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#8 The Facts on the Masonic Lodge
8. Does the Masonic Lodge have its own distinct doctrinal statement like a
church does?
Another Reason Masons give for claiming Freemasonry is not a religion is
because "we have no confession of faith in a doctrinal statement such as a
church does." But is this true?
How can any Mason honestly say he has no confession of faith when he must
believe in the teachings of the Landmarks concerning the universal Fatherhood of
God and brotherhood of man, when he must believe in immortality of the
soul, when he must believe in a Supreme Being, and when he must
believe that has a good Mason he will reside in the "Celestial Lodge Above" for all eternity?
Not only do Masons have a confession of faith in their own doctrinal belief’s
but their Masonic beliefs are distinctive. It can be seen that Masonry teaches
specific religious doctrines which are not accepted by many other religions.
This means Masonry claim of not having distinctive religious doctrines is false.
This can easily be seen from Masonry’s religious teaching concerning the
immortality of the soul. Just ask yourself, "Do all religions believe in the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul like Masons do?" The answer is "No."
Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Armstrongites, and Buddhists, to
name just a few, do not believe in the immorality of the soul as Masons do.
Do all religious people believe in a Supreme Being as the Masons do? No.
Hindus believe in millions of gods; so do Mormons. Many Buddhists do not believe
in God at all.
At death, do all religious people believe as Masons do that they will reside
in the "Celestial Lodge in the Sky" for all eternity? A quick examination of
other people’s beliefs reveals that Hindus and Buddhists believe in the
extinction of the person. Mormons believe that they can become gods themselves.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that only 144,000 will get to reside in heaven and
all the rest who aren’t annihilated will stay on planet Earth.
In conclusion, it is absolutely clear that the Masonic Lodge does have it’s
own distinct religious doctrinal statement just like any other religion does.
That’s why Masonry must be considered to be teaching religion.
John Ankerberg & John Weldon
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