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Article "A MASON" ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article "A MASON" ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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"A Mason" On Freemasonry.
"A MASON" ON FREEMASONRY .
S OME one , it seems , has been making certain inquiries respecting the rules of our Society in the columns of the Eoch , a journal devoted , we believe , to the support of one of the numerous schools or sections into which the Anglican Church is divided . We do not know if any
editorial response was made to these inquiries , but in a recent issue of this journal there appeared a letter from a correspondent , who signed himself " A Mason , " voluntarily communicating what doubtless the anonymous contributor would himself describe as the " requisite information . "
Now wo are by no means displeased when attacks are made upon us from without . "We feel it to be a kind of honour—unsought , but certainly not undeserved—that is being conferred upon us , when the thunders of that
¦ worthy old gentleman the Pope are launched against us , or the edicts of a civil tyrant are issued to destroy us . We know then , if we knew it not before , that we are a power for good in this world , Or the spirit of evil would not be thus excited to ruin us . But when the attack comes from
within—when we find one of our own brethren malevolently decrying the Order of which he is a member—we pull ourselves together , and look around us , in order to see if there really be any ground for the charges he makes . Thus , when this letter of " A Mason " was brought under our
notice , we turned to it at first with some interest—a feeling which , as out * readers will soon have an opportunity of judging , was very speedily converted into one of indignation . On finding , in the first instance , that this correspondent proclaimed himself to have been a member of our
fraternity for a quarter of a century , we naturally enough expected to find in his letter a truthful exposition , if not of our system , at all events of the laws and tenets of Freemasons . And as no human institution is perfect , we were not without hope that the weak points of
Freemasonry would be touched upon lightly , and with nome tenderness , at least , by a brother of twenty-five years ' standing . Judge , then , our surprise when , on proceeding , we found "A Mason ' s" statement quite as calumnious , and equally devoid of all truth , as the most reckless and
offensive charges ever levelled at us by our most determined enemies . " A Mason " of " a quarter of a century " has " no hesitation in saying that its" ( our Society's ) " tenets and its practices have a very deleterious influence upon Society at large , and that it exerts a very bad
influence over the Christian character ; and indeed , " he adds , " I have come long since to the conclusion that it is very antagonistic to the spread of religion . " We presume "A Mason " has not been a member of onr Fraternity for so manyyearswithouthaving seen or heard of ourConstitutions .
Doubtless he must at some time or other have read our old Charges . The first of these latter lays it down , absolutely , that " A Mason is obliged , by his tenure , to obey the moral law ; and , if he rightly understand the art , he will never be a stupid atheist nor an irreligious libertine . " And
, further on , " Let a man's religion or mode of worship be -what it may , he is not excluded from the Order , provided he believes in the glorious Architect of heaven and earth , and practises the sacred duties of morality . " Considering this anonymous personage announces himself as still ' A
Mason , " after a membership extending over " a quarter of a century , " we can only suppose he still considers himself bound to observe tbe Charges and Constitutions which he has solemnly sworn to observe , and indeed , generally to fulfil , both , literally aud iu th © spirit , each aud every of the
"A Mason" On Freemasonry.
obligations he undertook at his initiation , and subsequently . How then can he reconcile the statements made in his letter of denunciation with either the spirit or the letter of the laws that govern us or the tenets we profess . He knows well , or ought to know , it is a fundamental principle of Freemasonry that all its members should profess [ and practise a religion .
To say , then , that " where Freemasonry rapidly advances , spiritual religion invariably declines , " is to say that which is not . Men are religious before they become Freemasons , They must indeed have in them some source of religion in order to become members of our body . Freemasonry , of
course , can no more guard itself against the wilful perjurer than can Christianity or any other religion . We impose on all who join us certain obligations , and if the initiate has
no sense of honour in him—setting aside all question of religion—he will observe or violate those obligations at pleasure . But to guard against the admission of such is impossible .
