© 1991 by William Schnoebelen
Reproduced by permission
from "Masonry: Beyond The Light"

You can tell a great deal about a religion by its god, and this is one of the central questions which must be analyzed in comparing Free-masonry with Christianity. Does the "God" of Free-masonry resemble the God of the Bible?

It is difficult to learn the name of the deity of Masonry, since it is a closely guarded secret! To outsiders, the god of the Lodge is usually referred to as "The Great Architect of the Universe" (or T.G.A.O.T.U.). That sounds alright, if a bit vague. This is, sadly, exactly how it is intended to sound.

The blandness of the titles of the Masonry's god diminishes as the degrees climb. As in most secret societies, the revealed material gets more bizarre as you get further into the club. As an example, in the first prayer the candidate hears, deity is addressed as "Almighty Father of the Universe." Throughout the lower degrees, the deity is addressed either as "God" (as when the candidate swears his oath by saying, "so help me God...", or as T...G...A...O...T...U...

As one progresses higher into the degrees, the nature of God begins to take on a less soothing quality. The closest description I can think of is generic foods in the supermarket. The god of Masonry is a "generic" god. His label is blank, so if you want to write in Allah or Krishna or even Satan, you could do so and no Mason could possibly object.

This is obviously "God-to-the-lowest-common-denominator." The Masonic authority, Albert Mackey put it this way:

"Be assured, that God is equally present with the pious Hindu in the temple, the Jew in the synagogue, the Mohammedan in the mosque, and the Christian in the church."

One could just as logically add to Mackey's thought by saying that this "god" is equally present to the satanist in his coven as he cuts the heart out of a child.

Lest the Mason think that such a statement is absurd, let us see just how discriminating the authorities are about the nature of the god they worship. Henry W. Coil, the most highly regarded Masonic scholar states:

The Masonic test is a Supreme Being and any qualification added is an innovation. Monotheism has been espoused as the sole religious dogma of Free-masonry by some authors. This obviously violates Masonic principles, for it requires belief in a specific kind of supreme deity.

Thus, if you tell the satanist that he cannot be a Mason because his supreme being, the devil, isn't up to snuff, you are in violation of "Masonic principles."

When I applied for Lodge membership, I was a witch, and attended an Episcopal church.

I was stupid enough to think the witch god, Lucifer, was the Supreme Being, the father of Jesus. So when two Masons came calling to check me out as a candidate, and asked me if I believed in God, I said yes, without hesitation, knowing that my god was Lucifer.

I was welcomed into the Lodge with open arms, and remained there for nine years. During that time none of my "Christian brothers" ever witnessed to me about Jesus. That would have been bad Masonic etiquette!

After a couple of years, I met two high ranking Masons who were also worshippers of Lucifer. One was a famous ritualist in the York Rite, and one was a Master of a Lodge.

This generic god is obviously a god with whom everyone can be comfortable, except Bible believers! He is a god who offends no one. However, is this broad-minded "man upstairs" the right God, the Biblical God?

The God of the Judeo-Christian heritage is not some blank slate upon which you can trace the form of whatever idol you like. He is very clearly described in the Bible. From Mt. Sinai, He thunders:

"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3).

Later in the Ten Commandments, He warns:

"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them (other gods), nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me" (Exodus 20:5).

Imagine the colorless god of the Lodge being jealous? It just doesn't wash. The God we quoted is not pleased to be identified with another god.

He insists throughout the Bible that He is the only true God and He will tolerate the worship of no other deity. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 43:10, 44:6-8, I Timothy 2:5).