Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ukma!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: MATH1H3@uhvax1.uh.edu (David H. Wagner) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Christianity and Freemasonry Message-ID: Date: 15 Dec 89 05:30:23 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Houston Lines: 32 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , jhpb@lancia.garage.att.com writes: > > The ban also has to do with what Freemasonic principles are all about. > They're inimical to Catholicism. According to the classic papal > encyclical on Freemasonry, Humanum Genus, Freemasonry is based on an > error called Naturalism. Basically, a denial that the supernatural > exists. Really, you ought to say that Freemasonry is antithetic to Christianity. Of course, if you believe that the Roman Catholics Church is *the* Christian church, then your statement would make more sense to me. As I understand it, Freemasons, in theory, believe that all religions teach an aproximation of the true faith, but that they of course have true understanding. They accept the Bible, the Koran, and other holy books as revelations of God, whom they call the Great Architect of the Universe. In a sense Freemasonry is a precursor to the modern ecumenical movement. Lutherans have traditionally taken a strong stand against Freemasonry, and not permitted their members to belong to the Masons or similar lodges. Some Lutheran churches have retreated from this stand, but not the WELS or ELS, David H. Wagner My opinions and beliefs are completely separated from my employer's lack thereof. [I am very reluctant to continue a discussion of someone else's beliefs based on rumors of what they believe. Marge Thompson seems to be the closest we have to a Mason (Eastern Star), and I guarantee you that she would not be involved in anything even slightly anti-Christian. On the other hand, there have certainly been Masonic groups ranging from free-thinkers to non-Christian. --clh]