Should a Christian Be a Mason? By Carl O. Cooper

So what is a Mason and what do they stand for? Unless you really dig for the answer to that question you will not find it. All Masons are sworn to secrecy about the organization and they are not likely to divulge any information that tells you what the Masons are really all about. In fact, they probably don’t really know, themselves, what the Masons really believe and do. What they will likely tell you and what they most likely think is true, is that the Masons are a brotherhood of men who swear to be upright citizens and live a clean moral life. They understand that Masons are sworn to help one another in any way that becomes necessary. The reason the average Mason does not know any information about the Mason organization is because they seldom rise to the rank (They call rank by the term “degree”) where any of the meaningful secret information is known. There are 33 degrees of rank in the Mason society and most of the masons you know will be within the very first of these degrees. At this level of rank only the very basic explanations are given to the members. This is the information that they can quote you and everything sounds very above board and proper to you as well as to the members. If this is all you try to know then you will ignorantly support a “pagan organization”. I would dare say that most of the general membership falls in this category. There is tremendous pressure placed on a new member to honor a binding oath which is required on entering the organization not to speak about or reveal any of the information the Masons consider secret. This oath is entered into with considerable pressure placed on the new member. I am told that all “Masonic Groups” do not always follow exactly the same entrance initiation ritual, but the one they do follow is sobering and shocking and not likely to be ignored by the applicant for the rest of his life. In many cases the applicant is blindfolded and all his own clothes are removed and a special robe is placed on him for the initiation. In many cases a rope is placed around his neck and he is paraded within the group with chants and he is asked to repeat special words and phrases. At some point he can be placed down on his back and a sword or knife is placed at his chest or at his throat and he is asked to swear never to reveal any Masonic secrets under the penalty of death. The penalty can be said to be cutting out the tongue or having one’s throat cut with a knife. He is then asked to kneel at the feet of a high degree Mason and place both hands on a Bible and swear that he will never reveal any Masonic secrets as long as he lives. Now tell me. If someone goes through this, is he likely to tell you anything about the Mason organization? Now most Masons are likely to tell you that this initiation ritual is only symbolic and figurative and is not realistic and no one expects this to really be true; that is, not in America today. But in other times and other places these threats were carried out and these were not just idle threats. But even so, the oaths taken in this environment are taken very serious and are considered binding on anyone who takes them. But there is a dark side to the Masonic organization and it surrounds religion.
Now the Masons intentionally give out propaganda about their religious beliefs that sounds to the person who does not think it through that they are “non-religious” and accept all religions into their organization. They make a strong statement that they believe in and respect the separation of church and state and carry that mindset into the Masonic organization. They allow public statements to be made that they require all their members to believe in one God and they call themselves “Monotheists”. What they do not tell you is the darker side of this belief and that is that they accept those people whose god can be the god of “Buddha”, Mohammed”, “The King of Ethiopia”, “Satan”, Demonic”, or any other god devised by the mind of man. Any claim of allegiance to a higher being is acceptable with the Masons. At this stage of this discussion I would like to remind all Christians of This Biblical command found in 2 Corinthians 2: 14. 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? There is more to the religious part of the Masons than just calling all gods equal. That alone is a serious problem for Christian people but the Masons of a “high degree” have a plan of salvation that not only is “non-Biblical”, it flies in the face of the Bible’s teaching of a true plan of salvation that saves your soul. The Masons teach that if any Mason is a faithful Mason and properly honors and accepts the Mason doctrine and keeps the information secret; he can die with full assurance that he will be accepted into the afterlife with full salvation for his soul. They do not regard a difference in a higher being but consider all gods equal and capable of giving you salvation when you die. This is a serious hurdle for all Christian people. I do not have to tell any Christian that this false teaching will not save someone’s soul and will have a serious impact on many people actually losing their salvation because of it. There is a lot more to be known about the Masonic organization but few people, including Masons will go to the trouble of trying to find out any more about them. There is the impact they have on governments and political machines because of the vow they have taken to support another Mason in any need they might have for help. With the support of all other Masons a person can have a tremendous advantage over any opposition. There is historical information available about the conflict the Masons have had with the Catholic Church throughout many generations. This conflict started with a struggle for government power which both organizations wanted to be in control of. The Catholic Church had a control of government that was being undermined by the Masons who had tremendous support for one another. This secret support was causing the Catholic Church to begin to lose influence in controlling government and this led to complete criticism of the Masonic organization. This criticism still continues to this day but the reasons are more religious than political with today’s churches. There is much more to know and I suggest you dig hard and you will find things you did not know and did not suspect.

Carl O. Cooper