The question above is one I received from a young man who stated he wanted to become a Freemason but the bloody penalties and the oaths which he had down loaded from an anti-Masonic website bothered him.

He had read that Master Masons would keep the secrets of another Master Mason and refuse to testify against another Mason even he had committed rape, kidnapping, or other heinous crimes. He wanted to know if he could alter the words of his oath so that I could feel more comfortable with them.
Obviously, the young man had been fed some very untrue and malicious lies which distorted the language and intent of our Masonic oaths.

They say the first casualty in war is truth and one only has to turn on a television to understand how prevalent the total disregard for truth has become in our society today.  But, how does a man, particularly a Freemason, respond to such lies?

The words of our Masonic Oaths are close to 400 years old. They were penned at a time when the world was lit only by candles; when men were burned at the stake for believing that the earth was round; that the earth rotated around the sun and not the other way around.

It was only in the sanctuary of the Lodge that a man was free to express his beliefs and discuss the seven liberal arts and sciences. No minister or priest would ever betray the trust of a Brother Freemason regardless of his social ranking. These men were literally putting their very lives at risk by daring to speak their minds and ask questions which were prohibited by Church and State.

There is no evidence of any Freemason ever having his throat cut or being disemboweled for betraying his oath, even though the first printed expose of the Fraternity came within just a few years after the first Grand Lodge was formed. By 1825 over 30 such exposes had been published and distributed with no ill effect on the Fraternity.

So why do we continue to take these oaths today?

Why do we swear on a Holy book of scriptures and invoke the name of our creator when we testify? If you think having your throat cut is a scary penalty how is it so many people risk of wrath of the Almighty by lying under oath? An oath is by definition an invocation of divine agency, to ask God to be the guarantor of the oath taker's own honesty and integrity in the matter under question. By implication, this invokes divine displeasure if the oath taker fails in their sworn duties. In other words when you take an oath which includes the words “So help me God” you pledge your very existence. No stronger promise can be made.

The medieval phrasing is admittedly theater, it always was, but I would not want to change one word, for when I took it I agreed to those penalties, and I still do. If a man wants to avoid such a commitment then he should not take an oath and he should not seek entry into the Fraternity.

The Master Mason Degree was not added until the mid 18th century and the language relating to the keeping a secret, which is confided to you are such, by a Master Mason has never meant to be anything more than a promise to keep a confidence.

One has to understand who Freemasons are in order to put this promise in proper perspective. A man can confess the most hideous crimes imaginable against man and even God to a priest and know that that priest cannot tell a soul. Yet no one ever questions the priest’s right to this confidentiality. A Freemason takes a commitment to fulfill his moral and ethical duties to God, his country, and his neighbor. His oaths bind him to these commitments. Yet any man who would confess a serious crime against man or God to a Masonic Brother as a secret is in violation of the very oath he swore as a Mason and no longer worthy of the name. The Brother receiving such a secret must prefer changes against the man for un-Masonic conduct and if found guilty, the man would be expelled from the fraternity. Freemasonry has no place for rapists, or kidnappers, or other criminals.    

So, if you are contemplating applying for membership understand that you will be asked to take the same oaths that millions of men who have entered the fraternity have taken for centuries. As for you criminal types, well there is a place for you, but it is not in Freemasonry.