Is Masonry A Religion?

app lication to individual judgment . It makes each individual responsible not to " its" interpretation , but to " his own . " I , as a Mason , am opposed to that thought which would treat Masonry as a cold system of morality , divorced from

that which gives to morality its energy , its vitality , viz ., Godliness—possessing none of the warmth which that presence gives to it . The essentially basic principle of Masonry is belief in God ; its life and all its thought are derived from that fundamental belief—belief in relationships

growing out of the great Fatherhood . It points with no unmeaning frequency to the multifarious duties growing out of that relationship , not only as between finite and finite , but as between finite and infinite . I am opposed , inn to that thought that would limit tho range of Masonio

obligation fco tho expressed " thou shalt nots , " or to the expressed " musts" of its ritual . Statutes do not prescribe the entire duties of citizenship , they but provide for public order and regulate within certain limits . The ten commandments do not cover the entire duty of man . No human creed over undertook to cover the entire range of

man ' s obligations . Masonry not only gives to Revelation a place , but it makes it an essential feature aud part of the Lodge . It not only declares it to be " the rule and guide , " but points

to it as containing the whole duty of man . Is there any system more comprehensive than that embraced in this Revelation ; Is there any cede of morals more explicit in its requirements ?

Among the basic elements of Masonry , then , is , the great pivotal thought , belief in God—a system of morality it is true , but a system of moral philosophy not dissociated from religious thought—a system hinging upon that great central idea , that great fundamental truth . It associates

its ethical teachings and precepts with what are termed the secular duties of man—indeed , in this respect , Masonry may still be said to be operative—at the same time , Masonry does not ignore , but everywhere recognizes and declares , man ' s duty to the Supreme Architect , tho

origin of relationships , the mainspring of all obligations . It raises no issue wifch church , or sect or creed , becanse it recognizes individual righfc to individual interpretation . In those matters , it allows the broadest latitude of belief and judgment , consistent with its great central thought .

Ifc glories in the length and breadth of its platform , ancl in the universal adaptation of its ethical thought . It inculcates charity , bufc not alone thafc charity which recognizes

differences in conditions and dispenses to physical needs , but thafc charity which recognizes differences in mental construction , and gives to honest beliefs and purposes a place in the moral economy of thc universe .

Masonry is designed to apply to the practical or secular activities of life certain principles of hnman conduct based npon human relationships . Ifc recognises men as a constituent element of God's economy . Originally designed to protect operatives in their arts , it has advanced beyond

the swaddling clothes of thafc morganatic period , when ifc was prostituted to the protection of individuals whether righfc or wrong . It is the co-worker with all other ameliorating or christianizing agencies . Ifc wars against vice ,

crime , greed and selfishness . Ifc is nofc an enemy to the church , or to any church . No person has a right to place me or my Masonry in an attitude of antagonism to any faifch , creed , sect or belief . Honest convictions , which have their roofc in the fatherhood of God and the

brotherhood of man , are entitled to tho respect of evory Mason , of every man . Neither should the belief of others , or an attitude of open opposition , change our status . It is not surprising that those from whom our mystic symbolism is hidden should judge it , its objects and purposes , by its

effects upon our lives and conduct , which are nofc hidden . We would do well to remember thafc our words and deeds often belie our professions . So long as this is true , men

will have little faifch in our system , ancl criticism is both just and salutary . We should endeavour to silence opposition by our deeds , rather than our words , by our practices rather than our professions .

Masonry teaches not alone tho brotherhood of Masons , but the brotherhood of man . A worthy man needs no Masonic pin to entitle him to my respect and esteem , nor can a Masonic pin cloak over the sin of Masonic

unworthiness . Thanks to Masonry it has not eft tho question of worthiness to be determined by the size , or texture , or adjustment of a Masonic pin , but to individual judgment .

Is Masonry A Religion?

