Now seems as good a time as any to discuss the issue of Freemasonry and whether it is compatible with Christian observance. (This being due to a flurry of recent comments –both pro and con.) Before we begin, I want to stress that what follows is neither exhaustive nor authoritative; it is however based on the historical facts as we know them.)
The question inevitably rises: is Freemasonry a distinct religion or not? If it is, then no Christian –of whatever denomination–can belong to the Lodge. This makes sense. One cannot be both a Buddhist and a Moslem. A Sikh and a Hindu. An observant Jew and a Christian. And so on.
If however, it is not a religion, then what exactly is it?
To answer this question, one must go back in the reaches of time, specifically the Middle Ages.
As most people are aware, trades and professions were almost always passed down from generation to generation. A farmer taught his son to farm, who then taught his son and he, his. And so on. Likewise a blacksmith taught his son to smite metal; a cooper taught his son to make pots. A barber/bloodletter, physician, alchemist, carpenter, etc, all passed their trades on to the next generation. All of these trades could be taught quite easily by mere observance and practice and in one locality. Sometimes the teaching of these trades was mandated by law. In the late Roman period, the son of a tax-collector had to be a tax-collector, even if he didn’t want to be one. Among the Armenians and Syrians, the son of a priest became a priest, whether he was devout or not. It was all very localized and understood that that was the way things were done.
Of course, all trades have certain “tricks”, secrets as it were which were integral to their proper execution. This was not generally a problem as they were passed down from father-to-son (or father-to-prospective-son-in-law) with minimal fuss or folderol.
One trade however stood out from this pattern. That of masonry. This was because it was highly specialized and very labor intensive. As such, while there was always a local butcher, bloodletter or baker, there was very rarely ever a local stonemason. Their more rudimentary works –such as building a stone wall which demarcates boundaries between homesteads–could be done my most anybody with two hands and a strong back. Anything more elaborate than that required highly trained specialists.
Because of its labor-intensity and dependence upon high amounts of capital, there were rarely local masons in any particular village. As a rule they were journeymen who traveled from village to town or from town to city. Perhaps more than any other trade, they were the most skilled; they had to be because the building of permanent structures (and the outlays of the necessary capital) allowed for no mistakes.
Because they were journeymen, they had to know that when they were invited into a town or city to construct a large structure (usually a large church), they had to be sure that the other masons that they would meet had to be as competent and knowledgeable as themselves. Of course they had apprentices but it took many masons to build a structure. As such, they formed guilds which were highly selective. The apex of this trade were known as master masons.
In order to identify each other they needed identifying marks to make certain that their coworkers were on the up-and-up. This is where passwords and secret handshakes came into play. They also had to know that when they arrived at a certain locality, they would be able to “lodge” with their colleagues. This was a high-trust endeavor, probably the most intensive one operating in the Middle Ages.
One of the many ways in which they would impart the knowledge of their craft was by rote memory. Rhymes and/or stories that were memorized made the importation of this knowledge easier. This was no doubt due to the fact that most people were largely illiterate. Tools, units of measure and such had to be standardized. It made no sense for a mason to travel from say, Cologne to Rheims only to find out that his tools were inadequate to the task or that the supplies which were ordered were based on a different metrical measure. Or that he had no place to stay while working on the job. That would have been a massive waste of time and money.
When you couple this with the fact that architecture is based on certain mathematical principles (such as phi or the Golden Mean), it became obvious after a time that they came to believe in certain spiritual principles. “Ut superius, sic inferius” for example (“as above, so below”.) A window could only be so wide and a wall only so tall, or else the roof would cave in. The transepts could only be so wide in order to maximize audibility and so on.
