#1 The Facts On The Masonic Lodge
 

About This Book
 

    Is the Masonic Lodge compatible with Christianity? The Lodge challenged "The John Ankerberg Show's@ teachings on Masonry. They claimed Masonry was not a religion and did not in any way conflict with Christianity. But is this true?
    A Mason guest on our television program told us that the Ritual was the authoritative source for all Masons-and he was correct. In this book, we have cited Masonic Ritual and shown how it conflicts with Christian teaching.
    We also wrote to all 50 of the Grand Lodges in the United States and asked them which Masonic authors and books they would recommend as the most authoritative commentaries concerning the teachings of Masonry. We will report to you what they said. Then we will compare the commentary of their recommended authors with some of the teachings of Biblical Christianity to answer the question, "Is Christianity compatible with the teachings of the Masonic Lodge?@
  The information we present is fully documented from authoritative Masonic sources and is confirmed as accurate by Masons and former Masons.
    In this book, we have stressed the Ritual of the Blue Lodge-the first three degrees of Masonry (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason)-since these are the degrees through which every Mason must pass.
    We have examined the standard interpretations of the Blue Lodge rituals given by Masons. Most Masons believe that Blue Lodge Masonry makes one as full or complete a Manson as one can (or needs) to be. But an important fact must be noted. While the Blue Lodge is Masonry, and while it is the Masonry of most Masons, it is not all that Masonry constitutes.
    Some Masons would view Blue Lodge Masonry as it is usually interpreted, as an initial or beginning form of Masonry, and maintain that the real substance of Masonry-its lifeblood-lies in the higher degrees and in the initiate's search for their true meaning.
    Some Masons would even consider Blue Lodge Masonry as only the cover of the book, but not the book itself. These Masons would say that to truly understand Masonry one must open the book and read what lies within the cover. What one finds there will shock even many Masons.
    As Sovereign Grand Commander Henry C. Claussen admitted, "It must be apparent that the Blue Lodge...degrees cannot explain the whole of Masonry. They are the foundation...An initiate may imagine he understands the ethics, symbols and enigmas, whereas a true explanation of these is reserved for the more adept.
    It is our sincere hope that this book will encourage Christian Masons to look seriously and frankly at Masonry and ask themselves: Can a Christian who follows Jesus Christ and accepts biblical authority really be a Mason? In good conscience, can he justify his involvement in Masonry?
    As one Anglican vicar, also a Mason observed, "I for one can never understand how anyone who take an exclusive view of Christ as the only complete revelation of God's truth can become a Freemason without suffering.
 

What Is Masonry?
 

    Masonry (also known as Freemasonry or "the Lodge@ ) is a powerful, centuries-old fraternal order that, according to Masonic authorities, began in the early eighteen century. According to most Masonic authorities, modern Masonry (also called "speculative@ Masonry) can be traced to the founding of the first Grand Lodge in London in A.D. 1717.
    The Lodge is also a secret society. To maintain its secrets., Masonry uses symbolism, secret oaths, and secret rituals to instruct new members, called "initiates.@ Each new member swears during these secret ceremonies to remain loyal to the Lodge and its teachings. The teachings instruct each new candidate how he is to serve and the rewards he can expect.
    Let us examine the definition of Masonry as given by Masons themselves. In Albert G. Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry he states, "All {Masons} unite in declaring it to be a system of normality, by the practice of which its members may advance their spiritual interest, and mount by the theological ladder from the Lodge on earth to the Lodge in heaven.@
  Other respected Masonic authorities define Masonry in the following words:
 

    A man who becomes a Mason is defined by Masonic authorities as being "one who has been initiated into the mysteries of the fraternity of Freemasonry.@
  What we present in this book is an analysis of Masonry itself, as stated by Masonic authorities recommended to us by a least half of the Grand Lodges in the United States. The Grand Lodge of each state sets the ritual and the interpretation of that Ritual which is to be followed by the members of that state.

John Ankerberg & John Weldon