404: Not Found{"id":786,"date":"2003-01-03T12:57:00","date_gmt":"2003-01-03T12:57:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2003-10-22T08:09:59","modified_gmt":"2003-10-22T08:09:59","slug":"Baptists And Freemasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/articles\/786.htm","title":{"rendered":"Baptists And Freemasons"},"content":{"rendered":"<pre>Subject: Re: Free-Mason Ministers\nDate: 9 Aug 1999 02:46:19 GMT\nFrom: Bill Maddox &lt;<a\nhref=\"mailto:\"><\/a> &gt;\nOrganization: <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.handteam.com\/maddox\">http:\/\/www.handteam.com\/maddox<\/a>\nNewsgroups: soc.religion.christian\nKenol Noel wrote:\n\n&gt; Peace!\n\nPeace unto you Kenol - to perhaps save you some time, I want to let\nyou know I have been a Freemason for 15 years, and a United Methodist\nnigh onto 40 years. You might not care for what I have to say.\n\n&gt; There are a lot of Ministers affiliated with many lodges receiving pass\n&gt; words and sacred words for each grade or degree.\n\nYou are right that there are a lot of ministers that are freemasons.\nAccording to the Southern Baptist Convention's A REPORT ON\nFREEMASONRY, we find the following:\nIn 1991, the Home Mission Board submitted questions concerning\nFreemasonry in the SBC to Baptist VIEWpoll. Baptist VIEWpoll is a\nsurvey by the Corporate Market Research Department of the Sunday\nSchool Board, SBC, of 1,433 Southern Baptists (283 pastors, 430\nministers of education, 247 directors of missions, 202 deacon\nchairmen, and 271 church clerks). Of the 1,433 who received the\nquestionnaire, 997 responded. One question was how important it was\nfor the SBC to have an official statement on Freemasonry. A majority\nof pastors (60%), ministers of education (56%), directors of missions\n(72%), deacon chairmen (63%), and church clerks (74%) felt that such a\nstatement was either &quot;not very important at all&quot; or had no opinion\nabout whether a statement was needed. When asked if the issue of\nFreemasonry ever caused a problem in their churches\/associations, the\nvast majority of each group responded that their churches\/associations\nhad never dealt with Freemasonry. Of those responding, 14 percent of\nthe pastors, 5 percent of the ministers of education, 13 percent of\nthe directors of missions, 18 percent of the deacon chairmen, and 12\npercent of the church clerks were or had been Masonic or Eastern Star\nmembers.i\n\nAn estimated 400,000 - 500,000 Southern Baptist men are Masons. Among\nthis number are many well-known Southern Baptist leaders. No attempt\nwill be given to naming living Southern Baptist Masons. However,\nfollowing are some well-known Southern Baptist Masons from the\npast. Robert E. Baylor was one of eight Masons who petitioned for a\ncharter for Baylor University in 1845. &quot;Every president of Baylor\nUniversity has been a Master Mason.&quot; ii One president was William R.\n\nWhite, 33d, who served as president of Baylor University from 1948 to\n1961. He served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First\nBaptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and\nBroadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive\nsecretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention\nof Texas.\n\nThe first two missionaries sent by the SBC to Texas, James Huckins and\nWilliam Tryon, were Masons.\n\nGeorge W. Truett (1867-1944), pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas\n(1897-1944), president of the SBC (1927-1929), president of the\nBaptist World Alliance (1934-1939), and trustee of Baylor University\nand Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was a Scottish Rite\nMason. He was raised a Master Mason in 1920 in the Dallas Lodge\nNo. 760; he received the 32nd degree in 1921. Of his Masonic\nmembership, Truett said:\n\n&quot;From my earliest recollection, sitting about my father's knees, who\nwas a Mason, and hearing him and fellow Masons talk, I imbibed the\nimpression in early childhood that the Masonic fraternity is one of\nthe most helpful mediating and conserving organizations among men, and\nI have never wavered from that childhood impression, but it has stood\nsteadfastly with me through the busy and vast hurrying years.&quot;iii\nTruett, in perhaps his most famous sermon, preaching on the steps of\nthe U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 1920, addressed the\n15,000 people gathered:\n\n&quot;The right to private judgment is the crown jewel of humanity, and for\nany person or institution to dare to come between the soul and God is\na blasphemous impertinence and a defamation of the crown-rights of the\nSon of God.... Every one must give an account of himself to God. Each\none must repent for himself, and believe for himself, and be baptized\nfor himself, and answer to God for himself, both in time and in\neternity.