[.ca] The Secret Teachings of the Masonic Lodge: A Christian ... (ISBN 0802476953)

please:
this book is fairly accurate, but it is unfortunately far from objective. though not written as a persuasive piece, it does unfortunately have strong pro-christianity undercurrents in it that more or less invalidate the very attempt at a levelheaded analysis. i wonder what the piece would be like had it been "the teachings of christianity: a masonic perspective." does anyone else wonder? i invite readers to ponder this whilst reading this book. i also invite them to read any contrasting literature they might find. as neither a christian nor a freemason, i welcome level-headed analysis over assumption. and another thing, it is rather annoying to see the better part of either group get to them. in the case of the negative (mostly pro-masonic) reviews, yes, the book may be in contrast to your beliefs, but that does not make it a poor book. similarly, several pro-christian viewpoints seem to express lots of resentment and condescention towards masonic ideals. does that make freemasonry feel invalid to you? it makes it seem just the opposite to me.

Well documented/researched work on this cult:
The lodge cannot call itself Christian, since by its very nature does not follow Christ. To say that a Christian can and is a Mason is a contradiction. Jesus Himself decries such double-mindedness. How many times and ways did He say it so clearly: Either you're for me or against me! You cannot worship at demons' table and then at the Lord's table. Etc., etc. In our postmodern world which doesn't want to accept any absolute truth whatsoever, masonism plays well. More so likely though is the love of power and wealth that comes from being in a good ole boys club that takes care of its own. We always get nailed by someone asking about all the good they do: the Shriner's hospitals, etc. Again, Christians will run it through the Bible to see if it will stand the test of God's Word: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." "Apart from me (attached to Jesus and His salvation by faith) you can do nothing." (John 15:5) This is the judgment that all good works oriented souls without saving faith in Christ Jesus alone will bring upon them for eternity unless they repent of this mistakenness and turn to Christ for forgiveness. Ankerberg's book aids this by being a strong apologetic showing the unchristian nature of this religion.

The TRUTH will set you free...:
I bought this book because I wanted the biblical truth on the Masonic lodge. That is what this book provides...biblical truth. That is why it is so offensive to the Masonic community. Darkness hates light. Thank God for people like John Ankerberg and John Weldon who are willing to stand up and tell the truth. May those who sincerely seek God's truth about the Lodge see the light and not be blinded by the satanic teachings of the Masonic Lodge.

If you can't beat 'em.....:
It seems that these leaders of the Christian right have decided to take a tactic that has been used by opponents of Christ for years and use it themselves. Take a small portion of scripture and use it out of context and you can argue that the Bible says anything you want it to say. That is exactly what Ankerberg and Weldon have done to Freemasonry. After all we have been told at various times down through history that the Bible tells us to kill innocent children in various crusades and that slavery lived up to Christ's teachings. Using that same type of logic these two try to tell us the meaning of Freemasonry. Worse yet they draw most of their conclusions from masonic writers. Heaven help us if the same kind of logic is ever used to write a book on Christianity drawing from some "Christian" authors. We could end up seeing Christ's teachings of love turned into the gold digging religion practiced by Oral Roberts, Jim Baker, or John Ankerberg. My faith is much more than that!

Excellent Challenge to Masonry:
In my humble opinion, Ankerberg and Weldon have produced a well-written book with clear statements of what masons believe and how their beliefs directly contradict true Christianity. In maintaining intellectual honesty, I researched some of the masonic quotes the authors referenced and found them to be accurate and not taken out of context. A true Christian with a solid Biblical foundation will readily see the conflict between Christianity and freemasonry. Sadly, those who give the book a low rating fail to counter with substantative arguments of their own as to how Christianity and freemasonry complement one another. Admittingly, I come from the perspective of an evangelical Christian. However, as stated earlier, one only has to read the book, research the masonic sources, and compare to the Holy Bible to see the contradictions (Jesus Christ's divinity, salvation, sin, etc.). A highly recommended read for anyone wanting to know the truth about freemasonry. As for those masons who are offended, please develop some cohesive arguments as to why freemasonry is equal to or greater than Christianity!