Christianity and Freemasonry by Alphonse Cerza

The following talk was presented by the author on October 12, 1959 at
the Drexel Park Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois, and was
broadcast over two radio stations. The program was under the auspices
of the Masonic Club of the above named church.

In discussing the subject of Christianity and Freemasonry it is
important at the outset to understand the meaning of both terms.

Christianity may be defined as "the total body of persons believ­ing
in the life, the example, and the precepts of Jesus Christ." As used
in this general sense there is only one Christian Church; the various
denominations are merely branches of this one universal Church. While
these many branches agree on most fundamentals, they differ in some
respects in their rituals, their dogmas, and church organizations.
One branch has an elaborate ceremony and has a totalitarian form of
government; the other branches vary in these regards. The
Presbyterian Church has a minimum of cere­mony and dogma; its church
government is best described as a democracy. No branch of the
Christian Church has a monopoly on Christian doctrine. In the
tolerant spirit of the Gentle Carpenter we can say that all branches
are entitled to their points of view. And all these branches are part
of the Christian Church because the associations are founded upon the
life and lessons of the Son of God who was crucified nineteen hundred
and fifty-nine years ago. So that in our comparison here today we
must return to the fundamental principles of Christianity rather than
to the detailed appendages added by certain denominations.

Freemasonry may be defined as an old organization of men based on the
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, using builders' tools as
symbols to teach basic moral truths, thereby im­pressing upon the
minds of the members the cardinal virtues of Brotherly Love, Relief,
and Truth. Since you are less familiar with this great association of
men, I will spend a few minutes describing it before comparing it with
Christianity.

Freemasonry consists of three degrees which are conferred in a lodge
of Freemasons. There are a number of organizations which restrict
their membership to Masons; each of these appendant bodies, as they
are sometimes called, take a lesson from one of the three degrees and
elaborate on it. One of these organizations is called the York Rite;
it consists of certain ceremonies based on the Crusades and which have
special meaning to Masons who are Christians. Another appendant Order
is the Scottish Rite, which confers the fourth to the 32nd degree with
a series of wonderfully dramatic ceremonies portraying many basic
moral truths, such as "Life with-out friends is worthless," "Whom
Virtue unites death cannot separate," "Great is Truth, and mighty
above all things." These de­grees are impressive and deliver the
lessons forcefully, effectively, and with clear meaning. There is
also a 33rd degree which is honorary. Of course, you all know about
the Shrine with its colorful parades and its great charity, the
Crippled Children's Hospitals.

There is a misconception that Freemasonry is a secret society. It is
not such an organization. A "secret society" is one that hides its
existence; has secret aims; and its members keep their membership a
secret to the world. The Masonic Order does not hide its exist­ence;
it meets in public buildings; its meetings are announced in magazines
and newspapers; the members readily admit their mem­bership; many wear
pins to declare to all that they belong to this great organization;
and many functions are open to the public.

There is also a misconception, created by certain churches which are
opposed to Freemasonry that the organization is a religion. This is
not so. A religion may be defined as a group with beliefs and
practices designed to worship God. Freemasonry is based on a belief
in God; it teaches its members to respect God; its ceremonies are
solemn and prayers are an integral part of every Masonic meeting. But
there are no ceremonies of worship, no dogma, no reli­gious beliefs,
as that term is commonly understood. Most members belong to a church;
clergymen of various denominations are mem­bers of this fraternity; if
Freemasonry were a religion, or if religious dogma were a part of the
association, or if there were a ceremony of worship these men could
hardly remain as members and take a part in the ceremonies. A few
years ago a prominent Episcopal clergyman, writing in a London paper
said of Freemasonry, "It ex­horts its members to discharge faithfully
the duties of the particular religion to which they belong…. If I
believed that Freemasonry compromised either my allegiance to my
Saviour, or my loyalty to His Church, I would drop it.... But I know
that it does not and I know what I am talking about...." In short,
Freemasonry is not a religion, but it is religious. As a matter of
fact, Freemasonry is the only world-wide organization based on the
Fatherhood of God where men of every creed can meet in peace and
harmony. This is so because in a Masonic lodge there is complete
respect for the religious beliefs of all men. Masons believe there is
only one God; what does it matter what name is given to Him by the
other mem­bers? The Masonic lodge instills a love of God; but the
lodge does not teach the member how to worship Him. Thus every Mason
recognizes a real need for the churches. If a Mason is not a
church-goer he will eventually seek church affiliation for the lodge
creates a need for religion in the life of the individual Mason. I am
re-minded of when Rudyard Kipling became a Mason. This was in Lahore,
India where he resided at the time. The lodge had three predominant
religious groups; the Holy book of each group was placed upon the
lodge altar as he took his degrees. In the ceremony there was an
Englishman, a Hindu, and a Mohammedan. Yet there was complete harmony.

Freemasonry is in every sense of the word a Fraternity. Its meth­ods,
however, differ in one respect from most fraternities. There are no
membership drives, no one is invited to join, and never is there a
solicitation that one become a member. Such things are forbidden in
Masonic law. The rule is so strict that sometimes a son has won­dered
for years why his own father has not asked him to join the lodge that
means so much to him. One who desires to become a Mason must ask a
member for a petition and voluntarily seek informa­tion on how to
become a Mason.

Now let us make some comparisons between Christianity and Freemasonry.

