The Masonic Supreme Being
All Masons have declared their belief in a “Supreme Being.” We ask nothing more of their religious beliefs, and provide no Masonic definitions about that Supreme Being, as “Freemasonry dictates to no man as to his beliefs, either religious or secular.” Sometimes however freemasons erroneously enlarge upon this Supreme Being principal. Here is an allegorical example:
A Lodge received a petition from a man who was from the independent republic of Kromaza (he is now a US citizen). His supreme being is Ecobandula who he describes as “The all powerful creator of all things.” Ecobandula is represented by the image of a three-headed snake, and from time to time requires human sacrifice to insure the harvest of ganja, the primary cash crop of Kromaza which is also used extensively in their religious ceremonies.
This candidate told his investigating committee that he did not accept the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible as the same spiritual being as Ecobandula, who to him is the one living and true God. Some of the brethren in the Lodge felt that Ecobandula was a false God and not the God of the Bible with just a different name, and therefore did not want to accept the candidate.
But all of this is irrelevant! No one ever told New Mexico Masons that they must believe that all Supreme Beings are the same spiritual being with just different names. Brothers are free to believe as they wish. In this case the candidate believes Ecobandula created all men and therefore the Masons of the Lodge are his brothers under the principle of the “Fatherhood of God.” The Masons feel the same about the Biblical God, and feel that the candidate is their brother under the same principle, even though they believe his God is a false idol.
If you choose to believe that all the Gods of the monotheistic religions are the same God, that is also no problem to Freemasonry, but you are in no way required to do so to be a Freemason. It is not our mission to unite all the religions of the world, and some churches don’t like us because they believe that is what we are about! There is only one true God, but some, like Ecobandula, probably don’t fit into that category- who knows? Freemasons don’t care!
None of this is ever discussed in Lodge, and none of it should make a difference in accepting this candidate into our brotherhood. Remember that we are not a religion, but a fraternity for religious men, who have proclaimed belief in A supreme being, not THE supreme being!
May God continue to you his Presence, Protection, and Blessing.
Gunnar C. Carlson Jr.