Is Freemasonry a religion or a superstition, or..?


If I ask this question, I see at the same moment some very wise brethren and sisters shake their head with great indignation. No, of course not. They immediately point to the first of the Old Charges that deals about God and religion... I read you a part from it:
"A Freemason is, according his nature, obligated to obey to moral law. And when he understands the Art correctly, then he will never be a stupid atheist or non-religious freethinker. But, however the freemasons in ancient times were obligated to belong to the religion of the land they lived in, it is now more appropriate, to oblige ourselves to that religion, in which all people agree, their special opinions leaving to themselves, etc.".
Freemasonry is not therefor a 'official' religion!
Is Freemasonry a superstition then?
The same, nay! even more sisters and brethren now are falling, nearly shocked with anger from their chairs, even to come up with a thought like this, and to speak that thought up is unthinkable! And yet...

Perhaps it is good to first put the definitions, or explanations of those Two concepts. What are the dictionaries telling us? Some of the explanations I give to you now, a bit shorter then they should be.
The Dikke van Dale: (Dutch dictionary)
Religion:
1. To have trust in the truth of a promise or statement from someone else.
2. The unshakeable trust in God and God’s word.
3. The trust in the existence and the essential value of mankind.
Superstition:
Not-religious, traditional belief in supernatural phenomenon’s.

The Grote Winkler Prins: (other Dutch dictionary)
Religion:
Is in religious way of speaking a expression for the relation of the human-being to a devine power.
Superstition:
There is disagreement about the correct definition.
1. Belief to powers, who don’t ‘belong’ to the official religions and which are not accepted by modern science.
2. Negative or disdainful appreciation of the by others accepted religious views.

Elivas Levi in his book: "teachings and ritual of higher magic": Religion is nothing more then the reasonable trust in the unity of the reason and in the generality of the word. Believing is to resign in what one doesn’t know yet, but of which the reason insures us, that we will once know, or at least will acknowledge. Reason and belief doesn’t exclude eachother because of their nature. On the other side of believing is infinity.

Ralph Waldo Trine in his book " In harmony with the infinite":
Belief is nothing more or less than the working of the powers of thought in a form of a serious longing, combined to the expectation that this longing will be fulfilled.
Belief is in its essential meaning the most happy thing that the human soul can know. On the question:" To what religion you belong?" there is only one answer: "well, there exists only ONE religion".
There are many variations of the same religion- diverse explanations for diverse people. You have been able to hear some of them tonight. And I am sure you, brethren and sisters, have your own definition as to what religion is to you.

Up till now I have perhaps bored you with all these various opinions and explanations. Many statements about religion and such are different from others, and it caused me to dig deeper and deeper into this matter, as a result of which I nearly lost the original starting-point.
Books like James Mitchener’s:"the Source" and ‘The Convenant", Kathleen Kenyon The Bible and the new archaeology"; Fuller’s "the hidden wisdom of the cabala etc. are piece by piece very interesting to read, and I know there are much, much more books about the subject.
After reading these books more and more question-marks actually appeared, while at the same time also a personal opinion was formed.
I wont bore you further with all different aspects of religion, however much of interest they might be.

The use of various attributes to make the religion more true, gives others the opportunity to make a superstition out of it. We too work with various objects -symbols - and give various meanings to them . Is Freemasonry a superstition then?
A religion?
As you see, the question marks will pop-up constantly.

The article Two of the constitutions of our Order states: "She (freemasonry) accepts furthermore the basic-recognition of: everybody’s individual right to search for truth independently."
But how do you do that? We search for truth with the help of rituals, with the help of symbols, without anyone who tells us :"Truth is such or such and don’t you forget that, or else.."
In the dark room our first G.’.L.’.. lies opened before the candidate.
"in the beginning was the Word" the evangelist Johannes tells us. In which beginning? In the first beginning: in the absolute beginning, that is before all other things.
In this beginning then was the Word, meaning action, the first movable power of creation.
And eventually, this creation has reached the point that:
every human being builds him-or herself his or her own world. From our inner self we build that world, and attract from what lies outside ourselves.
Everybody creates their own heaven (read harmony) or hell (walled in- locked-out means hell in old Frisian language). We continue building from hour to hour, but, we are only able to do that with the help of the G.’.A.’.of the U.’., and according blueprints, of which we know nothing about.

In the action of creation were at the moment of Pure Light the 4 points of the compass with the 4 elements: fire, water, air and earth, which 4 elements Yod,Vau and Heh form the four parts of the unspeakable name of J.
To make a long story short, the human being is the syntheses of all those sacred names, so that one could see in the human being "all worlds, both, the higher and also the lower world.
The common grounds of our mutual startingpoints are many, between cabala and freemasonry. Its origins are lost in the fogs of legends, magic and folklore.
Is freemasonry superstition, religion? What is it?
No sisters and brethren, no! Freemasonry is no religion, no cult and no sect. Freemasonry is neither a superstition.
But, what IS freemasonry then??
Freemasonry is: experiencing ritual and symbolism, and everybody has to experience that for her or himself. There is no one to tell you how to do that.
It is the understanding of a enormous consistency with the G.’.A.’. of the U.’., the attempt to go to the bottom of our deepest self, the belief of a power of love in the chain of Brethren,.......
I see you shift in your chairs rather restlessly. I see you think: Yes, but freemasonry means also this to me, or that. Well, I am sure we will hear your points of views in the discussion that will break loose no doubt, after we have thought this one over by a good dram))

Zo moge het zijn,


Betty Langenberg

Betty