MASON VOICE

Church Leaders Keep their God Secret: Freemasonry in Southern Baptist Men

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership around5 million (around 480,000 in England,, Scotland, and Ireland and just under two million in the US). [But these are probably underestimates, because some men will not reveal that they are freemasons in the first place.]

The fraternity is often administratively organised into Grand Lodges, each of which governs its own jursidiction, which consists of subordinate Lodges. Grand Lodges recognise each other through a process of landmarks and regularity.

Freemasonry uses the metaphors of operative stonemasons’ tools and implements, against the allegorical backdrop of the building of King Solomon’s Temple, to convey what has been described by both Masons and critics as ‘a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.’

The Supreme Being & the Volume of Sacred Law

Candidates are required to declare a belief in a Supreme Being. But the candidate is not asked to expand on, or explain, his or her interpretation of Supreme Being. The discussion of politics and religion is forbidden within a Masonic Lodge, in part so a Mason will not be placed in the situation of having to justify his personal interpretation.Thus, the Supreme Being will mean the Christian Trinity to a Christian Mason, Allah to a Muslim Mason, Para Brahman to a Hindu Mason, etc. And while most Freemasons would take the view that the term Supreme Being equates to God, others may have a more mysterious or philosophical (rather than religious) interpretation of ‘Supreme Being’.

In the ritual, the Supreme Being is referred to as the Great Architect of the Universe, which alludes to the use of architectural symbolism within Freemasonry.

A Volume of the Sacred Law is displayed in an open Lodge in those jurisdictions which require a belief in the Supreme Being. In English-speaking countries, this is frequently the King James Version of the Bible. Further, a candidate is given his choice of religious text for his Obligation, according to his beliefs.

Membership and the Falsification of Religion

Freemasonry explicitly and openly states that it is neither a religion nor a substitute for one. ‘There is no separate Masonic God’, nor a separate proper name for a deity in any branch of Freemasonry.

Masons are required to address their lodge’s god as The Great Architect. Members are strictly forbidden from promoting the name of Jesus above other gods. At the heart of Freemasonry is the idea that all religions worship the same god, i.e., The Great Architect of the Universe.  Freemason leaders claim that god is so deep, omnipotent, and unsearchable that they dare not define who He is [and God is unsearchable in true form, but the Christ is what makes God searchable]; hence, they prefer to simply address Him as ‘The Great Architect’ instead.

The word ‘occult’ means hidden; secret.  But in the words of Jesus in John 18:20– ‘Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.’ Jesus had nothing to hide. In 2nd Peter 1:20– ‘Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.’ The same Biblical truths available to you are available to me, and vise versa.  God has made His Word freely available to all mankind, and no one has a market on God.

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Findings from the Southern Baptist Convention’s A Report on Freemasonry (The SBC is a mostly-conservative Christian denomination, founded and kept in the South)

Many (between 50-70%) of Southern Baptist church leaders (e.g. pastors; missions directors; etc.) do not believe it is is important (or had no opinion)  to have an official statement on Freemasonry. [This means that many church leaders potentially hide their beliefs about God from their congregation. And you if have been to church, you know that Christian jargon is used exclusively, and without explanation--the vast majority of Christians assume that everyone agrees with their private definition of Christian jargon words. The word 'God' is part of Christian jargon too.]

When asked if the issue of Freemasonry ever caused a problem in their churches, the vast majority of each group responded that their churches had never dealt with Freemasonry. Yet keep in mind that most of the congregation probably does not know a drop about Freemasonry, nor that their leaders are Freemasons in the first place. Of those responding, 14 percent of the pastors, 5 percent of the ministers of education, 13 percent of the directors of missions, 18 percent of the deacon chairmen, and 12 percent of the church clerks had admit to being (and many won’t admit it) or having been Masonic or Eastern Star members.

About 400,000 – 500,000 Southern Baptist men are Masons (keep in mind, this is men who admit to being a Freemason).Among this number are well-known Southern Baptist leaders. No attempt will be given to naming living Southern Baptist Masons, but following are some well-known Southern Baptist Masons from the past:

Robert E. Baylor was one of eight Masons who petitioned for a charter for Baylor University in 1845. “Every president of Baylor University has been a Master Mason.” One president wasWilliam R. White, 33d, who served as president of Baylor University from 1948 to 1961. He served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth.

The first two missionaries sent by the SBC to Texas, James Huckins and William Tryon, were Masons.

