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Copyright 1993 by the Christian Research Institute.
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"Masonry, My Savior, and Me"
(an article from the Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 1:
Number 4, 1988)
    The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron Rhodes.
From the TESTIMONY column:
The personal testimony of Duane Washum.
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    Throughout my life, I never knew the Masonic Order to be
anything but good. Crippled children's hospitals and burn care
units are well-known trademarks of the Shriners. Any organization
that does the work Masons are known for couldn't possible be bad,
could it?
    I didn't know what went on in a Masonic Lodge, but judging by
the caliber of the men involved, I figured that it must be
something pretty special.
    I submitted a petition to the Lodge and was initiated in the
Entered Apprentice Degree, passed to the degree of Fellowcraft,
and was soon raised to the degree of Master Mason. I felt that I
had attained to the finest fraternity in the world.
    I was selected by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge to serve
as Junior Steward and later honored by serving as Chaplain. My
studies in ritual and degree work continued as Junior Warden and
then Senior Warden. I finally became Worshipful Master of the
largest Lodge in the state of Nevada. I believed myself to be a
member of a fraternity that stood for God, country, and family.
    But, after five years of total dedication, I withdrew from the
Order. It didn't happen overnight.
    My first questioning of Freemasonry was in regard to the
obligation I took when I was initiated. One is made to swear
secrecy to the point that bloody penalties of death are involved.
It was explained that this was symbolic and only emphasized that
what I had learned was not public information.
    My next moment of confusion came when I was Junior Steward. A
member was in the habit of talking during lodge meetings. This was
disruptive but not a big problem. What was a problem, I thought,
was his use of God's name in vain. One evening this terminology
was used four or five times in a short period. I later told him
that if he used those words in the Lodge room again, I was going
to file Masonic charges against him. The reaction of the members
who overheard was very confusing. Some approached me and mildly
chastised me for the way I had approached him. But it was the
reaction of the majority of the members that caught me off guard.
They reminded me that he is a Past Master, and a Grand Lodge
Officer. He was not wrong in using God's name in vain. Rather, I
had affronted a Past Master and a Grand Lodge Officer.
    All ritual work in Masonry is committed to memory and repeated
verbatim, including prayers. At first I did not notice that none
of the prayers are in the name of Jesus Christ.  "Great Architect
of the Universe," "Almighty Father of the Universe," "Judge
Supreme," "God," and "Lord," yes, but never in the name of Jesus
Christ.
    Being Chaplain, saying grace for a meal was my duty. Since
there is no specified prayer, the prayer was my own, and I prayed
in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I was soon told
that we never pray in the name of Jesus Christ for it would be
offensive to our Jewish members. I then became aware that there is
no mention of Jesus Christ in any of the prayers or in the ritual
book.
    One evening, I asked about the inconsistency involved for the
Jewish member in having the Bible resting on our altar. I was
informed that it did not necessarily have to be the Bible. It
could be the Koran, the Rig Veda, or even the Book of Mormon. What
sacred writing was on the altar would depend upon the religious
persuasion of the lodge.
    So, it really didn't matter if the Lodge had any Jewish member
or not. The important thing was not to pray in the name of Jesus
Christ!
    A proposed major undertaking that would involve a great deal
of money was made into a motion and defeated, much to the
dissatisfaction of the Master. Without notice, it was brought up
again, this time in a stacked meeting. The motion passed. I made
an objection to the Master and told him that what he was doing
prostituted the dignity of his office. I found myself "wrong",
because the Worshipful Master is always right.
    Both of my confrontations began to consume my thoughts. I was
morally right, but I was made to feel that I was wrong. By
opposing the Worshipful Master I was, in the eyes of some,
committing blasphemy!
    Despite this, I was able to be elected as the next Worshipful
Master. I soon found myself questioning things, including my
title. Was I really a Worshipful Master? By whose authority? I
never considered myself to be master over anybody, and I certainly
wasn't worshipful.
    I was in a local Christian bookstore and found a book I was
interested in, _The Kingdom of the Cults_ by Walter Martin. This
was of interest to me because of stories regarding Mormonism and
Joseph Smith. He was reported to have been a Mason and to have
pirated signs, grips, and Masonic ritual work and incorporated
them into the Mormon Temple rituals. But, when I turned to the
table of contents, it was like someone hit me with a baseball bat.
    Listed was the Rosicrucian Fellowship, a group my brother had
been studying. He told me how there had been an organization known
as The Great White Brotherhood of Man, and out of this came the
Rosicrucians, and out of the Rosicrucians came the Masonic Order.
For the first time I was seeing Rosicrucian Fellowship in print
and it was in a book about cults.
    I remember how, after becoming a Mason, I had mentioned it to
a man in my church. He said, "So you joined the Masonic cult." I
said to myself, "He doesn't understand." And now it looked like I
was to find out who understood and who didn't.
    Now there were three words racing through my mind: "Rosicru-
cianism," "Masonry," and "cult." I turned to the section about
Rosicrucians and the reference to Masonry. "It (Rosicrucians) was
by admission a secret society. It flourished in a day when secret
societies were in vogue, and a century after its origin, Rosicr-
ucianism underwent a recrudescence in connection with Freemasonry,
which not only deemed Rosicrucianism genuine, but even borrowed
usages and customs from the writings of those who had satirized
the fraternity."
    Every question that had previously troubled me about Masonry
came back to me. A cold shiver went through me. I began praying to
God for wisdom to know the truth. I placed a phone call to
Christian Research Institute, and I told of my concern about
Freemasonry. They said they would send me a booklet which might be
helpful, _Freemasonry and Christianity_ by Alva J. McClain.
    That night, I shared my concerns with a Christian friend. He
taught me about blood oaths, secular humanism, and other things.
    The next two weeks found me in extreme turmoil. I would think
about the discussions with my Christian friend but then I would
read from my Masonic Bible. Everything I would read seemed
beautiful and I could see no wrong in it. My family's Masonic
background, the relationships I had with other Masons, and the
beauty and dignity of Masonic ritual were all going through my
mind. I was beginning to think that maybe my friend, like the man
before, just didn't understand.
    Finally, I went to my knees and once again asked the Lord to
show me the truth. It roared across my mind. "Blood Oath." I
recalled my uneasiness with the oath of secrecy, and Jesus'
admonition to "make no oath at all" (Matthew 5:34). That week the
secretary of Vegas Lodge No. 32 received my letter of withdrawal.
I received a call from a Past Master who asked me why I was
withdrawing. I told him I was a Christian, and shared my thoughts
with him, including scriptures from the Bible. He explained to me
that I shouldn't believe everything I read in the Bible and that
Christianity was a religion that the men in power at the time came
up with to keep the common people in line. Then he said, "After
all, Duane, our dad, uncle, grand-dad, and great grand-dad were
all Masons." The Past Master extoling the virtues of Freemasonry
and attacking my faith in Jesus Christ was my own brother.
    My letter of withdrawal was held for over a month, but now
there is a paper in my home titled, "Certificate For A Brother
Dropped From the Rolls at His Own Request." After Christ endured
indescribable pain and suffered for my sins, I could not rational-
ize staying in the lodge because of the difficulties I would have
encountered had I resigned. Besides, to stay in Masonry would mean
to deny Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in my prayers.
    I have prayed for forgiveness and know that God has answered
my prayers; not because I am worthy, but because of His grace and
love, and because Jesus Christ IS my Lord and Savior.


End of document, CRN0004A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Masonry, My Savior, and Me"
release A, April 4, 1993
R. Poll, CRI

(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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