THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

ecognizes all religions as equally valid, and that so far as Masonry is concerned it
matters not at all what the religion of its adherents is, provided they be not
Atheists. The other party maintains that Masonry is founded upon the Bible, and
that it is substantially a Christian institution.
This controversy is assuming extensive proportions, and it is very interesting for
outsiders to look into it. I say outsiders--and I might say it is important, and would
be very creditable, for the members of the fraternity to understand this matter
better than they do; for I doubt if one in twenty of them is posted in regard to the
real state of this question among the fraternity themselves. Mr. Evans, who is the
editor of this Masonic Monthly, takes the ground, and I think sustains it fully from
their own authorities, that all the upper degrees of Masonry are an imposture.
He goes on to show where and by whom, in several important cases, these upper
degrees were manufactured and palmed off on the brotherhood as ancient
Freemasonry.
For example, he shows that Mr. Oliver, one of their most prolific authors, asserts
that one of the grand lodges in London gave charters, about the middle of the
eighteenth century, to the Masonic lodges in France; and that in France they
immediately betook themselves to manufacturing degrees and palming them off
on the public as of very ancient origin. They proceeded to manufacture a thousand
of these degrees in France. Many of them they asserted they had received from
Scotland; but the Grand Lodge of Scotland denied ever having known of those
degrees.
It is also asserted in this number that the Royal Arch degree was at first but an
appendage to a Master's lodge, and had no separate charter, and for a long time
was not recognized at all as any part of Freemasonry. And it informs us when and
by whom the Royal Arch degree was manufactured. This number also shows that
many of the Masonic degrees have originated in Charleston, South Carolina; and
that a man by the name of Webb, in Massachusetts, manufactured the Templars'
degrees. In short, we find here their own standard authorities showing up all the
higher degrees of Masonry as having been gotten up and palmed off on the
fraternity in order to make money out of them; and is not this a swindle? I wish to
call the attention especially of the fraternity to these statements in this number of
the Masonic Monthly.
Indeed, it is now common for the highest and best informed Masons to ridicule
the pretense that Speculative Freemasonry is an ancient institution, as a humbug
and a lie, having no foundation in correct history at all. Now will Freemasons
examine this subject for themselves?--for they have been imposed upon.
I am particularly anxious to have professed Christians who are Freemasons
thoroughly understand this matter. They have regarded Freemasonry as entirely
consistent with the Christian religion, and have professed to see in it nothing with
which a Christian can not have fellowship. In the third, or Master's, degree we
find the story of Hiram Abiff introduced into Masonry.
Now this number of the Monthly charges, that this class of Freemasons went on to
construct all the subsequent degrees of Freemasonry from the Bible, by