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TOPIC |
FACTS |
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MEMBERSHIP |
As of 1990, the Masonic Lodge had a
U.S. membership of 4,000,000 and worldwide membership of
6,000,000 (The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge, p.
323). Membership is marked by various degrees
through which one may pass. Also available are
numerous
affiliate organizations with specific memberships:
Youth - Demolay
Women - Eastern Star
Relatives - Job's Daughters
To become a Mason, one must go through
the Blue Lodge, which is the parent or mother Lodge of
Freemasonry. The Blue Lodge consists of three degrees
which serve as initiatory stepping stones into the deeper
areas of Freemasonry:
1. Entered Apprentice
2. Fellow Craft
3. Master Mason
After completing these degrees, one is
a full Mason and may either stop or progress further along
the Freemasonry route with a choice of two branches:
the Scottish Rite, consisting of 30 degrees; or the York
Rite, which consists of the Chapter degree, the Council
degree, and the Commandery degree.
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WORSHIP |
Freemasonry has no worship services
because it is not a church per se, but rather a fraternal
organization. Masonic gatherings are more like club
meetings, which may involve a number of issues such as
Masonic-sponsored community projects, current events, or
Lodge business. Yet Masonry has all the trappings and
nomenclature of a deeply religious organization: the
meeting place is a "temple" that has an "altar" and a
"sacred book"; "prayers" are spoken by a "chaplain"; rituals
are performed. |
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LEADERS OF FREEMASONRY |
Freemasonry has never had one
authoritative leader. Masons are led by the laws and
regulations of Freemasonry itself. Each separate Lodge
(meeting place) elects its own officers. Even so, all
lodges worldwide have the same symbols, degrees, and
teachings. Grand Lodges, which are a combination of
more than one Lodge, also have elected officers. All
Freemasons are bound through obedience to the ancient
mystery "truths" that are gradually revealed as they advance
in rank (degree). |
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PUBLICATIONS |
Freemasonry is a secret fraternity
that does not publicize its Lodge rituals or its sacred
beliefs. The three most authoritative works on
Freemasonry are Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia by Henry
Coil, Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by
Albert Mackey, Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike.
The following is a quote from Albert
Pike's "Morals And Dogma", Published by the authority of the
"Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree For The Southern
Jurisdiction Of The United States" in March, 1919:
"Masonry, like all the
Religions, all the Mysteries..., 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 mislead...Truth is not
for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would
pervert it." |
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GENERAL STATEMENT OF BELIEFS |
Masons will often claim publicly that
they are not part of a religion, but authoritative Masonic
writings give Freemasonry the character of a religion.
"Freemasonry may rightfully claim to be a religious
institution...We open and close our Lodges with prayer; we
invoke the blessing of the Most High upon all our labors; we
demand of our neophytes a profession of trusting belief in
the existence and the superintending care of God" (Mackey's
Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, 2:846)
Other literature written by Masonic
authorities shows that the religion being promoted through
Freemasonry is incompatible with Christianity.
Freemasonry denies the Trinity, the deity of Christ,
salvation by grace through faith, the uniqueness of the
Bible, and a number of other Christian beliefs.
Masonry also promotes involvement with the occult as a means
of achieving higher degrees of "truth". |
Information
taken in part from Charts of Cults, Sects & Religious
Movements by H. Wayne House
Back to Freemasonry |