In time, they would appropriate legends which became ever more intricate. Since this was a Christian era, the Temple of Solomon became the archetype of ideal construction (as opposed to the Parthenon). They were the elite guildsmen of the Middle Ages and saw themselves as such. Because of their elitist nature, their secrecy became more severe. If a mason imparted these secrets to an apprentice who was not yet ready to receive the full knowledge, they could be expelled from the guild. Needless to say, if the tricks of the trade were ever given out to non-masons, then shunning (or perhaps an unfortunate “accident”) could befall the miscreant.
In the middle modern period however (ca 1700), the age of the great cathedrals had long come to an end. So did the masonic guilds for the most part. However, in 1717, some guilds were still in existence in England. Rather than disband, four of them decided to maintain their association. Gentlemen had already come to join them for whatever reason (probably to get together for purposes of cameraderie and drinking). Instead of “operative masons”, they chose to become “speculative masons” and they repurposed their physical craft into intellectual pursuits. Rather than build a perfect temple “made with hands”, they chose to concentrate on perfecting the human person, that “which was not made with hands”.
And they continued to meet in “lodges”, which were now not barracks for sleeping but meeting halls or public houses.
This isn’t that uncommon. Think of the various fraternities or unions that exist today. The Teamsters for example are still one of the most powerful unions even though the horse carriage business is all but extinct. In fact, the largest and most powerful unions today are comprised of desk-jockeys who work for the government and wouldn’t know a ball-peen hammer from a hacksaw if their lives depended on it.
For whatever reason, these four English lodges decided to incorporate into something called the Grand Lodge of England. Soon, this concept spread like wildfire. First to Scotland and then pretty much everywhere else in Europe. If nothing else, it allowed working-class men a believable excuse to get out of the house once a week and commiserate with other men.
Besides the cameraderie that they offered, they formed an important support group for their members. Jobs and opportunities as well as funeral policies were offered to members. The lodge system became an important bulwark of the middle class. As important, they offered a refuge from the religious strife that attended the Thirty Years War and thus became a safety valve. For this reason, talk of religion and politics was frowned upon, even forbidden.
There was another reason which caused Freemasonry to grow; and that was Protestantism. Or more specifically, the loss of Christian liturgy. Since the rituals of Freemasonry were never written down, it’s unknown what the rituals really looked like or how they evolved over time. Clearly, when it was an operative craft there was very little time for intricate rites. Speculative masons however, especially well-to-do gentlemen, were another matter entirely. It is my considered opinion (and only mine) that with the evolution of the Protestant liturgy away from rituals and sacraments –to essentially a classroom setting–an aesthetic vacuum resulted.
Likewise, the iconoclastic spirit of the Reformation denuded most houses of worship. One needs only to go Great Britain to see that those churches built in the high-church tradition are the primary tourist attractions. Having said that, Masonic lodges became quite ornate and each of the office holders sat on elaborate thrones, wore intricate jewelry and were attended by inferiors who carried equally ornate weapons. (I myself have gone to some small towns in Oklahoma and seen Masonic lodges which were far more elaborate and beautiful than any of the churches located nearby.)
To the extent that Freemasonry abides by the original speculative precepts and viewed their rituals as methods of controlling the length of meetings, I’d say it was anything but religious. Nor could it be conceived as a revolutionary movement seeking to overthrow the established order. Unfortunately, sometime during the next century, that’s exactly what many Masonic lodges became.
In Colonial America for example, various lodges became places where ant-British agitators met, especially in Boston. In France, the Jacobins who ignited the French Revolution likewise met in French lodges.
Now this is where the speculation comes in. That is to say whether Freemasonry became infiltrated by occultists and other anti-Christian elements.
In May of 1776, Adam Weishaupt, an ex-Jesuit from Bavaria, started a cult called the Illuminati (or Illumined Ones). Its premise was to overthrow the existing order of Christendom and monarchy and replace it with a “new order” based on Deism. The easiest way it could do this was to infiltrate existing institutions. Freemasonry was one of them. Given its provenance, it’s impossible to believe that it made any incursion into America in enough time to influence the drafting of The Declaration of Independence. It was able to spread its tentacles into Continental lodges however. This would of course explain why the American Revolution was a conservative one which resulted in a constitutional republic whereas the French Revolution degenerated into the Reign of Terror.
