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Article FREEMASONRY, PAST AND PRESENT. ← Page 8 of 9 →
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Freemasonry, Past And Present.
the same yesterday , to-day , and for ever . For my own part , I have no objection to the Jews being admitted into our Order ( as they must , some day , become members of our Church , ancl be unitetl with us unto one fold , under one shepherd ) ; but they must receive Masonry as they found it , and if they have found in it anything irreconcilable with their views , they are not compelled to enter it . " It is free ; and requires a perfect freedom of inclinationin candidatefor its
, every , mysteries . " We cannot , however , from any false notions of liberality towards the Jews , suffer our 'beautiful temple" to be stripped of either its wisdom , strength , or beauty . Notwithstanding the admission on the part of the committee above alluded to by Dr . Oliver , that they found the lectures so full of types and reference to Christianity , & c , I find that in London some evil agency has been employed for the purpose above alluded to , and introduced such deviations from longestablished
usage and custom as would , if generally known , be the means of causing many of our members to abandon the Order . Since the means of access to London has been so much facilitated by railway , 1 have made several visits to London , in order to ascertain whether there were any difference between their mode of lecturing and our own , and I am happy to say , that we retain the ancient landmarks in the provinceswhile in Londonthe mutilated form in which the
; , lectures are given , makes Masonry appear like an old friend with a new face . For instance , the two Grand Parallels of our Order—St . John the Baptist , and the Evangelist—have been expelled , without being called upon to show cause ( and , I suppose , the only cause was . that of ¦ their having been eminent Christians ) , and two Jewish worthies
substituted in their place . This , of course , could not have been through the instrumentality of any Christian Brother ; but what must havebeen the state of apathy among our Christian Brethren , to have submitted to such an inconsistent innovation . There is a long tradition respecting the two St . Johns , which we give in the lectures , but which have no reference whatever to Moses or Solomon , which only proves the ignorance of those parties who have attempted to alter the ancient landmarks the
. In legitimate lectures , whicli have been in use from time immemorial , and handed down to us from our forefathers , ancl which ive still retain in the provinces , there is the following illustrations respecting our two Grand Parallels : — "Our Lodges being finished , and supplied with ornaments , furniture , and jewels , to whom were they consecrated ? To God and his service .
And to whom first dedicated ? To Solomon , the son of David , King of Israel . Because , he being the first prince who excelled in genuine Masonry , under his royal patronage , many of our mysteries gained their first sanction . King Solomon , being an Hebrew , and living long before the Christian era , to whom were they next dedicated ? To . Zerubbabel , the builder of the second temple ; and afterwards to ,-. ' . StJohthe
. n Baptist . Arid why dedicated to St . John the Baptist ? He , being the predicted forerunner of our Saviour , preached repentance in the wilderness , and thus drew the first line of the Gospel . ' Had St . John the Baptist an equal ? . !' . ' ,. ' .... V , ;; He had , viz ., St . John the Evangelist . j . ; ;¦ Wherein is the Evangelist equal lo the Baptist ? ' . '¦"¦ . ' „
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry, Past And Present.
the same yesterday , to-day , and for ever . For my own part , I have no objection to the Jews being admitted into our Order ( as they must , some day , become members of our Church , ancl be unitetl with us unto one fold , under one shepherd ) ; but they must receive Masonry as they found it , and if they have found in it anything irreconcilable with their views , they are not compelled to enter it . " It is free ; and requires a perfect freedom of inclinationin candidatefor its
, every , mysteries . " We cannot , however , from any false notions of liberality towards the Jews , suffer our 'beautiful temple" to be stripped of either its wisdom , strength , or beauty . Notwithstanding the admission on the part of the committee above alluded to by Dr . Oliver , that they found the lectures so full of types and reference to Christianity , & c , I find that in London some evil agency has been employed for the purpose above alluded to , and introduced such deviations from longestablished
usage and custom as would , if generally known , be the means of causing many of our members to abandon the Order . Since the means of access to London has been so much facilitated by railway , 1 have made several visits to London , in order to ascertain whether there were any difference between their mode of lecturing and our own , and I am happy to say , that we retain the ancient landmarks in the provinceswhile in Londonthe mutilated form in which the
; , lectures are given , makes Masonry appear like an old friend with a new face . For instance , the two Grand Parallels of our Order—St . John the Baptist , and the Evangelist—have been expelled , without being called upon to show cause ( and , I suppose , the only cause was . that of ¦ their having been eminent Christians ) , and two Jewish worthies
substituted in their place . This , of course , could not have been through the instrumentality of any Christian Brother ; but what must havebeen the state of apathy among our Christian Brethren , to have submitted to such an inconsistent innovation . There is a long tradition respecting the two St . Johns , which we give in the lectures , but which have no reference whatever to Moses or Solomon , which only proves the ignorance of those parties who have attempted to alter the ancient landmarks the
. In legitimate lectures , whicli have been in use from time immemorial , and handed down to us from our forefathers , ancl which ive still retain in the provinces , there is the following illustrations respecting our two Grand Parallels : — "Our Lodges being finished , and supplied with ornaments , furniture , and jewels , to whom were they consecrated ? To God and his service .
And to whom first dedicated ? To Solomon , the son of David , King of Israel . Because , he being the first prince who excelled in genuine Masonry , under his royal patronage , many of our mysteries gained their first sanction . King Solomon , being an Hebrew , and living long before the Christian era , to whom were they next dedicated ? To . Zerubbabel , the builder of the second temple ; and afterwards to ,-. ' . StJohthe
. n Baptist . Arid why dedicated to St . John the Baptist ? He , being the predicted forerunner of our Saviour , preached repentance in the wilderness , and thus drew the first line of the Gospel . ' Had St . John the Baptist an equal ? . !' . ' ,. ' .... V , ;; He had , viz ., St . John the Evangelist . j . ; ;¦ Wherein is the Evangelist equal lo the Baptist ? ' . '¦"¦ . ' „