The Masonic Altar
The Masonic Lodges focal point is the Altar. The candidate comes before the Altar in search of light and prepares to take his obligations there. Before the presence of God and his Brethren, he offers himself to the service of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, and to all mankind. If I were to ask you where you made your public commitment to marry your spouse, most likely you would tell me that it was at the Altar. When you think of a matrimonial altar, do you focus on a place on a place in the front of the sanctuary where conversions take place? Probably not. When you think of a matrimonial altar, do you focus on a place of worship? Probably not.
An altar has many functions. For the Mason it is a place where we are reminded of the place of Deity in our lives and it is helps to remind us that we made certain commitments there.
Let’s go to the religious articles in the Lodge Room. The Alter is often a point of criticism. Alters are more ancient than any temple ever built. We could possibly trace the use of altars as far back as Cain and Able in the Book of Genesis. The altar has always been a focus of faith and fellowship. The altar throughout ancient history has been a place where man came to make contact with God. Freemasonry does not use the altar as a place of sacrifice or seeking salvation, but it does see the altar as a place where we ask for God’s help. It is placed in the center of the Lodge as a focal point for all activities to revolve around. In the book "The Newly Made Mason" the author says:
It is not a theological altar, but a craft altar…. In the Operative Lodge Room it was the place where the apprentice came both to stand and to kneel when he gave his promises to obey the Rules and Regulations and put himself in pledge as a guarantee of his promise. He gave his oath, which was his reputation as a man, that he would learn his trade thoroughly…and that he would be a good citizen under the government of his craft.
This concept may be foreign to us in the 21st century, but making commitments were taken very seriously in the Middle Ages. An apprentice felt that he had a spiritual as well as a moral obligation to serve the trade organization into which he was being trained. Since the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages had its fingers in every aspect of life, it would be expected that it would expect every worker and tradesman to show respect to the church, God, and to their leaders. The altar was the place where commitments were made. In our present day the bride and groom make commitments of marriage at an altar. In many Christian denominations the pastor will often invite people who want to make a commitment to come forward and make their desires known at an altar. The altar is a constant reminder to the Mason that he has made a commitment that he should never forget, or take lightly.
The altar of Masonry is first of all an altar of faith. That
deep, eternal faith which underlies all creeds and over arches all sects; faith
in God, in the moral law, and in the life everlasting. Secondly, it is
an altar of freedom. Secondly, it is an altar of freedom. Not freedom from
faith, but freedom of faith. It does not define God and does not determine how
and what men shall think or believe about God. It is also an altar of
fellowship. It teaches us that no man can learn the truth for another, and no man can learn it alone. Joseph Fort Newton
has this to say about the Altar in his book Brothers and Builders:
The position of the Altar in the Lodge is not accidental, but profoundly significant. For, while Masonry is not a religion, it is religious in its faith and basic principles, no less than in its spirit and purpose. And yet it is not a Church. Nor does it attempt to do what the Church is trying to do. If it were a Church its Altar would be in the East and its ritual would be altered accordingly. That is to say, Masonry is not a Religion; much less a sect, but a Worship in which all men can unite, because it does not undertake to explain, or dogmatically to settle in detail, those issues by which men are divided. Beyond the Primary, fundamental facts of faith it does not go. With the philosophy of those facts, and the differences and disputes growing out of them, it has not to do. In short, the position of the Altar in the Lodge is a symbol of what Masonry believes the Altar should be in actual life, a centre of union and fellowship, and not a cause of division, as is now so often the case. It does not seek uniformity of opinion, but it does seek fraternity of spirit, leaving each one free to fashion his own philosophy of ultimate truth.