Letters and figures

thoughts of a

Knight Templar

Hanford Commandery No. 46

Grand Commandery of Knights Templar-California

MASONRY AND FAITH

by Rudy Olano

Lincoln Lodge No. 34 (Phil)

Hanford Lodge No. 279 (CA)

19Apr05

"... it is so far interwoven with religion as to lay as under the obligation to pay that rational homage to Deity which constitute our duty, our happiness ..."

Masonic tradition instructed us that the Craft is not a religion but religious. We require that a candidate must believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, a Creator whom we adore. The Craft respect not only the Brother's but anyone's Faith. We are Charged to "regard the Volume of Sacred Law as a Great Light..., unerring Standard for Truth and Justice" which doesn't necessarily means the Christian Bible we knew. It is perfectly Masonic to substitute it with Koran if that's what the candidate/Brethren prefer.

The very fact that the Freemasonry allows and support this religious freedom, I argue, is one of the reasons why some organized religious entity have, to say the least, some issues against our Order. The fact that the Fraternity allows other people to pursue their own belief is contrary to some organized religion's dogma. For majority of us who grew up as non-questioning faithful, we are educated that there is only one God and his name is Jesus.  Those who think otherwise are bound to some nasty place called, hell. We are right, they are wrong, we are going to Heaven and those non-believers or heretics will be suffer pain for eternity.

We can see the same logic being applied by both fundamentalist/ extremist Muslim of today and/or Christians during Inquisition period.

"it is so far interwoven with religion.."  Where do we drew the line from being religious or religion or do we have to? Christian ideology teaches us that the path to Heaven is about Faith not through Work. "Masonry is a progressive moral science taught by degrees only ..." We are taught that through diligent work and patience we will someday find worthy to receive our wages of our labor. Work not Faith,  that we will someday be translated to the "Great Lodge above whom the Supreme Great Architect of the Universe forever presides."

We are religious but not religion, can we see and distinguish two "pathways of rough and rugged road" leading to One Place with different name. Can we compare the similarity of purpose but diversity of methodology of Christianity and Freemasonry?  Religious but not religion.  So mote it be.