Christianity and
Freemasonry
by Aphonse Cerza
The following
comes from:
Alphonse Cerza, Anti-Masonry:
Light on the Past and Present Opponents of Freemasonry (Fulton,
MO: Ovid Bell Press, 1962; 410p.), appendix
K, 357-362. The page number references
the page above the number below.
Cerza was a law
teacher and past master of a lodge. By
a lawyer, it is well written and to the point.
See
www.preciousheart.net/freemasonry
for more and the book—
Character Counts: Freemasonry U.S.A.’s National Treasure and
Source of Our Founding Fathers’ Original Intent
Christianity and Freemasonry
by Alphonse
Cerza
The following talk was
presented by the author on October 12, 1959 at
the Drexel Park Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois, and was broadcast
over two radio stations. The program
was under the auspices of the
Masonic Club of the above named church.
In discussing
the subject of Christianity and Freemasonry it is important at the outset to
understand the meaning of both terms.
Christianity may be defined as “the total body
of persons believing in the life, the example, and the precepts of Jesus
Christ.” As used in this general sense
there is only one Christian Church; the various denominations are merely
branches of this one universal Church.
While these many branches agree on most fundamentals, they differ in
some respects in their rituals, their dogmas, and church organizations. One branch has an elaborate ceremony and has
a totalitarian form of government; the other branches vary in these regards. The Presbyterian Church has a minimum of
ceremony and dogma; its church government is best described as a
democracy. No branch of the Christian
Church has a monopoly on Christian doctrine.
In the tolerant spirit of the Gentle Carpenter we can say that all
branches are entitled to their points of view.
And all these branches are part of the Christian Church because the
associations are founded upon the life and lessons of the Son of God who was
crucified nineteen hundred and fifty-nine years ago. So that in our comparison here today we must return to the
fundamental principles of Christianity rather than to the detailed appendages
added by certain denominations.
Freemasonry may be defined as an old
organization of men based on the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man,
using builders’ tools as symbols to teach basic moral truths, thereby impressing
upon the minds of the members the cardinal virtues of Brotherly Love, Relief,
and Truth. Since you are less familiar with
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this great
association of men, I will spend a few minutes describing it before comparing
it with Christianity.
Freemasonry consists of three degrees which
are conferred in a lodge of Freemasons.
There are a number of organizations which restrict their membership
to Masons; each of these appendant bodies, as they are sometimes called, take a
lesson from one of the three degrees and elaborate on it. One of these
organizations is called the York Rite; it consists of certain ceremonies based
on the Crusades and which have special meaning to Masons who are
Christians. Another appendant Order is
the Scottish Rite, which confers the fourth to the 32nd degree with a series of
wonderfully dramatic ceremonies portraying many basic moral truths, such as
“Life with-out friends is worthless,” “Whom Virtue unites death cannot
separate,” “Great is Truth, and mighty above all things.” These degrees are impressive and deliver
the lessons forcefully, effectively, and with clear meaning. There is also a 33rd degree which is
honorary. Of course, you all know about
the Shrine with its colorful parades and its great charity, the Crippled
Children’s Hospitals.
There is a misconception that Freemasonry is
a secret society. It is not such an
organization. A “secret society” is one
that hides its existence; has secret aims; and its members keep their
membership a secret to the world. The
Masonic Order does not hide its existence; it meets in public buildings; its
meetings are announced in magazines and newspapers; the members readily admit
their membership; many wear pins to declare to all that they belong to this
great organization; and many functions are open to the public.
There is also a misconception, created by
certain churches which are opposed to Freemasonry that the organization is a religion. This is not so. A religion may be defined as a group with beliefs and practices
designed to worship God. Freemasonry is
based on a belief in God; it teaches its members to respect God; its ceremonies
are solemn and prayers are an integral part of every Masonic meeting. But there are no ceremonies of worship, no
dogma, no religious beliefs, as that term is commonly understood. Most members belong to a church; clergymen
of various denominations are members of this fraternity; if Freemasonry were a
religion, or if religious dogma were a part of the association, or if there
were a ceremony of worship these men could hardly remain as members and take a
part in the ceremonies. A few years ago
a prominent Episcopal clergyman, writing in a London paper said of Freemasonry,
“It exhorts its members to discharge faithfully the duties of the particular
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religion to which they belong…. If I
believed that Freemasonry compromised
either my allegiance to my Saviour, or
my loyalty to His Church, I would drop it.... But I know that it does
not and I know what I am talking about....” In short, Freemasonry is
not a religion, but it is religious.
