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By John Sanidopoulos
Most Christian websites make the claim that Freemasonry is Luciferian.
Many Freemasons themselves will openly proclaim they are Luciferian.
However, does being a Luciferian mean that one worships Lucifer or Satan?
Not exactly.
First of all, I want to make clear that I am not a Freemason, never was, and never will be. I have known and worked and been acquainted with many Freemasons and former Freemasons and have studied it for over 20 years (including reading Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma). When my father immigrated to America from Greece in the early 1970's, he became a Freemason in Boston to network as an electrician. After being initiated in the third degree and attending a few meetings, he stopped attending and never went back. Today I am in possession of the written material they gave him as well as his lambskin apron. My uncle with who I am close is currently an active Freemason, who wears his Masonic ring, attends regular meetings, and is mainly involved to network as he also is an electrician. We also have openly discussed on a few occasions the topic of Freemasonry. Growing up my parish priest was also a Freemason, though I only saw it in the ring he wore and never discussed it.
Having very briefly established my background with Freemasonry, I do not wish here to write a full critique or defense of Freemasonry, but only very briefly address the specific topic of Freemasonry being Luciferian. Christians and Conspiracy Theorists have written countless books against Freemasonry, and anyone that has studied Masonic material and knows Masons knows these critics are usually very wrong and demonizing of things they just don't understand. It has become just as easy to demonize Freemasons as it was Christians by the Romans in the early days of Christianity. I will address these things in time, but the way critics associate Freemasonry with the worship of Lucifer is quite ridiculous and has been circulating as a hoax since the 19th century in an attempt to lend credibility to the condemnations of Freemasonry by the Pope of the time. Wikipedia offers a good definition for the word "Lucifer":
Lucifer is the King James Version rendering of the Hebrew word הֵילֵל in Isaiah 14:12. This word, transliterated hêlēl or heylel, occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible and according to the KJV-influenced Strong's Concordance means "shining one, morning star, Lucifer". The word Lucifer is taken from the Latin Vulgate which translates הֵילֵל as lucifer, meaning "the morning star, the planet Venus" (or, as an adjective, "light-bringing"). The Septuagint renders הֵילֵל in Greek as ἑωσφόρος (heōsphoros), a name, literally "bringer of dawn", for the morning star. Kaufmann Kohler says that the Greek Septuagint translation is "Phosphoros".
Many Christian commentators have interpreted Isaiah 14:12 to refer to the fall of Satan, who before his fall was an angel of light. Yet within context, it does not refer to Satan but to a king of Babylon, though the wording can be made to allude to the fall of Satan. With this in mind, to call Satan Lucifer only makes reference to his former glory as a shining angel, and not his current state as a fallen angel of darkness. In fact, in the Latin Vulgate in II Peter 1:19 Jesus Himself is called "lucifer", for He is the true morning star.
For more on this, read:
The connection between Freemasonry and Lucifer begins with a quote from a famous Freemason of the 19th century named Albert Pike. Critics have read the following quote from his book Morals and Dogma and from this established the connection:
Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable, blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!
However, as is common among critics, this quote is always taken out of its context. In fact, when it is read in context the reader will clearly see that he is questioning the fact that Satan, who should be associated with darkness, is called "Lucifer" or a "light-bearer".
For more on this, read:
Léo Taxil (1854–1907) was the first to claim that Freemasonry is associated with worshiping Lucifer. Taxil is still often quoted by critics of Masonry in the association of it with the worship of Lucifer. Yet Taxil was exposed and he publicly announced that his claims against Freemasonry were fictitious.
For more on the Taxil Hoax, read:
To read A.E. Waite's exposure of the Taxil Hoax, read:
For a response by a Freemason regarding this topic of Freemasonry being Luciferian, read:
Thus when a Freemason calls himself a Luciferian, he only means it in the context of being a light-bearer by doing good deeds through his philanthropy.
Much more can be said on this topic, but I will leave it at this for now.
Though Freemasons do not worship Lucifer, there are other issues with Freemasonry that it would not be prudent for Christians to be involved with it, especially clergy. For example, because Masonry is a fraternity with vows of secrecy and strong networking, it often happens that preferential treatment is given to fellow brother Freemasons over that of fellow Christians or clergymen who are not Freemasons. The other main issue with Freemasonry is that, even though it is required to believe in a monotheistic God to be a member, it also proclaims that salvation comes from doing good works alone, which is why Freemasons are such great philanthropists. Thus Freemasonry can be easily replaced with the Church, through which Christians are primarily called to do their philanthropic work and serve in their mission specifically in the name of Jesus Christ. These are the two primary reasons why I believe Orthodox Christians should not be Freemasons, and it is these two reasons primarily that have led the Church of Greece to condemn Freemasonry and prohibit Orthodox Christians, especially clergy, from joining.
I come from a family of Freemason's my husband is a Freemason my grand uncle was grand mason 3rd degree and a shriner for many years in the Chicago lodge and a teacher as well. I have never heard anyone refer to freemasonry as devil worshipers.
