Freemasonry: The Naked Truth

Freemasonry, from the very beginning, has strongly rejected all dogma. The Freemason adheres to the principle of seeking what is known as Gnosis (knowledge or insight into the divine finality of humanity). In other words, Freemasons are in constant search of the inner and outer Truth. The staunch Catholic, on the contrary, has an unfailing faith that leaves no room for doubt.

So the question is. "How can Freemasonry accommodate a religion devoted to a revealed God and requiring a total faith based on dogma?" How is it possible for believers, in their conscience, to reduce the gap between these two contradictory demands and find a satisfactory answer?

Franck once took the opportunity of putting this question to a clergyman who had requested admission to Freemasonry and had been accepted. His answer was a possible solution, at least for him. He told Franck: "My faith in God is not a rigid straight line, it is a compass that shows me what direction to take”.

Nonetheless, if the faith of a Christian is the result of an epiphany or another form of transcendence, their representation of God is similar to a form of awakening. The Freemason's path is somewhat different, because they receive the Light in an imminent way, that is to say, by a revelation of something that is already in them but not previously manifest. They also receive a sort of revelation through the interaction of the driving forces of the Universe. A Freemason cannot be self-sufficient in this process.

In spite of what we have written above, we believe that the paths of awakening are many and all equally commendable.

However Franck is more critical of the results of some of them. Here is why, in his words. “I obviously do not deny the idea that an individual can be enlightened and touched inwardly by his God. But I have difficulty in understanding why praying to God makes so many believers reject other human beings. The quest for God should make followers open and joyful. What kind of God is it who obliges his flock to be austere in order to be credible?”. It is after a visit to a monastery in the Vercors region in France, where Frank met some of the monks, that he was forced to reflect on their austerity, at least when it concerns God.

Hi second question is more difficult to answer: "How can we reconcile dogma and the quest for Gnosis?”. For Franck, this question is fundamental. Freemasonry gives no answer concerning the life hereafter. Even if there is a Celestial Lodge where all the Freemasons end up, no one will claim that it corresponds to a hell or a paradise. However, many Freemasons seem to be perfectly comfortable with this situation.