Christianity And Freemasonry.

CHRISTIANITY AND FREEMASONRY .

THE following letter appeared in the " Church Times , " in answer to those we recently extracted . The Editor of our contemporary announces that the correspondence must now close : SIB , —The answers which my letter of inquiry has elicited are interesting , in the first place , as showing the wide differences of opinion which exist

among Masons themselves . Some deny indignantly that the relations between Freemasonry and Christianity present any moral difficulty whatever ; others , themselves Masons and ex-Masons , admit that the problem is a grave one . Some deny that any outsider has a right to ask for information about the Craft ; others admit the right and offer the information , for which I thank them .

It is instructive to note the change which has passed upon Mr . Horsley , tho protagonist . At first he scornfully denied that the question presented any difficulties . Because he was himself convinced , every other priest , the Pope himself included , ought to be satisfied . In effect he said , " The Pope is not infallible , but I am . It is unpardonable that a mere Catholic herring should propound questions to those who dwell in the mountain air of Freemasonry , and I for one shall not answer him . Let the ignorant

outsider take note that I and my friends are Masons , and hold his peace . ' The reply was not very convincing , nor was it quite the kind of answer which one priest might be expected to give to another who was endeavouring to arrive at some solution of a difficulty which is a very real one to himself and others . But at length Mr . Horsley condescended to treat the question seriously . And what is his argument ? It is simply and solely the argument for undenominationalism , of which the last paragraph of his last letter is an eloquent defence . " Personally , " says Mr . Horsley , " I delight

in the Athanasian Creed ; but am I to deny the existence of faith in all who do not accept or use it ' , and still more am I not to associate or unite with them in such religious or devotional acts as do not contain or require its recital ? " I thank Mr . Horsley for his frankness . But I do not believe that he is logical enough to carry his argument to its practical conclusion , and in other places than Masonic Lodges—e . g ., Unitarian Chapels—to " forbid the narrow spirit " to prevent his ' . ' uniting in prayer with those who differ in faith and worship . " The more courteous and reasonable communications of " Atticus " and

" Catholic , " admirable in tone , do not greatly aid the elucidation of the problem . They addressed themselves to several points which my former letter fully recognised , as that "in many respects the influence of English Masonry is good rather than bad , " and that English Masonry has corporately repudiated atheistic Masonry . But they have not made clear what I asked to be assured , that an English Mason can have no obligations whatever towards a member of the Grand Orient body , and that he is not bound to recognise him in any way , either in the Lodge or outside it , as a Mason .

The one argument for the patronage of Masonry by English Catholics which has any real weigh is that which has several times been adduced by " Catholic . " Masonry , he says , is not in England anti-Christian , and since it exists , and will exist , it is better to accept it , and to prevent it from drifting into the degradation and active infidelity of some Continental Masonry . But to secure this end what sacrifices are even now necessary As one of your correspondents tells us , a priest may be rebuked by a layman

for mentioning the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity , of Whom he inevitably thinks when he thinks of God at all , and through Whom all prayer is made . Of what use is it to talk about devotion to the " Great Architect of the Universe , " if He " by Whom all things were made " cannot be named without rebuke ? The objection is not , as Mr . Horsley seems to think , to the phrase , but to the idea which it conveys . The God to Whom Masons pray is not , it seems , to be thought of as the Christian ' s God . He

must be addressed in terms which will offend neither Jew , Turk , nor heretic . How can a Christian Mason logically combat undenominationalism in schools when he enthrones it in his Lodge ? It should be as impossible for a Oatholio to take part in a religious or quasi-religious function in which the Trinity and the Incarnation are forbidden to be recognised as true articles of

the faith concerning God , as for him to worship in a Unitarian conventicle . It certainly seems that even when it is granted that English Masonry is not anti-Christian , a Catholic would nevertheless have to make sacrifices and reservations which are inconsistent with the dignity of the faith , the due tenure of the creeds , and the contention for the . truth to which by his Christianity he is pledged .

