A MINISTER FIRST, THEN A FREEMASON.

I have been a Freemason for nearly forty years, and during that time I have had ample opportunity to examine the question of whether Freemasonry is compatible with Christianity. The fact that I am still active within Freemasonry - a Past Master of my Lodge, a Past Senior Grand Chaplain in the Grand Lodge of Scotland, an elected member of Grand Committee, a Provincial Grand Lodge Chaplain, - should indicate that that I find no contradiction in being a Christian Minister and a Freemason.

There have been many times in my ministry when I had to determine priorities; and if ever there was a claim on my time as a Minister, Freemasonry rightly had to take second place. For I was reminded when I became a Mason that my attendance was to be "without detriment to myself or my connections". 

Masons who put their Lodge first in their lives are not being faithful to the tenents of the Craft. The greatest criticism comes from those who mistakenly have the idea that Freemasonry is a religion in conflict with Christianity, despite the fact that Freemasonry has never claimed to be a religion, and that the discussions of religion is forbidden in open Lodge. . The prerequisite for membership is a belief in the Supreme Being, not the God of a particular religion; and so Freemasonry is open to men of all religious faiths but it is not syncretism. Let me make this plain: whenever I can, I make it known that my "Supreme Being" is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the sake of peace and harmony, religion and politics are banned from discussion within the Lodge. So Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus can meet together in the Lodge, knowing

that their religions differ, but not allowing those differences to come between them as Brothers. The various names which are used in the lodge room for the Supreme Being are said by its critics to suggest that Freemasonry is incompatible with Christianity.             

  ( I cannot comment on the so called "hidden lost name of God" as I am not a member of the Royal Arch Order.) Whatever name might be used for the Supreme Being, in whatever Degree, for me, He is always the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit.

It should be emphasised that Freemasonry does not attempt to join religious together. There is no composite Masonic God: the Craft`s God remains the God of the religion which a member professes.

Sometimes there is confusion over whether Freemasonry is a religion or not. There ought to be no confusion whatsoever! Freemasonry takes great pains to insist that it is not a religion. As defined in the ritual it is "a system of Morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." However it is true that Freemasonry uses religious concepts: it has prayers, and refers to the deity and our duties to him and to one another. It has "altars", but no sacrificial system and no sacraments. On top of the pedestal in the East of the lodge is a cushion, and on it rests the Volume of the Sacred Law which in Christian countries is the Bible. But in multi-faith countries, like Singapore for example, the holy book of each faith represented in the lodge is on display.

This acknowledgement of other sacred texts does not in any way compromise one`s special reverence for one`s own sacred writings. There is a suspicion in the Church that Freemasonry must be a religion because prayers are said in the lodge. But these are simply prayers seeking God`s blessing on what we are doing; there is no form of adoration or worship. And so to say that Freemasonry is a religion is taking the definition to absurd lengths. On this basis, the Scout movement would be a religion because it has a spiritual foundation to its work, uses prayers on occasions, and has church parades!  Would you describe Parliament as a religion because it opens each day with prayers?

On the other hand there are some men who would say that the lodge gives them all the religion they need, in the same way as some golfers would claim that they can worship God on the golf course. However, any Freemason who makes that claim has completely misunderstood the teachings of the Craft, and is doing a disservice to both the church and the lodge.

Freemasonry is a metaphysical and philosophical fraternity which examines basic aspects of morality, "founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue"; and as such can never be thought of as a substitute for the church. Although its teachings are based on deeply spiritual concepts as the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, it cannot, nor does not aspire to supplant the Church as the militant body of Christ manifest in the world. Nor can a Freemasons Lodge hope to satisfy the spiritual life of man which is expressed in the worship, ordinances and outreach of the Christian Church.

Freemasonry has no message of redemption for the sinner, and no hope of salvation to offer to those who have fallen short of glory of God. There is no ministry of healing for those who in life`s struggle have lost courage and hope. Forgiveness, Atonement, Redemption and Hope are only to be found in the Christian Gospel, and it is presumptuous for a Freemason to assert that they can be found elsewhere. A man who understands his Freemasonry will also understand the part that his religion ought to play in his life. There are some who join Freemasonry with only the most vague idea of the Supreme Being they claim to believe in, and although they might even claim to be Christians they have only the most notional connection with the Christian Church. Such men make poor churchmen and poor Freemasons, and do not understand the damage they do to the Craft when they insensitively presume to usurp some of the ordinances of the Church, for example the so-called Masonic Funeral. 

