Kirsten25 - 06 May 2010 10:21 PM
1. Freemasonry is a cult
2. Freemasonry is anti-Christian
3. Freemasons worship the devil
4. Freemasons are trying to take over the world
5. Freemasonry is a secret society
I would really appreciate feedback from all of you to hear how you feel about these rumors. Thanks!
1. A cult is by definition a sect of religion not endorsed by the heads of any respective churches, even if they share similar teachings. Usually cults are fixated on their leaders, giving this man or woman much more power in the internal structure of the organization than a regular member.
Freemasonry can’t be a cult because it has no central leadership. In America, Masonry in each state runs independently of each other, although by and large they have more similarities than differences. The respective leaders at the local and state levels only serve one-year terms (unless extenuating circumstances force them to stay in office), and all the actions in the lodge are dictated by either the Masonic code (a constitution of rules and guidelines), or Robert’s Rules of order (used by pretty much every civic organization in America). Therefore, the actions of a lodge are not driven by a personality, as a cult is, nor is there any religious dogma that drives what we do. Freemasonry does not attempt to save your soul or get you into heaven. It’s just about giving you an opportunity to improve yourself.
Cults also have a reputation for cutting members off from their friends and family. It is reiterated many times throughout Masonic teachings that men are not to place the organization above obligations to God, family, or country.
2. There is nothing about Freemasonry that works against the Christian religion. I have read some older versions of masonic ritual that were definitely more Christian oriented, but over time Masonry has widened its acceptance of all religious creeds.
I suppose some fundamentalists will argue that Freemasonry is anti-christian because one is willfully being “yoked to non-believers” (a quote from somewhere in the Old Testament, I believe). I don’t really have an argument against this, except to say on of my own personal values I have no qualms with sharing membership in an organization or a meal with someone of a different race or religion than myself.
Or, because opening and closing prayers in a Lodge are non-sectarian in their nature (meaning Jesus’s name is never invoked in the prayer), some Christians might be offended. But really, these prayers are no more offensive than the generic prayers that will be given before thousands of high school and college graduations this month.
3. Freemasons don’t worship anything in Lodge. The idea that Masons are devil worshippers comes from some enemies of masonry jumping the gun to prove their point. In Lodge prayers, God is addressed as the “Grand Architect of the Universe”—not a separate God, just an in-house title. The army chaplain may call God “the Supreme Commander in Cheif from Heaven” in his sermons but nobody questions that he is addressing God. In Masonic books, sometimes this title is shortened to GAoTU for sake of saving space, which kind of looks like “goat”, which made someone with a mad-on for Freemasonry connect them to Baphomet, which is some pictorial representation of the devil, although I don’t entirely understand its origin. (might be something you want to look into for your paper)
4. Freemasonry has no political agenda—all we want is to find good men to share our time with and share some ancient teachings for them to consider in their own quest for self-improvement. Really, sometimes I just think of Freemasonry as the world’s oldest self-improvement course.
Yes, we have had several notable members high up in the governments of the world. But it’s a chicken or the egge type question: Did Freemasonry make these men successful, or do successful men tend to seek out Freemasonry?
5. A secret society disavows its existence and avoids anything that would implicate its existence. Freemasonry has buildings, newsletters, magazines, webpages, uniforms, and what sometimes appears to be more internal paperwork than the Federal government! A secret society would do none of these things, especially put anything about itself in print.
It is private, but it’s not a sinister privacy—it’s a friendship type privacy. You, as a stranger to me, have no more right to ask me about my conversation with my wife last night than you as a non-member have the right to ask me about what was said in Lodge. Confidences about my wife will be shared with those who are worthy and trustful with that information (which is very, very few), and the same goes for Lodge business—(which would only be other members)
Best of luck with the rest of your paper!
