THE BUILDER MARCH 1917

THE SPIRIT OF MASONRY

Dear Brother:--Being a young Mason, and one whose loved ones are much opposed
to Masonry, there are a great many things they spring on me that I do not
understand, and I do not know how to govern myself accordingly. Will you
please explain the enclosed declaration made by a Masonic Lodge in this
Jurisdiction, taken from a Masonic journal. The Builder is a wonderful help
and inspiration to me, as I am unable to get to Lodge but seldom. Sincerely
and fraternally,--O. I. P., wisconsin.

The declaration referred to is as follows, to which is added a
comment from an editorial in a Masonic journal:

"Every ancient landmark of Free Masonry, every sign and symbol
known by us and between us as brethren indicates that we cannot as
a body recognize Jesus, Buddha, Mahomet, or Moses, or any of the
denominational churches of either. All prayers or speeches that
recognize or appeal to any deity or prophet save to God alone, are
out of place in a Masonic Lodge."

This is followed by an editorial comment in the same paper as
follows: "Sometimes a minister, in offering prayer in a Masonic
meeting, inadvertently uses the name of Jesus, but in all cases in
our opinion it is the force of habit, and never done
intentionally."

(It is easy to understand how a young Brother, new to the ways of
Masonry, would be puzzled by a declaration of this kind, the more
so when it was urged upon him by members of his family who are
unfriendly to the Order. And yet if he will think a little, he
will see that the declaration is absolutely sound, and that
Masonry could not long exist upon any other basis. If it were to
recognize Jesus as the only teacher and become distinctly
Christian, it would be excluding men of Hebrew or Hindu faith, and
thus become a sect, dividing men instead of uniting them--one more
sect in a world of sects, some of which are small enough to be
called insects. If it acknowledged Moses or Buddha as the one true
teacher, it would be none the less a sect, losing all its glory as
a meeting place for men of all sects and men of no sect. As it is,
Masonry honors all great teachers, seeking the truth which each
has to tell--as our Brother will learn when he goes further into
the degrees of the Scottish Rike --the while it brings men
together upon tho,se truths which underlie all religions and all
sects, in that spirit of charity without which no theology is of
any worth to anybody.

And the same is true in the matter of prayer, to which the
editorial refers. The old familiar words, "For Jesus sake," at the
end of a prayer may mean much or little, according to the spirit
and meaning in which they are used. They may mean nothing more
than a "Yours truly" at the end of a letter, a mere matter of
form--nothing more. But a letter is a letter even when those words
are not used; and so is a prayer. Men prayed long before Jesus was
born, and there are few who would say that their prayers were not
valid and rewarding. Moreover, in the blief, grand prayer which
Jesus himself taught us to pray, "after this manner," His name i,s
not used, any more than in His own prayer of which we have record.
Our Brother will learn, as he studies Masonry more deeply, what is
meant by the word "name." In Masonry, as in the Bible, the name of
a person stands for the person himseLf, in a way not realized by
people of our western world. Masons are ever seeking a lost,
ineffable Name--what does it mean? It means that they are seeking
God Himself--not a mere word, but that knowledge of the Eternal
and fellowship with Him which is the goal and crown of life.
Therefore, those who truly pray "in the name of Jesus" are not
always those who use His name, and think no prayer valid without
it--no, but those who pray in His spirit, as He would pray, asking
for the things He would ask for, and with His great and simple
faith.

A Christian may be a true Mason, bring all his faith and hope into
our ancient fellowship- but he is not a true Christian --much less
a sensible man--if he has not a sincere respect for the faiths of
other men, and rejoices to join with them in the common prayer at
our universal altar. No ,part of the mission of Masonry is
grander, or more needed, than its consistent emphasis upon the
things that belong to all and which may be shared by all,
cultivating a spirit in which petty seckarianism can not grow, and
teaching men the truths that make for character and conduct. We
hope that by his dignity of life, his tolerance and goodwill, as
well as by his graciousness of spirit, our Brother will show his
loved ones that they are mistaken about Masonry, and bring them to
a better conception of its spirit and its principles.--The
Editor.)

