Exclusivity of the Commandery

[Winter]

For your consideration:

1. ‎"For whenever the door of any Degree is closed against him who believes in one God and the soul's immortality, on account of the other tenets of his faith, that Degree is Masonry no longer." -- Bro. Albert Pike
2. ‎"If, anywhere, brethren of a particular religious belief have been excluded from this Degree, it merely shows how gravely the purposes and plan of Masonry may be misunderstood." -- Bro. Albert Pike
3. ‎"The obligation of the candidate is always to be taken on the sacred book or books of his religion, that he may deem it more solemn and binding; and therefore it was that you were asked of what religion you were. We have no other concern with your religious creed." -- Bro. Albert Pike

By the way, for any Brother who would like to see these quotes in full context, they are found in Morals & Dogma, Ch. XVIII, Knight of Rose Croix.

 

[goomba]

If a Body requires a man to be a Mason in good standing to petition for association, then it is part of Freemasonry. Don't worry about stepping on toes. That's what I am doing! You are correct that Freemasonry is the Craft Lodge. (What is often called a Blue Lodge. Blue is the color of a Craft Lodge and thus has found its way into common usage) The contention is that any Body that is a part of Freemasonry that restricts membership based on that Brother's religion is not in keeping with Masonic ideals. By all means, please take part in this discussion and ask questions. But bear in mind that this argument (W. Bro. Pike was arguing this a century ago) is VERY contentious! Just remember your Ob. and you will be fine.

Thanks Winter! I don't know how I would feel about it as a non-Christian being that I am Christian. So obviously I don't understand some of your views. Also being new to Masonry I am still learning the ropes. As I stand now I don't like the thought of a Craft Lodge being Christian only. But I don't have a set in stone stance on the appendant bodies, so I don't know if I have anything to add.

 

[CoachN]

By the way, for any Brother who would like to see these quotes in full context, they are found in Morals & Dogma, Ch. XVIII, Knight of Rose Croix.

Page 290, 2nd full paragraphy.

 

[KSigMason]

I have heard that there are non-Christians who have been willing to say the vows.

I guess I have my bias since I'm Christian and I'm in the York Rite.

 

[2SONDAD]

OK, now I'm going to have to read Pike. I was going to wait, but now my curiosity has been piqued. (I thought there were some other books I should read first, including some by a guy named Nagy.)

 

[goomba]

OK, now I'm going to have to read Pike. I was going to wait, but now my curiosity has been piqued. (I thought there were some other books I should read first, including some by a guy named Nagy.)

Whose this Nagy guy?

 

[CoachN]

OK, now I'm going to have to read Pike. I was going to wait, but now my curiosity has been piqued. (I thought there were some other books I should read first, including some by a guy named Nagy.)

Whose this Nagy guy?

Whoever he is, those books he wrote do have a unusual way of Working the gray matter.

 

[Gary2112]

I have heard that there are non-Christians who have been willing to say the vows.

I guess I have my bias since I'm Christian and I'm in the York Rite.

Brother,

First, Thank you for engaging in this discussion. This discussion is NOT meant to be an attack on the Brethren who are members of the YR or the KT. It's also not about whether a non-Christian is willing to take the vows or not. It's a matter that there are rules on the books that dictate one must be of Christian faith to ascend to the KT order in the first place. Some say one must only take the vows regardless of their respective faith, others say you MUST be Christian to join. Someone (I can't remember who or when) here a while back quoted directly from the regulations. There was no room for error on it's interpretation, if what was posted is correct. It was even said that those who allow non-Christians to take the vows were risking their charters.

Personally, I find it odd that one part of the country seems to follow one rule of allowing non-Christians, while the other half doesn't. I don't know that there will be any closure to this dilemma unless there is some way to verify the rule from a credible source.

 

[Gary2112]

Whose this Nagy guy?

From my understanding, he is a Mason of very high calibre, who has been known to pen a book from time to time. It's also been reported that he likes corned beef/hash and sweet tea.

 

[Zack]

From my understanding, he is a Mason of very high calibre, who has been known to pen a book from time to time. It's also been reported that he likes corned beef/hash and sweet tea.

No ice in the tea, thank you.

 

[vetemike]

Based on the discussion in Banners of Royal Arch Masonry, I've decided to start this thread


The Royal Arch degree surrounds the building of the Second Temple and so the 12 Tribes is relevant, but going into the Chivalric Orders we leave the traditional story of Freemasonry (the building of King Solomon's Temple) and enter into legends and history of Christian knighthoods. The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, a candidate comes in as a Royal Arch Mason and this first Chivalric Order is a transitional order from the traditional Judeo-Christian story of Freemasonry to the Christian body. In the Order of Malta and Order of the Temple you take vows aligning your faith to Christianity and the defense thereof. While I have a great love of all my Brothers regardless of their faith, I would not want to put them into a position of conflicting their faith when taking these vows.

Here is my kick off to this discussion.