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Article FREEMASONRY, PAST AND PRESENT. ← Page 7 of 9 →
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Freemasonry, Past And Present.
that it is not in the power of any man , or body of men , to make innovation in the body of Masonry * He is further called upon to " promise to discountenance all impostors , aud all dissenters from the original plan of Freemasonry . "t If the original plan of Freemasonry is a Christian institution ^—as , undoubtedly , it is—no wonder that the Jews , when they acquire influence in any lodge , should become disancl that influence to endeavour to
senters from the original plan , use withdraw from the lectures every reference to Christianity . " But what an absurd attempt . Can any man , possessing a grain of common sense , suppose that , if every reference to the sublime plan of human redemption were to be withdrawn from our " pure , unsullied system , " that it could be any longer called a system of light , a system founded the purest princiles of iety and virtue ? Impossible . It would
on p p then become a system of the grossest darkness—of that darkness which once covered all the nations of the earth ; but , in a greater degree of grossness , the once-favoured people of God , which was only dispelled by the rising of the Sun of Righteousness . No wonder that the Grand Lodge of Prussia—if they are aware of the innovation above alluded to—should feel jealous about admitting among them those who have been exerting themselves to introduce such innovations . The Jews
should remember that it is not many years since they were first admitted into our order in England , but were looked upon as aliens and outcasts , both in civil and religious society . If , then , we admit them upon an equality with ourselves , it is very ungracious on their parts to aim at ascendancy . However , they are not so Ihuch to blame as the Grand Master and his officers , who preside over the Order , who are morally responsible to the fraternity for the preservation of the ancient their and whether have
landmarks , which are committed to care ; they taken an active , or passive part , in the innovations which have been introduced during the late Grand Mastership of thirty years , their responsibility is the same . It must be remembered , that the innovations which have been , from time to time , introduced by the Grand Lodge of England , § have been the means of creating much disaffection among the Brethren ; and while they continue to sanction such proto dictate to the Grand Lodge
ceedings , they will not be in a position of Prussia , or any other grand lodge ; and I am satisfied that , from the great influence which our late Grand Master possessed , no interference with our established usage and custom could have taken place without his cognizance ; and though it may have accorded with his own political and liberal views , yet Masonry is of too sacred a character to give way to every supposed expediency . Masonry , like its Alpha and Omega , is
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry, Past And Present.
that it is not in the power of any man , or body of men , to make innovation in the body of Masonry * He is further called upon to " promise to discountenance all impostors , aud all dissenters from the original plan of Freemasonry . "t If the original plan of Freemasonry is a Christian institution ^—as , undoubtedly , it is—no wonder that the Jews , when they acquire influence in any lodge , should become disancl that influence to endeavour to
senters from the original plan , use withdraw from the lectures every reference to Christianity . " But what an absurd attempt . Can any man , possessing a grain of common sense , suppose that , if every reference to the sublime plan of human redemption were to be withdrawn from our " pure , unsullied system , " that it could be any longer called a system of light , a system founded the purest princiles of iety and virtue ? Impossible . It would
on p p then become a system of the grossest darkness—of that darkness which once covered all the nations of the earth ; but , in a greater degree of grossness , the once-favoured people of God , which was only dispelled by the rising of the Sun of Righteousness . No wonder that the Grand Lodge of Prussia—if they are aware of the innovation above alluded to—should feel jealous about admitting among them those who have been exerting themselves to introduce such innovations . The Jews
should remember that it is not many years since they were first admitted into our order in England , but were looked upon as aliens and outcasts , both in civil and religious society . If , then , we admit them upon an equality with ourselves , it is very ungracious on their parts to aim at ascendancy . However , they are not so Ihuch to blame as the Grand Master and his officers , who preside over the Order , who are morally responsible to the fraternity for the preservation of the ancient their and whether have
landmarks , which are committed to care ; they taken an active , or passive part , in the innovations which have been introduced during the late Grand Mastership of thirty years , their responsibility is the same . It must be remembered , that the innovations which have been , from time to time , introduced by the Grand Lodge of England , § have been the means of creating much disaffection among the Brethren ; and while they continue to sanction such proto dictate to the Grand Lodge
ceedings , they will not be in a position of Prussia , or any other grand lodge ; and I am satisfied that , from the great influence which our late Grand Master possessed , no interference with our established usage and custom could have taken place without his cognizance ; and though it may have accorded with his own political and liberal views , yet Masonry is of too sacred a character to give way to every supposed expediency . Masonry , like its Alpha and Omega , is