WHAT DO MASONS BELIEVE ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?
Freemasonry does teach that there will be a
resurrection. Since we believe in the immortality of the soul it only seems
right that we would be believe that our bodies will once again meet our
creator.
Some of our detractors find fault with us
because they believe we are delving into the realm of religion. Here is a quote
from one such detractor - Jack Harris
"In Egyptian Mythology resurrection was taught, but only according to the pagan beliefs of the Egyptians. The Hiram Abiff legend in the third degree is taken from this and other pagan sources to teach life after death.
Never is a true biblical explanation given,
always pagan belief systems,
so as to not offend the man who is from another religion."
Jack Harris has it all wrong. Our purpose is not to downplay the
Christian doctrine of resurrection at all. Of course, the resurrection is not
just a Christian doctrine because it is held by other religions too. The sole
purpose for teaching this doctrine in Masonry is not to promote anyone's
religion, but to emphasize the fact that there will be a resurrection after
this life is over. Remember, Freemasonry is a fraternity and it is not within our
realm to influence to give specific religious teachings to our candidates.
Here is what our 20th Landmark of Freemasonry
has to say about it:
LANDMARK TWENTIETH
Subsidiary to this
belief in God, as a Landmark of the Order, is the belief in a resurrection to a
future life. This Landmark is not so positively
impressed on the candidate by exact words as the preceding; but die doctrine is
taught by very plain implication, and runs through the whole symbolism of the
Order. To believe in Masonry, and not to believe in a resurrection, would be an
absurd anomaly, which could only be excused by the reflection, that he who thus
confounded his belief and his skepticism, was so ignorant of the meaning of
both theories as to have no rational foundation for his knowledge of either.
The teaching of a resurrection is first found in the Master Mason Degree
when the candidate is "Raised." Most people do not understand what
being "Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason" means. This
Degree is the sublime climax of Symbolic Freemasonry. If you learn only that
the living, dying and raising of a Master is a drama, designed to teach the
virtues of fidelity, faith and fortitude, you have received only partial light
and have seen nothing but a moral lesson. This Degree seeks to answer the
age-old question put forth by Job - "If a man die,
shall he live again?"
The Degree delves into the deepest recesses of man’s nature. While it
leads the initiate into the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple, it probes into the
Holy of Holies in his heart. As a whole, the Degree is symbolic of old age and
by the wisdom of which we may enjoy the happy reflections consequent on a
well-spent and properly directed life, and die in the sure knowledge of a
glorious immortality. Here is what Mr. Harris and other anti-Masons don't want
to read:
It teaches no creed, no dogma, no
doctrine, no religion; only, that there is immortality.
In the degree mention is made of the a
"Lion" or a "Lion's Paw". Long before Jesus walked upon the
earth the lion was associated with resurrection. The ancient Egyptians (not
Masons) believed that a lion raised Osiris from a dead level to a living
perpendicular by a grip of his paw.
A dozen or more suggestions have been made by Masonic students as to what
the legend means. Some take it literally even though the Old Testament says
nothing of the death of that Hiram which Solomon fetched out of Tyre who "wrought all his work." Others believe
it is another way of telling the story of Isis and Osiris - itself a legend
which could hardly have been foisted on the people full born from the brain of
some clever priest but must have been an heritage from the Hyksos,
or even earlier inhabitants of Egypt. Fancifully, some see in it a modern
version of the death of Abel at the hands of Cain, and of course thousands
visualize it as the death and resurrection of the Man of Galilee.
The Legend of Hiram Abif is at once the tragedy
and the hope of man; it is virtue struck down by error, evil, and sin, and
raised again by truth, goodness, and mercy. It is the story of the resurrection
of that "which bears the nearest affinity to that supreme intelligence
which pervades all nature." It is the answer to Job. It is at once the
beginning of the even more sacred legend - of that which was lost - and the
assurance that at long last he who seeks shall find.
This legend is part of that system of Masonic symbolism, which in its
entirety represents the life of man and the progress of mankind. Although we
recognize the fate which each one of us must eventually face, it is comforting
to realize that the culmination of the drama can have no other logical purpose
than the symbolic portrayal of a resurrection and an entrance into that life
for which we hope and pray.
When the candidate is "raised", nothing is said to imply that
this is a resurrection. In the legend of Hiram Abiff,
he remains dead. It is his body which is lifted up from its temporary grave, so
that it can receive a proper burial. That Hiram remains dead is also evidenced
by the explanation given in the 3rd degree to the "Master's word"
which is uttered at the "raising"; it is said to mean "the body
is decomposed". Further, many masonic rituals in
higher degrees (such that have been added for those who wish to continue beyond
Craft Masonry) involve a symbolic search for Hiram Abiff's
grave.
The Master Mason Degree can be confusing if taken too literally. The
Candidate plays the part of Hiram Abiff up to the
point of being pulled out of the "grave", but just prior to being
pulled up he is once again a "third degree candidate." Remember,
Freemasonry is teaching by allegories. It is between you and your religious
institution to receive the details on your personal beliefs of how you must
prepare for the resurrection, who will be in it, and
how it will happen.
For the Christian Mason resurrection means having a faith in the Messiah,
who said "I am the resurrection and the life." He believes that his
body will be changed into a new body that will spend eternity in Heaven with
Christ and the saints. The Third Degree of Masonry only reinforces his hope of
the resurrection.