The United Grand Lodge of England, Its' Coat of Arms, and Ra the Sun God.

According to the United Grand Lodge of England's website:

Freemasonry is not a religion, nor is it a substitute for religion. It demands of its members a belief in a Supreme Being but provides no system of faith of its own.

Freemasonry is open to men of all religious faiths. The discussion of religion at its meetings is forbidden.

The Supreme Being

The names used for the Supreme Being enable men of different faiths to join in prayer (to God as each sees Him) without the terms of the prayer causing dissention among them.

There is no separate Masonic God; a Freemason's God remains the God of the religion he professes.

Freemasons meet in common respect for the Supreme Being, but He remains Supreme in their individual religions, and it is no part of Freemasonry to attempt to join religions together. There is therefore no composite Masonic God.

So why is there a representation of the Ark of the Covenant on their coat of arms?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3eeb53e149e4.jpg[/atsimg]

From the same website:

The Crest - consists of a golden ark, supported by two cherubs. These have the upper part of the body in a natural flesh tint, with lower half covered in brown fur. Their wings are golden, and above them in Hebrew is the motto 'Holiness to the Lord'. The background to the crest consists of golden rays of light radiating around the ark. The crest stands on a 'wreath of the colours'. This is depicted as a twisted wreath of two pieces of material, the alternating colours of which are gold and red.

I just feel that any secret society that is supposed to have no affinity with any specific religion, definitely has several Old Testament Judaic or Christian references.

If this kind of glaring inconsistency can be found in plain view, what is going on within the Masons when you get to the higher levels?

Another detail I see is that the ark radiates light, almost looking like sunlight. The Cherub wings also make what looks like a pyramid above the ark. Could this be a reference to Egypt and their worship of Ra the sun god?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/45d1ddbc0628.jpg[/atsimg]


The masonic symbol also has similarities with the hieroglyph for Ra:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/793fcbdc1c95.png[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/11068b7da04e.gif[/atsimg]

It might be pushing it a bit , but the circle on the hieroglyph represents the sun, the masonic symbol is below the very same circle, albeit as part of the compass.

A leap too far maybe?






[edit on 1-6-2009 by kiwifoot]

A leap too far maybe?

Yep.

Freemasonry is open to all faiths, and in and off itself makes no actual statements on religion, however, it was founded on Christianity and incorporates a lot of the Old Testament into it's legends.

For example, one of the chief stories of Freemasonry is the story of Hiram Abiff, a fellow who is supposed to be the Chief Architect of Solomon's temple.
en.wikipedia.org...

It's pretty clear to anyone who looks into it, and as long as they have no concerns with it, they can enter. I know of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and one Wiccan who's joined Masonry, or one of it's relative organizations.

The Ark supposedly shocked anyone who approached it without god's permission, and was a holy religious artifact. that it would be shown to emit light isn't surprising, and most contemporary designs we have of the ark (Like in Raiders of the Lost Ark) show influence of Egyptian designs.
Something not all that surprising,since the story goes they were leaving Egypt at the time.

The legend of Freemasonry revolves around Solomon's Temple. Solomon's Temple was, according to Abrahamic tradition, built with designs specified by God to house the Ark of the Covenant. That's why it's on the armorial bearings of the UGLE. It's just a symbol relevant to the overall legend.

As for the hieroglyph: Not even close.

[edit on 6/1/2009 by M74]