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Masons? Good or bad?

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by ajg1959, Oct 9, 2008.

  1. mattjtayl

    mattjtayl New Member

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    Albert Pike many people associate with a founding father of masonry, however masons were around hundreds of years before Albert Pike was ever born. Albert Pike came into the picture about 1850 or so? The oldest surviving Masonry temple that can be found dates back to around 1400.

    Albert Pike is best known for founding the Scottish Rite which is like an add-on organization for the masons which can have some very questionable teachings in it. Scottish Rite is very Gnostic in nature and has a little Kabbalism in it. It even has some elements of an ancient egyptian religon in a few of the rituals. This is a stark contrast to what the original masonic ritual was and represent a belief system Albert Pike believed in and not beliefs that were among masons at that time.

    There are many masons out there who really do not like what Albert Pike did with masonry. They feel the scottish rite really is a false representation of what masonry was meant to be by the founding fathers of the organization; these men lived hundreds of years before Albert Pike was even born. Masonry was practiced at least 400 years before Albert Pike ever exisited.

    This is why many masons who are more religous refuse to join any masonic add-on's and just choose to remain with the ritual where masonry started from. These men are of the opinion that masonry was never intended to deviate away from a christian organization. Albert Pike was the one who started the trendy idea "all religons are equal".

    It's very important to realize when Albert Pike starts rambling about what his interpetation of who Lucifer was that this is just what his opinion is, and does not reflect what most masons believed. Unfortunately many people assume since he was an authoriative fiqure back then whatever religous opinions he had reflected what the majority of masons believed, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
     
    #61 mattjtayl, Oct 14, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 14, 2008
  2. bound

    bound New Member

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    Grace and Peace,

    Has anyone read the work from Wall-Builders The Question of Freemasonry and the Founding Fathers by David Barton?

    It's a good resource to understanding how 'different' Freemasonry was in the Americas before the 19th Century. One of the principle mistakes one makes is assuming that the Freemasons and Freemasonry of the time of our Founding Fathers was and is identical to what is Freemasonry today. He makes a strong case with plenty of reverences to historic evidence that such is far from the case. Anyone read it?
     
  3. go2church

    go2church Active Member
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    Barton is hardly a good source for anything!
     
  4. Humblesmith

    Humblesmith Member

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    ......and has anyone ever tried to actually read Pike? It's a mishmash of pointless sentences. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I can't believe he actually sat and wrote meaninglessness for that many pages.
     
  5. ray Marshall

    ray Marshall New Member

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    Masonry is an eastern religion. Probably Moses could have been a mason being that he was raised in the Pharoes household. They met in the Groves. Jesus may have been hated of the mystic religion in his day. Someone that knows more than I do please check it out and let us know.
     
  6. ray Marshall

    ray Marshall New Member

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    Moral and Dogma is certain a book that is boring and makes no sence to me.
     
  7. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    It has been a while. Libs don't like him.
     
  8. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    Yes, I have read some of Pike. It's esoteric occultic thinking. I recognized some of it. I didn't read the whole book - but parts of it. It was very oppressive and I had to stop reading (I was a new believer at the time and what I was reading reminded me of some of the New Age and Theosophy and Gnosticism and other stuff).
     
  9. Prov910

    Prov910 New Member

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    We had a 32 degree Mason who was a member of a church my husband pastored. He openly opposed my husband teaching that Jesus was the only way to the Father. After a few heated disputes, even disruptions at the church, he left. However, he threatened my husband, telling him that he didn't really understand what he was dealing with. He said: "I intend to give your name to every mason I know. You have no idea what your getting into." To which my husband responded: "Good, I can't wait to get to preach the gospel to them too."

    My grandfather who was Church of Christ (whom I consider a lost man) became a mason in his mid-life. By his older age, he was agnostic. That seems appropriate, if you consider their teachings.

    At another church, I had an Eastern Star try to persuade me to join the Eastern Star. (Of course she told me it would be best for my husband to join the masons.) I think the woman was literally losing her mind...but she sure knew her masonic religion! Her husband and son were both 32 degree. She spent an hour pitching it to me. They even have some tracts and booklets....

    At any rate, she tried to convince me it wasn't a religion. Then later she brought out this very old huge Masonic Bible and tried to explain to me how it was a better translation than even the KJV...showing me how Jehovah was used in the NT. (Sounds like Jehovah's Witness) I asked her if it wasn't a religion then why did they have a Bible?

    She told me... "Oh, you really need to see the eastern star. If you could just see the star, you would understand." I told her I didn't need to see the eastern star, I had already seen the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!



    Edited to add a link to a resource for information of the Masonic religion:

    Ephesians 5:11
     
    #69 Prov910, Oct 15, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2008
  10. superwoman8977

    superwoman8977 New Member

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    Okay well the Masons helped me and my son with rides to the Children's hospital when we were dealing with his colon issues. As for Christian men the men in my mom and dads church about 50% of them are Masons. They have helped with dinners and things in our church as well. Men need a place to socialize thats why they join the Elks, the Moose, and the Masons. My father is not a mason but he is a lifetime member of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign wars). Men need a place they can go and hang out with men, just like I am a member of the VFW Ladies Auxillary and I love it because of the help we provide the community plus it gives me a place where I can connect with other women and socialize. Its not about a void in our lives, because you can have Christ in your life and be a part of these organizations. MHO
     
  11. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    I know a lot of Masons are helpful and nice. For one thing, they think this earns points with God. As I pointed out, I know a lot of nice Wiccans. Even at the first degree, you have to say you are coming into the light of masonry from darkness. What Christian could honestly say that?

