Published in Jesus People
Newsletter, Editor Thomas Adcock, 4338 Third Avenue, Sacramento,
CA 95817, Phone: (916) 456-9085,
Email: JesusPeople@juno.com
Website: http://www.mission.org/jesuspeople
November 25, 1984
Knowing that you desire to serve the Lord with all your heart, I share
this letter with you. Perhaps you
have been struggling with the same situation.
On November 22nd, I sent the facts contained in this letter to
all Masonic bodies of which I am a member.
I invite you to prayerfully read it.
It will explain why I as a Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York am
requesting a demit from all bodies of the Masonic fraternity.
There is much more that I could share.
I would be happy to share more if it will help you in the Lord's service.
Many have asked me if Freemasonry is a religion.
I have always responded “No”. Others
have told me that it is a religion. Study
has revealed the fact that learned writers in the fraternity say MASONRY
IS A RELIGION. The Lord
Jesus Christ said, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses, every work is
established” (Mat. 18:16). In
order to be brief, I will quote only four Masonic authorities that Masonry is a
religion.
Albert Mackey, a highly regarded Masonic authority, wrote in A Lexicon
Of Freemasonry (p. 402) “The religion, then , masonry, is pure
theism…” Albert Pike, the most important of all American Masonic
authorities wrote in Morals and Dogma (pp. 213-214): “Every Masonic
lodge is a temple of religion, and its teachings are instructions in
religion…this is true religion revealed to the ancient patriarch [sic]; which
Masonry has taught for many centuries, and which it will continue to teach as
long as time endures.”
J.S.M. Ward, an important Masonic authority, wrote in Freemasonry: Its
Aims and Ideals (p. 185), “I consider freemasonry is a
significantly organized school of mysticism to be entitled to be called a
religion,” Ward continues on page
187, “Freemasonry…taught that each man can, by himself, work out his own
conception of god and thereby achieve salvation.”
It holds that there are many paths that lead to the throne of the
all-loving father which all start from a common source.
Freemasonry believes, according to Ward, “that though these paths
appear to branch off in various directions, yet they all reach the same
ultimate goal, and that to some men, one path is better and to others,
another.” Frank C. Higgins, a
high Mason, wrote in Ancient Free Masonry p. 10), “It is true that
freemasonry is the parent of all religion.”
These Masonic witnesses all agree that Masonry is a religion. It is necessary now to ascertain whether Masonry is a true or
false religion. In an article
entitled, “How to Recognize a False Religion,” a prominent Christian
wrote: “All false religions,
however, have some things in common. Here
are three simple tests by which any religion should be judged:
first, what is its attitude toward the Bible?
In the second place, any religious teaching should be tested by
this question; What is its attitude
towards Jesus Christ? Finally, …, What is its attitude toward the blood of
Jesus!”
According to these tests, Masonry is a false religion with a satanic
attitude toward the Bible, the Deity of Christ, and His shed blood.
In order to establish this charge, keep in mind the Word of Jesus who
said, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be
established.” Please consider now
the testimony of Masonic authorities which reveal Masonry’s satanic attitude
toward the Bible, the Deity of Jesus and the vicarious atonement for the sins of
mankind by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Joseph Ford Newton, a famous Masonic authority, in “The Bible and
Freemasonry” wrote “The Bible so rich in symbolism is itself a
symbol…thus, by the very honor which Masonry pays the Bible, it teaches us to
revere every book of faith in which men find help for today and hope for
tomorrow, joining hands with the man of Islam as he takes his oath on the Koran,
with the Hindu as he makes covenant with God upon the book he loves best.”
Albert Pike, in Morals and Dogma, wrote (p. 718) “Masonry
propagates no creed except its own most simple sublime one; the universal
religion, taught by nature and reason.” One
who is Born-again can see from this statement that Masonry rejects the doctrine
of a God-breathed, inerrant Bible.
