Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons

Telegraph (UK) ^ | 20/04/2003 | Chris Hastings and Elizabeth Day

[nickcarraway]

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has been forced to apologise to Britain's 330,000 Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had rejected them from senior posts in his diocese.

Dr Williams has written to Robert Morrow, the Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England, in an attempt to defuse the row prompted by comments he made last year. In his letter, the Archbishop apologises for the "distress" he caused and discloses that his own father was a member of the Craft.

Freemasons, many of whom are active members of the Church of England, reacted angrily to his disclosure that he "had real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession" and by his admission that, as Bishop of Monmouth, he had blocked the appointment of Freemasons to senior appointments.

His comments about Freemasons were in a private letter leaked to the media shortly after Downing Street confirmed his appointment as head of the Church of England.

Subsequent attempts by his advisers to defuse the row only caused further offence. A spokesman said the Archbishop was worried about the ritual element of Freemasonry, which has been seen as "satanically inspired".

In his letter of apology, Dr Williams tries to distance himself from his own reported comments. He claims that his views were never meant to be public and were distorted by the media.

He wrote: "I have been sorry to learn of the distress of a considerable number of Freemasons . . . In replying to private correspondence, I had no intention of starting a public debate nor of questioning the good faith and generosity of individual Freemasons and I regret the tone and content of the media coverage."

He added: "The quoted statements about the 'satanic' character of the Masonic ceremonies and other matters did not come from me and do not represent my judgment. Since my late father was a member of the Craft for many years, I have had every opportunity of observing the probity of individual members."

Dr Williams does not, in his letter, deny that he has misgivings about the role of Freemasons within the Church.

He wrote: "Where anxieties exist, however, they are in relation not to Freemasonry but to Christian ministers subscribing to what could be and often is understood [or misunderstood] as a private system of profession and initiation, involving the taking of oaths of loyalty."

He ends his letter by stating that Freemasons' commitment to charity and the community is beyond question.

[strela]

Have any of these folks who believe that the local Masonic lodge is chock-full of devil worshipers looked at the back of a US one dollar bill lately? Spending and using currency that has mysterious symbols such as a pyramid, an "all-seeing eye", and mysterious Latin words must be some sort of evidence that they do not walk their talk. Either that, or just plain hypocrisy.

[Ole Okie]

Funny, I didn't know he was Druish...

Yeah, and the Druids are reputed to have built Stonehenge.

Oh, there's deep skullduggery there.

Somewhere.

If I could find it.

[P.O.E.]

Well, of course, this is just the sort of blinkered philistine pig-ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage. You sit there on your loathsome spotty behinds squeezing blackheads, not caring a tinker's cuss for the struggling artist. You excrement, you whining hypocritical toadies with your colour TV sets and your Tony Jacklin golf clubs and your bleeding masonic secret handshakes. You wouldn't let me join, would you, you blackballing bastards. Well I wouldn't become a Freemason now if you went down on your lousy stinking knees and begged me.

[Skooz]

It would be really nice if someone could get the straight dope on Freemasonry---no anti-Mason BS and no pro-Mason (or anti-anti-Mason) BS. Just the facts.

Anyone?
Anyone?

[Ff--150]

right here is answers to many questions you may or may not have, concerning the history of this land. I believe the father of this nation was also the Grand Wizard of the colonies prior our nation's birth. Maybe the war sixty years after his death was for more than tariffs...

[Qwerty]

I'm not a Mason, nor can I ever be.. so I can't share much. But I know from my Grandfathers that it's a group of tradesmen who have to be good in their field and also Christian.

[Qwerty]

No.. there are no other religions mixed in with it, from what I understand.

Are you a mason?

[honway]

"I saw a code of Masonic legislation adapted to prostrate every principle of equal justice and to corrupt every sentiment of virtuous feeling in the soul of him who bound his allegiance to it.