Conspiracies are hard to prove however. Certainly, in the case of Freemasonry it is difficult to ascertain how much of Weishaupt’s Illuminism and/or occult secrets ingrained themselves in what was essentially a gentleman’s club. In America for example, atheists were forbidden from joining the Lodge and it became rather reactionary. In France on the other hand, the Grand Orient (as it was often known) welcomed all sorts of libertines, malcontents and/or non-believers.
That being said, the influence of esoteric mysticism upon all branches of Freemasonry (at least since the time of Gen Albert Pike, a self-styled Luciferian) is clear to see. His Morals and Dogma is a massive tome full of occult knowledge. It is not so much an antithesis of Christianity as it is an inversion of it. In fact, it can’t be otherwise. Especially when you consider the Luciferian angle. (More about this at another time.)
To those Christians who are spiritually attuned, this should raise red flags. To those of us who are Orthodox and who understand the efficacy of liturgical rites, even more so. Simply put, one cannot partake of the rituals of the Lodge and not be influenced by the syncretistic spirit of Freemasonry. To be sure, for most Master Masons (3rd Degree) and higher, if they’re in it for purely business reasons, they are just going through the motions. Like nominal Christians who simply go to church for cultural reasons, I imagine that they are largely unaffected by it.
That doesn’t let Freemasonry off the hook however. For all intents and purposes, it functions like a religion and though it is a marvelous philanthropy, it is not without its spiritual costs. Moreover, it has often served as the incubator for other, more unsavory, secret societies (e.g. Skull and Bones, the Ku Klux Klan, etc.). The aforementioned Albert Pike for example was the primary esotericist of his day and a member of the Lodge and the Klan.
Not all were unsympathetic however. In the latter days of the Ottoman Empire for example, He Philiki Aiterea (The Friendly Society) was instituted by three Greek Freemasons to inaugurate the Greek rebellion of 1821. Aleksandr Pushkin, Russia’s greatest poet (who was also a Freemason) joined this secret society out of sympathy for the Greeks.
The list of revolutionary figures who were Freemasons is a long and glorious one: George Washington, Simon Bolivar, Sam Houston, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, are only a few of the hundreds of names of illustrious individuals who were Freemasons. This makes sense in a way. After all, in order to undertake a revolution, three things are key: (1) the ability to remember intricate directions and impart them only through verbal means, (2) a strict hierarchy in which verbal information is imparted on a need-to-know basis, and (3) the ability to keep secrets. All of these are necessary to protect the movement from failure in case one soldier is captured.
Having said all that, I can see why Freemasonry is a mixed bag. It’s got its positive, social and philanthropic attributes no doubt. But it also has darker, more esoteric side, one unknown to a great many people; unknown even to many of its own members. In the words of the late Archbishop Damascene of Athens, it is in many was the “recapitulation” of the mystery schools of late Antiquity. Moreover, the gnostic impulse which infuses it is inevitable, given its elitist nature.
Moreover, given the fact that it is the largest secret society in the world and that an astounding number of high government figures were apart of it, leads one to wonder. Is it merely a philanthropy or is there another hidden, more esoteric agenda underlying it?
Next: Part II –Luciferian Angle, Gnosticism and Elitism
Oh boy! George, George, George! What am I going to do with you, my friend? Well, first of all, I would strongly suggest that you read two books: Freemasonry for Dummies and The Complete Idiots Guide to Freemasonry for starters or would you rather continue to be mired in conspiracy theories? Do you remember what I said about Occam’s Razor?
Lol,
Yes, all we need to do is read those books for simple minded people to understand the truth of Freemasonry! All the esoteric and occultist aspects are simply “conspiracies”. *rollseyes*
You may be fooled, or are willfully or ignorantly blinded. but those who have moved on from “Freemasonry for Dummies” and studied it in deeper detail, including it’s spiritual roots and consequences, are not so easily fooled. And I am referring to the Saints of the Church.
