🚀 go-pugleaf

This is in reply to Bill Hickey who said:

BH@FROM   :hickeyb@bvsd.k12.co.us
BH>�(Continued from last message)

BH>By the way, just as a morsel to fan the flames, there are
BH>religions in the world which do not have a "supreme" Being
BH>or single God, some of them have thrived for millenia.  By
BH>requiring a candidate to believe in a single God (by whatever
BH>name) and have a "Volume of the Sacred Law" (what about
BH>cultures and languages with NO written form?) are we not
BH>ourselves engaging in a form of religious discrimination?
BH>Are we not saying that men from those "other" religions
BH>are not/can not be moral, upright, and meet with us on the
BH>level?  Are we not judging their beliefs as somewhat inferior
BH>(maybe incompatible would be a better word here) to our own?
BH>If this is true, and it is OK for Craft Freemasons to
BH>"discriminate" on this basis of religion, then where is the
BH>conflict with the KT/KM being an organization, building on
BH>Craft Masonic principles, but which adds the unique
BH>additional requirement of being a Christian?



You know, a year or two ago, I would have agreed with you on this,
but since, I have met masons who are of a religion that believes in
multiple Gods.  One man in particular is an "Odinist"  He worships
the old Nordic gods: Odin, Thor, etc....  Alledgedly there were
multiple books on the alter when he took his degrees (g).

The idea isn't so much that the Mason be monotheistic it seems, but
rather that he holds one God above all others as the creator of all
things including the other Gods.  For the brother I mentioned, Odin
fits this description.  And there are many ways for even we
Christians to interpret the bible. Many Christians say the bible
states clearly that there are no other Gods.  It really isn't so
clear.  Actually the bible says:  "You shall have no OTHER God BEFORE
me.".  The implication is that it is possible for other Gods to
exist, but Christians are not supposed to worship them.  In the
brother's case above, he admits that he believes other Nordic deities
exist, but he does not worship them.  he worships Odin whom he claims
is the Nordic "chief God in charge" as well as the creator of all.

It seems to me that most polytheistic religions also believe there is
always one creator God above all the rest even if they believe there
are others.
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 * CMPQwk 1.4 #648 * He who dies with the most toys is dead.