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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 3 of 6 →
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On Freemasonry.
repeated to the sages of his posterity , that in the fulness of time the Messiah should suffer and die for human redemption , ancl that his appearance should be heralded by a blazing star ; a faith in that revelation must have been as efficacious before his incarnation as it is now ; and so it was believed by all the holy men of old . Faith in a specific revelation of things to come is precisely the same as in a divine attestation of things past . St . Paul expressldeclares the efficacy of this
y faith , for he says—and his definition has been transferred to the first degree of Symbolical Masonry—'' Fairii is the substance of things hoped for , " as well as "the evidence of things not seen ; " ° and it was therefore by this faith that our ancient Brethren were justified before the coming of Christ . " If any one , " says Eusebius , " beginning with Abraham and going upwards to the first man , should affirm , that all those men who have
given such glorious testimonies of their holiness were in reality , though not by name , Christians , he shall not err far from the truth . " And why not Masons also ? for they all practised the principles of Masonry , although they were ignorant of the name . We cannot admit that this hackneyed argument , which is so often produced by our adversaries , has any weight or soundness in it . The name of Masonry , it is true , was unknown in those ages ; and so was the name of Christians , till the year of our Lord 42 . As well might it be said that the disciples of
Christ were not Christians , because the name was unknown till after his crucifixion , or that there were no slaves in Greece before the Spartans gave them the name of Helots . " A Christian , " continues Eusebius , " signifies a man who , through the knowledge and doctrine of Christ , excelleth in modesty ancl righteousness , in patience of life and virtuous fortitude , aud in profession of sincere piety towards God . In this the patriarchs were no less studious than we are . " This definition will lequallto the Free ancl
Acappy y cepted Mason . He is one who puts his trust in God , as a firm foundation on which he fears no danger ; he practises morality in the three theological and four cardinal virtues , producing brotherly love , relief and truth ; ancl feels himself under " the strongest obligations to pay that rational homage to the deity which at once constitutes our duty and our happiness ; it leads the contemplative to view with reverence and admiration the glorious works of the creation , and inspires them with the 8
most exalted ideas of the perfections of the divine Creator . " Eusebius concludes that they of old , i . e . the Noachida ? or Masons , " evidently knew the very Christ of Gocl . " Let us see how this principle operated in the ages before us . Through faith in the promised Mediator , Abraham received the gospel preached to him by the Grancl Architect of the Universe , under the appearance of a flame or bright star ; and it was accounted to him for righteousness , because he believed Gocl . The blessing of Abraham , says St . Paul , came on the gentiles also through Jesus Christ . By the same faith Isaac and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
repeated to the sages of his posterity , that in the fulness of time the Messiah should suffer and die for human redemption , ancl that his appearance should be heralded by a blazing star ; a faith in that revelation must have been as efficacious before his incarnation as it is now ; and so it was believed by all the holy men of old . Faith in a specific revelation of things to come is precisely the same as in a divine attestation of things past . St . Paul expressldeclares the efficacy of this
y faith , for he says—and his definition has been transferred to the first degree of Symbolical Masonry—'' Fairii is the substance of things hoped for , " as well as "the evidence of things not seen ; " ° and it was therefore by this faith that our ancient Brethren were justified before the coming of Christ . " If any one , " says Eusebius , " beginning with Abraham and going upwards to the first man , should affirm , that all those men who have
given such glorious testimonies of their holiness were in reality , though not by name , Christians , he shall not err far from the truth . " And why not Masons also ? for they all practised the principles of Masonry , although they were ignorant of the name . We cannot admit that this hackneyed argument , which is so often produced by our adversaries , has any weight or soundness in it . The name of Masonry , it is true , was unknown in those ages ; and so was the name of Christians , till the year of our Lord 42 . As well might it be said that the disciples of
Christ were not Christians , because the name was unknown till after his crucifixion , or that there were no slaves in Greece before the Spartans gave them the name of Helots . " A Christian , " continues Eusebius , " signifies a man who , through the knowledge and doctrine of Christ , excelleth in modesty ancl righteousness , in patience of life and virtuous fortitude , aud in profession of sincere piety towards God . In this the patriarchs were no less studious than we are . " This definition will lequallto the Free ancl
Acappy y cepted Mason . He is one who puts his trust in God , as a firm foundation on which he fears no danger ; he practises morality in the three theological and four cardinal virtues , producing brotherly love , relief and truth ; ancl feels himself under " the strongest obligations to pay that rational homage to the deity which at once constitutes our duty and our happiness ; it leads the contemplative to view with reverence and admiration the glorious works of the creation , and inspires them with the 8
most exalted ideas of the perfections of the divine Creator . " Eusebius concludes that they of old , i . e . the Noachida ? or Masons , " evidently knew the very Christ of Gocl . " Let us see how this principle operated in the ages before us . Through faith in the promised Mediator , Abraham received the gospel preached to him by the Grancl Architect of the Universe , under the appearance of a flame or bright star ; and it was accounted to him for righteousness , because he believed Gocl . The blessing of Abraham , says St . Paul , came on the gentiles also through Jesus Christ . By the same faith Isaac and