Waldron Mission Fund

 

Under the oversight of the elders of the Crossville church of Christ, PO Box 211, Crossville, TN 38557

IS FREEMASONARY A RELIGION?

 Jim E. Waldron

 

                 There are many authorities on the subject of Masonry such as Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, The Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third degree by Albert Pike; AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY By Albert G. Mackey, et. al.; Clausen’s Commentaries on Morals and Dogma, by Henry C. Clausen and others that one may obtain with a little effort.  Members of the Lodge often claim that Masonry is not a religion and does not conflict with a person’s membership in the church.  This is not true according to their own authorities, as Albert Pike wrote, “Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instructive in religion” (Pike, p.213, ff).  The authority quoted below on Masonry will be the Tennessee Craftsman or Masonic Textbook, 1945 Reprint of Sixth Edition, prepared by the Board of Custodians.  This little shirt- pocket sized book is very much like those of lodges in other states and its contents will be more readily recognized by Freemasons. 

I.

The Craftsman:  From a prayer “...Grant, O God, that our conduct may tend to Thy glory, to the advancement of Freemasonry, and finally to our own salvation in that blessed kingdom where the righteous shall find rest.  Amen.” (p.1, paragraph 1)

The Bible:  “the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:10, 12)  Note the above prayer of a Mason for salvation when even the prayer prescribed is not in the name of the only one who can give salvation, Jesus of Nazareth.  The above words are not obscure and clearly affirm that Masons look to God to save them in the lodge. 

II.

The Craftsman:  “Great Architect of the Universe, in thy name we have assembled….” (page 1, paragraph 1)

The Craftsman:  Question asked of candidate for Masonry: “Do you seriously declare upon your honor that you believe in a Supreme Being to whom all men are accountable?”  (page 6, paragraph 1).

The Craftsman:  “The first step taken by a candidate in the lodge shows him that the foundation on which Freemasonry rests is the belief in and acknowledgement of a Supreme Being...”  (page 7, paragraph 2)

The Craftsman:  Prayer:  “Almighty Father of the Universe...Grant that this candidate for Freemasonry may dedicate and devote his life to Thy service….”  (page 7, paragraph 2)

The Craftsman:  “The Holy Bible is given us as the rule and guide of our faith and practice….”  (page 10, paragraph 2)

 

Anyone may plainly see that Masonry is very much a religion,  but Masonry is a man-made religion just as denominational churches are man-made.

III.

The ritual of Masonry does not require a candidate to believe in Christ, but to seek salvation of God without Christ.  As seen above,    even prayer in a lodge of Freemasons is not in the name of Jesus.

The Bible: Jesus speaking to the disciples of His return to heaven said, “In that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you” (John 16:23)

The Bible:  Christ said “...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me”  (John 14:6). 

The Bible: “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”  (Acts 2:47)

The Bible:  Speaking of God’s dear Son says “in whom we have redemption through His blood even the forgiveness of sins”  (Colossians 1:14).  The religion of Masonry can offer salvation to no one, for God saves through the blood of Christ and adds the saved to the church.  No one is saved by entering a Masonic lodge; yet that is what the leaders teach those who join.

IV.

The Craftsman:  “The Lambskin is an emblem of innocence, and is esteemed the peculiar badge of a Mason.”  (page 10, paragraph 3)

The Bible:“...without shedding of blood is no remission”  (Hebrews 9:22).

The Bible:  Speaking to the Ephesian elders Paul said, “Feed the church of God which He hath purchased with His own blood  (Acts 20:28)

The Bible: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).  What right has Masonry to claim an emblem of innocence as the peculiar badge of a Mason?  Christ died to sanctify sinners and when they are sanctified they become Christians not Masons.  Christ died for the church not the Masonic lodge.  Paul in commenting on base human philosophies said to the saints in Colosse, “Touch not, taste not, handle not; which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men” (Colossians 2:21-22), and this is what Christians must do with false religions such as Masonry.  My prayer is that the Christians overtaken in this organization will have the courage to repent and come out from among them.

 

(Tennessee Craftsman, Board of Custodians, Reprint of Sixth edition, Ambrose Nashville, TN  1945.)

 

BULLETIN BRIEFS COMPLETES ITS TENTH YEAR

 

                 During the past decade (1998 - 2007) the church of our Lord Jesus has continued to undergo much trauma through the activities of change agents, who are caught up in classical liberalism and modernism.  Their aim is to restructure the church into being a community church that will see eye-to-eye with the denominations.  One of the major reasons for such a state came about because in the 50s, 60s, and 70s young graduates from Christian Colleges went to study in Theological Seminaries to get advanced degrees.  Very often these institutions of higher learning were hotbeds of classical liberalism, rank modernism and/or old fashioned sectarian bias.  They became theological cemeteries for the faith of many from Christian homes, who were brain washed into accepting such foolishness as the idea that one cannot know the truth.  Jesus said you could (John 8:32). 

                 They became enamored with the aim to debunk the solid means of Biblical interpretation: 1) Command, 2) Example and 3) Necessary Inference and substituted a fluid plan called, “new hermeneutics.”  Fluid, because none of them can define it.  Along with this “new revelation” they decided that “pattern theology” was a myth and had to be thrown out, even though it was good for Noah (Gen. 6:4-16); Moses (Ex. 25:40); David (I Chr. 28:19) and the apostle Paul (II Tim. 1:13; 2:2). 