Another good one to read is “The Prince” by Niccolò Machiavelli …. or was Machiavelli some tin foil hat guy? .. or the text book for the illuminati? ..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince
A vain preoccupation; but I’ve said my two bits-worth before.
There’s always been a conspiracy-theory bent here, but it seems lately to have been getting much stronger.
TimR, please see my response to Mr Millman re conspiracy theorism above.
For now, let it suffice to say that I don’t traffic in conspiracy theories. That does not mean that there are no conspiracies or that we can’t theorize about them. They are all around us: Russian collusion/Uranium One, child-sex trafficking, etc.
And it now appears from the autopsy photos that JFK the bullet hole right above JFK’s sternum was an entry wound. That would mean that there was more than one “lone gunman”, hence a conspiracy.
Long story short: we got to keep our minds open and go wherever the facts lead us. That’s all.
Years ago, before a documentary about Robert McNamara was made, “conspiracy theorists” claimed that the Gulf of Tonkin never happened and that it was simply used as an excuse to involve the US further in Viet Nam. When “Fog of War” came out, Mr. McNamara admitted that the Aug. 4th attack never in fact happened. So much for deriding “conspiracy theories.” By the way, Rear Admiral George Morrison, the man in charge of Navy operations in the Gulf at the time, was the father of Jim Morrison, the lizard king and Dionysiac counter-culture icon himself.
In a similar vein, rumors and questions surround the bombing of Nagasaki since there have been those that argue there was no need to use the bomb against the Japanese as they were prepared to surrender. Whether or not that may be true, it is interesting to note that 33rd degree Mason Harry Truman himself decided to okay the bombing of one of the oldest and most Christian cities in Japan. There were tens of thousands of Christians in Nagasaki.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/nagasaki-anniversary-how-a-christian-cathedral-built-following-centuries-of-persecution-was-10446974.html
For pictures of the destruction, see: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/exhibit/QRfpvy4V
The official reason for the bombing had to do with the shipyards that were there. The shipyard was not hit, however; the “Fat Man” bomb was dropped on the Nagasaki Cathedral, a few miles away. I believe the cathedral was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and, since its feast day was approaching, a mass was being held that was well-attended. Some reports claim that the bomb detonated during or near communion. In any case, some have wondered if there is a “Masonic angle” to the bombing as it seemed to kill mostly Christians, was dropped on a Catholic cathedral, and left the Mitsubishi shipyard mostly intact. But, it could all just be a coincidence, like Capt. William Morgan’s murder in Batavia, New York. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could . . .”
Do as thou wilt is the professed credo of freemasonry. Such a guiding principle for human existence completely ignores the demonic and the God given as meaningless considerations. Both the devil , who attacks with destruction for destruction sake as it’s only purpose and authentic Christianity, which defends and instructs mankind on how to combat and defend against demonic destruction, while ,men only serve themselves, and live only for bread alone having no redeeming purpose or ability whatsoever. It is obvious if this statement is accurate, that freemasonry and authentic Christianity are opposites as the indifference of the masons is opposite of the love which authentic Christianity manifests in the Grace of God. No doubt the devils are thrilled that freemason don’t belief in them, for now. The logical conclusion to secular -humanism is occultism. Fr. Seraphim Rose
Michael,
You take Father Seraphim Rose, and I’ll take Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras any day of the week.
Go ahead . One had a closed casket funeral because his body stunk and larva were hatching out of his pores. The other had an open casket funeral without signs of corruption .
Once again Peter you are spectacularly wrong in your preference. You really ought to have a good catechism in the teachings of the Church.
Michael, he posted that over two weeks ago. He supposedly quit this forum. Don’t get him going again.