Not a few Ministers will have experienced the inexpert ministrations of some Masons who after the Committal and the Benediction find a lodge presuming to "complete" the burial with their own, often theologically flawed, ritual. While it is the right of a family to ask any person to conduct a funeral, when they have asked a Minister to do it, it is insensitive to say the least to think that masonic ministrations can add anything to the occasion. I personally, have no objection to the placing of a white apron on the coffin at the start of a Service with some appropriate words from the Master of the Lodge.            

Freemasonry would want to stress that the Craft is not a religion, nor substitute for religion. I believe that the Church has nothing to fear from Freemasonry and has much to offer it. It therefore saddens me when I hear of Parish Ministers who refuse to conduct an annual Service for the local lodge in their Church. Whenever I preach to Freemasons they are offered "Christ Crucified", and not some vague moral message. Freemasonry never forces a man to compromise his faith in Christ. In the Craft I have met so many men who are pillars of their local church, many who are Elders who form the backbone of the church; honourable men from all the professions, from a dustman to a Duke. These are the people who make it a pleasure to be associated with in Freemasonry, men who talk about their church as naturally as they do about Freemasonry. 

One of the reasons that I am a Mason is that I am proud to belong to such an organisation that attracts so many men of admirable qualities, with whom I can feel at home in the Faith. Some in the Church believe Freemasonry to be a secret society and a self-serving network. But it must be a very strange "secret" society which makes its rules and aims available to the public; publishes a Year Book with the names of its leading office-bearers; together with the dates and places of meetings of all its lodges; opens its headquarters to the general public daily; maintains national and local websites on the internet; and reports its meetings with photographs in the local press. Some "Secret Society"! 

Its only secrets are the modes of recognition from one Degree to another: and though they may not make much sense to the outsider, copies of our Rituals can be found in most public libraries. Rather than being a self-serving organisation, the opposite is true. On at least six occasions during the process of becoming a Freemason, the new member is told that it is contrary to our principles and rules to use his membership to try to gain any form of advantage for himself or anyone else. Any attempt to do so renders the person liable to disciplinary proceedings within the Lodge, to Suspension, or to Expulsion from the Order. Our work for Charity both within and outwith Freemasonry, gives the lie to self-serving.

The Grand Lodge of Scotland has donated more than £350,000 to the Children`s Hospice Association (Scotland) CHAS - a fact that was conveniently ignored by the national press! In addition the Grand Lodge of Scotland owns and runs three Care Homes, and a special care Dementia Home in Dunblane. On top of this it makes annual grants to needy individuals through its Board of Benevolence. There are of course, apochryphal stories, - of the burglar who was a Mason recognising the Judge as a fellow Mason and giving him the Sign of a Mason in the hope of a lighter sentence - but to no avail! Masonic conspiracy theories will continue to be peddled by its critics, just as the early Christians were accused of cannibalism in the Lord`s Supper. 

It is obvious that there is a great deal of unjustified paranoia about Freemasonry, and it is unbecoming of the Church to add to it. No Christian is compelled to become a Mason; he is free to join, or not to join; to remain in the Craft, or to leave the Order. I would agree with the conclusion of the Report to the General Assembly in 1989, that if any minister thinks he has a conflict with Freemasonry, he should be loyal to the Church. But as a Mason of many years standing I find nothing incompatible in Freemasonry as a Christian Minister, and I am glad to support the Order.

Interestingly enough, The Home Affairs Committee of Parliament came to this conclusion in 1997; …...."We do not believe that there is anything sinister about freemasonry, properly observed, and are confident that freemasonry itself does not encourage malpractice".

It is a pity that the Report to the General Assembly of 1989 was viewed so negatively by so many in the Church. Certainly the Working Party expressed reservations which in turn were interpreted as anti-masonic, and it is these feelings which surface at regular intervals without, I suggest, a proper observation and understanding of what Freemasonry is all about, ie. Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. 

Freemasonry offers what is all too often lacking in the local congregation: a strong sense of belonging - FELLOWSHIP. It offers a colourful expression of important truths through symbol and ritual, - MYSTERY. It offers and encourages an active part in its ceremonies, not by one man , but a team of men, - PARTICIPATION. And it attempts to make its principles live by action and by the support of both Masonic and non-masonic charities, - ACTION.

Why is it that the Church seems to have paid little attention to some of the positive features of its Report, and dwelt only on the negative?

Is it not time that the Church learned lessons from Freemasonry?

  Rev. Peter O. Price, C.B.E., Q.H.C., B.A., F.Ph.S., Past Master.