about because of politics and religion divisions. It seems the over-all consensus was to keep solidary and virtues a priority. Discernments of what is truth, I feel the jury is still out, but freedom and liberty is our foundation.
Tying in conduct on these subjects to Masonry we find outlined for us, the first three of our Liberal Sciences that starts with Grammar; teaching a man to speak and write truly; the second is Rhetoric that teaches a man to speak well, in subtle terms; the third is Dialectic, or Logic, that teaches a man to discern truth from falsehood. In Kabbalah these three attributes are represented by the letter Shin, illustrated as a three lined crown shape with three flame shapes on top, called yud, which is translates as fire or flame (light, light, light). Furthermore, Shin, as representing here is the flame of Shekinah, the Holy Spirit (divine feminine aspect), blossoming in the heart of one who is awakening to self as an embodiment of the Logos; the Living Word and the Light and Love that is the presence of the Divine within each of us. In the Constitution of Free-Masonry, it is said Adam must have had the liberal sciences engraved on his heart. If you look at the illustration of the human heart, cut in half, the lower chamber has the shape of this letter, Shin, with its two upper chambers. Shin has two pronunciations, when a dot (called nikkud) is placed on the upper-right side is pronounced as sheen, meaning kind hearted; when the dot is placed on the upper-left hand side, it is pronounced sin, which emphasizes judgment or severity; a sin-full heart.
The numeric value of the letter Shin is 300; just like in academia, a perfect score is 100. So if you are 100 percent in all three liberal sciences (Grammar, Rhetoric, & Dialectic), you are represented by the letter Shin, also a temple that the Holy Spirit can reside in. When adding this letter to the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), you get the Pentagrammaton (YHSHWH), with is pronounced as Yeshua; the Greek name (Iesous); the English word Jesus. In philosophies taught in some inner circles, such as Jakob Bohme, Saint Martin, Jean-Baptiste Willermoz and Athanasius Kircher, all elaborated on the esoteric knowledge that Jesus Christ is the lost Word; the life, truth and the way. Which is represented by the letter Shin, and the pentagram. In Masonry, as you may recall in the third degree, there is a grip given, which has five points and a word I cannot reveal. However in ancient Arabic used by Sufi’s there is a word named mahaba which translates as charity and love. This is the law Christ gave and taught on extensively.
Even though I love learning about various religions and mythologies (my first published book in 2006, was about the commonality and progressive teachings of the world’s top religions), it is my opinion that without the sincere belief in Jesus as representing the offspring of the one true and highest God, all efforts in our fraternity would serve no purpose to its initiate, esoterically. Unless, one enjoys the fraternity for the exoteric experience; socializing and drinking spirits. Reflective of the church, some delve into spiritual edification while some are harmful to spiritual evolution, such as outlined in the Rosicrucian and Knight Templars History, specifically against the Catholic and Moorish regimes. This statement should come as no shock, if you are familiar with its history and the persecutions of both regimes to what they labelled as heretical or infidels.
I do think it to be a bit odd and serves no purpose to exclude any member looking for more light, because of the basis of his religion, though. As its states in the Book of Luke, 9:50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
I have more questions than time to write them. I'm saving this comment for research purposes.
Knights Templar in Maine have Jewish Companions even though one has to profess to believe in the Christian religion.
I would just like to point out that believing in a supreme being, and being religous are not synonymous. I believe in a supreme being, but am not part of a religon. The spiritual dimension is important to Freemasonry and should not be removed, and i feel GLs that remove that requirement are not Freemasons, in my opinion.