We do not understand how any man of sense or honourable feeling could remain "A Mason , " and yet say , honestly , after a quarter of a century ' s experience of the Craft , " I have long since come to the conclusion that it is very antagonistic to the spread of religion . " Nor are we
able to appreciate the further remark , " I know of many instances where it has ruined individuals , and I cannot see how a thorougbly religious man can remain in the society . "
It is no part of our duty to pry into the inner life of private individuals , but it is only a natural inference we are fully justified in drawing from this apparently authoritative statement that " A Mason" who has remained
such for so many years is not himself " a thoroughly religious man . " Ergo , his statement , on religious matters and opinions is entirely without weight . As for persons being ruined by Freemasonry , we should like "A Mason" to furnish something more trustworthy than a mere general assertion . We should like to see a few instances of this
particular form of ruin with which he professes to be ac « quainted ; and to examine minutely the circumstances ou which he bases his statement . It is easy to affirm that a person has been ruined by Freemasonry , but the difficulty is to prove it . We have heard of people being ruined by
Christianity , but we put no faith in the rumour . Freema . soury , of course , has its black sheep , as well as Christianity , but these are not the members we should offer to the world as specimens of our craftsmen . No sane man , indeed , would ever dream of selecting his illustrations of the value
of any particular religion from the tagrag and bobtail of its professors . It may , indeed , be said , without fear of contradiction , that Freemasonry surpasses all religions , at
least in this respect—that its members generally are taken from the very cream of intellectual , religious men . There is left only the very narrowest margin imaginable for worthless outsiders .
We regard the statement , The only man who seems to understand Masonry appears to be tbe Pope , " as a lame attempt on the part of " A Mason " to be funny . It is quite true he anathematises us , not annually perhaps , but certainly periodically . But so does he anathematise the
school of Christians to which "A Mason apparently belongs . Thus , if ths Pope only anathematises whom and what he understands , and , understanding , considers worthy
of anathematisation , then '' A Masons form of Christianity is worthless ; and , again , we say , his opinion as to the irreligious tendencies of Freemasonry aro without value .
As to our meetings being characterised by "feasting and revelry , " that in no -way applies to Freemasonry , at least not
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
"A Mason" On Freemasonry.
"A MASON" ON FREEMASONRY .
S OME one , it seems , has been making certain inquiries respecting the rules of our Society in the columns of the Eoch , a journal devoted , we believe , to the support of one of the numerous schools or sections into which the Anglican Church is divided . We do not know if any
editorial response was made to these inquiries , but in a recent issue of this journal there appeared a letter from a correspondent , who signed himself " A Mason , " voluntarily communicating what doubtless the anonymous contributor would himself describe as the " requisite information . "
Now wo are by no means displeased when attacks are made upon us from without . "We feel it to be a kind of honour—unsought , but certainly not undeserved—that is being conferred upon us , when the thunders of that
¦ worthy old gentleman the Pope are launched against us , or the edicts of a civil tyrant are issued to destroy us . We know then , if we knew it not before , that we are a power for good in this world , Or the spirit of evil would not be thus excited to ruin us . But when the attack comes from
within—when we find one of our own brethren malevolently decrying the Order of which he is a member—we pull ourselves together , and look around us , in order to see if there really be any ground for the charges he makes . Thus , when this letter of " A Mason " was brought under our
notice , we turned to it at first with some interest—a feeling which , as out * readers will soon have an opportunity of judging , was very speedily converted into one of indignation . On finding , in the first instance , that this correspondent proclaimed himself to have been a member of our
fraternity for a quarter of a century , we naturally enough expected to find in his letter a truthful exposition , if not of our system , at all events of the laws and tenets of Freemasons . And as no human institution is perfect , we were not without hope that the weak points of
Freemasonry would be touched upon lightly , and with nome tenderness , at least , by a brother of twenty-five years ' standing . Judge , then , our surprise when , on proceeding , we found "A Mason ' s" statement quite as calumnious , and equally devoid of all truth , as the most reckless and
offensive charges ever levelled at us by our most determined enemies . " A Mason " of " a quarter of a century " has " no hesitation in saying that its" ( our Society's ) " tenets and its practices have a very deleterious influence upon Society at large , and that it exerts a very bad
influence over the Christian character ; and indeed , " he adds , " I have come long since to the conclusion that it is very antagonistic to the spread of religion . " We presume "A Mason " has not been a member of onr Fraternity for so manyyearswithouthaving seen or heard of ourConstitutions .
