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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 4 of 6 →
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Correspondence.
tivo distinct natures , human and divine ; thc human as resting upon the earth , the divine as reaching to Heaven , and is a type of him who partook of those two natures , human and divine , God and man , by whom ' we , as Masons , hope to arrive at its summit . ' " Wo may reasonably suppose that all revelations from Heaven are mado intelligible to those to whom it has pleased the Most High to reveal them ; and that , therefore , the Patriarch Abraham fully understood the sacrifice of his only son Isaac to be a foreshadowing of the plan of Human Redemption by the sacrifice
of God ' s only Son . He herein rejoiced to see , with the eye of faith , the day of Christ , —he saw it and was glad ; so , likewise in the vision of the ladder . Was it revealed to the patriarch Jacob , that there was but one medium of communication between earth and Heaven , one mediator between God and man , for , it must be observed , that there were not several ladders that Jacob might choose his own path to Heaven , but one only .- and that it was the only sanctified path , was indicated by the presence of Angels continually ascending and descending thereon , and the Lord God appearing at its summit hear of voice proceeding
. We no ¦ from this symbolical ladder , but we , who , as Masons , hope to arrive at its summit , assign to it , as did the patriarch , a symbolical language ; we assign to the type the language of the antitype , " I am the "Way , and the Truth , and the Life , no man cometh to the Father but by me . " Nothing can be more clearly evident to the mind not blinded by prejudice , than the sublime truth veiled in this allegory and illustrated by this symbol .
The steps ot this ladder are defined by us as symbolical of those theological and cardinal virtues which should constitute our course through this state of probation , being indicative of faith and practice , and there is a close resemblance between the steps of this ladder and the original prayer above quoted , in which the same Masonic career is pointed out , the commencement of which is Faith , the consummation Charity . Now the definitions of Faith , Hope , and Charity , as given in our lectures , are taken from the New Testamentbeing nowhere treated of in the Oldand must
, , therefore be considered as Christian virtues ; and it is not at all probable that Major Trevilian could have ever heard these lectures on the occasion of his first and last appearance in a Lodge , or he could not have made those unjustifiable remarks which pervade the whole of his book , and which are too absurd to reply to seriatim .
But , should this meet his eye , I will furnish the definition of Faith in the language adopted in our Lodge ever since the day of my initiation , and , I have authority to say , for many years previously , which ought to convince any one , who is not blinded by prejudice , of the Christian character of our Order . At the same time I will point out the difference or omissions which 1 observed in the Lodge of Instruction above referred to . " Faith is the foundation of justice , the bond of amity , and the chief support of society ; we live by faith , we walk by faith , by faith we have a continual
hope in the acknowledgment of a Supreme Being ; by faith we are justified , accepted , and finally saved . A true Christian faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen . If we , with suitable true devotion , maintain our Masonic profession , our faith will become a beam of light and bring us to those blessed mansions where we shall be eternally happy with God , the Grand Architect of the Universe , whose son died for us , and rose again that we might be justified through faith in His blood . " The Lodge of Instruction finish with the word "Architect of the Universe , "
omitting the last sentence , " whose Son died for us , " & c , and substituting the words " a true and sincere faith , " for the words " a true Christian faith . " Now I will make no comment , but will leave yourself and the Brethren at large to draw their own inferences from the omissions alluded to , and I must confess that it is by deviations from the ancient landmarks such as these , that our Grand Lodge has rendered itself liable to the charge of introducing frequent innovations , and thereby giving offence to very many of the Brethren . I have in my possessions several Masonic publications of the last century , and some of a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
tivo distinct natures , human and divine ; thc human as resting upon the earth , the divine as reaching to Heaven , and is a type of him who partook of those two natures , human and divine , God and man , by whom ' we , as Masons , hope to arrive at its summit . ' " Wo may reasonably suppose that all revelations from Heaven are mado intelligible to those to whom it has pleased the Most High to reveal them ; and that , therefore , the Patriarch Abraham fully understood the sacrifice of his only son Isaac to be a foreshadowing of the plan of Human Redemption by the sacrifice
of God ' s only Son . He herein rejoiced to see , with the eye of faith , the day of Christ , —he saw it and was glad ; so , likewise in the vision of the ladder . Was it revealed to the patriarch Jacob , that there was but one medium of communication between earth and Heaven , one mediator between God and man , for , it must be observed , that there were not several ladders that Jacob might choose his own path to Heaven , but one only .- and that it was the only sanctified path , was indicated by the presence of Angels continually ascending and descending thereon , and the Lord God appearing at its summit hear of voice proceeding
. We no ¦ from this symbolical ladder , but we , who , as Masons , hope to arrive at its summit , assign to it , as did the patriarch , a symbolical language ; we assign to the type the language of the antitype , " I am the "Way , and the Truth , and the Life , no man cometh to the Father but by me . " Nothing can be more clearly evident to the mind not blinded by prejudice , than the sublime truth veiled in this allegory and illustrated by this symbol .
The steps ot this ladder are defined by us as symbolical of those theological and cardinal virtues which should constitute our course through this state of probation , being indicative of faith and practice , and there is a close resemblance between the steps of this ladder and the original prayer above quoted , in which the same Masonic career is pointed out , the commencement of which is Faith , the consummation Charity . Now the definitions of Faith , Hope , and Charity , as given in our lectures , are taken from the New Testamentbeing nowhere treated of in the Oldand must
, , therefore be considered as Christian virtues ; and it is not at all probable that Major Trevilian could have ever heard these lectures on the occasion of his first and last appearance in a Lodge , or he could not have made those unjustifiable remarks which pervade the whole of his book , and which are too absurd to reply to seriatim .
But , should this meet his eye , I will furnish the definition of Faith in the language adopted in our Lodge ever since the day of my initiation , and , I have authority to say , for many years previously , which ought to convince any one , who is not blinded by prejudice , of the Christian character of our Order . At the same time I will point out the difference or omissions which 1 observed in the Lodge of Instruction above referred to . " Faith is the foundation of justice , the bond of amity , and the chief support of society ; we live by faith , we walk by faith , by faith we have a continual
hope in the acknowledgment of a Supreme Being ; by faith we are justified , accepted , and finally saved . A true Christian faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen . If we , with suitable true devotion , maintain our Masonic profession , our faith will become a beam of light and bring us to those blessed mansions where we shall be eternally happy with God , the Grand Architect of the Universe , whose son died for us , and rose again that we might be justified through faith in His blood . " The Lodge of Instruction finish with the word "Architect of the Universe , "
omitting the last sentence , " whose Son died for us , " & c , and substituting the words " a true and sincere faith , " for the words " a true Christian faith . " Now I will make no comment , but will leave yourself and the Brethren at large to draw their own inferences from the omissions alluded to , and I must confess that it is by deviations from the ancient landmarks such as these , that our Grand Lodge has rendered itself liable to the charge of introducing frequent innovations , and thereby giving offence to very many of the Brethren . I have in my possessions several Masonic publications of the last century , and some of a