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Article THAT RELIGION IN WHICH ALL MEN AGREE.* ← Page 3 of 4 →
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That Religion In Which All Men Agree.*
"Not for their Religious Rites , that are not the subject of this book , they are here mentioned , for we leave every Brother to liberty of conscience , BUT STRICTLY CHARGES HIM CAREFULLY TO . MAINTAIN THE CEMENT OF THE LODGE AND THE THREE GRAND ARTICLES OF NOAH . "
Further on we find in the first old charge" In ancient Times , the Christian Masons were charged to comply with Christian usages of each country where they travelled or worked ; but Masonry being found in all nations , even of divers religions , they are now only charged to adhere to ' that religion in which all men agree , ' ( leaving each Brother to his own particular opinions ) , that is to be Good Men and True Men of Honour and Honesty , by whatever Names , Religions , or Persuasions they may be distinguished , for they all ayree in the three great Articles of Noah enough to preserve the Cement of the Lodge . "
If the Founders of the present moral system of Freemasonry had wished or intended to say that Jews or Mahomedans were not to be admitted , they would have practised the unmasonic vice of concealing their thought by ambiguity , but in that case they would have ceased to be " good men and true , " and have forfeited one of the three great principles inculcated at their initiation—TRUTH . Those who accuse them must prove the accusation . If at the time of the publication of the oldest Book of Constitutions
, in 1723 , Jews had not been admitted to the Order , it is undoubted that they might have been , and it is very certain that they were in the Craft very few years later , as in the year 1732 , Solomon Mendez served the office of Grand Steward , which will be readily found in the Archives of the Grand Lodge ( see Constitutions , revised by John Noorthouck . London , 1784 , page 403 . ) Also in 1735 , Meyer Schomberg , M . D . 1736 , Isaac Schomberg , jun ., M . D . 1737 , Benjamin Da Costa .
1738 , Moses Mendez ; and in 1733 , the universally read " Gentleman ' s Magazine , " vol . iii . p . 68 , at that time the periodical in England of unequalled circulation , in a satirical essay " Of the Freemasons , " speaks of it as a well-known fact that Jews were " accepted Brethren" of the Order . * I believe I have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the most opposed , the correctness of the assertion with which I have headed this letter , and substantiated the truth of my views , but I will add two more proofs to
show that our British Brethren , more than one hundred years ago , understood the first clause of the ancient charges as I understand them , and interpreted the objects of Freemasonry to be what an honest , upright , and scrupulous adhesion to the first clause of the ancient charges inculcates . The inauguration of the Vernon Kilwinning ( a Scotch lodge , ) took place on the 15 th May , 1741 ; on which occasion , Bro . Charles Leslie , M . A ., delivered an address , entitled " A Vindication of Masonry , and its excellencies demonstrated , " in which the following occurs : —f
" We unite men of all religions and of all nations ; thus the distant Chinese can embrace a Brother Briton ; thus they come to know that , besides the common ties of humanity , there is a stronger still
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
That Religion In Which All Men Agree.*
"Not for their Religious Rites , that are not the subject of this book , they are here mentioned , for we leave every Brother to liberty of conscience , BUT STRICTLY CHARGES HIM CAREFULLY TO . MAINTAIN THE CEMENT OF THE LODGE AND THE THREE GRAND ARTICLES OF NOAH . "
Further on we find in the first old charge" In ancient Times , the Christian Masons were charged to comply with Christian usages of each country where they travelled or worked ; but Masonry being found in all nations , even of divers religions , they are now only charged to adhere to ' that religion in which all men agree , ' ( leaving each Brother to his own particular opinions ) , that is to be Good Men and True Men of Honour and Honesty , by whatever Names , Religions , or Persuasions they may be distinguished , for they all ayree in the three great Articles of Noah enough to preserve the Cement of the Lodge . "
If the Founders of the present moral system of Freemasonry had wished or intended to say that Jews or Mahomedans were not to be admitted , they would have practised the unmasonic vice of concealing their thought by ambiguity , but in that case they would have ceased to be " good men and true , " and have forfeited one of the three great principles inculcated at their initiation—TRUTH . Those who accuse them must prove the accusation . If at the time of the publication of the oldest Book of Constitutions
, in 1723 , Jews had not been admitted to the Order , it is undoubted that they might have been , and it is very certain that they were in the Craft very few years later , as in the year 1732 , Solomon Mendez served the office of Grand Steward , which will be readily found in the Archives of the Grand Lodge ( see Constitutions , revised by John Noorthouck . London , 1784 , page 403 . ) Also in 1735 , Meyer Schomberg , M . D . 1736 , Isaac Schomberg , jun ., M . D . 1737 , Benjamin Da Costa .
1738 , Moses Mendez ; and in 1733 , the universally read " Gentleman ' s Magazine , " vol . iii . p . 68 , at that time the periodical in England of unequalled circulation , in a satirical essay " Of the Freemasons , " speaks of it as a well-known fact that Jews were " accepted Brethren" of the Order . * I believe I have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the most opposed , the correctness of the assertion with which I have headed this letter , and substantiated the truth of my views , but I will add two more proofs to
show that our British Brethren , more than one hundred years ago , understood the first clause of the ancient charges as I understand them , and interpreted the objects of Freemasonry to be what an honest , upright , and scrupulous adhesion to the first clause of the ancient charges inculcates . The inauguration of the Vernon Kilwinning ( a Scotch lodge , ) took place on the 15 th May , 1741 ; on which occasion , Bro . Charles Leslie , M . A ., delivered an address , entitled " A Vindication of Masonry , and its excellencies demonstrated , " in which the following occurs : —f
" We unite men of all religions and of all nations ; thus the distant Chinese can embrace a Brother Briton ; thus they come to know that , besides the common ties of humanity , there is a stronger still