Address of R.W.Bro. Jeffrey L. Froud
on His Official Visit  to Corona Lodge, December 7, 2000

Faith

As the Christmas season approaches, it is an appropriate time to consider one of our great Masonic virtues. I mean Faith.

In our society, faith and religion tend to mingle. Both deal with our relationship with the deity whom we serve. All Masons profess a belief in a Supreme Being. However, Masonry is not a religion. Much is made of this issue, but Masonry does not prescribe a form of worship or offer salvation to its members. Some misunderstanding may have arisen because we use terms like "temple" and "worshipful." However, these terms are used for their dignity, not their religious connotations. A labour union may call its meeting place a Temple of Labour, they may call a museum a Temple of the Arts and a magistrate may be addressed as Your Worship in a similar fashion.

There is a perceived conflict between Masonry and some religious sects. It is widely acknowledged that there are few Roman Catholic members of the Craft. More recently, there have been expressions of hostility directed at our fraternity by some Protestant sects. However, that is their problem, not ours. We do, however, believe in religious tolerance. This has led our order to run afoul of cults which hold themselves out as the sole repository of religious truth. Masonry requires only that belief in a supreme being delineated in the questions posed to you before you were initiated.

There are many other aspects of religion and Masonry that could be considered but, as Tom Hanks said so often in that movie, "That's all I have to say about that."

However, Forest Gump's box of chocolates may be useful here. After all, just because you don't pull out the "Religion" flavour doesn't mean you don't get to taste "Faith." One of our distinctions as Masons is that we are not atheists or agnostics. We are prepared to acknowledge a belief in a being that cannot be seen, whose existence cannot conclusively be proved.

This does not mean that our faith is blind. An interesting illustration of this principle is found in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. Many Brethren may be familiar with it, as the historical event that inspired the film Inherit the Wind. This trial pitted fundamentalists against intellectuals in an epic contest. The principal characters were the lawyers. Clarence Darrow, a self-described agnostic, was the leading American defense lawyer of his time. William Jennings Bryan, known as the Great Commoner, was a three time U.S. presidential candidate, a former Secretary of State and an evangelical preacher.

The dramatic high point of the trial occurred when Darrow called Bryan to testify as an expert on the creationist version of the origins of man. Bryan based his arguments on his faith in a literal interpretation of the Bible in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Whatever the respective merits of the theories of creationists and evolutionists, this willful rejection of well respected scientific knowledge did serious harm to those whose faith was based on Bryan's leadership.

Masons are not fundamentalists.

Darrow, on the other hand, wrote an essay entitled Why I am an Agnostic. In it, he says "At lease three tenets are necessary to the faith of a Christian: a belief in God, a belief in immortality and a belief in a supernatural book. He goes on to doubt the existence of all three: of God, because He has no perceivable manifestation; of immortality, because there is no physical evidence of the existence of the soul (He discusses the cellular basis of human life as if it were determinative of the issue. No doubt if he were familiar with genetics, he would argue that there had to be a DNA marker for its authenticity) and of the Holy Book because the Bible is a compendium of 66 books bound in one volume, several written by more than one author, and some containing contradictory ideas. He criticizes its historical inaccuracy and the unverifiable nature of the miracles and prophecies it mentions.

We are not agnostics.

Anyone is entitled to entertain doubts about the world in which we live. However, the Mason is prepared to put aside those doubts and to acknowledge that there is a Supreme Being. He believes there is "something" greater than mere man, who has revealed his will to man and who will reward virtue and punish vice. These are the fundamentals of a Mason's faith. Be he diligent or delinquent in his religious observance is not the issue. We are encouraged to participate in our religious community as we are in other aspects of our society. That is the hallmark of a good citizen. However, religious observance is not a benchmark of faith. 

The atheist is, our Ancient Charges proclaim, stupid. And that's all I have to say about that. The agnostic questions - he wants to be convinced. The man of faith believes - not in a stubborn, anti-intellectual and fearful manner, but with the strength and confidence of one who recognizes that man is but a frail reed, subject to forces greater than his strength can master and his wisdom comprehend. Yet he lives and thrives and slowly but steadily improves his lot and that of his fellows, not by his own foolish nature but as a result of an ineffable divine plan of which he is the unwitting instrument.

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." This famous quote is revealing of the aspect of faith of which I speak. Surely, there is a spirit of generosity and love which manifests itself at this time of the year. Cannot our children be encouraged to have faith in that transcendent power? Let the onus of disproving it rest with those who would deny it. 

Thank you, Brethren

R.W.Bro. Jeffrey L. Froud, DDGM

A web site about the Scopes Monkey Trial:

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/scopes.htm