'Is your group political?' I asked, knowing the answer from previous chats. No.
'Religious?' No.
'Ok, then what are you about?' My query was an open door.
Chairs shifted as they glanced at each other and then back to me. The silence was palpable. And then the hammer dropped. 'Were not Satanists'. It was said so matter-of-factually, as if it were a normal response when at a loss for something to say. But for me, it was as if a lightening bolt had been shot through a dense fog. Where did this come from?

Compelled by the Satan- bomb to find out what the Lodge was about, but not wanting to join, I determined to obtain their rituals and philosophical texts. Books examining and critiquing the Lodge had already been published, but I didnt know this at the time. What I did know was that a BODY OF INTERNAL LITERATRUE existed. Thus began a quest to collect the texts and materials of the Lodge. Along the way, I talked with current Masons, probed into community archives, and studied the subject.

Freemasonry has long been called a secret society. But this is a misnomer. Properly defined, a secret society is an organization that intentionally remains unknown to all outside of the closed group. However, hints of a deeper realitya spiritual interestcannot be overlooked. Bernard E. Jones Freemasons Guide and Compendium points to religious underpinnings.2 And Baileys book, The Spirit of Masonry, is devoted to the spiritual endeavor pulsing within the Craft.

Masonry does not have an authoritative text to offer clarification in the way many religions and some ideologies do. Using religion as a comparison, Christianity has the Old and New Testament, Judaism the Torah and Talmud, Islam the Quran, and Hinduism builds on the Vedas. But a Masonic scriptural authority does not exist.

In Their Own Words Religious Universalism. Masonry, around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Moslem, the Brahmin, the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above all the Baalim. (p. 226). Of course, this belief brands Jesus a liar because He emphatically stated that He was the ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER. Every other supposed way was a LIAR AND A THIEF.

Spiritual Heresy - 'Man is a god in the making' (Manly P. Hall, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry)

Perfection in the Lodge -- The use of the word 'perfection' is found throughout Freemasonry. For example, in the Scottish Rite, the combined degrees of 4 to 14 are called the 'Lodge of Perfection', and Degree 5 is labeled 'Perfect Master'. Freemasonry itself is symbolic of the highest possible perfection of mankind, and to this its great aim is to contribute; with a view to this object all its teachings are framed.13

CONCLUSION: Scripture runs counter to the ideas of the Lodge and Freemasonry, which seeks mystical perfection through its own works, making it an avenue that delivers the antithesis of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.