Christ spoke many of His eternal truths with parables. These are, in
a sense, symbols in that a story is told to teach a lesson.
Chris­tianity has many symbols that are used effectively. First and
fore-most, is the Cross; it tells the eloquent story of the
crucifixion and the rising; it also symbolizes the Christian Church.
We have the early symbol of the fish, designating members of the
church, and having reference to the apostles who were fishermen.
Frequent ref­erence is made to sheep as a symbol of people needing
help and guidance. The very soul of Freemasonry is symbolism.
Eternal truths are taught and illustrated by builders' tools. The
square sym­bolizes fair dealing with all men; the plumb is used to
symbolize rectitude of life; and the level to symbolize the equality
of all men.

So that, in symbolism Christianity and Freemasonry see eye to eye.

I have mentioned that Freemasonry is a fraternity. The members call
each other "brothers." This necessarily follows because one of the
main requirements for membership is a belief in God. And if God is
our Father, are not all men brothers? In the early Christian Church
all Christians called themselves "brothers." This was natu­ral for
was not our one God called Father? And did he not make us in his image?

Here again, we find Christianity and Freemasonry seeing eye to eye.

What is the position of the individual in the eyes of Christ? In the
third chapter of First Corinthians Paul said: "Do you not know that
you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you?" Paul is
saying that people are the temples of God; or to state it in another
way, each person constitutes part of the temple. This great Christian
truth glorifies the individual; it makes him the most im­portant thing
in the scheme of things. Man, made in the image of God himself, is
all-important; not the state, not the church organi­zation, not
wealth, not power. In another part of the epistle, Paul describes
himself as a master-builder. How close that comes to the individual
Mason, who uses the builders' tools as symbols, and is taught that the
individual is the most important item in this best of all possible
worlds. The Mason, like Paul, seeks to be a master builder, erecting
that spiritual temple, that structure not built with hands, eternal in
the heavens.

A Christian feels at home in the Masonic organization, for here again
Christianity and Freemasonry see eye to eye.

And now, how about the beliefs of the two groups?

The foundation of Christianity is love. Christ repeatedly said "Thou
shalt love thy neighbor." At one time He said, "A new commandment I
give unto you, that ye love one another." Paul's moving letter is
familiar to Masons when he says: "If I speak in the tongues of men
and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and under-stand all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but
have not love, I am nothing…. So faith, hope, love, abide, these
three; but the greatest of these is love." These words of Paul are
woven into the very fabric of Freemasonry.

Love and peace and sympathetic understanding are basic Christian
beliefs; they occupy the same place in Freemasonry.

Here again, we find Christianity seeing eye to eye with Free-masonry.

Relief is another great principle of Christianity. It follows
neces­sarily with the ideal of brotherhood and love. To relieve the
needy and afflicted has always played an important part in the life of
every Christian. Christ illustrated this rule of Christian living by
the forceful and familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Freemasonry
has relief as one of its foundation stones. The structure of the
Craft is solidly founded on this strong rock. I need mention only a
few illustrations close at hand. In La Grange there is a Masonic
Chil­dren's Home; in Sullivan, Illinois there is an Old Folks' Home;
on the North Side of Chicago there is the Illinois Masonic Hospital.
All are open to all members of the community, with the exception of
the Old Folks' Home where there has been a long waiting list so that
applications have been restricted. Matthew reports that Christ once
said "the tree is known by its fruit" and on another occasion He said
"every sound tree bears good fruit." With this Christian test
Freemasonry asks to be judged. You will find that Christianity and
Freemasonry, here again, see eye to eye.

The Christian Church has always advocated truth as a guiding principle
of Christian living. So strong is this principle that Christ Himself
on several occasions was identified as "the way, the truth, and the
life." He also advocated telling the truth at all times. The pursuit
of truth means the examination of all knowledge so that facts may be
made to correspond with reality. It includes freedom of thought and
expression, for only thus can the truth be ascertained. Did He not
say "The truth will make you free"? Freemasonry has always advocated
the search of truth. Its ceremonies encourage the study of the
liberal arts and sciences. Its members are urged to im­prove
themselves each day. Freemasonry has been a strong advocate of the
public school system. In many places, notably in Texas, the first
public schools were started in Masonic temples, under Ma-sonic
auspices. When there were few colleges in the last century,
Freemasonry established a number of colleges, notably in Kentucky and
Missouri. Freedom of thought and expression are encouraged and
promoted by Freemasonry. It too recognizes that the truth can make
men free.

Here again, Christianity and Freemasonry see eye to eye.

One of the most consoling beliefs of the Christian Church is the
immortality of the soul. It is closely connected with the
resurrection of Christ, and it forms an important part of the
Christian creed. Freemasonry also has a fundamental belief in the
immortality of the soul. There is no dogma, no doctrines or
ceremonies of how or why, or when, or what one must do to gain
admission to the celestial lodge; this is for the churches to do.

So that, here again, we find Christianity and Freemasonry seeing eye
to eye.

We have thus seen the many elements of similarity between Christianity
and Freemasonry. The question can rightfully be asked: Is there
anything about Christianity or Freemasonry which makes them
incompatible with one another? The answer is emphatically "No." I am
now talking about the basic beliefs of the Christian Church as
presented by the Holy Bible. Certain Christian denomi­nations have
made rules for their members preventing them from joining any kind of
lodges; a member of that denomination, of course, would be violating a
man-made rule by joining a Masonic lodge. But most Christians who are
Masons can attend lodge on a week night and then go to church on some
other day and find both activities entirely consistent with one
another. It has been truly said that a church member is made a better
one by becoming a Mason; and also, that a Mason becomes a better one
by joining a church. In short, both associations need one another for
they both have a mission and a place in this world.

Freemasonry has contributed much to this great democracy of ours, and
Masons everywhere each day are continuing to help make this God's
country. May Christianity and Freemasonry continue to work together
in harmony as they travel over the road of years building that eternal
structure which will glorify our Father who is in heaven.