    The Masonic lodge is not just a place for men to hang out. You are ignoring everything that has been posted here that shows the problems with masonic teachings. Have you visited the sites of former Masons where they have info on the teachings? These men left because they saw the problems of masonry vs. Christianity.

    Read what Prov 910 said. This is their real face.

    My grandfather was a Mason and I still speak against it. For some reason, my grandmother would not allow a Masonic funeral, but I don't know why.

    I have a friend who was Eastern Star and she left after becoming a believer. She gave me some of the books. They teach salvation by works.
     
  12. superwoman8977

    superwoman8977 New Member

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    Proverbs 9:10--"The reverant and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding. " And then written in my margin next to the verse I have written You want wisdom then you need to fear God! In my community the Masons are made up of mostly God-fearing men from several area churches. I dont ignore what people say I just know what a blessing they have been to me and my family.
     
  13. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    There are a lot of nice people who are going to hell. Being nice means nothng as to a persons standing before God and their eternal destiny. If people beleive it helps them go to heaven by being nice and helping people of course you'll find them doing 'good' works. If you beleived you couldn't go to heaven without them you would do them just for that.
    Then the numbers of people who are a part of masonary means nothing as to whether or not it is acceptable and true.
    Masonary and christianity can not coincide, they do not agree, masonry disagrees with scripture, many times over and over. Nothing like this is acceptable to christianity, nor to God.
    The truth of God's word is not a popularity contest, the more who beleive the more true it is, likewise neither is anything else, it is either true or not standing on it's own. And standing on it's own masonry is not true.
    And for those who want proof, it has been posted here many times, over and over.
     
  14. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    they aren't God fearing men if they are masons, they don't have wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit if they are masons. It seems you are saying because they did good works for your family they are christians and good God fearing men, and masonry is acceptable based on their good works.
    LOl, that would make a lot of false religions acceptable then wouldn't it.
     
  15. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    Even if some Masons are Christians caught up in a deceptive organization, Masonry does not teach the biblical God.

    Do you know that in Muslim countries the Masons put the Koran in the lodges as the "holy book?"



    Every lodge has an altar, with the Bible or the Koran or the Vedas, depending on the people who attend the Lodge... they are all good... but good for nothing to the real masters of Masonry.
    "To believe in God" is one of the greatest deceptions of Masonry... because for a Mason, the only "acting God" is the "Lodge" and the "Worshipful Master", like for Communists the real acting "god" is the State and the Premier...
    ... The primary allegiance and obedience of the Mason is to the "Worshipful Master", the only proper form to address him!... and through the Master to any other secret "higher Mason authority"... In the Lodge, the "Master" is "Worshiped", not God!... you can not even mention your God!.
    ... This is why Masonry is incompatible with Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, because their primary allegiance is to "God"... and even many local authorities are debating whether membership to the Craft is compatible with local government.

    Source:
    http://www.religion-cults.com/Secret/Freemasonry/freemas2.html
     
  16. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    This is from a ministry made up of former Masons who are Christians:

    Many who participate in Freemasonry are initially confused by what they see and hear. They believe that Freemasonry requires a belief in God as a condition of membership. They attempt to interpret lodge teachings, including Masonic teachings about the nature of the Masonic god, through a Christian paradigm. If a man understands the nature of God as revealed in the Scriptures and the nature of false gods as revealed in the teachings of pagan religions, he will have the basic information to know that the god of Freemasonry is not the God of the Bible. Freemasonry teaches that all pagan gods are the same Spirit as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
    Source:
    http://www.ephesians5-11.org/glasses.htm
     
  17. superwoman8977

    superwoman8977 New Member

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    So if we are going to talk about the Masons (which In November) I am going to work at the Masonic Home in Franklin, IN as a 2nd job on the weekends bookkeeping on the side, we also need to talk about the Lions. My grandfather was a lion. If we are going to talk about Masons then we also need to talk about the Lions and the work they do with taking used eyeglasses and refurbishing them and sending them to aid others in others countries. We also need to discuss the Knights of Columbus. I love how people take one group and pick them apart but dont realize there are several others out there that help in the community as well that men and women belong to. JMHO.
     
  18. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    I'm not sure but I don't think the Lions are anything like the Masons in their organization or what they teach. The Lions, as far as I know, are just a regular organization. Do they take secret vows? Do they teach reincarnation (at upper levels, Masons do)? Do they teach that the Koran is as sacred as the Bible, like the Masons?

    Why do you equate the Lions with the Masons? You are totally ignoring all the info posted here. Or do you only read your posts?
     
  19. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    Masons? Good or bad?

    Hmm... well, Perry was a pretty good lawyer; James was a pretty good actor; but that crater on the moon is rather empty.
     
  20. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    So your not opposed to false religions that teach contrary to scripture? Not opposed to a different gospel, other then the gospel of Jesus Christ?
    I'm not sure about the other groups you mentioned, do they teach religion, false religion, a different method of going to heaven the scriptures teach?
    So far we've seen from you that you'll accept anything, godly or not, christian or not, and don't really care about scripture.
     
    #80 donnA, Oct 15, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2008
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