According to the second
test, Masonry is a false religion because it totally rejects the crucial
doctrine of the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
J.D. Buck, M.D., another Masonic writer of importance, in his Symbolism
of Mystic Masonry wrote (p. 55) “In the early Church as in the secret
doctrine, there was not one Christ for the world but a potential Christ in every
man. Theologians first made a
fettish [sic] of the impersonal, omnipresent divinity; and then tore the
Christos from the hearts of all humanity in order to Deify Jesus; that they
might have a God-Man particularly their own.”
One would have to look far and wide in the writings of heretics to find
statements more blasphemous than this about the person of Jesus Christ, my Lord.
According to the third test, Masonry is a false religion because
Masonry rejects the doctrine of salvation by faith in the vicarious atonement of
Christ’s shed blood on the cross. Thomas
M. Steward, another Masonic author, in his book Symbolic Teachings on Masonry
and Its Message, quoted favorably an apostate minister who wrote (p. 177),
“Did Jesus count Himself, conceive of Himself as a proprietary [sic] sacrifice
and of His work as an expiation? The
only answer possible is, clearly, He did not… He does not call Himself the
world’s priest, or the world’s victim.”
Salvation by Faith in the vicarious atonement are not “ignorant
perversions of the original doctrines” as Masonry teaches, but they are vital
ingredients of the Gospel of Christ, which is the Power of God unto Salvation to
everyone who believes. THEREFORE,
Masonry fails all 3 tests. It
manifests a satanic attitude toward the Bible, the Deity and atonement of
Christ. In addition to failing these tests, there is much more proof
that Masonry is a false religion.
Henry C. Clausen, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council
33°, in New Age, Nov., 1970, (p. 4) wrote that Masonry, “is dedicated
to bringing about the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of Man, and making
better men in a better world.” The
doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man is not found in
the Bible. It is a doctrine
taught by apostates. The Bible
makes it crystal clear that no organization, Masonry included, can make better
men. Only God can make better men!
The Masonic Bible teaches that “character determines destiny.”
That teaching is a false doctrine of Satan. The Bible says, “There is none that doeth good,” and
“For by Grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a
gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Masonry is anti-Christian in its teachings.
For example, J.M. Ward in Freemasonry—Its Aims and Ideals wrote
(p. 187), “I boldly avere [sic] that freemasonry is a religion, yet it in no
way conflicts with any other religion, unless that religion holds that no one
outside its portals can be saved.” Ward,
in his statement, reveals the fact that Masonry has no conflict with any
apostate religion on the face of the earth, but he also reveals that Masonry is
in conflict with the Bible which says, “Neither is there any other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12). Jesus said, “No man cometh unto the father but by Me.” (Jn
14:6). The Bible is plainly
teaching that there is only one way to heaven and that is Christ.
A prominent college president said of Masonry, “It is a luciferian
religion. We are fully aware of its
diabolical origin and purpose. I
believe that any born-again Christian, when the facts from the lips of Masonic
writers themselves are presented showing that Masonry is a religion and is the
worship of Satan, will immediately withdraw.”
To this I must add my hearty agreement!
God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only True and Living god,
has clearly commanded Christians, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers, and swear not at all, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”
Charles Finney, the famed evangelist whom God used to bring revival in
America in the 1830’s, in his book, Freemasonry, wrote (p. 115),
“Surely, if Masons really understood what Masonry is, as it is delineated in
the books, no Christian Mason would think himself to remain at liberty to remain
another day a member of the fraternity. It
is as plain as possible that a man knowing what it is, and embracing it in his
heart, cannot be a Christian man. To
say he can is to belie the very nature of Christianity.”
For me, the signs of the times compared with prophetic Scripture, make it
apparent that we are living in the last days.
Satan is hard at work trying to hinder believers’ spiritual growth, as
well as trying to keep the unsaved from entering God’s Family.
Freemasonry, I have come to believe, is one of Satan’s master
deceptions. Many ministers, elders,
deacons and church workers belong to this cult. Today, my membership ends!
Today, a new ministry begins. There
is a tremendous need to scrutinize the cultic nature of Freemasonry in view of
the massive infiltration of its effects on the working body of the church.
It should be exposed to the True Light—Jesus Christ!
For more information, book: “Please Tell Me About Freemasonry” by Tom McKenney $12.95 donation. Order from Jesus People, 4338 3rd Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817