LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 297

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
7. Ibid., 176-77 (Bylaw 3.9.6.3.1 [b]). Emphasis added.
8. Ibid., 177 (Bylaw 3.9.6.3.1 [e]). Emphasis added.
9. All biblical quotations in this document are taken from the English
Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible (Crossway Bibles, 2001).
10. Ibid., 175 (Bylaw 3.9.6.3).
11. Another helpful resource for evaluating the Masonic Lodge is a
booklet authored by LCMS pastors George A. Mather and Larry Nichols
titled Masonic Lodge in the series titled Zondervan Guide to Cults and Religious Movements, edited by Alan W. Gomes (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1995).
12. Light Invisible: The Freemason’s Answer to Darkness Visible (Boston, New York: Poemandres Press, 1996), 35. Cf. Walton Hannah, Darkness Visible: A Christian Appraisal of Freemasonry (London: Saint Austin
Press, 1998).
13. Henry Wilson Coil, A Comprehensive View of Freemasonry (New
York: Macoy Publishing, 1954), 234.
14. Henry Wilson Coil, Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia, edited by Dr.
William Moseley Brown, Dr. William L. Cummings, and Harold Van
Buren Voorhis (New York: Macoy Publishing, 1961), 512. The discussion
in the preceding paragraphs is based largely on evidence provided in an
article in the files of the CTCR titled “Is Freemasonry Religion? Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia.” As the CTCR notes in its evaluation of “The Lodge”
(http://www.lcms.org?2150), “Lodge organizations commonly insist that
they are not a ‘religion’ and that they do not establish a set of ‘doctrines’ to
which adherence is required for membership.” In that evaluation, as in this
document, the CTCR “does not focus on these claims—however true or not
true they may be in actual practice—but points to religious tenets or themes
present and even espoused, both explicitly and implicitly, in the official
rites and literature of the organization in question.”
15. Raymond Lee Allen, et al., Tennessee Craftsmen or Masonic Textbook, 14th edition (Nashville, Tennessee: Board of Custodian Members,
1963), 17. Emphasis added.
16. Allen, Tennessee Craftsmen. Quoted in John Ankerberg and John
Weldon, The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1989), 82.
17. Coil, Masonic Encyclopedia, 516. Emphasis in original.
18. Albert Pike, Morals and Dogmas of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Charleston, SC: The Supreme Council of the 33rd
Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, 1906), 167. Many
State Monitors ((handbooks of lodge rituals) agree with the Texas Monitor
that Freemasonry’s position is correct in “forbidding all sectarian discussion
within its lodge rooms.”
19. Rose Croix degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Quoted in
Ankerberg and Weldon, The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge, 132.
20. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Prepared from the theological

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perspective of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
21. Quotations from Rituals of the Subordinate Lodge under the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
of the United States of America, revised 1990.
22. Ritual of the Loyal Order of Moose, revised May 1998. Service of
Tribute and Memorial Services, revised September 1993. Emphasis added.
23. Rituals for Fraternal Order of Eagles Opening of Meeting and Initiation of Members, 1955. Ritual for Final Tribute to Deceased Members.
Emphasis added.
24. In an oft-cited (and much discussed) letter dated August 16, 1864,
Dr. C. F. W. Walther gives his personal counsel to a “dear brother” on
dealing with individuals who are wrestling with this matter. In this letter,
Walther insists that “publicly and privately, we must with zeal speak against
the secret orders.” “But,” Walter continues, “let us not push away those
who are still enmeshed in them and cannot at once convince themselves of
the sinfulness of these orders and free themselves from them, but otherwise
show themselves to be penitent Christians” (Lehre and Wehre, Sept. 1913
[59:394–95]. Translated by Dr. Jerald C. Joersz, March 2002 [file copy in
the files of the CTCR]). Walther’s letter must be read in its historical context, and legitimate questions have been raised about the applicability of
certain aspects of Walther’s counsel in this letter to more contemporary
issues surrounding lodge membership, beliefs, and practices. The pastoral
care and concern displayed by Walther in this letter—his concern for souls,
his wisdom, his patience—can be affirmed without qualification and continue to serve as a model for pastors today in dealing with specific individuals and situations in this regard.
25. “Christians and Their Affiliations.” Files of the Commission of Theology and Church Relations. Another resource for working with members
of the Masonic Lodge is the Response Series booklet How to Respond to the
Lodge referenced in footnote 1 above.
26. Quoted from the rite of Confirmation in the LCMS’s Lutheran Service Book, 173.
27. The ultimate concern of this document is for the salvation of souls
for whom Christ died. Membership in an organization that obviates the
Gospel has the potential of endangering people’s souls and salvation. Souls
can be lost through trusting in false beliefs. One cannot limp along on both
sides of contradictory religious beliefs. Either the generic god of the lodge
is the true god or the triune God of Holy Scripture is the true God. Both
cannot be true. Faith in the god of the lodge is faith in a non-Trinitarian
god, in a Jesus who is not the sinless, divine Son of God, and in salvation
by human works. Faith in the God of Scripture is faith in the triune God and
faith in Jesus Christ— the divine, sinless Son of God who is the world’s
only Savior. Such faith believes salvation comes only by grace through faith
in Jesus Christ and not in any way by human works. Justifying grace also
empowers holy living by God’s people (Eph 2:8–10).

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