&quot;iv\n\nB.H. Carroll (1843-1914), first president of Southwestern seminary,\nwas a member of Waco Lodge No. 92 and Herring Lodge No. 1224, both\nlocated in Waco, Texas.v Carroll was instrumental in the creation of\nthe Department of Evangelism of the Home Mission Board in\n1906. Carroll was the author of more than 20 books, including The\nBible Doctrine of Repentance (1897), Baptists and Their Doctrines\n(1913), and Evangelistic Sermons (1913). It is said that his favourite\ncauses were evangelism, prohibition, home missions, and Christian\neducation.vi\n\nL.R. Scarborough (1870-1945) was a member of Gray Lodge No. 329 in\nHouston, Texas.vii He served Southern Baptists as pastor of First\nBaptist Church in Abilene, Texas, from 1901 to 1908; professor of\nevangelism at Southwestern seminary from 1908 to 1914, when he became\npresident of the seminary. He authored a number of books, most of\nwhich focused on evangelism, including How Jesus Won Men (1926), or\nwere collections of his sermons.viii\n\nW.W. Barnes (1883-1960), professor of church history at Southwestern\nseminary (1913-1953), was an active 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason.\n\nW.T. Conner (1877-1952), who taught theology at Southwestern seminary\nfrom 1910 until his retirement in 1949, was a member of Southside\nLodge No. 1114 in Fort Worth until his death. James T. Draper\nJr. referred to Conner as &quot;perhaps the most famous theologian to be\nassociated with Southwestern Seminary.&quot; ix\n\nWilliam W. Hamilton, a Mason, was named the Home Mission Board's first\nhead of the Department of Evangelism in 1906. He served as president\nof Baptist Bible Institute (BBI), now the New Orleans Baptist\nTheological Seminary, from 1927 to 1943. While president, he saved BBI\nfrom bankruptcy in 1932, when the school defaulted on $353,000 in\nbonds. He was president of the SBC from 1940 to 1942.\n\nLouie D. Newton (1892-1986), was president of the SBC (1947-1948) and\nvice president of the Baptist World Alliance (1939-1959), served 27\nyears on the SBC Executive Committee, and was a member of Joseph\nC. Greenfield Lodge No.400 in Atlanta. He received his 50-year Masonic\npin in 1980. He was also a York Rite Mason and a Shriner. He was the\nchaplain of the Yaarab Shrine Temple in Atlanta from 1939 to 1953,\nwhen he was succeeded by fellow Southern Baptist James P. Wesberry.\n\nJames P. Wesberry, who died in December 1992, was pastor of\nMorningside Baptist Church in Atlanta for 31 years, president of the\nGeorgia Baptist Convention for 3 years, recording secretary for the\nGeorgia Baptist Convention for 20 years, moderator of the Southern\nBaptist Pastors Conference, and executive-director of the Lord's Day\nAlliance.x He became a Mason in 1927. He was a York Rite Mason, 32nd\ndegree Scottish Rite Mason, and a Shriner. He succeeded Louie D.\n\nNewton as chaplain of the Yaarab Shrine Temple in Atlanta in\n1953. Wesberry was succeeded as chaplain by another Southern Baptist\nminister, James C. Bryant, in 1981.\n\nJoseph Samuel Murrow (1835-1929) was an appointed Southern Baptist\nhome missionary to the Oklahoma Indian Territory, where he established\nmore than 100 churches, according to one report. Called &quot;the founder\nof Freemasonry in Oklahoma,&quot; he established the first Masonic Lodge in\nthe Indian Territory, served as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in\nthe Indian Territory, and wrote the Murrow Masonic Monitor.xi He was\nraised a Master Mason in 1867. He served as Grand Master of the Grand\nLodge of the Indian Territory from 1877 to 1878 and Grand Secretary\nfrom 1880 to 1909.xii\n\nJohn T. Christian (1854-1925), a Knight Templar, was chairman of the\ninformal committee of friends who met in 1915 to consider formation of\nBBI. He was professor of Christian history and librarian at BBI from\n1919 until his death in 1925. He donated his personal library of\n15,000 volumes to BBI. The library on the New Orleans seminary campus\nbears his name. Christian also pastored First Baptist Church,\nChattanooga; First Baptist Church, Hattiesburg; Second Baptist Church,\nLittle Rock; and other churches.\n\nJ.B. Lawrence, a Mason, was vice president of the SBC (1916-1917) and\nexecutive secretary-treasurer of the Home Mission Board\n(1929-1954). In 1943, Lawrence freed the Home Mission Board from debt\nfor the first time.\n\nRichard A. McLemore, president of Mississippi College in Clinton\n(1957-1968), was a member of Hattiesburg Lodge No. 397 and a 33rd\ndegree Scottish Rite Mason.xiii\nDavid E. Moore was a well-known pastor in southeastern New Mexico\nuntil his death in 1992 at the age of 103. He was pastor of Caprock\nBaptist Church in Caprock, N.M., for many years and was assistant\npastor of First Baptist Church, Roswell, N.M., at the time of his\ndeath. On his hundredth birthday, he was honoured with the title of\n&quot;Honourary Past Master of Roswell Lodge No. 18.&quot; xiv\n\nSome insist that &quot;Christian Masons must decide today whether they will\nremain Masons and deny their Lord, Jesus Christ, or whether they will\ndo the will of their Father in heaven and leave Masonry.