Let me play devil's advocate here . This is a sticky situation . If a man has been taught all his life that homosexuality is immoral and a sin within his religion of choice , then who are we to question his religious beliefs ? Are we not taught that nothing in Freemasonry will interfere with a Mason and his relationship with his God ? If , let's say , a devout Christian Mason follows his religious beliefs and his VSL which he believes declares homosexuality as immoral and a sin , are we to tell him to skip that part because the rest of us does not agree with it ?
Indeed, we are not to question the religious ethics of
ANY brother. But we are also to brook no contention. As brothers, we must sometimes remain silent about our religious ethics to insure peacefulness within our fraternity. We must always recognize the right of our brethren to believe as they will. Including those brethren who may feel differently than we do. This discussion we're having puts me in mind of a television interview I once saw with the Rev. Billy Graham: when asked about his position regarding homosexuality, he said that it was a sin. Not
THE sin, not a particularly big sin, but
a sin (his words). Then he reminded the interviewer that he was a sinner, too. The Christian tradition, at least, teaches that we are all sinners, that we are all imperfect. "Judge not, lest ye be judged."
We are stuck between a rock and a hard place . We are taught not to judge others for who they are , but we are also taught not judge a man for his religious beliefs too . If a man is intolerant of homosexuals just because or he finds it icky and screams in the face of a gay man "You are nothing more than a flaming fa%$ot!" , then yes he is a bigot . But if a man bases his views on religious grounds and we call him a bigot , then that makes us just as bigoted .
But we are also taught to have no contention, except for who can work best and agree most. There are times within our fraternal lives where we may be called upon to temporarily put our own values on the back burner
for the sake of the fraternity. Not abandon them, certainly, but be silent about them when voicing those concerns might damage the peace and harmony of our fellowship. I certainly would never tell a brother how to believe, or how to worship. Conversely, within our sacred halls, I must be able to expect the same consideration from every brother. This does not mean that I am calling on a Brother to compromise his beliefs - I'm merely calling on him to be
silent and circumspect.
We are looking for men who are moral and upright before God and of good repute before the world . And if a devout Christian brother who is kind to homosexuals ( I am not talking about gun toting ,4x4 driving rednecks here) but finds homosexuality immoral based on his religious faith , then what is he to do ?
He is to remember that it is not his place to judge any man, more especially a brother Mason. God alone will judge. Who can say how God will judge the gay brother? Who can say how God will judge you, or me? If any Mason finds that he cannot take another brother by the hand,
in friendship, for any reason, then he must decide for himself whether or not he can truly continue to be a member of our fraternity.