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Article AN CLP MASON'S ADYICE TO HIS NEPHEW ← Page 3 of 3
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Clp Mason's Adyice To His Nephew
the utter exclusion of all religious tests ; and you accordingly consider it to be a marked indifference to , at the least , if no t a perfect abnegation o £ the doctriness and principles of the Gospel . For as to the religion in which all men agree , " you rightly pronounce the assumption to be altogether fabulous , and if it were possible , which it Is not , would be more revolting than pure deism . But there is no such thing in the present state of the vvprld as a u particular point of religious belief- ^ not even , the belief in a God . And
hence you apostrophize , " Well inay the uninitiated cowan ask—is this all that Masonry is permitted to teach' ? . Are the glorious truths of the Gospel closed against its members , and revealed religion p laced under a shade that its unholy rivals may trample on Its prostrate form $ Are free and accepted Masons denied the blessing of a Redeemer ? And can any Christian man quietly seat himself under such a regime 7 "
The above doctrines , however , having been officially announced , every-English Freemason , as you assume , is expected in practice to conform to their teaching , although he may be far from approving of the details ; and admitting that obedience is a duty which every member owes to the rulers and governors of the Craft , you doubt whether a respectful protest against a position that imposes a burden
on the conscience would not be inconsistent with the Masonic Q . B ., although it was originally imposed under a most solemn avowal that " it contained nothing incompatible with our civil / rnoral , or religious duties . " I do not , however , admit the soundness of your belief that all allusion to religion and its duties is prohibited in the above quoted
document ; because there are considerable doubts whether the Grand Lodge ever proceeded to invest it with the dignity of a law ; for if it bid , we should undoubtedly have hear 4 more about it . In such a case your conclusion would have been extremely plausible—that the ministers of the Gospel and other Christian brethren would have had no alternative but to withdraw from an institution which deliberately
imposed on its members the onus of ignoring their religion , and denying their Redeemer ; because they would find it utterly impossible to yield obedience to any such stringent condition . This is your second stumbling block . I conclude this letter in the words of a highly respected friend of my own , and promise to renew the subject at an early opportunity . " The evil you complain of is not slight—far from it . But if it is to meet with encouragement instead of counteraction , the probable event
may deserve to be considered while yet the preventive can be applied , because , when the event itself shall arrive , reflection may be nearer at hand than the remedy . " I am , & W c , . H .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Clp Mason's Adyice To His Nephew
the utter exclusion of all religious tests ; and you accordingly consider it to be a marked indifference to , at the least , if no t a perfect abnegation o £ the doctriness and principles of the Gospel . For as to the religion in which all men agree , " you rightly pronounce the assumption to be altogether fabulous , and if it were possible , which it Is not , would be more revolting than pure deism . But there is no such thing in the present state of the vvprld as a u particular point of religious belief- ^ not even , the belief in a God . And
hence you apostrophize , " Well inay the uninitiated cowan ask—is this all that Masonry is permitted to teach' ? . Are the glorious truths of the Gospel closed against its members , and revealed religion p laced under a shade that its unholy rivals may trample on Its prostrate form $ Are free and accepted Masons denied the blessing of a Redeemer ? And can any Christian man quietly seat himself under such a regime 7 "
The above doctrines , however , having been officially announced , every-English Freemason , as you assume , is expected in practice to conform to their teaching , although he may be far from approving of the details ; and admitting that obedience is a duty which every member owes to the rulers and governors of the Craft , you doubt whether a respectful protest against a position that imposes a burden
on the conscience would not be inconsistent with the Masonic Q . B ., although it was originally imposed under a most solemn avowal that " it contained nothing incompatible with our civil / rnoral , or religious duties . " I do not , however , admit the soundness of your belief that all allusion to religion and its duties is prohibited in the above quoted
document ; because there are considerable doubts whether the Grand Lodge ever proceeded to invest it with the dignity of a law ; for if it bid , we should undoubtedly have hear 4 more about it . In such a case your conclusion would have been extremely plausible—that the ministers of the Gospel and other Christian brethren would have had no alternative but to withdraw from an institution which deliberately
imposed on its members the onus of ignoring their religion , and denying their Redeemer ; because they would find it utterly impossible to yield obedience to any such stringent condition . This is your second stumbling block . I conclude this letter in the words of a highly respected friend of my own , and promise to renew the subject at an early opportunity . " The evil you complain of is not slight—far from it . But if it is to meet with encouragement instead of counteraction , the probable event
may deserve to be considered while yet the preventive can be applied , because , when the event itself shall arrive , reflection may be nearer at hand than the remedy . " I am , & W c , . H .