ReplyDeletewhen my uncle passed he was buried with all the wrights of a Freemason in his high position and also as Greek orthodox both service's were held with no problem from his orthodox church. he was a great philanthropist. I cant imagine anyone who did so much for the local community and giving so much to the poor being thought of a devil worshiper.
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ReplyDeleteIn all fairness, Masons would disagree with that interpretation. Here is a basic overview of the debate over the name Jahbulon:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jahbulon
You are an honest man. I'm proud of being in your mailing list.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou can't claim someone believes something when they openly deny it. If they do believe it, and yet deny it, then they are apostates, plain and simple. Your logic is very Arian here. This is how Arius argued to win so many followers. He claimed the Christians believed in three gods when they confessed the Holy Trinity, but Christians denied this. He persisted and won followers despite their denial, until he was finally condemned by Church and State. There are much better reasons not to be a Mason then believing these things they themselves would honestly deny.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI like reading this article and it has made things clearer for me. I think one reason freemasonry was condemned by the Church because of its secrecy and i think one of the canons of the Church is to excommunicate such groups.
Will you also be writing an article on the Rotary Club or maybe you can send me an email on it as I have been told it is quite similar to free masonry.
Thanks
Rotary is similar because it is a fraternal order like Freemasonry, but it is not a Masonic group. Many Masons are involved with Rotary, because it also is a philanthropic group that accepts people from various backgrounds. Like Masonry, its charitable works are not done through the Church in the name of Jesus, so Christians should not be involved in it for this reason, but rather they ought to do their philanthropy through the Church.
ReplyDelete"it also proclaims that salvation comes from doing good works alone, which is why Freemasons are such great philanthropists." As a Mason (Past Master, 32* AASR, KT) I can tell you that we teach NO such doctrine regarding "salvation", etc. We use new symbols to attribute to Deity in order to transcend barriers between religions, to take good men and make them better, and to help others. We don't care about a Brother's religion as long as they have one, therefore we teach no religious doctrine as such.
ReplyDeleteThe Masonic funeral service teaches that:
ReplyDelete"Masons believe sincerely that when life on earth comes to a close, the soul is translated from the imperfections of this mortal sphere, to that all-perfect, glorious and Celestial Lodge Above, where God, the Grand Architect of the Universe, presides. With these truths and convictions, our brother was well acquainted. Though perfection of character is not of this world, yet we are persuaded that our brother sought to live by these truths and principles of Masonry. . . . When our brother labored with us in Masonic attire, he wore a white apron, which he was taught is an emblem of innocence and a badge of a Mason. By it, he was constantly reminded of that purity of life and rectitude of conduct so necessary to his gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge Above."
People make vows to close friends all the time. With and without saying it out loud. There is nothing sac-religious about it. If you're from boston you will surely know what I mean with rule 1...
ReplyDelete1 You NEVER Rat on family. Ever. Unless its about a murder and even then, Blood relatives usually still don't rat.
2 Most people generally want to help out their friends and family first, before they help out people they don't know. Anyone in business knows is best to do business with people who are predictable based on your experience with them. a Wild card with no reputation to you is a risk. Sometimes a risk isn't worth taking. This doesn't mean that Freemasons Don't help the public in fact, They DO! They help out when and wherever possible. It's rare that They would pass up an opportunity to do good for anyone.
3 They swear to uphold and stand by the Laws of this nation.
4th They swear to protect the church and its teachings.
So, if we are to say that joining the freemasons is a bad idea on the basis that they take an oath to help out their brothers FIRST before they help a stranger.... Go ahead, Just understand that YOU ALL DO EXACTLY the same thing without knowing it. There is practically no way around this truth.
Fact... 3 cars crash, 1 has your mother in it.
I bet MY LIFE you go help mom before the 2 strangers.
But Tell me you wouldn't and your a liar. plain and simple. Even if it wasn't your mother. Lets say its a friend or even a co worker.
No man with a natural, normal upbringing in a healthy family, and of sound mind can say he would do otherwise.
fun fact of the day: Police officers in training at Sommerville police academy are asked question about this very same scenario. Would you show Bias to a family member who breaks the law. The Correct answer is ( YES ).
If someone answers (no), They are usually looked at further and or sent for psycho-analysis. The natural and accepted response is yes.
The Oath is there for the purpose of demonstrating that your New Brothers have also taken this oath. It should stand to elude that You have a Huge family now and thus, You should no longer feel alone or without.
Many of you have a close or "tight" circle of friends. People not in that circle are seen as outsiders. You may be nice to them, help them, show compassion. But they are still outsiders until accepted by the majority of your circle. This is a daily thing for millions of people from all over the world. It's Really not hard to rationalize.
Not every man in this world feels loved, accepted or understood. Many men feel weak, powerless, unloved, left out, outcast. This oath and the realization of its meaning helps you let go of that as its unhealthy.
Furthermore, Even those quick to plop scripture on this subject are 100% guilty of the same charge they accuse of Freemasons. That is, vowing to help their own. The only difference is, You might not have verbalized it.