The Freemasons originate in France as a occultic order (Source, Rasputin: Faith, Power and The Twilight of the Romanovs, Chapters 1-9, Douglas Smith). When an intiate goes to the altar and places his or holy book (Bible, Koran, etc) they swear an oath in Greek to several gods includng Osiris. In their Free Mason Book they have opening rite “we call up the spirit of light,” which the apostle Paul says, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14). When a mason reaches the 43rd Degree of Freemasonry they are told they are worshipping Satan. Very few masons reach the43rd degree. On the Freemasons and the Original Knights Templar, the Templars were Roman Catholic military monastic order charged will protecting pelegrins (pilgrims) from bandits from 1119-1312 A.D. The Order was recognized by the Pope Honorious at the Council of Troyes (1129 A.D.), and given the white mantels and life giving cross (red cross) as there emblems. The Templars were destroyed by Philip IV of France on October, Friday 13th, 1307 A.D. Philip had great sums of debts owed fo the Templars who had become powerful bankers for Outremer and Europe; even inventing the traveler’s check and proto-credit card. In 1312 A.D., the last Grand Master of the Templars, Jocques de Molay, was burned at the stake, but before he died he pronounced a curse over Pope Clement V and Phillip IV, that they would die within the year for their treachery and die they did in a year’s time. The Tenplars are believed to have fled to Scotlsnd, but this is mere legend thay they were at the Battle of Bannockbar with King Robert de Bruce. The Free Masons adopted their cross (cross pattee red, although Templars used many differsnt crosses), their white mantels and the title of Grand Master. There was secrecy about the inner workings of the Original Templar Order, but they were not Masonic, for the Free Masons would emerge at the time of the twilight of the Romanov Family, speicocslly Nocholas II and his wife (18th and 19th centuries). A major rebuke against secret societies from Christ is found during His trial by night before the Sanhedrin: “I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.” (John 18:20) Christ also said of deeper truth cults: “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching ('deeper truths,' as they call them--depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you.” (Revelation 2:24)
I was a Freemason, and that is absolute nonsense. Certainly a case can be made that Freemasonry is incompatible with Christianity, but this statement: The Freemasons originate in France as a occultic order.... When an initiate goes to the altar and places his or holy book (Bible, Koran, etc) they swear an oath in Greek to several gods including Osiris," is ridiculous.
The G.A.O.T.U (Grand Architect of the Universe) is God. The term is related to Deism which was in vogue in the 18th century, when Freemasonry exploded on the European scene. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Architect_of_the_Universe
If something is untrue it is untrue. I could post that "Jew are involved in a conspiracy to control the world," and note that Hitler mentioned it in Mein Kampf. So if someone says "that's nonsense" then my reply should be, "take it up with Hitler?'
My dad has been a Mason since I was a little boy. Growing up in the Baptist Church, many of the church members were Masons as well. Having grown up with it, I'd never given it much thought. I always thought it was a bit strange how 'secretive' he was about it all. There was very little he would ever tell me about 'what' they did. It wasn't until much later in life with the inception of the Internet provided more information about it. My dad always said and still says that there is 'nothing' against Christianity within the confines of Masonry. He proudly wears his Masonic ring to this day. He's went up as high in the degrees as a person can go. He is still a Southern Baptist, was not terribly happy about my attending the RCC when I converted years ago and I haven't told him him about my being 'received' into TEC this Easter. I will most probably eventually tell him, but for now, I'm just leaving it alone. He's an 81 y/o man set in his ways, so I don't rock the boat anymore than need be.
His source is himself - he already chimed in by saying the he used to be a Mason. Honestly, this is one of the worst things about dealing with Freemasonry... one ex-Mason says one thing about them and another says something different. Either there are some very neurotic ex-Masons out there who are lying about their experiences, or the actual rites and rituals among Masons varies wildly from place to place. The organization is either demonic or benign. In either case, the clincher for me is, as someone else observed, the secrecy. There is absolutely no cause whatsoever for secrecy about spiritual things on the part of the Christian. To do so, and claim secrets about the Grant Architect of the Universe, is nothing short of gnosticism. And whether it's real demonic gnosticism, or fun benign play-acting at gnosticism, it's still an unhealthy practice. "Better out than in," as they say.
I don't know what the issue here is. It's clearly mainly just a men's club influenced by overblown Enlightenment Deism.
Basically he says they are pagan because they worship Mary and statues and that they confess to a man. He said a person should not have to confess their sins to a man. He said that Catholics he used to work with were the worst sinners he knew because they ran around cussing and drinking and would say, oh, I'll just go to confession and everything will be fine.
I seem to remember seeing in several liturgical books for both Anglican and Lutheran church's something to the effect that "the readings (or something along those lines) of secret societys have no place within the Church"
My mother (a Protestant), knew a woman who was Catholic. She attended mass, had regular premarital sex and went to 'confession' but who knows how honest she was. The priests are supposed to call you out if you confess one sin too often after a previous confession and don't repent, but this is not always the case. Some don't even confess certain sins if they have liberal views that deny the church's teachings on some issues like abortion or gay marriage, even if they agree with others. The Long Island Medium professes to be a devout Catholic and is either tapping into the occult or a con artists. Either would be a massive sin. Some people on the Catholic Answers forum have been to the church she attends when she goes to mass, among other things. She has been attending the same place for a considerably long time, and despite her fame, the priest has not called her out on her sin, either for actually being a medium and contacting demons, or simply being a good profiler on TV who pretends to talk to the dead, which is basically lying for money and fame. If I recall, however, her priest was actually interviewed on TV speaking positively about her 'gift', perhaps on the basis of alleged mystics in the church. But if you see her 'theology', she teaches a more excessive kind of univeralism and view of good/evil than what would be theoretically acceptable in traditional Catholic doctrines. I know people who have left the church because most do not confess because they don't believe they're doing any real sin. It's supposed to enrich people's grace, but it's also a broken system that can't be relied on any more than most of the 'fullness' touted by the church in its distinct practices.
The Church of England did produce a report on Freemasonry in the 1980s which was generally critical. It may be online or in a Church of England Website. The best book on the topic is WALTON HANNAH's DARKNESS VISIBLE the later one CHRISTIAN BY DEGREES, they are both easy to read and very entertaining. As far as I know Darkness Visible has never been out of print since its first edition in the 1950s. Walton Hannah wrote them when an Anglican cleric in London, leter he converted to Roman Catholicism at the time of and because of the South India crisis.
I had read some negative things about the Freemasons, but I didn't take it too seriously since there are good men in the Freemasons. I found out that those men were only in the low degrees (much to my chagrin as apparently my deceased grandfather was a 32nd degree mason) and that at the high degrees there are anti-Christian vows made. I listened/watched as a former leader of the Freemasons talked about the anti-Christian things that were said among the high degrees.
Probably, from my analysis of information on Freemasonry, Continental Freemasonry in the form of the Grand Orient of France and lodges in amity with it are demonic, and English and Swedish Freemasonry is benign; of the appendant bodies the York Rite with its explicitly Christian focus is benign whereas the Southern US form of the Scottish Rite, written by the sinister personage of Albert Pike, in which in one of the degrees a Papal tiara is trampled upon, is demonic. But Freemasons appear to be a persecuted religious minority in either case, like the Yazidis, so there is also that to consider.