&quot; xv They call\nfor Christian Masons to reject the &quot;hypocrisy&quot; of being a Mason and a\nChristian. &quot;Either follow God or follow Masonry. Either live as a\nChristian or live as a Mason.&quot; xvi\n\nTaking an opposite position, a non-Mason Southern Baptist pastor\nwrites, &quot;The Masons I know are good Christians that are as active and\nperhaps more active than most church members and are instrumental in\nthe spiritual growth of their peers in their respective churches.&quot; He\ncontinues, &quot;It is time for us to lay aside our prejudices against\nother organizations and denominations that differ from us, and focus\non the mission of the church. That is to make disciples, to baptize\nthem, and to teach them to reach others.&quot; xvii\n\ni Baptist VIEWpoll, November 1991, and memorandum from Steve Whitten\nto the HMB Administrative Council, February 20, 1992. ii Carter,\nMasonry in Texas, p. 340. R.E. Baylor was a member of Baylor Lodge\nNo. 125. iii William R. Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, vol. IV\n(Trenton: Missouri Lodge of Research, 1961), pp. 254-255. The quote is\nfrom an address by Truett at the Grand Lodge of Texas meeting in Waco\nin 1940. The full text of Truett's address is found in Proceedings of\nthe Grand Lodge of Texas (Waco: Grand Lodge of Texas, 1940), pp. 148 -\n156. iv Powhatan W. James, George W. Truett: A Biography (New York:\nThe Macmillan Company, 1945), p. 3. v D.D. Tidwell, &quot;Dr. George\nW. Truett,&quot; The Texas Grand Lodge Magazine, March 1960, p. 113, and\nletter from James D. Ward of Waco, Texas, December 9, 1992. vi\nMelton, Religious Leaders of America, pp. 86- 87. vii Letter from\nJames D. Ward of Waco, December 9, 1992. viii Melton, Religious\nLeaders of America, p. 409. ix James T. Draper Jr. Authority: The\nCritical Issue for Southern Baptists (Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell\nCo., 1984), p. 64. x Sunday, September-December 1991, pp. 8-12. xi\nUnpublished manuscript from Jim Tresner, ed., The Oklahoma Mason, n.d.\nxii Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, vol. III, pp. 249 -250. xiii\nThe New Age Magazine, September 1968, pp. 35-36. xiv Letter from Ray\nD. Carpenter, Albuquerque, N.M., November 6, 1992. xv Ankerberg and\nWeldon, The Facts on the Masonic Lodge, p. 44. xvi Ibid. xvii\nLetter on file.\n\n&gt; When initiating in the\n&gt; first degree, the oath is that you said that you were in darkness, you came\n&gt; to seek light. The problem is how is a christian in darkness after receiving\n&gt; Christ?\n\nTo much playing with words, perhaps. Light, in a masonic sense,\nusually refers to knowledge. Again from the SBC REPORT: Harris quotes\nfrom the Entered Apprentice ritual, &quot;A poor blind candidate, who\ndesires to be brought from darkness to light and receive a part of the\nrights and benefits of this right worshipful lodge, erected to God and\ndedicated to the Holy Saints John.&quot; 1 Many critics interpret &quot;from\ndarkness to light&quot; as &quot;from lostness to salvation.&quot; Coil gives a\nMasonic definition for this phrase:\n\nLight is everywhere the symbol of intelligence, information,\nknowledge, and truth and is opposed to darkness which symbolizes\nignorance and evil. So, in the ceremonies, the candidate is said to\nbe brought from darkness to light.2\n\n1 Harris, Freemasonry: The Invisible Cult in Our Midst, p. 41.\n2 Coil, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, p. 375.\n\n&gt; What is your thought on that? Please continue discussion!\n\nFinally - from <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/Athens\/Forum\/7849\/family.html\">http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/Athens\/Forum\/7849\/family.html<\/a>  \nFreemasonry has ever been the patron of learning. Its votaries long\nago discovered that ignorance was the mother of nearly all of the\nevils and dangerous environments that afflicted humanity; that\neducation dispelled this evil, set free the victims of its influence,\nand put a smile where terror and despair had planted sorrow. In its\nunending efforts to eliminate such human afflictions, Freemasonry has\nperhaps performed its greatest labor, breaking down the walls of\nreligious hatred and intolerance that for too long divided men into\nopposing sects and hostile camps.\n\n&gt; Peace be with you\n\nPeace again, but striving to stir up ill will. &lt;hmmm&gt;\nJust wanting to shed some light on the problem -\nBill Maddox<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Subject: Re: Free-Mason Ministers Date: 9 Aug 1999 02:46:19 GMT From: Bill Maddox &lt; &gt; Organization: http:\/\/www.handteam.com\/maddox Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Kenol Noel wrote: &gt; Peace! Peace unto you Kenol &#8211; to perhaps save you some time, I want to let you know I have been a Freemason for 15 years, and a United Methodist nigh onto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologetics_social_issues"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YMpS-cG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmm.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}