My husband is a Mason and Shriner and has been for at least twelve years.  During that time, I, too, became an Eastern Star but quit only after a year because it did not feel right.  However, over the years, I have attended Mason functions and Potentate balls with my husband.  However, the more I read the Bible, the more I know that this is idol worship.  Since my husband does not write well, he asks me from time to time to type things for the Masons or Shriners.  I feel uncomfortable doing this and feel that I am participating in this idol worship.  I don't want my husband to feel that I don't want to help him, but I am conflicted.  Please help.

Sincerely,
Uneasy Wife

Dear Uneasy Wife,

You answered your own question when you said, “I feel that I am participating in this idol worship.”  God tells us that anything we can’t do in faith is sin (Rom 14:23).  You are correct; the Masons add to the Scriptures (Rev 22:18-19) and mix the occult with the biblical – it is wrong.

God tells us that we ought not to intermix our lives with idolatry (2 Cor 6:16).  We should flee idolatry and not help it along (1 Cor 10:14).  It is good to support your husband when you can… but this isn’t one of those times.

     I know that I cannot change my husband's mind about being a Mason and a Shriner, but I do worry about his salvation.  He reads those books, but never, I mean never, picks up the Bible to read.  I have mentioned to him about reading the Bible as well as the Masonry book, but he does not say anything.  Because of the Masonry and Shriners, he believes that if he works, he can be saved that way.  I have tried to explain to him that we are only saved because of God's grace and that we have to believe in Jesus alone in order to be saved, that our works will not save us.  He is a good man, and I pray for him.  Is there anything else I can do?  If not, would you please pray for him as well?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Worried Wife

Dear Worried Wife,

A Christian should never be a Freemason.  There are those who believe that the two are compatible, but this is typically because they haven’t reached a level of the Masonry organization that reveals the occult and anti-Scripture practices involved in the organization.  Ignorance is the reason for most involvement with Freemasonry, but it isn’t an excuse.  Everyone is responsible for seeking the truth for themselves (Php 2:12) and testing all teaching against Scripture (1 Jn 4:1).

Which brings us to your question – what can you do for your husband?  You can show him Scriptures like Tit 3:5 and Rom 3:27 that teach that we can’t be saved by works or any great acts of virtue – all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).  However, it sounds like you have done that.  All that is left is to pray for him and let your quiet life of godliness work on his heart (1 Pet 3:1).

Who are the Illuminati, and what do they believe in?  Is it a cult?

Sincerely,
Not An Illuminati

Dear Not An Illuminati,

The Illuminati was a Bavarian secret society formed in 1776 in Ingolstadt, Germany.  Similar to the Freemason society, the Illuminati was a secret society with religious, as well as secular, elements to it.  The truth is that the Illuminati and societies that diverged from the Illuminati died out years ago.  It is the pop-fiction industry that has revived the term ‘Illuminati’ by creating conspiracy-theory books that portray the Illuminati as a surviving secret society bent on ushering in a new world order.  These books make for exciting fireside reading, but they are still fiction.  The Illuminati was a cult that existed in Europe several centuries ago, but it no longer is a factor in today’s society.

What is Freemasonry?  Is it a false religion?  Is it possible to be a christian and Freemason at the same time??

Sincerely,
Free Bird

Dear Free Bird,

Freemasonry is an organization that arose in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.  The rules of this society are many and exceptionally complex – far too much to be addressed in this particular post.  However, they are definitely a religious organization (regardless of what they might tell you to the contrary).  Their beliefs center around the Bible’s teachings on the building of Solomon’s temple and the role of the masons in that construction.  They use the building of the temple as an allegory for how to live.  This is a perversion of the Scriptures – exactly like what Paul warned us against (Gal 1:6-8).  The Freemasons veil religious beliefs under the guise of an innocent society.  They take a portion of God’s Word and throw out the rest.  This is in contradiction to the Scriptures (Ps 119:160).  A christian should never be a Freemason.

Can you explain exactly why a christian becoming a Mason is forbidden because I know some men serve both as christian pastors in churches and Freemasons wearing their medals in lodges?

Sincerely,
Double Duty

Dear Double Duty,

Freemasonry is an organization that arose in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.  The rules of this society are many and exceptionally complex – far too much to be addressed in this particular post.  However, they are definitely a religious organization (regardless of what they might tell you to the contrary).  Their beliefs center around the Bible’s teachings on the building of Solomon’s temple and the role of the masons in that construction.  They use the building of the temple as an allegory for how to live.  This is a perversion of the Scriptures – exactly like what Paul warned us against (Gal 1:6-8).  The Freemasons veil religious beliefs under the guise of an innocent society.  They take a portion of God’s Word and throw out the rest.  This is in contradiction to the Scriptures (Ps 119:160).  A christian should never be a Freemason.

There are those who believe that the two are compatible, but this is typically because they haven’t reached a level of the Masonry organization that reveals the occult and anti-Scripture practices involved in the organization.  Ignorance is the reason for most involvement with Freemasonry, but it isn’t an excuse.  Everyone is responsible for seeking the truth for themselves (Php 2:12) and testing all teaching against Scripture (1 Jn 4:1).