-
Articles/Ads
Article ON FREEMASONRY, ← Page 2 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry,
in order that the amusement of the spectators might not bo suspended , whilst something was in agitation for the further prosecution of the piece " In like manner , the oppugners of Freemasonry may serve to amuse the lookers on , and cause " some quantity of barren spectators to laugh , " while the business of Masonry pursues its dignified course , raining benefits and blessings on mankind . And to show that we are not singular in our opinions on this subjectwe insert the following letter from a Scottish Mason
, , high in oflice , rank , and influence in Grand Lodge ; premising that if our brethren on the other side of the Tweed differ from us in some few nonessentials , they are fully imbued with the genuine principles of the Order . But like some of our cotemporaries , we must insert a proviso that we are not responsible for some of his opinions .
To the Editor of thc Freemasons'' Quarterly Review . Much Esteemed Brother , —You are not ignorant of my zeal in the holy cause of Masonry , nor of my estimation of the value of your services to the Craft , by the promulgation of its principles in the pages of your invaluable Miscellany . I was in hopes that your labours had silenced all cowanian casuistry , and that our maligners had left us to enjoy the peculiar blessings of the society in peace and quietness . You will judge then of my surprise and regreton receivingthrough the posta of a recentlpublished pamphlet
, , , copy y , entitled , " The Substance of a Letter addressed to the Author of an Article in the Freemasons' Quarterly Review , for December , 1 S 47 , entitled , ' On the Study of Masonic Antiquities . Chap . VI . ; ' hy Mr . E . C . Pryer . " Is he any relation to his namesake , who is the prime object of his professed solicitude ? Be this as it may , I shall trouble you with my opinions on this unique production . I do not doubt , in the least , but the writer is a well intentioned man ; but I am also afraid he is a bigot , because he takes a one-sided view of the
question , and a very narrow-minded view it is . According to his hypothesis , Freemasonry is to be condemned and abandoned , because " it never can make man better , for he is a ruined creature ( the italics are his own)—his whole moral being withered and paralyzed by sin , —dead in fact , as God tells us in his Word , in trespasses and sins , and , therefore , no remedial measures ever have , or ever will avail . " * And then he goes on , very much at random , to prove from texts of Scripture , what is familiar to every person in this Christian countrythat " man is bnature corrupt" and at length comes to
, y ; this sapient conclusion , that Freemasonry is not a remedy for sin . Novv , I would ask him , whether a clerk to a banker , or a merchant , goes to his oflice to learn that he is a ruined creature ; and , if not , whether he ought to refrain from performing his official duties , because "they are not a remedy for sin ? " Would such conduct be a compliance with the directions of the Gospel , which commands duty to man as well as duty to God ? In like manner , no Mason ever dreams of going to a lodge to learn the peculiar doctrines of Christianity . A student might as well attend the medical lecof
tures at St . Bartholemew's Hospital , with a view of learning the course - the stars ; or a father apprentice his son to a shoemaker to be instructed in the art of building . But if Masonry be a sinful pursuit , because it does not teach the method of " salvation by grace " then every other worldly pursuit is sinful ; for the position will apply with greater effect to almost all other existing societies ; and , if practically adopted , would sweep away in one undistinguished mass "to the moles and to the bats " - ) - the Royal and Antiquarian Societies ; Literary , Philosophical , and Mechanics' Institutions ; Sick Clubs , and Friendly Societies , & c . & c . The contents of the British Museum must be dispersed to ihe winds of heaven ; public charities destroyed , and libraries burnt with fire ; for they are none of them established
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry,
in order that the amusement of the spectators might not bo suspended , whilst something was in agitation for the further prosecution of the piece " In like manner , the oppugners of Freemasonry may serve to amuse the lookers on , and cause " some quantity of barren spectators to laugh , " while the business of Masonry pursues its dignified course , raining benefits and blessings on mankind . And to show that we are not singular in our opinions on this subjectwe insert the following letter from a Scottish Mason
, , high in oflice , rank , and influence in Grand Lodge ; premising that if our brethren on the other side of the Tweed differ from us in some few nonessentials , they are fully imbued with the genuine principles of the Order . But like some of our cotemporaries , we must insert a proviso that we are not responsible for some of his opinions .
To the Editor of thc Freemasons'' Quarterly Review . Much Esteemed Brother , —You are not ignorant of my zeal in the holy cause of Masonry , nor of my estimation of the value of your services to the Craft , by the promulgation of its principles in the pages of your invaluable Miscellany . I was in hopes that your labours had silenced all cowanian casuistry , and that our maligners had left us to enjoy the peculiar blessings of the society in peace and quietness . You will judge then of my surprise and regreton receivingthrough the posta of a recentlpublished pamphlet
, , , copy y , entitled , " The Substance of a Letter addressed to the Author of an Article in the Freemasons' Quarterly Review , for December , 1 S 47 , entitled , ' On the Study of Masonic Antiquities . Chap . VI . ; ' hy Mr . E . C . Pryer . " Is he any relation to his namesake , who is the prime object of his professed solicitude ? Be this as it may , I shall trouble you with my opinions on this unique production . I do not doubt , in the least , but the writer is a well intentioned man ; but I am also afraid he is a bigot , because he takes a one-sided view of the
question , and a very narrow-minded view it is . According to his hypothesis , Freemasonry is to be condemned and abandoned , because " it never can make man better , for he is a ruined creature ( the italics are his own)—his whole moral being withered and paralyzed by sin , —dead in fact , as God tells us in his Word , in trespasses and sins , and , therefore , no remedial measures ever have , or ever will avail . " * And then he goes on , very much at random , to prove from texts of Scripture , what is familiar to every person in this Christian countrythat " man is bnature corrupt" and at length comes to
, y ; this sapient conclusion , that Freemasonry is not a remedy for sin . Novv , I would ask him , whether a clerk to a banker , or a merchant , goes to his oflice to learn that he is a ruined creature ; and , if not , whether he ought to refrain from performing his official duties , because "they are not a remedy for sin ? " Would such conduct be a compliance with the directions of the Gospel , which commands duty to man as well as duty to God ? In like manner , no Mason ever dreams of going to a lodge to learn the peculiar doctrines of Christianity . A student might as well attend the medical lecof
tures at St . Bartholemew's Hospital , with a view of learning the course - the stars ; or a father apprentice his son to a shoemaker to be instructed in the art of building . But if Masonry be a sinful pursuit , because it does not teach the method of " salvation by grace " then every other worldly pursuit is sinful ; for the position will apply with greater effect to almost all other existing societies ; and , if practically adopted , would sweep away in one undistinguished mass "to the moles and to the bats " - ) - the Royal and Antiquarian Societies ; Literary , Philosophical , and Mechanics' Institutions ; Sick Clubs , and Friendly Societies , & c . & c . The contents of the British Museum must be dispersed to ihe winds of heaven ; public charities destroyed , and libraries burnt with fire ; for they are none of them established