more light #336
Old LEO Letters
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
One of the things the anti-Masons seem to like to do is to vilify Brother
Albert Pike: In particular they like to tell anyone and everyone who will listen
that Pike was a devil worshiper, and along with that they also want to convince
the uninformed that Pike and all Masons in general worship a Masonic god whose
name is The Great Architect of the Universe. What they may or may not realize,
and what they don’t want to accept is the truth, and the truth is that Pike was
a Christian, and ‘The Great Architect of the Universe’ is a interfaith name
coined by the Christian theologian John Calvin (he coined a number of names he
used for God), and that Freemasonry adopted his name or term (The Great
Architect of the Universe) for use in Lodges where Masons of more than one
religion may sit in Lodge together. Using an interfaith name, when Deity is
referred to, is a good way to not promote one religion over another among
friends and Brothers; it allows each man to accept the prayer as his own to the
Deity of his religion when it is given by one Mason on behalf of all of us. The
prayer is ended with the traditional word “Amen” to which all Masons can
truthfully reply ‘so may it be,’ by using an archaic word to say “So Mote It
Be.”
Anti-Masons love to proof-text Brother Pike in his book Morals and Dogma.
Sometimes they will quote him, but most of the time they will misquote him by
proof-texting portions of Morals and dogma to make it look like Pike wrote
something he didn’t write. One portion the enemies of Masonry never quote from
pike is found on page 134U (meaning page 134 upper portion of the page). Page
134 is a part of the 8th Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of
Freemasonry; reading the 8th degree will capture the attention of any Mason who
would read it, and I think, anyone who reads will want to study that degree and
others to learn more. Here is what pike wrote on page 134U: “Speak kindly to
your erring Brother! God pities him; Christ has died for him. Providence waits
for him: Heaven’s mercy yearns towards him; and Heaven’s spirits are ready to
welcome him back with joy. Let your voice be in unison with all those powers
that God is using for his recovery!”
Those words from Brother Pike on page 134U of Morals and Dogma don’t sound
like the words someone would use if they didn’t believe in God and in Pikes Case
his Christian religion.
Don’t believe for one moment the lies and untruths the anti-Masons of the
world – the enemies of Masonry – want everyone to believe. What is true is that
the malarkey and falsities of these anti-Masons cannot stand up to
investigation, but what Masonry is, and stands for, can stand up to
investigation and study. So if you hear something that makes you wonder – check
it out; you’ll enjoy the process – or ask one of your Brothers who likes to do
research and study to help you check it out, you’ll still enjoy the process as
well as the learning that results.
Also don’t believe that Morals and Dogma is a hard or difficult book to read
– it isn’t – any Mason is capable of reading and understanding what Pike wrote
in it; although speed reading and understanding it, doesn’t seem to work. One
can read the book slowly and deliberately with a pen and paper to take notes
etc. and thus enjoy what Pike had to say.
Sadly, it has been reported that one Masonic library has been disposing of
excess copies of Morals and Dogma by destroying them or tossing them into
dumpsters. If you can get one of those copies others no longer want – get it –
and begin to read the book: There’s good information in it. (or Check with
Harold Davidson at brod...@wtp.net
for a good used copy, or on-line for an e-copy of the book.
One final comment: The anti-Masons want everyone to believe that Pike wrote
for all of Freemasonry – that he was and is “The” authority, and all Masons
adhere to his writings; he wasn’t, isn’t, and we don’t. But still his book,
Morals and Dogma, does contain some good information and is a pleasure to read.
When you read it pay particular attention to page ivm (Page iv of the preface in
the middle of the page): “Every one is entirely free to reject and dissent from
whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound.” Albert Pike, just
like the rest of us, wrote for himself only, not for our entire fraternity; this
is another truth the anti-Masons – the enemies of Masonry – don’t want to
accept.
“The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral
order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it
cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to
the different characters and capacities impressed with it.” –James Madison,
letter to Frederick Beasley, 1825
James Madison is the 4th President of the United States; he is thought to be
a Mason, but no documentation or proof of his being initiated has been found. I
good book for research into questions like this is “Masonic Membership of the
Founding Fathers” by Ronal Heaton and available from the Masonic Service
Association of North America.
Words to Live by: “It is the duty of all men in society, publicly, and at
stated seasons, to worship the SUPREME BEING, the great Creator and Preserver of
the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his
person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping GOD in the manner most agreeable to
the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or
sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in
their religious worship.” –John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776 –
President John Adams was not a Mason, and even though he is closely linked
with other Founding Fathers who were Masons he was an anti-Mason who wrote
letters as such, and his son President John Quincy Adams was a devout
anti-Mason.
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