Rev. Richard J. Venema, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa, writes:
“Last year [1971] a member of our congregation donated $1,000 to Dordt College to sponsor an essay contest. This contest was open to all young people of the CRC with the awards to be used as scholarships at Dordt College . . . .
“This year [1972} $1,000 was given to our consistory with the intent that the young people of Pella I would be encouraged to participate . . . .
“Jim Zylstra, a graduate of Pella Christian High and now a student at Dordt College, received $100.00 for this prize-winning essay. Jim plans to major in biology.”
The question to be taken up in this essay is whether it is possible for a person to hold simultaneous church and lodge membership. The Christian Reformed Church in synod has been studying this question for a long time.
The lodge is an oath-bound secret society. A secret society as de6ned in the Acts of Synod 1958 is “such an organization which requires of everyone who becomes a member unconditional concealment of all that pertains to the lodge, without officially informing the candidate of the contents of what must remain a secret; and which at the same time obligates its members to unrestricted, or at least to an insufficiently restricted, assistance and obedience.” Since lodges are oath-bound secret societies, there is a question as to the reliability of information about them. However, there is reliable information concerning all points of major importance. The secrets of lodges constitute only a portion of the total activity of them. The general ideals of lodge membership and the history and philosophy of lodges have been developed by numerous writers in books designed for the general public as well as for lodge members. Much useful information concerning the relationship of the lodge to Christianity is available from volumes of this character. Another source of information is from individuals who have demitted their membership in the lodge. And some are anxious to provide as much information as desired about their lodge.
There are many different lodges: “Freemasonry, which is the oldest of the large secret orders in this country, is generally admitted to be their mother. Such popular orders as the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal order of Moose, the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen of the World and the Order of the Eastern Star are all in many ways similar to their earlier prototype, the Masonic order.”
When the Christian Reformed Church came into existence, one of the charges leveled against the Dutch Reformed Church was the tolerance of lodge membership. A stand was then taken against lodge membership in 1900. Between 1900 and 1958 the report of 1900 was available only in the Dutch language. In 1957, Synod translated the stand of 1900 into English and modern Dutch. It was not necessary at this time to reaffirm the position of 1900 because there was no evidence that the stand was being challenged in any way.
In this report six major charges were leveled against secret societies. In summary these are:
“1) The oath required is sinful because it commits one to the concealment of evil as well as being a misuse of oath taking.
2) The unrestricted promise of mutual aid is dangerous and sinful, since it paralyzes the right to oppose evil in a fellow lodge member.
3) The lodge involves one in brotherhood with ungodly people. Because the lodges are sinful in principle, they attract all kinds of profane persons, drunkards, unbelievers, atheists, Jews, heathen, Socialists, etc., and a Christian cannot enter into a brotherhood with such people.
4) The lodge engages in ceremonies, including initiation rites, and in carousals, which are unworthy or indecent.
5) The religion of the lodge is a denial of the only way of salvation, there are religious exercises, and a general Fatherhood of God is acknowledged, but the name of Christ may not be used and salvation in this religion is based on faithful membership in the lodge. The religion of the lodge is a secret return to the ido1atry of the heathen mystery religions.
6) The unconditional promise of obedience required by the lodge is in conflict with and appropriates an honor due to Christ. No one can swear to be faithful to the lodge and at the same time remain faithful to the King of Kings.”
The question is now raised as to what the Church must do about those who hold simultaneous membership in church and lodge. It is the duty of consistories first to ask the person who desires to be received as a member and admitted to the Lord’s Supper whether he belongs to any society bound by oath or solemn vow. Those who do belong to a lodge will not be admitted to the Lord’s Table. “It is the stand of our churches, by synodical conclusion, that if it becomes manifest that a member belongs to a secret, oath-bound organization, he shall be disciplined.” If the person persists, he will be excommunicated. “Membership in the lodge is judged to be not only a sin, but a public sin; not just a momentary sin, but a constant living in sin, and therefore a gross sin. Since public, gross sins, are basis for excommunication in the case of persistence, the church must excommunicate those who persist in this sin.”