. These are the main points . There is one other to which attention may be called for a moment . It is apparently a common saying among American Masons that " Masonry is all the religion a man needs . " At any rate , the Rev . Brother Hubbard ( who is , I understand , of the 33 rd or highest degree , and a prominent Mason in the State of New York ) considered it necessary to

combat this tendency in a recent sermon in Rochester Cathedral . Masonry , he said , must be supplemented by religion " Surely modern Masonry , if it teaches the opposite of this , must havo wandered far off from its origin and pattern . " The phrase is significant . Masonry , then , in America , is on the down grade .

The fact that a certain number of conscientious Catholics , including two of your correspondents , have found membership in the Craft inconsistent with their profession of the Catholic religion , may well induce thoso Churchmen who contemplate becoming Masons to pause before they commit themselves to a secret society whose principles they must commit themselves to before they know what they are . It would seem that many Masons , on this or other grounds , regret their initiation , or why are the ex-Masons as

numerous as the active Masons ? There must be some stronger reason for this than the " tomfooleries of the Lodge " ( I quote the expression of an ex-Mason ) . And what in any case will a Churchman gain by initiation ? Fresh scope for the exercise of charity and Brotherly kindness ? There is no possible field of need which the Church and societies within the Church might not cover ; there is no fraternity closer than the Church . To seek in Masonry what the Church can supply , to bring to Masonry what the Church needs , is to imply her weakness and to take from her resources .

May I , in conclusion , Sir , say one word to those of my critics who have scolded me for writing anonymously ? I had thought , but I was mistaken , that the time for that controversial trick of the cheap sneer had gone by . I can assure my critics that it was not mere cowardice which led me to substitute for a name which very few of your readers would recognise a " nom

de plume " over which I have often written in your columns . It seems that to me principles and general questions may often be discussed the moro freely , and therefore usefully , because anonymously . And in the discussion of a general question it is an old and safe rule to pay move attention to what is written than to the name of the writer . The controversialist is often more concerned to demonstrate the obscurity of his opponent than to

Christianity And Freemasonry.

refute his argument . It certainly does not appear from this correspondence that those who take such pride in signing their names are the most courteous and convincing controversialists ; and perhaps the best answer to Mr . Horsley ' s taunt is to be found in the fact that the two ablest writers on his own side prefer , as I do , to sign with a " nom de plume . " OITBIBIAD .

Modern Masonic madness is just now rampant at Aldershot , and persons are admitted as members of the Craft who do not " study every moral and social virtue , " as they swear they do ; and they do not " put their trust in God , " according to the first answer which they give to the Worshipful Master , who , in reply ,

says , " Eight glad am I that your faith is so well founded . " The ceremony of initiation in the first degree infatuates all joining members , but when we hear of a Craft Lodge at Aldershot initiating no less than five persons at once , only a few days ago , we can only say that the beautiful ritual of the Order

must have been mocked , and the rules laid down in the Grand Lodge Book of Constitutions broken . As no man can serve two masters , neither can the Master of a Mason ' s Lodge serve five candidates at one time with the signs , secrets , passwords , and

other mysteries of this Ancient and Honourable Order . Ancient , no doubt , it is , as having existed from time immemorial ; and honourable it must be acknowledged to be by all who try to act up to its precepts . The above remarks do not apply to the Army and Navy Lodge . — " Modern Society . "

Freemasonry teaches justice , uprightness of action , the moral virtues , on which we rest our manliness and self-respect . And what more sterling qualities can be grouped about the character of man , subject as we all are to the influence of passion , the weakness of desire , the temptation of necessity , and

love of gain and the delights of life ? It is true it teaches these in common with all moral schools , but none the less its work is being done in this great field of training men to so adjust their

lives that progress may be possible and the world go forward toward the hi g h standard where all men ' s lives shall illustrate the Godlike character marked on the face and form by the Supreme Architect Himself . — " New York Tribune . "

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