As a matter of fact, Freemasonry is the only world-wide organization based on the Fatherhood of God where men of every creed can meet
in peace and harmony. This is so because in a Masonic lodge
there is complete respect for the religious beliefs of all men. Masons believe there is only one God; what does it matter what name is
given to Him by the other members? The Masonic lodge instills a love of God;
but the lodge does not teach the member how to worship Him. Thus every Mason recognizes a real need for
the churches. If a Mason is not a
church-goer he will eventually seek church affiliation for the lodge creates a
need for religion in the life of the individual Mason. I am re-minded of when Rudyard Kipling
became a Mason. This was in Lahore,
India where he resided at the time. The
lodge had three predominant religious groups; the Holy book of each group was
placed upon the lodge altar as he took his degrees. In the ceremony there was an Englishman, a Hindu, and a
Mohammedan. Yet there was complete
harmony.
Freemasonry is in every sense of the word a Fraternity. Its methods, however, differ in one respect
from most fraternities. There are no
membership drives, no one is invited to join, and never is there a solicitation
that one become a member. Such things
are forbidden in Masonic law. The rule
is so strict that sometimes a son has wondered for years why his own father has
not asked him to join the lodge that means so much to him. One who desires to become a Mason must ask a
member for a petition and voluntarily seek information on how to become a
Mason.
Now let us make some comparisons between
Christianity and Freemasonry.
Christ spoke many of His eternal
truths with parables. These are, in a
sense, symbols in that a story is told to teach a lesson. Christianity
has many symbols that are used effectively.
First and fore-most, is the Cross; it tells the eloquent story of the
crucifixion and the rising; it also symbolizes the Christian Church. We have
the early symbol of the fish, designating members of the church, and
having reference to the apostles who were fishermen. Frequent reference is made to sheep as a symbol of people
needing help and guidance. The very soul of Freemasonry is symbolism. Eternal
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truths are taught and illustrated by
builders’ tools. The square symbolizes
fair dealing with all men; the plumb is used to symbolize
rectitude of life; and the level to symbolize the equality of all men.
So that, in symbolism Christianity and
Freemasonry see eye to eye.
I have mentioned that Freemasonry is a
fraternity. The members call each other
“brothers.” This necessarily follows
because one of the main requirements for membership is a belief in God. And if God is our Father, are not all men
brothers? In the early Christian Church all Christians called themselves
“brothers.” This was natural for was
not our one God called Father? And did he not make us
in his image?
Here again, we find Christianity and
Freemasonry seeing eye to eye.
What is the position of the individual in the
eyes of Christ? In the third chapter of First Corinthians Paul said: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s spirit dwells in you?” Paul is saying that
people are the temples of God; or to state it in another way, each person
constitutes part of the temple. This
great Christian truth glorifies the individual; it makes him the most important
thing in the scheme of things. Man,
made in the image of God himself, is all-important; not the state, not the
church organization, not wealth, not power.
In another part of the epistle, Paul describes himself as a
master-builder. How close that comes to
the individual Mason, who uses the builders’ tools as symbols, and is taught
that the individual is the most important item in this best of all possible
worlds. The Mason, like Paul, seeks to
be a master builder, erecting that spiritual temple, that structure not built
with hands, eternal in the heavens.
A Christian feels at home in the
Masonic organization, for here again Christianity and Freemasonry see eye to
eye.
And now, how about the beliefs of
the two groups?
