LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 294

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294

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

located), a chaplain, prayers—Freemasonry is not a religion. This
contention, however, has been challenged from within the ranks of
Freemasonry itself. We may cite, for example, a book titled Light
Invisible authored by an adherent of Freemasonry who identifies
himself only by the title Vindex. Light Invisible is a response to the
book Darkness Visible written by a Rev. Walton Hannah, an Anglican clergyman who was attempting to alert the Church of England
to the contradictions between the practice of Freemasonry and the
teachings of the Christian church. Vindex writes this in response to
Hannah’s description of the Christian faith: “Christianity, [Hannah]
says again and again, is an exclusive faith. Christ opened the only
gate of heaven to man below. … In His name only is salvation to
be found. … If true religion is thus to be narrowed down to salvation in no other name under heaven, … then any such ‘Christian’
must indeed be straining his conscience to the breaking-point by
accepting initiation into the broader and deeper mysteries of Freemasonry. I for one can never understand how anyone who takes an
exclusive view of Christ as the only complete revelation of God’s
truth can become a Freemason without suffering from spiritual
schizophrenia.”12
The writings of Henry W. Coil, a 33rd-degree Mason, have
brought him recognition as an accepted authority on Freemasonry
by many state Grand Lodges. In his book A Comprehensive View
of Freemasonry, Mr. Coil addresses the question “What is Freemasonry?” He writes: “Freemasonry, in its broadest and most comprehensive sense, is a system of morality and social ethics, a primitive
religion and a philosophy of life, … incorporating a broad humanitarianism, …; it is a religion without a creed, being of no sect but
finding truth in all; … it is moderate, universal, and so liberal as to
permit each individual to form and express his own opinion, even
as to what Freemasonry is or ought to be, and invites him to improve it if he can.”13 In other words, according to Mr. Coil Freemasonry is a universalistic religion that combines whatever “truth” it
finds in the various sects.
In his Masonic Encyclopedia, under the topic “Religion,” Mr.
Coil further writes: “Freemasonry certainly requires a belief in
the existence of, and man’s dependence upon, a Supreme Being
to whom he is responsible. What can a church add to that, except
to bring into one fellowship those who have like feelings? … [T]
he difference between a lodge and a church is one of degree and
not of kind.”14
The unchristian character of Masonic Lodge teachings is shown
by the following selected quotations from various rituals and services. In its rituals Freemasonry replaces the biblical teaching
of salvation by grace through faith in Christ with a salvation by
works. In the very first degree of the Masonic Order (the Entered
Apprentice) the symbol of the lambskin is used to impress upon the
candidate that: “In all ages the lamb has been deemed an emblem
of innocence; he, therefore, who wears the Lambskin as a badge of
Masonry is continually reminded of that purity of life and conduct
which is necessary to obtain admittance into the Celestial Lodge
above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.”15
The rituals for the second and third degrees (a person is considered
a full Mason upon completing the 3rd degree) include similar references to purity of heart and rectitude of conduct necessary to gain
the approval of the Grand Architect of the Universe and thus enter
into heaven. The ritual of the Masonic funeral service reminds the
family members of the deceased that by means of the white apron
given to a Mason “he was constantly reminded of that purity of life
and that rectitude of conduct so necessary to his gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge Above.”16 Such religious teaching is
contrary to the Holy Scriptures which clearly teach, “by grace you
have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it

is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast”
(Eph 2:8–9). Works (rectitude of conduct) are certainly the necessary evidence of faith. The apostle James writes, “… I will show
you my faith by what I do” (James 2:18). But works are not the
basis for a person’s admission into heaven (cf. Rom 3:28).
Masonry denies the doctrine of the Trinity revealed in Holy
Scripture by the names it uses to address God, and by its failure
to refer in any way to the person and divine nature of Christ. As a
result, the religious rituals of Freemasonry fall under the judgment
of Jesus when He says: “Whoever does not honor the Son does not
honor the Father who sent him” (Jn 5:23). Since it is Freemasonry’s
intent to allow each person to have his own opinions in religious
matters, it does not permit its rituals to teach any specific doctrine
regarding the nature of God. Henry Coil writes: “Men have to decide whether they want a God like the ancient Hebrew Jahweh, a
partisan, tribal God, … or a boundless, eternal, universal, undenominational, and international, Divine Spirit, so vastly removed
from the speck called man, that He cannot be known, named, or
approached.”17 The god of Masonry is a generic Supreme Being
identified by such names as the Almighty Father of the Universe,
the Grand Architect of the Universe, etc. Masonry’s god is a universalistic “God” that can be accepted by all applicants for membership so as not to offend those who would reject the Christian
doctrine of the Trinity.
With respect to the person and work of Jesus Christ, Freemasonry must be faulted principally for its silence or lack of reference to Christ, rather than for any direct statements about Him.
All prayers directed to the Grand Architect of the Universe are offered apart from any reference to Jesus Christ. For the Christian,
of course, such practice contradicts the Scripture’s teaching concerning prayer. Jesus taught: “… whatever you ask of the Father in
my name, he will give it to you” (Jn 16:23). In addition, whenever
Scripture passages are quoted in Masonic rituals, any references in
the text of Scripture to Jesus Christ are intentionally omitted. The
reason for such omission is that Freemasonry does not want to give
offense to those who participate in those rituals who may not be of
a Christian persuasion. Moreover, any rituals that imply or directly
affirm a salvation by human conduct deny Christ’s complete and
perfect work of atonement through which sinners are reconciled to
a holy God.
Freemasonry as a general principle prohibits its members from
bearing witness to Christ in lodge meetings. When discussing the
10th degree of the Scottish Rite, Albert Pike, a prolific Masonic
author, writes: “The Mason’s creed goes further than that. No man,
it holds, has any right in any way to interfere with the religious
belief of another.”18 In other words, in the midst of a lodge’s religious rituals a Christian would not be allowed to bear witness to
Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior lest such witness offend a fellow lodge member. By accepting a required silence regarding such
witness, he is, in effect, denying Jesus before others.
Perhaps the denial of Christ in Masonry can best be summed
up in the following statement from the Maundy Thursday ritual of
the Rose Croix (18th degree) of the Scottish Rite: “We meet this
day to commemorate the death (of Jesus), not as inspired or divine,
for this is not for us to decide.”19 A Christian who subscribes to
Lutheran confessional teaching believes that the Heavenly Father’s
gift of eternal life in heaven can only be received through faith
created by the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation completed by
God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
On the basis of considerations such as the above, it is the official position of the LCMS that a member of an LCMS congregation should not hold membership in any organization whose rituals

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