In 1892 Dr. Abraham Kuyper wrote his views in the Dutch paper De Heraut. He strongly affirmed that lodge membership in principle is contrary to the Christian religion, and that it is impossible for a person to be at the same time a true confessor of Christ and an informed adherent of the principles of the lodge. But he observed that lodges often do not set their principles in the foreground and that many lodge members have never really accepted the false principles. Therefore, he urged an educational rather than a disciplinary approach to the problem.
Once we recognize that Freemasonry and other fraternal organizations which follow it have a religion, it becomes necessary for a Christian to examine and evaluate that religion before accepting it as compatible with Christian faith. But a comparison of the teaching of the lodge and of the Bible on the very basic questions of 1) the nature of God, 2) the person of Christ, 3) the way of salvation, and 4) the authority of the Bible quickly reveals that these are deep and serious conflicts between the religion of the lodge and the Christian faith. The heart of the problem is simply that the religion of the lodge and the Christian faith are two religions conflicting with each other. There is direct opposition on very basic matters. The differences are so great that a person simply cannot live by both of these faith stances at one time. One must choose, and will choose which standards he will live by even if he tries to live by both.
One of the big questions the church asks now is how to judge the trustworthiness of a profession of faith of a person who has been affiliated with the lodge. Some believe that the church should set standards by which to keep out anyone who has been affiliated with the lodge, lest they take control of the church. But others think, “Who is the church to set the standards of whom to accept or tum away?” The standards should be set by Christ. And the requirement that Christ has set for membership in His church is a living faith in Him and a sincere commitment to .Him and His kingdom. If the church is truly Christ’s, then all who by faith and commitment belong to him must be accepted and those who do not respond to Him must be refused. If we are to honor Christ as the head of the Church, this is how we should deal with lodge members. It must be remembered that the requirement for membership is not a fully sensitive and fully sanctified Christian life, even though the consistory will check into this aspect of a person’s life, but it has to be a true faith in Christ and a commitment to His kingdom.
As to the ethics of the lodge, the moral law of the lodge is not the moral law of the Bible. The moral law of the lodge refers to itself as the law of nature which is a universal law. Universality is a characteristic of the lodge. Actually the ethical basis of the lodge is humanistic and operates on a utilitarian basis.
The oath of which I will quote a part, from a viewpoint of Christian ethics is open to serious criticism. This oath is for a candidate being initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason:
“I ……………. of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God and his Worshipful Lodge, erected to Him and dedicated to the Holy Saint John, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that I will always hail , even conceal, and never reveal any of the secret arts, parts, or points of the hidden mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry, . . .”
Now to prove that this is wrong from a Christian point of view and that it violates Christian ethics. The Christian is bound to maintain justice and equity before God and man to the best of his power. Therefore he has no right to pledge himself in advance to keep something secret of which he knows nothing on the question of justice and morals. The accepting of such an oath is contrary to the Lord’s principles of speech as set forth in Matthew 5:34“37: “but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one.”
It has been established that the lodge is a religion. Every religion has to have a doctrine of salvation. Christianity claims to be the only true religion, and to set forth the one and only way of salvation. Christ himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one cometh unto the Father but by me.” Also in Acts 4:12, “In none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” But the lodge teaches that there is salvation in other religions as well. It also believes that man can be saved by man. “Masonry’s doctrine of salvation teaches that man must and can save himself.” In the Masonic Lodge the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is forbidden, except on the same level with Buddha, Zoroaster, Mohammed, Osiris, etc.
Masonry boasts the brotherhood of its members and glories in the universal brotherhood of men. J. F. Newton says: “If one were asked to define Masonry in a single sentence, it would be to say: Masonry is the realization of God by the practice of brotherhood.” But Scripture emphatically denies that the universal brotherhood of men is spiritual. It says that spiritually they are opposites as in II Corinthians 6:14, 15: “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?”
In conclusion I would like to say after my study of the lodge and its religion there is only one deduction. Because of the fact that the lodge has a religion, as opposed to the fact that Christianity is the only religion, it is definitely anti-Christian. I am not saying that there are no Christians in the lodge; there could be uninformed or misinformed sincere Christians in the lodge who are looking for eternal life. But this doesn’t change in any way the fact that the lodge is inconsistent with Christianity.