As for Fr. Seraphim, he doesn’t need the likes of me to defend him. He may have made mistakes, but so did St. John of SF. The only strongly anti-Fr. Seraphim book I know of is “The Toll House Myth: The Neo-Gnosticism of Fr. Seraphim Rose”, which I have before me.
It is published by Synaxis Press, the is, the printing press of the Canadian Monastery of the deposed Lev Puhalo. The authors are: Fr. Dr. Michael Azkoul, an ex-ROCOR priest, now in the Greek Old Calendar church, and Irene Matta, a Presbytera. So we have a supposed OCA Archbishop teaming up with a Greek Old Calendar priest to do a hit job on Fr. Seraphim.
I never knew Fr. Seraphim. I’m sorry to say I belonged to the opposite faction in ROCOR when the Toll House controversy went down. But the question should be asked, if there is something seriously wrong with Fr.Seraphim, then the Russian Church, both ROCOR and MP, are at fault. The one ordained him, the other has not condemned him since the reunion. Then one would have to question the Serbs, since the Platina Monastery is now theirs. Then also, Fr. Thomas Hopko. He was the OCA prime theologian in 2002, when he served a panichida over the grave of Fr. Seraphim, with many other clerics concelebrating, including the future Metropolitan Jonah.
Freemasonry is another word for what Frances Yates would call “Christian Cabala.” It was the “scientific” reaction to the excesses of the Puritans. The “science” in question derived, via people like Fludd, Bacon, and John Dee, from the Cabala, ie Hebraic magic.
Freemasonry, as rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis points out, is the offspring of Jewish mysticism (See Geoffrey W. Dennis, Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2007). Albert Pike, one of the most eminent Freemasons in the last century, would later declare that Freemasonry and the Illuminati are the offspring of the Kabbalah (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogmas (Alberta: Theophenia Publishing, 2011), 570.
So it comes down to the Jews! Are these the Jews that are Jews or the ones that aren’t Jews?
Freemasonry has always been a messianic political movement, an explicit alternative to Orthodoxy and bound up with the rituals of Judaism and Jewish symbolism. The adept must travel toward the east toward Jerusalem to find Enlightenment; he is going to rebuild the Temple and is going to find a lost world. The theology – really, philosophy, – corresponds directly to the Kaballah.
Anon, a minor quibble if I may: the Judaism that you describe is really Kabbalism, not the Judaism(s) that transpired before the destruction of the Second Temple.
In Parts 2 and 3 of my expose on Masonry, I’ll talk about Kabbalism and how it’s a charismatic form of Talmudic Judaism which interestingly enough descended from Gnosticism and Neo-Platonism. For now let it be said that Hellenism (in the form of Platonism) heavily influenced Judaism during the time of Jesus and that Philo of Alexandria was the greatest expositor of Neo-Platonism. He tried mightily to make OT Judaism fit into this hellenic mold. I’d say he had some success in this matter.
Regardless, by the time of the Renaissance, Talmudic Judaism was a spent force, all legalism basically. Various Jewish mystics strived for a more intense, personal religious experience and they found it in the Kabbalah. This is not unlike the various Revivals which took place in America. It was during one of these Revivals that Joseph Smith began questioning the dry formalism of various Protestant denominations. From this came other charismatic renewals like Seventh Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the like. This has now gone full-bore with Pentecostalism.
Personally, I think that there’s a deep need in the human psyche of some individuals to experience a more intense religiosity and that it crops up every so often in mass movements. For the Jews it was Kabbalism and then Sabbateanism (the wildly popular cult of Sabbtai Z’vi in the seventeenth century).
Agreed.