George W. Truett (1867-1944), pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, president of the Baptist World Alliance, and trustee of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was a Scottish Rite Mason. Truett said:

‘From my earliest recollection, sitting about my father’s knees, who was a Mason, and hearing him and fellow Masons talk, I imbibed the impression in early childhood that the Masonic fraternity is one of the most helpful mediating and conserving organizations among men, and I have never wavered from that childhood impression, but it has stood steadfastly with me through the busy and vast hurrying years.’

Truett, in perhaps his most famous sermon, preaching on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 1920, addressed the 15,000 people gathered:

‘The right to private judgment is the crown jewel of humanity, and for any person or institution to dare to come between the soul and God is a blasphemous impertinence and a defamation of the crown-rights of the Son of God…. Every one must give an account of himself to God. Each one must repent for himself, and believe for himself, and be baptized for himself, and answer to God for himself, both in time and in eternity.’

B.H. Carroll (1843-1914), first president of Southwestern seminary, was a member of Waco Lodge No. 92 and Herring Lodge No. 1224, both located in Waco, Texas. Carroll was instrumental in the creation of the Department of Evangelism of the Home Mission Board in 1906. Carroll was the author of more than 20 books, including The Bible Doctrine of Repentance (1897), Baptists and Their Doctrines (1913), and Evangelistic Sermons (1913). It is said that his favourite causes were evangelism, prohibition, home missions, and Christian education.

L.R. Scarborough (1870-1945) was a member of Gray Lodge No. 329 in Houston, Texas. He served Southern Baptists as pastor of First Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas, from 1901 to 1908; professor of evangelism at Southwestern seminary from 1908 to 1914, when he became president of the seminary. He authored a number of books, most of which focused on evangelism, including How Jesus Won Men (1926), or were collections of his sermons.

William W. Hamilton, a Mason, was named the Home Mission Board’s first head of the Department of Evangelism in 1906. He served as president of Baptist Bible Institute (BBI), now the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, from 1927 to 1943. While president, he saved BBI from bankruptcy in 1932, when the school defaulted on $353,000 in bonds. He was president of the SBC from 1940 to 1942.

Louie D. Newton (1892-1986), was president of the Southern Baptist Convention and vice president of the Baptist World Alliance, served 27 years on the SBC Executive Committee, and was a member of Joseph C. Greenfield Lodge No.400 in Atlanta. He received his 50-year Masonic pin in 1980. He was also a York Rite Mason and a Shriner.

James P. Wesberry, who died in December 1992, was pastor of Morningside Baptist Church in Atlanta for 31 years, president of the Georgia Baptist Convention for 3 years, recording secretary for the Georgia Baptist Convention for 20 years, moderator of the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference, and executive-director of the Lord’s Day Alliance.He became a Mason in 1927. He was a York Rite Mason, 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, and a Shriner. He succeeded Louie D. Newton as chaplain of the Yaarab Shrine Temple in Atlanta in 1953.

Joseph Samuel Murrow (1835-1929) Called “the founder of Freemasonry in Oklahoma,” he established the first Masonic Lodge in the Indian Territory, served as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in the Indian Territory, and wrote the Murrow Masonic Monitor. He was raised a Master Mason in 1867. He served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Indian Territory from 1877 to 1878 and Grand Secretary from 1880 to 1909.

John T. Christian (1854-1925), a Knight Templar, was chairman of the informal committee of friends who met in 1915 to consider formation of BBI. He was professor of Christian history and librarian at BBI from 1919 until his death in 1925.  The library on the New Orleans seminary campus bears his name. Christian also pastored First Baptist Church, Chattanooga; First Baptist Church, Hattiesburg; Second Baptist Church, Little Rock; and other churches.

Richard A. McLemore, president of Mississippi College in Clinton (1957-1968), was a member of Hattiesburg Lodge No. 397 and a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason. David E. Moore was a well-known pastor in southeastern New Mexico until his death in 1992 at the age of 103. He was pastor of Caprock Baptist Church in Caprock, N.M., for many years and was assistant pastor of First Baptist Church, Roswell, N.M., at the time of his death. On his hundredth birthday, he was honoured with the title of “Honourary Past Master of Roswell Lodge No. 18.”

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All this information was found on the Internet. None of it is my own. References (I should do a library search for true reliability, but Freemasonry as just one ‘black secret of Christianity’ has been well-studied. Although some information might be skewed towards an agenda, it is likely at least generally correct): Wikipedia,http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False Religions/Freemasonry/lodges.htm, andhttp://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False Religions/Freemasonry/famous_baptists.htm

 Submitted by Arina Ulman

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