"I saw the practice of common honesty, the kindness of Christian benevolence, even the abstinence of atrocious crimes; limited exclusively by lawless oaths and barbarous penalties, to the social relations between the Brotherhood and the Craft. I saw slander organize into a secret, widespread and affiliated agency....I saw self-invoked imprecations of throats cut from ear to ear, of hearts and vitals torn out and cast off and hung on spires. I saw wine drunk from a human skull with solemn invocation of all the sins of its owner upon the head of him who drank it."

President John Quincy Adams

[Chemist_Geek]

The Church considers swearing secret oaths of any description to be contrary to Christian belief.

I expect the Church to go after college fraternities next...

[wideawake]

It's not a matter of "going after" anyone.

The swearing of secret oaths in order to join societies which are known primarily for dangerous pranks and egregious public drunkenness isn't really compatible with Christian witness.

Neither is the concept of purchasing friends on a semesterly basis, now that I think about it.

[sirchtruth]

Freemasonry teaches that there is one God and men of all religions worship that one God using a variety of different names. In a Masonic Lodge, all join in corporate prayer to the Great Architect of the Universe, (GAOTU). Christopher Haffner wrote Workman Unashamed, The Testimony of a Christian Freemason. Haffner correctly espoused Masonic teaching when he wrote:
"Now imagine me standing in lodge with my head bowed in prayer between Brother Mohammed Bokhary and Brother Arjun Melwani. To neither of them is the Great Architect of the Universe perceived as the Holy Trinity. To Brother Bokhary He has been revealed as Allah; to Brother Melwani He is probably perceived as Vishnu. Since I believe that there is only one God, I am confronted with three possibilities:

They are praying to the devil whilst I am praying to God;
They are praying to nothing, as their gods do not exist;
They are praying to the same God as I, yet their understanding of His nature is partly incomplete (as indeed is mine--1 Cor 13:12)
It is without hesitation that I accept the third possibility."
http://www.emfj.org/mensclub.htm

This is in direct contrast to what Christ taught.

You may call yourself a Christian, but being associated with this organization is not Christ like.

I do not say this to judge your believe, I just can not understand how you, being a Christian, can reconcile.

[sirchtruth]

In a Masonic Lodge, all join in corporate prayer to the Great Architect of the Universe, (GAOTU).

Make sure you Free Masons who claim to be Christians read this agian.

[sirchtruth]

No.. there are no other religions mixed in with it, from what I understand.

Are you a mason?

No, I am not a FM. Take a look at what I posted previously.

Post# 51 and 52

[Qwerty]

Were you ever asked to be a Mason?

[sirchtruth]

Were you ever asked to be a Mason?

No, but I saw the price of eggs in China and they were quite reasonably priced! ;-)

[Eastbound]

"Alrighty, you seem to know what freemasonry isn't...do you know what it IS, and can you share?"

Freemasonry is a state of mind and a condition of the heart. Most Freemasons have been Freemasons before they knew anything about Freemasonry. The organization itself can be likened to the assembly of an orchestra. The ritual, the tuning fork; the magnum opus, harmony.

We play in the Key of 'G.' -- ;)

[tang-soo]

Having read a 33rd Degree Masonry text on the proper rites to worship Lucifer the Morning Star, I find the outrage of the Masons at being called incompatible to Christianity to be, shall we say, very Islamic.

The book Brotherhood of Darkness written by Dr, Stanley Monteith speaks of this. It explains how the liberal elites i.e. Cecil Rhodes have used their wealth in an agenda to gain control and bring world socialism. The book is also online where you can browse it here. Its about 120 pages and I found it fascinating. Dr. Monteith has a daily radio show and you can listen to the archives at www.radioliberty.com.

[Qwerty]

Well, that was.. umm.. quite a read.

[honway]

I think I'll pass on this club. I like my bowels where they are. Does the Rotary Club have penalties like this?

http://www.angelfire.com/mac/freemasonry/Penalties/penalties.html

Third Degree Penalty.

To be severed in two and have the bowels cut out and burned, alternatively the whole body may be burned to ashes and these ashes scatterred by the four winds of heaven such that no trace of such a vile wretch may be found among men, especially Master Masons.

[sharktrager]

A mason need not believe in the Christian god. They anly must believe in a god. Hence, there are islamic muslims.