My father, my grandfathers, most of my uncles and my brother were/are freemasons, Scottish Rite. When I was growing up most of the deacons in the local Baptist Church and many others were masons as well. To my knowledge, they were faithful men by the lights they had and regarded joining masonry as a way be sure their own were looked after in time of need. This was especially so during the depression. Masons looked out for each other in those hard times. To them, it was essentially a Christian benevolence society with a little ritual theater thrown in for show. I had the chance to join their junior auxiliary in High School but declined. I had heard they had “initiations” and the only initiations I had ever heard of involved seniors shaving your head, and taking your clothes, and leaving you butt naked on the road to get back to school and reclaim your garments any way you could. Some years later I got hold of a book of the Scottish Rite I saw in a friend’s library (also a mason), and began thumbing through it. It wasn’t long before I hit upon passages equating Christianity with magic. That put me off instantly. Still, everyone I knew in Masonry as a respectable church-going Christian and pillar of the community sort. They were Christians who happened to express their faith at times through the lodge.
Years later I joined the Navy and had my training in Rhode Island. I recally one day while on leave stopping at a barber shop and flipping through magazines while I waited. Among them was a local lodge periodical. What I read there sounded every in like a non Christian cult. The articles and whole tone spoke of Masonry in what I can only describe as religious terms. It was nothing like the Masonry I had grown up with in the South. It occurred to me that maybe the Lodge played the chameleon wherever it found itself. In a strongly Christian culture, that’s how it acted and presented itself to be accepted…but outside such a culture it served as a functional religion in its own right. The Christian veneer fell away and it was more true to itself and it’s nature than in more devout lands. If my father or grandfathers had read that lodge booklet that I had found they would have mashed their rings, tossed the shards in the river and burned their aprons at the first opportunity. It might have well had been out and out pagan.
I’m glad I never joined. I hope one day my brother leaves. It is not a place for devout Chrisitan souls.
Peter, as time permits, I’ll answer your questions/concerns and prove that I’m not some fundie/lunatic/conspiracy theorist, what-have-you.
For now (and I’m operating under a severe time constraint) I can tell you that I was a Master Mason and actually took out lifetime dues (I was in my late 20s and it cost me a pretty penny). I really believed in Freemasonry and its beneficience. I didn’t come to the conclusion I made to leave without great consideration.
More later.
Freemasons, seriously? Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the UN’s black helicopters next? Can’t wait for your thoughts on the socialist dangers of flouridation.
Consider https://sites.google.com/site/orthodoxmasons/
The V. Rev. Drs. Vladimir S. Borichevsky and Stephan N. Jula wrote a book on the issue of Orthodoxy and Masonry. The book speaks to the incompatibility of Orthodoxy with Free Masonry. The book gives references to Church pronouncements on the issue as well as the full text to the position issued by the Russian Metropolia in the 1950’s. Below is a link to the online version of the book.
This is the web address I guess I didn’t use the link button properly.
http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/thefaith/borichevsky/masonry.cfm
http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/thefaith/borichevsky/masonry.cfm
Thank you, Fr. Sava! I wonder if Mr. Mortiss will read it. Gee, Mr. Mortiss, you have John Quincy Adams, our sixth president,condemning the lodge. Don’t believe he was a Greek or Russian Orthodox. Then also President Grant condemning secret societies. Isn’t he one of your Yankee heroes?
Plus, the two priest authors were clerics of the “liberal” Russian Metropolia, not the “Tsarist” ROCOR. Plus, the website is from a mainstream Orthodox church, not some Greek Old Calendar fringe group.
I do wonder why some people here have a problem with Orthodox Monarchists, but not with Orthodox Masons.
As I’ve said before, I’ve never been a Mason, never wanted to be one, and no member of my large extended family over generations has been one, excepting only a great-grandfather who died in his mid-80s in 1956.
I have no axe to grind in favor of freemasonry at all. The closest I’ve gotten to any Masonic event has been to see the Shriners with their calliopes and small motorcycles at various municipal parades over the years.
They used to be pretty big in the US in former generations. They have left behind some great buildings around the country, most of which have been nicely re-purposed in various ways. They are essentially moribund; certainly by comparison with olden times.
Over the years, one will be reading along, and then suddenly the author is attributing all of the ills of the world and its history to the Freemasons, the Jews, or whatever. Happens from time to time here.
