WHAT IS THE MASONIC POSITION ON THIS DOCTRINE?

In the 'Liturgy of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, adherents are told: "Believe that there is a God; that he is our father;.that he has a paternal interest in our welfare and improvement; ... that he has destined us to a future life of endless progress toward perfection and a knowledge of himself." According to Masonic authority Carl H. Claudy; "Among the most beautiful of Freemasonry's symbols, these [symbols revealing Masonic teachings] express at the very beginning the fundamental principle of Freemasonry: the Fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man."

What we should understand is this: although God may be the Father of all people, this does not make all people His spiritual children. This allows us to preserve the all-important concept of universal father- hood without denying the genuine need of people to repent and have faith in Jesus Christ. When we criticise the Masonic doctrine of God's fatherhood, we are specifically taking exception to Masonry's assumption that the fatherhood of God also demands the conclusion that all Masons are thereby sons of God. Biblically, sonship comes only by personal faith in Jesus Christ.

In the Lost Keys of Freemasonry - Manly Hall, Page 35 states: "The voice speaks from the Heavens, its power thrilling the Master until his own being seems filled with its divinity, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Here, if a Mason adheres to the Masonic obligations and rites, he will be called by God, "my beloved Son" a title only reserved for Jesus Christ.

The Bible's teaching on this point is strong and clear. It cannot be ignored or dismissed. Only the believer in Christ is God's true child: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God, and such we are.For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him" (1 John3:1, cf Romans 9:27). Those who do not accept God's free gift of salvation, those who do not believe in Christ, cannot possibly be God's children (John 13:3-16).

Only those to whom God has given the Holy Spirit and who are led by the Spirit of God are God's children: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God ... The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:14,16-17)

In the end, all men are either living for God or living for self, whether they realise this or not. There are true sons of.God, but there are also rebellious sinners who are sons of the "evil one."

One of the strongest statements in all of the Masonic ritual concerning the true goal of Masonry polarises the issue.

Scottish Rite Masonry Illustrated - J. Blanchard Vol. 2, Page 263, 264 states: "In all the preceding degrees you must have observed that the object of Scotch Masonry is to overthrow all kinds of superstition, and that by admitting in her bosom on the terms of the strictest equality, the members of all religions, of all creeds and of all countries, without any distinction whatever, she has, and indeed can have, but one single object and that is to restore to the Grand Architect of the Universe; to the common father of the human race those who are lost in the maze of impostures, invented for the sole purpose of enslaving them. The Knights Kadosh recognise no particular religion, and for that reason we demand of you nothing more than to worship God. And whatever may be the religious forms imposed upon you by superstition at a period of your life when you were incapable of discerning truth from falsehood, we do not even require you to relinquish them. Time and study alone can enlighten you. But remember that you will never be a true mason unless you repudiate forever all superstitions and prejudices."

This ritual quotation from the 30th Degree reveals four important truths concerning Masonic goals:

1. This citation reveals the core belief of Masonry; the doctrine of the fatherhood of God.

2. Masonry had promised the candidate in its-earlier degrees that it would not hinder him from following his own religious beliefs. But here it shows that this was only a ruse - a lie- in order to get a person started in Masonry. The goal of the Lodge was always to eventually change the person's original beliefs. And notice: ,original religious beliefs are labelled as superstition-."

3. This ritual also teaches that all men are lost - in spiritual darkness - and not true Masons until they accept this premise.

4. This statement reveals that the true goal of the Masonic Lodge is to have its initiates finally drop and repudiate their previous religious beliefs - their "superstitions and prejudices" - and to accept the final and only truth of Masonry.

In conclusion, the Bible teaches that all men are God's offspring by virtue of their creation by God. But they are not His spiritual children. This is obvious from the fact that Jesus gives to those who believe on Him the right to become children of God. God does not have an intimate father/son relationship with all people. It seems Masonry has forgotten, or chosen to ignore, the account of man's Fall in Genesis. The Bible teaches that man, through disobedience to God, sinned and broke his spiritual relationship with God. Now God commands all people everywhere to repent." To repent means that we must be willing to turn away from our beliefs and our own way of doing things, and turn to and act on God's promises and instructions.

The Bible states the following:

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit (Satan) and that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1-2.

But Masonry denies all of this 4m it teaches that there are no if sons of disobedience" or "children of the devil" but that all men are by -nature sons and children of God. As we have seen, the ritual also teaches that all Masons are erecting a temple in their hearts so that God can dwell in it. But scripture teaches that only the bodies of believers in Christ can be called the temple of God.

The Bible states the following:

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." (John 14:6-7).

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12).

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time. (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

How can Christian Masons continue to participate in the Lodge when it teaches that all men are already children of God and acceptable to Him? How can they remain in the Lodge-when it teaches men that they do not need to place their faith in Jesus Christ?

Another way that Freemasonry is incomparable with Christianity is that it seems to be a universal religion. Here they claim to be the uniting force of all world religions under one Masonic God, the Grand Architect of the Universe.

Albert Mackey in his Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 149 states-.

"If Masonry were simply a Christian institution, the Jew and the Moslem,- the Brahman and the Buddhist, could not conscientiously partake of its illumination. But its universality is its boast. In its language citizens of every nation may converse, at its altar men of all religions may kneel; to its creed disciples of every faith may subscribe.

The doctrine of the Brotherhood of Man is well understood when one considers the union of all world religions under the Masonic religion.

What are the Marks of a Cult, and what is the acid test in determining whether an organisation is a cult.

Marks are as follows:

• Extrabiblical Revelation
• A False Basis of Salvation
• Uncertain Hope
• Presumptuous Messianic Leadership
• Doctrinal Ambiguity
• The Claim of "Special Discoveries"
• Defective Christology
• Segmented Biblical Attention
• Enslaving Organisational Structure

The acid test of a Cult are-

• View of the Holy Bible
• View of God
• View of Jesus Christ
• Mode of Salvation

If an organisation is not in line with the biblical views on the above four points, it is dead wrong and can be called a "Cult."