Quote:
Originally Posted by iceniez
I was not a mason , however when I was younger [ teens ] I went to a few demolay meetings I was going to be inducted into demolay , As we were practicing God convicted me. [ I was not Apostolic at the time ] The ceremony was very occultish to me and I never went back . I read books and articles about the masonic rites . It is not Christian even remotly. Satan can transform to an angel of light , Plain and simple in the upper ranks they worship satan.
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I am not arguing your own personal experience, nor about your conviction, however some of your statements are quite erroneous. First, the Masonic Order plainly state that they are not a religious organization. They do however firmly believe in God, and use the KJV bible in ceremonies and rites. They believe that every man must believe in a singular higher power, and eternal life after death, and that any man's specific viewpoint or belief beyond that is his own business, and right to practice, and does not seek to interfere with personal beliefs.
Second, I am NOT a Mason (ironically, my name is Mason, lol), but my dad (who raised me by himself) was a Mason. I grew up around many, many men who were Masons, and the monthly lodge meetings were a huge part of my childhood. I am an Eagle Scout, and almost all of the influential men in my life were Masons. This is NOT including a historical analysis of all the Masons in history who fought and worked hard so that we could even have the religious freedom to practice our Apostolic Faith. I have done a lot of reading and research on both sides of this argument.
An interesting side note: a Mason is not supposed to ask another man to join the lodge. He can only influence other men by living an honorable and moral life, and being available to answer questions. My own father never said I should join a lodge. It wasn't until I asked him some questions that he told me a little bit, and then told me to do my own research and he would help me to petition if I felt like I wanted to join. He did have several conversations with me after that about how he felt it could benefit me. Unfortunately, my dad passed last year and I was never able to realize any decision one way or the other.
Ok. Back to my reasoning... Thirdly, a lot if the information that has been given about them being Satanic is false. If you do the research, you can easily find where historical authors and leaders have been misquoted, or their words intentionally taken out of context. A lot of this was propogated by the Catholic Church, and for many different reasons... One of the main anti-Masonic arguments comes from a fraudulent quote that was made by someone using a pen name, who wasn't even a Mason, and his reasoning was to instigate the ire if the Catholic Church and the Masons against each other. Also, any reference to "Lucifer" is taken
out of biblical context when calling it "satanic" or "satanism." Do the bible study yourself, Lucifer and Satan are separate. Lucifer is the God-given name of an archangel who is the minister or harbinger of light. When he sought to make himself equal to God, he was stripped of all title, duty, and power, thus becoming Satan and the prince of lies, etc... All ceremonial use of "Lucifer" within the Masonic order, and all connected organizations are of the former, more biblical perspective, not the manmade speculative, uneducated version. People who are against Masonry always revert back to the whole "secret society" argument to say that because they use these supposedly satanic ideals in secret ceremonies, that they are Satan worshippers. This again is false, because any nominal amount of research will show that any and all references used within the Mason order are published and readily available for public knowledge. Yes, a lot of what they do is in secret, and they swear their members to an oath of silence regarding many of the details. But the lodge rebukes any claims that because they are a secret society, that they are evil and worship Satan. They stand firmly on what they practice, which is more than what a lot of "Christians" can say. Jesus Christ himself was accused of being Satan because people didn't understand him or how he had power.
Unfortunately, we as humans tend to automatically condemn things with which we either know little about or have no understanding at all. I understand holiness requires that we not accept worldly ideals and doctrines; however it does not say that you cannot search it out fir yourself. In fact, I read in the bible that we are to seek knowledge and understanding, and to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We are not to judge others, lest we be judged, and that includes other peoples ideals and personal practices. Your own understanding may came from an inconclusive experience of which you never fully researched why or the intent or even the symbolism behind it. Also, we are to be in the world not if it, and the Masonic order has done just that. Removed personal influence from the equation of religion, to create a safe space in which to enrich men into becoming better men.
One last thing. Look at your own community. Chances are that one of the biggest charitable organizations in your community is the Masonic Lodge. And chances are they are charitable boy only in a monetary way, but also in service to the community. The Mason order is responsible for building many of our nations landmarks and historical places, and the Shriners have several charitable hospitals that specialize in helping children and burn victims. Masons do more benefit to the communities they are in than many churches and other goodwill type organizations.
Now, all this being said, I am not a member of the Masonic Lodge, and still do not know if ibwill ever join or participate, but I do have a healthy respect for the men who are Masons, and what they do. And I think before we go around proclaiming that they are evil, we should know a little bit more of what we are talking about. After all, doesn't it rile you up when people of other faiths or denominations claim that we as Apostolic or Pentecost are a cult or that our beliefs are not right?
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