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Article MASONET AND HER MISSION; ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Masonet And Her Mission;
propose to treat of Masonry and its mission , which is to preserve amid the vanities , the occupations , the struggles and the duties of this ^ purity of the undying soul ; and to guide our feet in the ^ sustain our energies in the weariness of existence ^ hat we may meet death not as the destroyer but as the consoler , and may look on the grave no t as the portal of dooui , but as the gate of life .
Such is the mission of Masonry ^^^ the scheme , as disclosed in her ritual , b y ^ ^ w ^ result . One great difficulty and stumbling block , at which m and well disposed persons take offence , arises at this point of our subject , and this I will at once proceed to clear away , viz .- — -That Masonry in preparing men for a future state of existence , and in binding them down to
the discharge of certain moral duties , interferes with and intrudes into the province of Christianity ; or as some less kindly disposed towards Masonry would phrase it , she arrogates to herself a higher claim on , and a greats influence over the minds of men , than the Gospel . So far from this being the case , all true Masons consider Masonry is the handmaid of religion ; while she , instead of being antagonistic to the Christian di s pen sat ion , performs her work under its control .
First we must remark , that Masonry was founded at a period so far antecedent to the direct promulgation of Christianity that the Jewish people alone were looking forward to the comingof the Messiah , and we may readily believe that no body of men knew so well or declared so powerfully as Ma , sons the advent of Him whose life and teaching would hereaftef set the stamp of Divine authority upon the doctrine and practice of Masonry . Masonry , therefore ., being so far anterior to the introduction of Christianity , cannot be said to be antagonistic to it .
Masonry requires likewise a belief in God . " Truth , " as a great man has said , "is one as God is one , and a belief is naught if it be not true ; and to believe rightly of God , we must accept the trinity as well as the unity . We cannot , we dare not , profess to believe in a portion of the divinity , for that would in fact be a denial of the divine nature . As Masons , then , who believe in the G . A . O . T . U ., we must likewise have faith in the Redeemer and Sanctifier of men . Is Masonry antagonistic to
Christianity in this ? She does indeed number among her votaries men of many a creed , and many a phase of faith , but she likewise demands of all her true disciples pureness of life , abnegation of self , and an unquestioning reasonable faith ; and if these be the prevailing characteristics of a man ' s moral nature , the rays of Heaven will shine brighter and brighter on his onward path . Faith will become conviction , conviction certainty , and the perishable body of a true Freemason will be the habitation of a purified
spirit , and his spirit shall be the temple of the Most High . And above all , in no one place in her ceremonial or in her lectures does she ascribe to herself that which is the attribute and the quality of the Christian religion —I mean the power of salvation . She professes to be a law of life , and nothing more ; and who shall deny that as such she is most excellent ! To remit and make atonement for the sin , and to absolve the sinner , belongeth not to her ; and therefore from these mvsteries she holds herself aloof .
Masonry , therefore , I would humbly submit , so far from being without the pale of Christianity , ever feels the necessity of that Divine revelation , and adores the mercy and goodness which has vouchsafed so much to an erring world . None so well as Masons know the burthen under which they abour , and none feel so deeply the darkness in which they are groping . Their earnest prayer , their constant struggle is for light , and so they have deemed that the practice of moral duties , the exercise of faith , the acknowledgment of the responsibility , the dignity , and the capacities which were VOL . IT . M
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonet And Her Mission;
propose to treat of Masonry and its mission , which is to preserve amid the vanities , the occupations , the struggles and the duties of this ^ purity of the undying soul ; and to guide our feet in the ^ sustain our energies in the weariness of existence ^ hat we may meet death not as the destroyer but as the consoler , and may look on the grave no t as the portal of dooui , but as the gate of life .
Such is the mission of Masonry ^^^ the scheme , as disclosed in her ritual , b y ^ ^ w ^ result . One great difficulty and stumbling block , at which m and well disposed persons take offence , arises at this point of our subject , and this I will at once proceed to clear away , viz .- — -That Masonry in preparing men for a future state of existence , and in binding them down to
the discharge of certain moral duties , interferes with and intrudes into the province of Christianity ; or as some less kindly disposed towards Masonry would phrase it , she arrogates to herself a higher claim on , and a greats influence over the minds of men , than the Gospel . So far from this being the case , all true Masons consider Masonry is the handmaid of religion ; while she , instead of being antagonistic to the Christian di s pen sat ion , performs her work under its control .
First we must remark , that Masonry was founded at a period so far antecedent to the direct promulgation of Christianity that the Jewish people alone were looking forward to the comingof the Messiah , and we may readily believe that no body of men knew so well or declared so powerfully as Ma , sons the advent of Him whose life and teaching would hereaftef set the stamp of Divine authority upon the doctrine and practice of Masonry . Masonry , therefore ., being so far anterior to the introduction of Christianity , cannot be said to be antagonistic to it .
Masonry requires likewise a belief in God . " Truth , " as a great man has said , "is one as God is one , and a belief is naught if it be not true ; and to believe rightly of God , we must accept the trinity as well as the unity . We cannot , we dare not , profess to believe in a portion of the divinity , for that would in fact be a denial of the divine nature . As Masons , then , who believe in the G . A . O . T . U ., we must likewise have faith in the Redeemer and Sanctifier of men . Is Masonry antagonistic to
Christianity in this ? She does indeed number among her votaries men of many a creed , and many a phase of faith , but she likewise demands of all her true disciples pureness of life , abnegation of self , and an unquestioning reasonable faith ; and if these be the prevailing characteristics of a man ' s moral nature , the rays of Heaven will shine brighter and brighter on his onward path . Faith will become conviction , conviction certainty , and the perishable body of a true Freemason will be the habitation of a purified
spirit , and his spirit shall be the temple of the Most High . And above all , in no one place in her ceremonial or in her lectures does she ascribe to herself that which is the attribute and the quality of the Christian religion —I mean the power of salvation . She professes to be a law of life , and nothing more ; and who shall deny that as such she is most excellent ! To remit and make atonement for the sin , and to absolve the sinner , belongeth not to her ; and therefore from these mvsteries she holds herself aloof .
Masonry , therefore , I would humbly submit , so far from being without the pale of Christianity , ever feels the necessity of that Divine revelation , and adores the mercy and goodness which has vouchsafed so much to an erring world . None so well as Masons know the burthen under which they abour , and none feel so deeply the darkness in which they are groping . Their earnest prayer , their constant struggle is for light , and so they have deemed that the practice of moral duties , the exercise of faith , the acknowledgment of the responsibility , the dignity , and the capacities which were VOL . IT . M