“Last year [1971] a member of our congregation donated $1,000 to Dordt College to sponsor an essay contest. This contest was open to all young people of the CRC with the awards to be used as scholarships at Dordt College . . . .
“This year [1972} $1,000 was given to our consistory with the intent that the young people of Pella I would be encouraged to participate . . . .
“Jim Zylstra, a graduate of Pella Christian High and now a student at Dordt College, received $100.00 for this prize-winning essay. Jim plans to major in biology.”
The question to be taken up in this essay is whether it is possible for a person to hold simultaneous church and lodge membership. The Christian Reformed Church in synod has been studying this question for a long time.
The lodge is an oath-bound secret society. A secret society as de6ned in the Acts of Synod 1958 is “such an organization which requires of everyone who becomes a member unconditional concealment of all that pertains to the lodge, without officially informing the candidate of the contents of what must remain a secret; and which at the same time obligates its members to unrestricted, or at least to an insufficiently restricted, assistance and obedience.” Since lodges are oath-bound secret societies, there is a question as to the reliability of information about them. However, there is reliable information concerning all points of major importance. The secrets of lodges constitute only a portion of the total activity of them. The general ideals of lodge membership and the history and philosophy of lodges have been developed by numerous writers in books designed for the general public as well as for lodge members. Much useful information concerning the relationship of the lodge to Christianity is available from volumes of this character. Another source of information is from individuals who have demitted their membership in the lodge. And some are anxious to provide as much information as desired about their lodge.
There are many different lodges: “Freemasonry, which is the oldest of the large secret orders in this country, is generally admitted to be their mother. Such popular orders as the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal order of Moose, the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen of the World and the Order of the Eastern Star are all in many ways similar to their earlier prototype, the Masonic order.”
When the Christian Reformed Church came into existence, one of the charges leveled against the Dutch Reformed Church was the tolerance of lodge membership. A stand was then taken against lodge membership in 1900. Between 1900 and 1958 the report of 1900 was available only in the Dutch language. In 1957, Synod translated the stand of 1900 into English and modern Dutch. It was not necessary at this time to reaffirm the position of 1900 because there was no evidence that the stand was being challenged in any way.
In this report six major charges were leveled against secret societies. In summary these are:
“1) The oath required is sinful because it commits one to the concealment of evil as well as being a misuse of oath taking.
2) The unrestricted promise of mutual aid is dangerous and sinful, since it paralyzes the right to oppose evil in a fellow lodge member.
3) The lodge involves one in brotherhood with ungodly people. Because the lodges are sinful in principle, they attract all kinds of profane persons, drunkards, unbelievers, atheists, Jews, heathen, Socialists, etc., and a Christian cannot enter into a brotherhood with such people.
4) The lodge engages in ceremonies, including initiation rites, and in carousals, which are unworthy or indecent.
5) The religion of the lodge is a denial of the only way of salvation, there are religious exercises, and a general Fatherhood of God is acknowledged, but the name of Christ may not be used and salvation in this religion is based on faithful membership in the lodge. The religion of the lodge is a secret return to the ido1atry of the heathen mystery religions.
6) The unconditional promise of obedience required by the lodge is in conflict with and appropriates an honor due to Christ. No one can swear to be faithful to the lodge and at the same time remain faithful to the King of Kings.”
The question is now raised as to what the Church must do about those who hold simultaneous membership in church and lodge. It is the duty of consistories first to ask the person who desires to be received as a member and admitted to the Lord’s Supper whether he belongs to any society bound by oath or solemn vow. Those who do belong to a lodge will not be admitted to the Lord’s Table. “It is the stand of our churches, by synodical conclusion, that if it becomes manifest that a member belongs to a secret, oath-bound organization, he shall be disciplined.” If the person persists, he will be excommunicated. “Membership in the lodge is judged to be not only a sin, but a public sin; not just a momentary sin, but a constant living in sin, and therefore a gross sin. Since public, gross sins, are basis for excommunication in the case of persistence, the church must excommunicate those who persist in this sin.”
