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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 2 of 7 →
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On Freemasonry.
Blazing Star is emblematical of that prudence which ought to appear conspicuous in the conduct of every Mason ; but more especially commemorative of the star which appeared in the east , to guide the wise men to Bethlehem , and proclaim the birth and the presence of the Son of God . " This latter reference of the Blazing Star it will be my purpose to illustrate in the present article .
St . John speaks of the sublime being who was thus proclaimed , under the name of the WORD . In Freemasonry , he is denominated the Great Architect of the Universe , which has precisely the same signification . Tertullian says " God made the fabric of this world out of nothing , by means of his WORD , Wisdom , or Poiver . The ancient philosophers held the opinion that the Word or Wisdom was the creator of all things ; and Zenoplainly terms him the Great Architect of the Universe .
The doctrine of the inspired Evangelist could not , therefore , be misunderstood , when he said , " In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God , and the Word was God . All things were made by him ; ancl ivithout him was not any thing made that was made . In him was life ; and the life was the light of man . And the'li ght shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended it not .- And the Word was made flesh , and dwelt among us . '
There is an old tradition amongst Masons that this passage was in existence long before St . John flourished ; ancl that , finding the formula suited to his purpose , he commenced his evangelical labours with it . Henry O'Brien says , " That St . John never wrote them , is beyond all
question ; but having found them to bis hand , existing after the circuit of ages and centuries , the composition seemed so pure , and so consonant with Christianity , nay , its very vitality and soul , he adopted it as the preface to his own production . " In . the English system ' of , ' Freemasonry , this tradition is exploded ; but it is retained in all other parts of the world . It is mentioned by several credible authors in the early times of Christianity ; and we are quite sure that our ancient Brethren attached to it this precise signification Thus it is related b iusand
. y Philostorg , after him b y Nic ' ephorus , " that at the clearing of the foundations , when Julian the apostate-set himself to rebuild the temple , a stone was taken up that covered- the mouth of a deep square cave , cut out of , the rock , into which one'of the labourers , being jet down by a rope , found ihfhe centre of the floor a cubical pillar , on which lay a roll or book , wrapped up in a fine linen cloth , which being unfolded was found to ' contain , amongst other matterthe commencement of the Gospel of St' . Johf £ in
, capital letters , JN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD , & C . J The expression—in the beginning was the Word—evidentl y referred to the pre-existence ancl eternity of Christ , because St . John glances at times , not only prior to the incarnation , but to the creation of . tile world . In the system of Freemasonry propounded by Scrceder , a ' tedious aud abstruse philosophical lecture concludes with asserting that "this'Word wasand isand for ever shall bethe noble treeand iritual
hiloso-, , , , sp p pher ' s stone , even Christ Jesus the Lord . " This Word was termed LIGHT , one of the primitive names of our science . Again he says ,, the Word was with God ; " or , was of one substance with the Father ; as lie himself declares when he says , "I and my Father are one . "! ' ! xThe same was in the beginning with God ; and united with the Fatherfrom
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
Blazing Star is emblematical of that prudence which ought to appear conspicuous in the conduct of every Mason ; but more especially commemorative of the star which appeared in the east , to guide the wise men to Bethlehem , and proclaim the birth and the presence of the Son of God . " This latter reference of the Blazing Star it will be my purpose to illustrate in the present article .
St . John speaks of the sublime being who was thus proclaimed , under the name of the WORD . In Freemasonry , he is denominated the Great Architect of the Universe , which has precisely the same signification . Tertullian says " God made the fabric of this world out of nothing , by means of his WORD , Wisdom , or Poiver . The ancient philosophers held the opinion that the Word or Wisdom was the creator of all things ; and Zenoplainly terms him the Great Architect of the Universe .
The doctrine of the inspired Evangelist could not , therefore , be misunderstood , when he said , " In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God , and the Word was God . All things were made by him ; ancl ivithout him was not any thing made that was made . In him was life ; and the life was the light of man . And the'li ght shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended it not .- And the Word was made flesh , and dwelt among us . '
There is an old tradition amongst Masons that this passage was in existence long before St . John flourished ; ancl that , finding the formula suited to his purpose , he commenced his evangelical labours with it . Henry O'Brien says , " That St . John never wrote them , is beyond all
question ; but having found them to bis hand , existing after the circuit of ages and centuries , the composition seemed so pure , and so consonant with Christianity , nay , its very vitality and soul , he adopted it as the preface to his own production . " In . the English system ' of , ' Freemasonry , this tradition is exploded ; but it is retained in all other parts of the world . It is mentioned by several credible authors in the early times of Christianity ; and we are quite sure that our ancient Brethren attached to it this precise signification Thus it is related b iusand
. y Philostorg , after him b y Nic ' ephorus , " that at the clearing of the foundations , when Julian the apostate-set himself to rebuild the temple , a stone was taken up that covered- the mouth of a deep square cave , cut out of , the rock , into which one'of the labourers , being jet down by a rope , found ihfhe centre of the floor a cubical pillar , on which lay a roll or book , wrapped up in a fine linen cloth , which being unfolded was found to ' contain , amongst other matterthe commencement of the Gospel of St' . Johf £ in
, capital letters , JN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD , & C . J The expression—in the beginning was the Word—evidentl y referred to the pre-existence ancl eternity of Christ , because St . John glances at times , not only prior to the incarnation , but to the creation of . tile world . In the system of Freemasonry propounded by Scrceder , a ' tedious aud abstruse philosophical lecture concludes with asserting that "this'Word wasand isand for ever shall bethe noble treeand iritual
hiloso-, , , , sp p pher ' s stone , even Christ Jesus the Lord . " This Word was termed LIGHT , one of the primitive names of our science . Again he says ,, the Word was with God ; " or , was of one substance with the Father ; as lie himself declares when he says , "I and my Father are one . "! ' ! xThe same was in the beginning with God ; and united with the Fatherfrom