In my faith, we profess a belief in God. However, we don’t believe that the soul is “immortal”. But that “immortality” is a gift that one may receive if faithful in your covenant to God. If not, upon death, you die in the complete sense of the word.

Would this disbar me from becoming a Mason?

PABO - 17 August 2010 03:39 PM

In my faith, we profess a belief in God. However, we don’t believe that the soul is “immortal”. But that “immortality” is a gift that one may receive if faithful in your covenant to God. If not, upon death, you die in the complete sense of the word.

Would this disbar me from becoming a Mason?

That just doesn’t matter to Masons.  It wouldn’t and shouldn’t ever come up.  You believe in God?  Fine.  That’s it.  We don’t ask you specifics.  It is these specifics that divide men, even men of faith.  We are not concerned with ways to separate each other, but rather, we are concerned with ways to come together.

Dan,
Thank you for your reply.
So, in other words I can define immortality of the soul by the way my faith believes it & it’s OK?
I ask this only because “Belief in immortality, the ultimate lesson of Masonic philosophy” is one of the Landmarks, according to The Constitutions & Regulations of The Grand Lodge of Ma, which are “those ancient & universal fundamental principles of the Craft” Part I Sec. 102b
And according to “Freemasonry in Ma” A Handbook For Members, published by the Grand Lodge of MA, on pg. 3 2nd Par. it says, “Masonry also seeks to enlighten men by placing w/in their grasp a reasonable understanding of the immortality of the soul.”
How much does Freemasonry/The Grand Lodge of MA define “a reasonable understanding of the immortality of the soul” & how much leniency am I allowed to define this in my own way?
Like I said in the above, my Faith teaches “conditional” immortality not a “inherent” immortality of the soul, which it seems the Craft seeks me to understand. Or am I wrong?
Thank you again for your reply. & I thank you in advance for your next reply.
PABO

PABO

As Brother Dan so eloquently said, were here to come together, not find ways to separate. I can only assume that you believe in the chance that your soul could be immortal, however you have to get there. That’s really all we all can hope for, isn’t it? But that’s beside the point.

Again, we don’t split hairs here. No one ever asked me if I believed in the immortality of the soul.

If you look hard enough at anything, you can find something that you can construe to be against your religious beliefs.

You either check it at the door or don’t check in.

Feel free to read all the many posts that try to dissect Freemasonry like an insect. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

You’re welcome if you can check a box that says you believe in a Supreme Being. Period. Anything else we don’t talk about or frankly care about.

Hope that helps.

Bob Heruska
Boston, MA

Thanks Dan & Bob for your responses they were very helpful.
It is indeed good to have a place where men who believe in “The Great Architect” can gather and not worry about their diff. in that belief hinder their fellowship.

That it is.