In 1892 Dr. Abraham Kuyper wrote his views in the Dutch paper De Heraut. He strongly affirmed that lodge membership in principle is contrary to the Christian religion, and that it is impossible for a person to be at the same time a true confessor of Christ and an informed adherent of the principles of the lodge. But he observed that lodges often do not set their principles in the foreground and that many lodge members have never really accepted the false principles. Therefore, he urged an educational rather than a disciplinary approach to the problem.
Once we recognize that Freemasonry and other fraternal organizations which follow it have a religion, it becomes necessary for a Christian to examine and evaluate that religion before accepting it as compatible with Christian faith. But a comparison of the teaching of the lodge and of the Bible on the very basic questions of 1) the nature of God, 2) the person of Christ, 3) the way of salvation, and 4) the authority of the Bible quickly reveals that these are deep and serious conflicts between the religion of the lodge and the Christian faith. The heart of the problem is simply that the religion of the lodge and the Christian faith are two religions conflicting with each other. There is direct opposition on very basic matters. The differences are so great that a person simply cannot live by both of these faith stances at one time. One must choose, and will choose which standards he will live by even if he tries to live by both.
One of the big questions the church asks now is how to judge the trustworthiness of a profession of faith of a person who has been affiliated with the lodge. Some believe that the church should set standards by which to keep out anyone who has been affiliated with the lodge, lest they take control of the church. But others think, “Who is the church to set the standards of whom to accept or tum away?” The standards should be set by Christ. And the requirement that Christ has set for membership in His church is a living faith in Him and a sincere commitment to .Him and His kingdom. If the church is truly Christ’s, then all who by faith and commitment belong to him must be accepted and those who do not respond to Him must be refused. If we are to honor Christ as the head of the Church, this is how we should deal with lodge members. It must be remembered that the requirement for membership is not a fully sensitive and fully sanctified Christian life, even though the consistory will check into this aspect of a person’s life, but it has to be a true faith in Christ and a commitment to His kingdom.
As to the ethics of the lodge, the moral law of the lodge is not the moral law of the Bible. The moral law of the lodge refers to itself as the law of nature which is a universal law. Universality is a characteristic of the lodge. Actually the ethical basis of the lodge is humanistic and operates on a utilitarian basis.
The oath of which I will quote a part, from a viewpoint of Christian ethics is open to serious criticism. This oath is for a candidate being initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason:
“I ……………. of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Almighty God and his Worshipful Lodge, erected to Him and dedicated to the Holy Saint John, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that I will always hail , even conceal, and never reveal any of the secret arts, parts, or points of the hidden mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry, . . .”
Now to prove that this is wrong from a Christian point of view and that it violates Christian ethics. The Christian is bound to maintain justice and equity before God and man to the best of his power. Therefore he has no right to pledge himself in advance to keep something secret of which he knows nothing on the question of justice and morals. The accepting of such an oath is contrary to the Lord’s principles of speech as set forth in Matthew 5:34“37: “but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one.”
It has been established that the lodge is a religion. Every religion has to have a doctrine of salvation. Christianity claims to be the only true religion, and to set forth the one and only way of salvation. Christ himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one cometh unto the Father but by me.” Also in Acts 4:12, “In none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” But the lodge teaches that there is salvation in other religions as well. It also believes that man can be saved by man. “Masonry’s doctrine of salvation teaches that man must and can save himself.” In the Masonic Lodge the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is forbidden, except on the same level with Buddha, Zoroaster, Mohammed, Osiris, etc.
Masonry boasts the brotherhood of its members and glories in the universal brotherhood of men. J. F. Newton says: “If one were asked to define Masonry in a single sentence, it would be to say: Masonry is the realization of God by the practice of brotherhood.” But Scripture emphatically denies that the universal brotherhood of men is spiritual. It says that spiritually they are opposites as in II Corinthians 6:14, 15: “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?”
In conclusion I would like to say after my study of the lodge and its religion there is only one deduction. Because of the fact that the lodge has a religion, as opposed to the fact that Christianity is the only religion, it is definitely anti-Christian. I am not saying that there are no Christians in the lodge; there could be uninformed or misinformed sincere Christians in the lodge who are looking for eternal life. But this doesn’t change in any way the fact that the lodge is inconsistent with Christianity.