I received a comment on a recent post regarding some aspects of freemasonry.  I didn’t intend to write a dissertation on the subject, but couldn’t answer the questions adequately in the confines of the comment section.  I elected instead to devote an entire post to answering the questions.  I won’t even pretend to claim I’ve written an exhaustive reply.  I also don’t claim to have the most well-reasoned or developed answers to the reader’s questions.  There are much more intelligent men than I that have written volumes on the subject. For the purposes of providing some of my perspective and understanding of freemasonry and christianity, I’ve written this post.

Here are Bill’s comments/questions which followed my post, A Practical Theology of Brewing:

Friend, I just posted above and then read some of your other posts. I was surprised to read that you were entering Freemasonry. You should seek the advice of some of the men whose blogs you read on this. I’ll not rehash what you have surely already studied on the subject, but if God is the focus of Freemasonry, why keep it secret? Also, why can Masons use a Quran or a Book of Mormon instead of a Bible? Do all paths lead to God or is Jesus the only way? I can’t help but think that your tagline should be reversed and that you are going back into darkness.

Bill

And my reply,

Bill, thanks for your thoughtful questions.  You are correct to assume that I’ve studied quite a bit on Freemasonry, including Christian and secular perspectives, both pro and con.  Freemasonry is unique, interesting and hard to define.  There is nothing else quite like it.  It has been described a “beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.”  It is religious without being a religion.  I believe that most people find contention with freemasonry as a system philosophy and ethics rather than the fraternal aspects.
To answer some of your other questions…

If God is the focus of masonry, why keep it secret?
I don’t believe God to be the focus of Freemasonry.  However, expressed belief in God is required.  In my experience, I have found the focus of Freemasonry to be friendship, fellowship, benevolence and ethical development.  There are secrets in masonry.  Well, not really.  Even the most basic search on the internet or in the library will find the “secrets.”  Masons do oblige themselves not to reveal the “secrets” and for good reason, I believe.   I’m presently reading a book called “Born in Blood:  The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry” by historian John J. Robinson.  It’s a good book.  The origins of freemasonry have truly been lost.  No one truly knows whether modern speculative masonry developed from medieval operative stonemason guilds or from some other source.  However, Robinson makes a good argument for a connection between freemasonry with the disbanded and outlawed templar knights.  If Robinson is correct in his theory, many of the “secrets” and other aspect of masonry are easily understood.  He believed that the templar knights, on the run from both the church and the state found the mobility and secrecy of the stonemason guilds to be ideal for forming a “hidden network” within which they could survive.  This also leads into your other question…

Why can masons use a Quran or a Book of Mormon instead of a Bible?
If the templar connection were to be true, we are referencing a period of time in which a belief in God is necessary to undertake any kind of obligation.  Given that masonry seems to have developed in late medieval to early modern England and Scotland, it seems that a belief in the Christian God would have been a necessity.  However, there could have been problems even with choosing your christian perspective of God in a time when the country transitioned repeatedly between catholic, anglican and protestant monarchs.  An expressed belief in God seems sufficient for men who were under persecution from the church, had already lost peers to the inquisition and were facing the same tortures themselves if captured.  This tradition has survived in modern freemasonry and candidates must only declare their belief in God as atheists are not admitted (except in France, but that’s a much more extensive subject).  I’ve never been in a lodge that has used a Qur’an, Book of Moron, Talmud, Hindu Veda, Baghavad Gita, or the Five Classics.  I imagine without a doubt that such lodges exist in more diversely populated areas of the country than where I live.  I don’t have a problem with this.  Just as I don’t have a problem with the military, hospital or disaster relief chaplain who publicly prays in “the name of God” without specificity.  Whether in the lodge or in the public forum, the message conveyed is usually an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty over man’s affairs.  It is the same way in a masonic lodge; God and His sovereignty and provision are publicly acknowledged before engaging in the business of the lodge.  This is much different than the forum of a church service for which the attendees are there for the stated purpose of worship.

Do all paths lead to God or is Jesus the only way?
All paths do not lead to God.  Jesus is the only way.  Masonry teaches neither because it doesn’t teach how to reach God, but rather how to live among men.  In accomplishing this, masonry uses allegory derived from biblical texts and concepts.  This shouldn’t be surprising considering that masonry developed in a predominantly Christian society.  From my perspective, it would seem that the muslim or hindu would find more objection in the allegory of masonry than would a Christian.  The symbolism of masonry is also an important teaching tool, but relates more to one’s relationship with mankind than with God.  For example, the mason’s tools, created for working in stone, are re-purposed for teaching ethical living which God requires (regardless of the faith to which one subscribes) of all mankind.  Some of these symbols have become common usage in our culture…on the level…on the square and convey the same message.  When we ask someone to “level with us” we are asking for them to be honest with us.  When we say that we got a “square deal” we understand that it means a fair transaction.  By no means to I believe that masonry is in any way superior to Christianity or biblical teaching.  But it can offer different perspectives within which to understand my own beliefs.  As a Christian, I can contemplate the mason’s square and examine whether my dealings with others are fair and consistent with my faith.

Ex Tenebris Lux
You mentioned my current tagline – Ex Tenebris Lux – or – Out of Darkness, Light.  Light is an interesting discussion, particularly to the Christian.  It is a recurring theme in Scripture from beginning to end.  The first recorded words of God are “Let there be light.”  King David says, “For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.” (2 Sam 22:29) and “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Ps 27:1).  The psalmist says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps 119:105).  Christ describes his followers as light when he says, “Ye are the light of the world” (Mat 5:14).  John speaks of Christ, saying, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).  Jesus says, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).  One of the most famous passages in Scripture using the symbolism of light is also from John,

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and  in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:5-8)

Like many words, light can take on different meanings depending on the context in which it is used.  It can be understood to be literal light, knowledge, guidance, revelation, understanding, holiness, and I’m sure many more usages than I’ve listed here.  Light also plays a part in masonic allegory as one “seeks light.”  My understanding of this search is that it is a search for knowledge of oneself through circumspection and self examination.  I have heard some criticism of this aspect of masonry accompanied by the declaration of Jesus, “I am the light.”  I’m always skeptical when someone pulls out a singular statement from Scripture to make a point without placing it in the context of Scripture.  If I were engaged in a difficult task at work and asked my superior to “light the way”, it would not be a challenge to Christ’s claim as “the light.”  It would merely be another symbolic usage of the language.  That is one of the reasons I like the phrase, “Ex Tenebris Lux.”  It can take on many meanings.  It can allude to the light of Christ in whom my salvation is secured.  It can represent the light of Scripture which is the rule and guide of my faith.  It can even represent gaining or sharing knowledge which is new to me, such as personal experiences (like learning to brew) or interesting facts or news.

I hope that this is helpful in answering some of your questions from my perspective.

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