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Article TREVILIAN ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 8 of 34 →
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Trevilian On Freemasonry.
have almost gone out at the other end ; but , with all deference to the opinion of this would-be Pope , we must still credit the evidence of our senses , and rejoice in the acquaintance of a considerable number of Christian Masons , from whom ( we may be wrong ) we cannot but think that even Major Trevilian miht learn much . Men of deep
g religious feeling , each in his own way , have agreed that the benefits which do result from a large bod y of men of different creeds uniting to promote morality , charity , and peace , and to afford each other mutual assistance , are such as to warrant their meeting upon a ground on which they all can agree , and abstaining from putting forward those points on
which they disagree , it being understood that in their mutual forbearance there is no compromise of principle , and there being nothing in God ' s word to forbid the same . In this view then , Jews , Romanists , and Protestants agree to unite . When men meet to enunciate the truth , they may not endure the least variation from that which they
believe to be such . Let us then have the catholic faith in all its strictness , in all its glorious fulness ; but to say that Catholics and Dissenters , aye , Jews and baptised persons , may not meet for deeds of charity , or mercy , or mutual defence ; and may not address the " Father of all , in every age in every clime adored , " without putting forward their
differences ( however right in themselves ) , is to say that the service of God , and the work of life , consist in strife and heart-burnings . There is a time for all things . We now come to the third charge-
" Masonry puts itself forward as a law and school of love . If the law of Christ be sufficient , of what use can be any other law . professing to conduct to the same end . "—P . 28 . Now this brings us to the root of the matter , and the time has now come when we must explain what the object of Masonry is , and each Mason must answer for himself , how
far he has found it a reality , and how far he has not . The law of Christ is of course " sufficient ; " but , to deal first with Christians , we would ask how many act up to that law ? the many or the few ? We all solemnl y swear at our baptism to renounce the " works of the devil and all the sinful lusts of the flesh , " but , alas ! personal experience proves to
us that fornication , drunkenness , and every other crime that is known , are of most frequent occurrence ; therefore though " sufficient , " it is found that through the frailty and corrup-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Trevilian On Freemasonry.
have almost gone out at the other end ; but , with all deference to the opinion of this would-be Pope , we must still credit the evidence of our senses , and rejoice in the acquaintance of a considerable number of Christian Masons , from whom ( we may be wrong ) we cannot but think that even Major Trevilian miht learn much . Men of deep
g religious feeling , each in his own way , have agreed that the benefits which do result from a large bod y of men of different creeds uniting to promote morality , charity , and peace , and to afford each other mutual assistance , are such as to warrant their meeting upon a ground on which they all can agree , and abstaining from putting forward those points on
which they disagree , it being understood that in their mutual forbearance there is no compromise of principle , and there being nothing in God ' s word to forbid the same . In this view then , Jews , Romanists , and Protestants agree to unite . When men meet to enunciate the truth , they may not endure the least variation from that which they
believe to be such . Let us then have the catholic faith in all its strictness , in all its glorious fulness ; but to say that Catholics and Dissenters , aye , Jews and baptised persons , may not meet for deeds of charity , or mercy , or mutual defence ; and may not address the " Father of all , in every age in every clime adored , " without putting forward their
differences ( however right in themselves ) , is to say that the service of God , and the work of life , consist in strife and heart-burnings . There is a time for all things . We now come to the third charge-
" Masonry puts itself forward as a law and school of love . If the law of Christ be sufficient , of what use can be any other law . professing to conduct to the same end . "—P . 28 . Now this brings us to the root of the matter , and the time has now come when we must explain what the object of Masonry is , and each Mason must answer for himself , how
far he has found it a reality , and how far he has not . The law of Christ is of course " sufficient ; " but , to deal first with Christians , we would ask how many act up to that law ? the many or the few ? We all solemnl y swear at our baptism to renounce the " works of the devil and all the sinful lusts of the flesh , " but , alas ! personal experience proves to
us that fornication , drunkenness , and every other crime that is known , are of most frequent occurrence ; therefore though " sufficient , " it is found that through the frailty and corrup-