I assure you that the Masons are not in charge (of course, I would say that if they were, wouldn’t I?).
TimR, you’re overall view is on the spot for the most part. No essential quarrel, esp with its demographic decline. The Shriners crack me up with their little cars and stuff. Still, there’s a spirit behind events which takes over –often for centuries–existing institutions, organizations, sects, and so on. Freemasonry made many revolutionary movements possible (both good and bad) but it has now run its course.
Actually, Tim, I’m sorry I brought your name up. When I went back to delete the post, it was too late.
That being said, I never meant to accuse you of being a Mason. I take your word for it that you aren’t. Where we differ, I believe, is that you appear to downplay the notion that SOME Masons have been involved in nefarious activities. It may be that many Masons are not. I’ve never knowingly met someone who was involved in Nazi, Communist, or Mafia atrocities. That doesn’t mean such things didn’t happen.
As for the ills of the world, they come from the devil and our fallen nature. Do I see a conspiracy everywhere? No. Do I believe that some conspiracies caused the downfall of Holy Russia, the removal of the Greek king from the throne( the grandfather of Prince Charles, hier apparent to the British throne), and the moral decay of the world in general? Absolutely.
As do I ES. I firmly believe that Greece today would not be the hell-hole that it is had the monarchy not been overthrown. As for the Bolsheviks, it’s important to remember that they did not overthrow the Tsar but the liberals (who were then likewise slaughtered by the Bolshies).
George, I don’t know if you saw on YouTube where at some EU meeting, some loudmouth with a German or Dutch accent was berating the Greek representative.
Among the complaints was the privileged position of the Orthodox Church in Greece. Try telling the Poles about the privileged position of Catholicism in their country. They will tell you where to go, what to do,and how to do it.
Poland has hardly been a friend of Orthodoxy, nevertheless,she has come to realize just who threatens her and all Western civilization.
I have been critical of the West, which does not mean I want the West to fall. I hate what the Nazis did,but I happen to like Beethoven. I have issues with the English,but I’m not giving up Dickens or C.S.Lewis. Old Winnie may have had issues, but he was spot on about both Hitler and Stalin. I’m not in love with the French,but I don’t want the France that Dr. S loves so much to vanish. And Les Misérables is right up there with my favorites of Dickens and Dostoyevsky.
ES, I did see that video. Disgusting.
I very much agree with you about your sentiments re the West. Maybe this Orkish invasion is necessary for Europeans to feel the sting of the lash and from thence, wake up. I’d like to think that my Greek brethren will lead the way in throwing off the globalist yoke but I don’t see it anytime in the near future.
would you please post a link to this video?
George, I too was once a Mason, cajoled into becoming one by a fanatic father who was the master of his lodge, and as an undergraduate naively went through the motions of joining the Order to please him. Needless to say, I experienced Masonry first hand and dropped out shortly after being initiated. Why? Because it all seemed quite silly to me, however profound the ritualistic life or raison d’ etre for its very existence. Forget the historical development of the Order and what it has evolved into today. In real life, Masonry serves as a quasi-religious entity for the majority of its adherents. Take it from me, I’ve seen it up close and for real.
At the best such things as Freemasonry are a distraction from the life of the Church. All of the charitable acts are what should be a matter of course for each parish.
Let your eye be single. Spend the time, effort and money in building up your parish.
Such distractions are only possible where people feel the Church has no essential connection to our existential existence and that God is “up there” or a fable.
In other words Freemasonry is based on an heretical understanding of both God and man resting on a denial of the Incarnation. And that is the best case scenario.
Of course once you abandon the truth even in the name of doing good a great many evils follow.
http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/masonry.aspx
Orthodoxinfo has a tasty little article on it. Enjoy.
It is simple: anyone who belongs to Freemasonry cannot be a part of the Orthodox Church. To believe and practice otherwise puts one soul in grave danger.