Freemasonry vs. Christianity

Pledge: To make a solemn binding promise; swear.

Vow: swearing to the truth of a statement

I did not think it necessary to post more deffinitions but again according to the dictionary Pledge and Vowing is the same as swearing. They do mean the same thing. To Promise.

When you Pledge Allegance it is to one nation under God. You are saying you will fight for this NAtion who is under God's Rule. Thus you are Pledging as God as you witness to the Nation of which He is over.

As a Mason you Promise as God as your witness not to knowing reveil the secrets of Freemasonry. The penalty following the Obligation is a reminder of what happened to those who were tourtured for being a Freemason.

 

Obligation: A social, legal, or moral requirement, such as a duty, contract, or promise that compels one to follow or avoid a particular course of action. The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie.

Most Masons I know call it an Obligations not sure if this helps thou.

 

Jacob

Well we have beat this horse to death and neither one of us is going to change our minds. As always I do appreciate your spirit as we discuss these things. I don't agree with you and I worry about you, but I appreciate you as well.

Bro Tony

 

One of those little-known facts of the NT: words are not always interpreted and/or expressed with the full thrust of meaning from the original. Thus it is, we have words that carry much the same denotation, yet are interpreted very differently. An example:

There we go now, we've got "obligation" and "prayer" and "vow" on the same page. So James was saying, in essence, "The fervent, effectual vow of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). Not sure exactly what this indicates in the case of Elijah and him "praying" that it would not rain. Since the verse begins with "confess your faults," it could be indicating a prayerful vow to forsake a particular sin, one which might have led to the illness.

One commentary on the subject:

The voluntary nature of it is emphasized here, that it is not of command. No conflict with Freemasonry on that point, very specific in making sure of the "of my own free will and accord" part.

But what about what Jesus said? The word used there appears only once that I can find:

"You have heard it said of old, do not forswear thyself (commit perjury), but perform unto the Lord thine oaths."

But in the following verse, when He says "do not swear at all," He immediately follows it with a list of things to swear by: not by heaven, not by the earth, not by Jerusalem, not by your head. The word in Greek signifies "to take or declare on." In other words, an object is appealed to as though it held some sway in the thing promised. A lot of common English expressions have arisen from this very practice: "by golly," (euphemism for God), "by George," "by cracky," "by jiminy," and a host of others.

The whole idea expressed in His comments about things sworn by seems to indicate this practice of adding force to one's declarations, especially when He follows it with "let your yes be yes, and your no be no." That's a far different idea than solemnly and prayerfully vowing or committing undertakings to God.

 

http://ncbible.org/resources/ActsComm18.html

 

Bro Tony could you provide input on these verses.


Hebrews 7:20God took an oath that Christ would always be a priest, but he never did this for any other priest. 21Only to Jesus did he say,

"The Lord has taken an oath
and will not break his vow:
`You are a priest forever.' "[4]
22Because of God's oath, it is Jesus who guarantees the effectiveness of this better covenant.

 

"Bro. Tony" seems to be indisposed at the moment.

 

As I said earlier some things came up. I have been taking care of my father who suffered a stroke. So Mr. Worm don't assume things you do not know.

Jacob,

I just stopped by the web now because I haven't been home since Thursday morning. I will try to answer your question on Monday morning, right now I have to get ready for services tomorrow. I would appreciate your prayers as we try to take care of my father.

Bro Tony

 

Sorry to hear about your father's stroke, Bro Tony!

Will pray for him and your family.

 

Yes Bro Tony this issue is no where near important as your Father. I will pray for your father.

 

Thanks all, and I must apologize to the Worm, although we are miles apart in our thinking, it was in another thread that I said I had to leave for something urgent, it was not appropriate for me to snap at you that way. Please forgive.

Everyone have a great day in Jesus tomorrow.

Bro Tony

 

No apologies necessary, the remark was not intended to offend, though in hindsight I easily see why it was taken that way. Sorry to hear about your Father, you and he both have my prayers.

 

The title of this thread is an oxymoron, a false dichotomy in which many people would have others believe the two are at odds. Freemasonry is allegorical and symbolic, and when accused on the basis of literal interpretation of symbolic elements, it is accused falsely. Albert Pike was one person who knew as well as anyone its symbolic nature, and he also knew not only the general interpretation of symbols for all of Freemasonry, he also understood and discussed in detail the specific interpretation of those symbols for the Christian. In Morals & Dogma , he very clearly discusses the symbolism found in the first three degrees of Masonry, and the significance as they are applied from a Christian viewpoint:

 

PART TWO:

 

So many rules were broken in this post the whole thing was deleted.
No posting things knowingly false,
no personal attacks,
no invasions of another poster's privacy,
show grace to other posters
No posting slander
Etc..

[ July 31, 2004, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: Gina L ]

 

Then we shall have to abandon the most important one of all, the Cross. After all, it has been found in the symbology of quite a few other religions. A serpent on a cross was common in Egypt. A cross within a circle within a crescent was associated with Mercury, and became an emblem of the Supreme Deity. Some of the Druid temples found in Ireland and Scotland were built in the shape of a cross. Priests of Horus had their vestments covered with crosses. Plato said, "The next Power to the Supreme God was decussated or figured in the shape of a Cross on the Universe." It has also figured in the religious systems of Assyria, India, Persia, and others. Buddha is said to have died upon it, Krishna was said to have expired on a cross, pierced with arrows.

So by your reckoning, are we to then give up the single most enduring symbol of Christendom, simply because it is an image that has been interpreted "across a variety of religions throughout the world?"

TheWorm