                 Besides these termites (change agents) in the house of God, the church continues to face the evil of worldliness.  For example: greed, covetousness, envy, pride, liquor drinking, dancing, pool and beach parties, fashions that are down right low, lewd and tight; as well as gambling (the lottery, poker, blackjack, and the slots, etc.) and even fornication and adultery.  This includes men running after other men’s wives and women stealing other women’s husbands (See Matt. 14:1-12; Gal. 5:19-21;Rev. 2:20;I John 2:15-17).  Perhaps worst of all, those who just don’t care.  Apathy is their spiritual forte.  One hour a week in worship is all they can stand.  (Rev. 3:15-17). (JW)

 

THE ORIGINAL TEXTS

W. E. Vine

 

Note: F.F Bruce writes that there are about 5,000 Greek manuscripts (mss) of the New Testament, whole or in part, in existence and these constitute the most abundant mss evidence of any ancient book.  He writes, “The evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of classical authors (e.g., Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars, Titus Livy’s The History of Rome, and Tacitus’ Histories), the authenticity of which no one dreams of questioning” (The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? - F.F Bruce, Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 255 Jefferson S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503, 1943, Reprinted 1987, pp. 15,16).  Yet, skeptics noting there are some differences among some mss will gloat of Biblical inaccuracies.  Observe the wisdom of the linguistic and Biblical scholar W. E. Vine as he deals with this subject. (JW)

 

             “In speaking of these supposed inaccuracies we are of course referring to the original autographs and not to translations.  Considerations of the subject of Inspiration must be based upon the originals as now represented in the ascertained texts, always bearing in mind that extant manuscripts are copies of copies of the originals.  For the purpose of giving a written revelation to mankind, God chose the Hebrew and Greek languages, and to a small extent the Chaldaic, in which latter a portion of the book of Daniel was written.  Though the autographs themselves do not exist, the evidence goes to show that the resultant text arrived at by the collation of the best manuscripts practically represents the originals.

                 “The importance of most of the variations in the manuscript readings has been greatly exaggerated.  Westcott and Hort tell us that the ‘proportion of words virtually accepted on all hands as raised above doubt is very great, not less, on a rough computation, than seven-eighths of the whole.  As to the remaining eighth, the variations here are formed in great part by changes of order and other comparative trivialities.’”  These writers further tell us that ‘the amount of what can in any sense be called substantial variation...can hardly form more than a thousandth part of the entire text.’  There is no doctrine in Scripture which would be affected if all the disputed words, or those about which there is any doubt, were omitted.”

 

The Divine Inspiration of the Bible, W. E. Vine,

Richies’ Christian Book Service, P.O. Box 981, Manitoba, Canada,

THE BIBLICALLY INCORRECT AGE

Ben Wright

 

                 Ours is an age of political-correctness.  If a person, such as John Rocker, of the Atlanta Braves, says something that is offensive about one or more ethnic groups, then he is publicly castigated and vilified.  This is not all bad.  We must watch what we say and not be offensive or hateful towards others because of race.  Jesus taught this in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10).

                 Political-correctness becomes bad when preachers are influenced by it concerning sin.  There is no reason for a preacher to be deliberately hateful or offensive in his sermon.  However, we need to define the term “offensive.”  If it means a preacher cannot point out sin, then there is a problem.  Pointing out sin should not be offensive to Christians because sin is offensive to God.

                 I am afraid Jesus would have a hard time finding a place to preach today.  Could you imagine the shock if Jesus preached a sermon in which he said, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).  I believe many would get up and walk out, or one of the elders would pull Jesus aside and tell him he cannot preach like that for it will make people mad.

                 In our time, the apostle Paul would have to continue his tent-making to earn a living.  The first gospel sermon (Acts 2)could not be preached in some pulpits.  The twelve apostles pointed out the sins of the Jews that day.  The amazing thing is they baptized about three thousand of them (Acts 2:41).

                 One of my instructors often imitated the attitude of some in the church.  He would stick out his shoulder and say in a whining voice: You see this chip on my shoulder?  Knock it off and I’ll quit the church!”  I would think to myself, “That surely cannot be how it is with Christians.”  I was wrong and he was right.

                 Being politically-correct has caused many to become Biblically-incorrect.  When the church was the fastest growing religious body in America following the Second World War, preachers preached the truth with boldness.  They pointed out sin and showed how God felt about it.  Many have gotten away from that.  If we want the church to grow and save souls, then we must preach it as the apostles did.  We must preach it like Jesus did.

             Elders must not be scared of how a member might react to a sermon on marriage and divorce.  Preachers must not refrain from teaching and preaching against dancing even though an affluent member allows his children to go to the prom.  We must preach the truth in love.  We do not love people when we allow them to go to hell without saying anything to them about their sin.

                 Let us get away from Biblical-incorrectness.  Let us preach the truth to a lost and dying world.  “Preach the word…”  (II Timothy 4:2)  1501 6th Avenue, Jasper, AL  35501

Bulletin Brief