Doubtless he must at some time or other have read our old Charges . The first of these latter lays it down , absolutely , that " A Mason is obliged , by his tenure , to obey the moral law ; and , if he rightly understand the art , he will never be a stupid atheist nor an irreligious libertine . " And
, further on , " Let a man's religion or mode of worship be -what it may , he is not excluded from the Order , provided he believes in the glorious Architect of heaven and earth , and practises the sacred duties of morality . " Considering this anonymous personage announces himself as still ' A
Mason , " after a membership extending over " a quarter of a century , " we can only suppose he still considers himself bound to observe tbe Charges and Constitutions which he has solemnly sworn to observe , and indeed , generally to fulfil , both , literally aud iu th © spirit , each aud every of the
"A Mason" On Freemasonry.
obligations he undertook at his initiation , and subsequently . How then can he reconcile the statements made in his letter of denunciation with either the spirit or the letter of the laws that govern us or the tenets we profess . He knows well , or ought to know , it is a fundamental principle of Freemasonry that all its members should profess [ and practise a religion .
To say , then , that " where Freemasonry rapidly advances , spiritual religion invariably declines , " is to say that which is not . Men are religious before they become Freemasons , They must indeed have in them some source of religion in order to become members of our body . Freemasonry , of
course , can no more guard itself against the wilful perjurer than can Christianity or any other religion . We impose on all who join us certain obligations , and if the initiate has
no sense of honour in him—setting aside all question of religion—he will observe or violate those obligations at pleasure . But to guard against the admission of such is impossible .
We do not understand how any man of sense or honourable feeling could remain "A Mason , " and yet say , honestly , after a quarter of a century ' s experience of the Craft , " I have long since come to the conclusion that it is very antagonistic to the spread of religion . " Nor are we
able to appreciate the further remark , " I know of many instances where it has ruined individuals , and I cannot see how a thorougbly religious man can remain in the society . "
It is no part of our duty to pry into the inner life of private individuals , but it is only a natural inference we are fully justified in drawing from this apparently authoritative statement that " A Mason" who has remained
such for so many years is not himself " a thoroughly religious man . " Ergo , his statement , on religious matters and opinions is entirely without weight . As for persons being ruined by Freemasonry , we should like "A Mason" to furnish something more trustworthy than a mere general assertion . We should like to see a few instances of this
particular form of ruin with which he professes to be ac « quainted ; and to examine minutely the circumstances ou which he bases his statement . It is easy to affirm that a person has been ruined by Freemasonry , but the difficulty is to prove it . We have heard of people being ruined by
Christianity , but we put no faith in the rumour . Freema . soury , of course , has its black sheep , as well as Christianity , but these are not the members we should offer to the world as specimens of our craftsmen . No sane man , indeed , would ever dream of selecting his illustrations of the value
of any particular religion from the tagrag and bobtail of its professors . It may , indeed , be said , without fear of contradiction , that Freemasonry surpasses all religions , at
least in this respect—that its members generally are taken from the very cream of intellectual , religious men . There is left only the very narrowest margin imaginable for worthless outsiders .
We regard the statement , The only man who seems to understand Masonry appears to be tbe Pope , " as a lame attempt on the part of " A Mason " to be funny . It is quite true he anathematises us , not annually perhaps , but certainly periodically . But so does he anathematise the
school of Christians to which "A Mason apparently belongs . Thus , if ths Pope only anathematises whom and what he understands , and , understanding , considers worthy
of anathematisation , then '' A Masons form of Christianity is worthless ; and , again , we say , his opinion as to the irreligious tendencies of Freemasonry aro without value .
As to our meetings being characterised by "feasting and revelry , " that in no -way applies to Freemasonry , at least not