[ArGee]

OK, ignoring (for the moment) the issue of whether Freemasons do violate any tenets of Christianity, am I to understand that Archbishop Rowan is concerned about whether Freemasons can be Christians but not about whether active homosexuals can be Bishops?

Am I missing something here?

Shalom.

[Joe Republc]

Hmmm, what about this....?

http://www.saintsalive.com/freemasonry/biblicallook.html
(portion copied below)

I really didn't give a rat's ass about any criticism of the Masons until I heard about this stuff on the radio.

According to what I've heard, Masons ARE called upon to worship another God. And they ARE expected to believe that Christianity and other popular religions are equally valid / invalid. And that the secret name of God is known only to higher level Masons.

If these sources are true, you have to say Freemasonry is completely incompatible with Christianity.

-- Joe





TELLING IT LIKE IT IS! FREEMASONRY'S CHALLENGE
A Challenge From Ed Decker,
President-Saints Alive in Jesus

For a number of years now I have been in an intense study on the subject of Freemasonry. As many of you know, I spent 20 years in the Mormon Church where the temple rituals have been directly "lifted" from the Blue Lodge degrees. Other portions of the Scottish rites, such as the the ordination of the "Holy Melchizedek" priesthood are also common. In the book, THE GOD MAKERS, Dave Hunt and I detailed the parallels and the occult origins of each group. What I didn't share was that prior to my conversion to Mormonism, I was a member of the Masonic youth group, the DeMolay and have a family history of Masonry that goes back over 175 years.

The more I studied Masonry, the more I realized the depth of its satanic hold over those within its "strong Grip". Within the pages of the hundreds of Masonic books and secret ritual manuals I have gathered and read in my research is a tragic story of Godly men who have succumbed to the snare of the enemy and have been snatched from the very arms of Christ. They have brought the darkest side of Baal worship into their homes and congregations, opening the door to every demon in that Masonic corner of Hell. When the average American thinks of the Masonic Lodge, the thoughts are of Children's Burn Centers and Hospitals, the Shrine Circus, where handicapped children are often carried to the front row seats in the strong arms of weeping men who are wearing the Red Fezzes of their fraternity. Rarely do we see a parade without these same Shriners driving up and down the parade route in their little cars and motorcycles, wearing clothes out of the Arabian nights, bringing laughter to the little children lined up along the sidewalks. On more serious occasions, such as the laying of public building cornerstones or at the funeral service of a Lodge member, these same men, dressed in somber attire, wearing their ornate sashes and brass- medallioned chains of office, ceremonial aprons, will perform with solemn dignity pagan rites handed down through centuries of ritual secrecy.

Yet, once you get past the good-old-boy fraternal act, the funny hats and slippers of the Shriners and the sheltered reputation of the local, Blue Lodge Masonic groups, there is something beyond the colorful mask, an aura of mystery, power and intrigue, complete with undertones of conspiracy and backroom politics. As ever present as Masonry hangs on the edge of the public eye, we see it as even more subtly present in the Christian Community. Except for the ritual funeral service for the Masonic dead, and an occasional march from the Lodge to a selected Church for services, the Lodge leaves it to the individual member to select and attend the church of his choice.

On the other end of that, however, is the church on whose Board sits a majority from the Lodge, or whose Deacons or Elders share Lodge secrets that are in keeping with their higher allegiance to the Lodge, an aloofness from the rest of the Church body. These are "good" men who attend regularly and are often the financial backbone of many small congregations.
One Pastor wrote of his frustration in a rural church. He put it this way, "As faithful as these men are, I always feel at board meetings that there is a second agenda which is not open to me. It's like they get their marching orders from the Lodge on how to conduct the business of the church. They are good men, but they seem to operate with some higher' knowledge than the rest of us. There is no submission to the authority of the church and its members." The simple Christian NO list has been enough for most truly Bible based Churches to take a stand regarding Masons holding membership in their Church. First, if the Mason is a Christian, Christ's admonition to swear no oaths at all should be all one would need to stay clear. The secrets of Masonry are protected by the most vile of blood oaths, every one of which is an offense to Jesus. Second, the name and nature of the Masonic deity is an offense to the one true God. It is taught in the Royal Arch degree that Masonry draws its teachings and powers from three great teachers and gods. The combined deity is represented as a three headed snake, whose name is Joa:Bul:On, which stands for Jehovah, Baal and Osiris, Now the Mason who pronounces that name in the Masonic prayer of worship has just simply defiled the Holy name of God. Third, in the Shrine, the initiate swears a terrible binding oath in the name of "Allah, the God of our Fathers!" Friends, Mohammed was a false prophet and Allah is an evil god, a demon god destroying nation after nation of his followers. The red Fez itself was originally a badge of honor worn only by Muslims who had actually killed a Christian and dipped his cap in the martyr's blood. Fourth, At the Apron lecture, the foolish mason is usually told that the lambskin apron will be his covering at the great white throne judgement of God. The prayer and dedicatory sounds great, but there is only one Great white throne judgement and it is the judgement of the damned. (Rev.20:11) Fifth, the promise of godhood through the Lodge, the usurping of Christ's Melchizedek Priesthood, the Holy communion of the dead, drinking wine from the carved out top of a human skull......and on and on. The scriptures tell us to "not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you." (2 Cor. 6:14,15,17).