From Mason to Minister - Nordskog Publishing
A New Chapter (pgs. 70-73)
It was through reading Morals and Dogma that I was led to
believe that there had to be an elite and occultist group - a wheel within the
wheels of Masonry if you will - in which and among which the hidden secrets of
God and His universe resided. For Pike unabashedly alleges that the Master
Mason, after having gone through the first three degrees, has been duped. Wrote
Pike:
The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the
Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is
intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall
understand them, but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands
them.”
(Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of
the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, prepared for the Supreme
Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.,
Charleston, 1871, 819).
In other words, Pike was urging the Master Mason to proceed
through the Scottish Rite degrees in order to learn and discern the true nature
of Masonry.
At the time, what Pike had written seemed very ominous to
me, especially in light of what Scripture has to say about occult practices!
Indeed on Pike’s instigation I started reading writings on the Jewish cabala.
Thankfully, however, instead of going through the Scottish Rite, I sought and
gained entrance into the “more Christian,” as I was told, York Rite.
This being said about Albert Pike and his Morals and Dogma,
and whatever terrible things his enemies may have said about him, Pike is
reported to have been a staunch Trinitarian Christian till his dying day. I’ll
let the reader make up his or her own mind on this! There is much information
about him to be found on the Internet that has been written by Freemasons
themselves. The Scottish Rite, from what I could see, had very little if
anything to do with Scotland-hence,
for me, the obvious “Scottish” attraction was assuaged. The Holy Royal Arch, or
York Rite Freemasonry, is a branch of what is sometimes referred to as Red
Lodge. The Holy Royal Arch is more commonly known as “Chapter.” Royal Arch, or
Chapter, is a continuation (even the completion) of the three Blue Lodge
degrees, as has been well said: “Pure Ancient Freemasonry consists of but three
degrees, that of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, including
the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch.”[1]
A cursory search of the Internet revealed the following handy, concise, and
verifiable information regarding Chapter:
The Chapter of Royal Arch Masonry
itself consists of four degrees: Mark Master; Past Master; Most Excellent
Master, and Royal Arch Mason. The Royal Arch Degree being said to be the climax
of Ancient Craft Masonry and Masonic Symbolism. It is described as “the root
and marrow of Freemasonry.” It is the complete story of Jewish History during
some of its darkest hours. Jerusalem and the Holy Temple are destroyed, the
people are being held captive as slaves in Babylon. Here you will join with
some slaves as they are set free to return home and engage in the noble and
glorious work of rebuilding the city and the Temple of God. It is during this
rebuilding that they make a discovery that brings to light the greatest
treasure of a Mason - the long lost Master’s Word. Many historians have traced
the earliest origins of the Royal Arch Degree to Ireland, late in the 17th
century and in England in 1738. In 1752, ambulatory or military warrants for
Lodges were introduced. This was instrumental in placing the Royal Arch Degree
on a par with the Master Mason Degree. Military lodges were greatly
responsible for planting Freemasonry in the Colonies and also gave birth to the
use of the Marl and Royal Arch degrees in the “New World.” Lodge records show
that the Royal Arch Degree was conferred at Fredericksburg No. 4 on December
12, 1753. George Washington
was raised [i.e., symbolically resurrected to become a Master Mason] in this
lodge a few months prior to this date. The value of Royal Arch Masonry will be
appreciated by all who are exalted to that most sublime degree, particularly by
those who are seeking to complete their Masonic education. It reveals the full
light of Ancient Craft Masonry, presents it as a complete system in accordance
with the original plan and justly entitles you to claim the noble name of Master
Mason.”[2]
I don’t suppose either the United States of America’s first
president and Church of England Episcopalian George Washington (1732-1799) or
Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald (1819-1891), entered
Freemasonry for the same reason I did. I was seeking God. I thought that Christians were like sheep - and I didn’t want to be a sheep! That’s why I didn’t
attend church to look for God! The truth is that I had been put off of
Christianity by the Pentecostal televangelist “preachers” who inundated
Canadian television at the time. I was afraid of their Christianity. There were
numerous televangelist scandals in the late 1980s, so, understandably, I
thought “the church” was only after people’s minds and money. But a new chapter
began in my life when I joined the Chapter of Royal Arch Masonry. It was there
that I was confronted by “the stone the builders rejected.”
[2] (www.themasonict rowel.com/Articles/apendent_bodies/york/further_light_masonry_royal_arch_ mason.htm)
No comments:
Post a Comment