The great purpose of Masonry is to intensify tho relationship of man to man , and thereby to intensify the obligations of man to man . God has created this earth for man , and man in his . own image and so far as wo know

the limit of God's glory is man's possibilities . It man is a failure , I say it reverently , all else is a failure . Man is an integral part of the universe . God ' s glory is man ' s elovation and advancement . Both earth and heaven wero

created for him . Religion , inspiration , revelation exist for his comprehension . They exist because he exists . Man , all along , through the pages of history , has protested against the divorce of God and man , against tho elimination of a man ' s duty to man from any religious code

or system . All development , civilisation , advancement and progress must come , if at all , through tho agency of man . Here and there havo sprung up men , denounced as

moralists , who have advanced ethical considerations , who have during the intensity of a practical fetichism pleaded for men not to stone gods , but to men , to the better instincts of man . A practical atheism is often the product of an irrational theism .

Dr . Farnham , in a paper read before a gathering of clergymen in New York , on Modern Scepticism , referred to it as the natural reaction from foolish , traditions and teachings . He said that the difficulty has not been in disbelieving the truth , but in not having the truth to believe .

The great difficulty with our moral , if nofc our religious theories , is their segregation , their separation from the practical duties and relations of life . The crying evils of the day are selfishness , cupidity and greed . They fill the world wifch poverty , distress and want . They are the bane

of society , they stand in the way of the adjustment of pregnant questions of political economy . From tbe pulpit we banish the discussion of all secular questions , and from our legislative halls we exclude all sentimental considerations . Yet the fact is , that if religion is worth anything ,

it 3 value is in that it teaches how , in what spirit , to transact the ordinary duties and business of life . The progress of religious thought is too apt to be measured by the increased number and height of our church spires , rather than by the increase of honesty and

square dealing . Expensive church buildings may bo tho sign of the decline-of commercial integrity . . VIeu arc ** . |* t to pay more for absolution than for reformation . The most expensive temples erected Lo the glory of the Father aro built in localities whore there is most poverty , suffering

and want among his children . Tho tallest church spire often casts ifcs shadow over the greatest number of hotneleas children , or homes where poverty reigns . Men talk

of tho g lory of the Father , under such circumstances , as though tho Almighty Father , who ob-orves tho sparrows fell , could be glorified by magnificent templeti , whilo his children were suffering for food and shelter . —Keystone . ( To bo continued , )

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PREPA K- . on PiioJiorioM . —It would be well if fche custom were generally adopted of giving the subordinate Officers in a Masonio or other Lodge a practical training in the discharge of tbe duties of the various offices to whioh they may be promoted prior to such promotion . For example , in not * . * . few Masonio Lodges tbe custom prevails of requesting the Senior Warden to occupy the East temporarily

during the transaction of ordinary business , and oven during tho conferring of a degree , in order that he may gradually familiarise himself with the duties whioh ho may be called npon to discharge . Especially is this invaluable when the brother ' s knowledge of parliamentary law is limited , and his confidence in himself perhaps still more limited . Ifc is known that the late Schuyler Collax , who was

one of tho best parliamentarians tho United States ever produced , laid the foundation of his ability aa a presiding Officer in an Odd Fellows' Lodge . This is , perhaps , the most conspicuous example of whafc can be done by fcho brethren in the Lodge room in the way of advancing themselves , not only officially in Orders wifch which they may severally bo connected , but in the great ontsido world , where positions of responsibility may be awaiting them . —Fraternal News .

Ho-KWAY ' s PUIS . —Tho Great Ncod . —Tho blood is tlio life , and ou ita purity our health aa well as our existence depend-. * . These Pills thoroughly cleanse tho vita ! fluid from all contaminations , and by that means strengthen and invigorate thc whole system , healthily stimulate sluggish organs , repress over-excited action , and establish the circulation and secretion ; - , throughout The balsamic nature of

every part of tho body . Holloway ' s Pills exercises marvellous power in giving tone to debilitated antl nervoa _ constitntions . These Pills lomovo all obstructions , both in tho bowels and elsewhere , and ara , on that account , mnch sought after for promoting regularity ol action in young fomalob and delicate persons who aro naturally weak , or havq from some catiao become so .