The foundation of Christianity is love. Christ repeatedly said “Thou shalt love thy
neighbor.” At one time He said, “A new
commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.” Paul’s moving letter is familiar to Masons
when he says: “If I speak in the
tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have
prophetic powers, and under-stand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing…. So faith, hope, love, abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
These words of Paul are woven into the very fabric of Freemasonry.
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Love and peace and sympathetic understanding are basic Christian beliefs; they occupy
the same place in Freemasonry.
Here again, we find Christianity seeing eye
to eye with Free-masonry.
Relief is another great principle of Christianity. It follows necessarily with the ideal of
brotherhood and love. To relieve the
needy and afflicted has always played an important part in the life of every
Christian. Christ illustrated this rule
of Christian living by the forceful and familiar story of the Good
Samaritan. Freemasonry has relief as
one of its foundation stones. The
structure of the Craft is solidly founded on this strong rock. I need mention only a few illustrations
close at hand. In La Grange there is a
Masonic Children’s Home; in Sullivan, Illinois there is an Old Folks’ Home; on
the North Side of Chicago there is the Illinois Masonic Hospital. All are open to all members of the
community, with the exception of the Old Folks’ Home where there has been a
long waiting list so that applications have been restricted. Matthew reports that Christ once said “the
tree is known by its fruit” and on another occasion He said “every sound tree
bears good fruit.” With this Christian
test Freemasonry asks to be judged. You
will find that Christianity and Freemasonry, here again, see eye to eye.
The Christian Church has always
advocated truth as a guiding principle of Christian living. So strong is this principle that Christ
Himself on several occasions was identified as “the way, the truth, and the
life.” He also advocated telling the
truth at all times. The pursuit of
truth means the examination of all knowledge so that facts may be made to
correspond with reality. It includes
freedom of thought and expression, for only thus can the truth be
ascertained. Did He not say “The truth
will make you free”? Freemasonry has always advocated the search of truth. Its ceremonies encourage the study of the
liberal arts and sciences. Its members
are urged to improve themselves each day.
Freemasonry has been a strong advocate of the public school system. In many places, notably in Texas, the first
public schools were started in Masonic temples, under Ma-sonic auspices. When there were few colleges in the last
century, Freemasonry established a number of colleges, notably in Kentucky and
Missouri. Freedom of thought and
expression are encouraged and promoted by Freemasonry. It too recognizes that the truth can make
men free.
Here again, Christianity and Freemasonry see
eye to eye.
One of the most consoling beliefs of
the Christian Church is the
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immortality of
the soul. It is closely connected with
the resurrection of Christ, and it forms an important part of the Christian
creed. Freemasonry also has a
fundamental belief in the immortality of the soul. There is no dogma, no doctrines or ceremonies of how or why, or
when, or what one must do to gain admission to the celestial lodge; this is for
the churches to do.
So that, here again, we find Christianity
and Freemasonry seeing eye to eye.
We have thus seen the many elements of similarity between
Christianity and Freemasonry. The
question can rightfully be asked: Is
there anything about Christianity or Freemasonry which makes them incompatible
with one another? The answer is emphatically “No.” I am now talking about the basic beliefs of the Christian Church
as presented by the Holy Bible. Certain
Christian denominations have made rules for their members preventing them from
joining any kind of lodges; a member of that denomination, of course, would be
violating a man-made rule by joining a Masonic lodge. But most Christians who are Masons can attend lodge on a week
night and then go to church
on some other day and find both activities entirely consistent with one
another. It has been truly said that a
church member is made a better one by becoming a Mason; and also, that a Mason
becomes a better one by joining a church.
In short, both associations need one another for they both have a
mission and a place in this world.
Freemasonry has contributed much to this great democracy of
ours, and Masons everywhere each day are continuing to help make this God’s
country. May Christianity and
Freemasonry continue to work together in harmony as they travel over the road
of years building that eternal structure which will glorify our Father who is
in heaven.
^362
See
www.preciousheart.net/freemasonry
for more and the book—
Character Counts: Freemasonry U.S.A.’s National Treasure and
Source of Our Founding Fathers’
Original Intent