By Dr. Greg Hinnant —
As a young high schooler I had no clue what I was getting into. All I wanted to do was to spend sufficient time in the parking lot of the local Masonic temple playing up to the guys who had already “made it.” These were the DeMolays. I was eager to do almost anything to please them—and avoid being ‘black balled’ when my vote came up. So I pledged, was accepted, and soon entered into the full lodge experience: the secret meetings, passwords, handshakes, carefully set procedures, trips to the State Lodge, and memorized talks made by more senior DeMolays which, while melodramatic, were entrancing.
It all seemed so cool, so elevating. Being a DeMolay made us feel, well, just a cut above other teenagers at Central High School. Despite this initial enthusiasm, at some point I lost interest, stopped attending, and pursued other interests. Sports. Music. Business. Then ministry!
Fast forward 50 years! In my late sixties, after forty years of Christian ministry, travels across America and abroad, eighteen books, hundreds of articles, countless sermons, and twenty-plus years of Bible School professorship behind me, it was a very different Greg Hinnant that reconnected with the Masonic lodge in 2024.
I was much more seasoned, biblically informed, and spiritually discerning. No longer a pledge, I was now a polemicist—one who attacks and disproves heresy point by point with biblical truth. My former awe of Masonry was replaced by an awful realization. I saw now there was something false, spiritually dark, even damning that was hidden deep within the esoteric beliefs and practices of the Masonic culture—Masons, Eastern Star, Rainbows, and DeMolays.
The reconnect began quite unexpectedly. In the summer, I was surprised to learn one of my sons had become a Mason. Apparently, it was his sense of loyalty to his maternal grandfather, a Mason, and his maternal great-grandfather, a North Carolina Grand Master and Shriner, that prompted his foray into Masonry. Many young men join for similar reasons. Others are invited by friends or business associates.
While still digesting this unpalatable news, my paternal uncle passed, sending me down I-40 to my family’s hometown in eastern North Carolina. Arriving at the graveside service, I was surprised to see the local Masonic “Worshipful Master,” accompanied by apron- and white glove-clad lodge members, conducting a Masonic funeral for my uncle.
The Worshipful Master assured the mourners that the deceased had entered the “celestial lodge.” Why this confidence? He was a faithful Master Mason! The Masons placed evergreen branches on the coffin symbolizing their assurance he would one day rise to blissful eternal life. At various moments, the Master stopped speaking while his associates extended their hands horizontally, chanted Masonic script, raised their hands toward heaven, and then returned to their repose.
The rest of that day and the next I thoughtfully processed what I had witnessed. Key facts began surfacing, first one, then another. Not once did the Masonic leader mention the name of Jesus. Not once did he mention salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and His cross alone. Not once did he say there is no other way or name under heaven by which Adam’s sinful children must be saved. Soon my thoughts turned to deep sadness, grief, and near nausea. “I could hardly believe what I had just witnessed.
Around this time, I was contacted by a publisher, Dr. Mike Shreve, about writing a research paper on Freemasonry. So, I stopped my current studies and gave full attention to discovering what Freemasons believe, claim, and do. I was very thorough.
I contacted a North Carolina Masonic lecturer—an authority on the Craft. I interviewed the owner of the oldest, most respected Masonic publishing company in the nation. I purchased two Masonic Bibles, the large Heirloom Family Edition that sits atop the altars in most Masonic temples, and its smaller Master Mason Edition.
I studied the Masonic degree instructions in the lengthy introductions to these Bibles. I also purchased the book the publisher recommended as the prime source on Masonic philosophy and doctrine, The Builders, by Joseph Ford Newton. I also perused the voluminous Morals and Dogmas authored by the famous Mason, Albert Pike, whose bust and remains occupy hallowed space in the prestigious House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.
Finally, I researched the exposé on Freemasonry penned by America’s famous nineteenth-century evangelist, Charles G. Finney, himself a former Mason, after the infamous William Morgan Affair rocked the nation, setting off a tsunami of anti-Masonic sentiment.
Quickly, my research paper morphed into a book. Freemasonry: An Exposé! critically yet honestly explores Masonry’s history, current practices, core heresies, and deceptive façade of selling points: many charitable works, the promise of social elevation, the prospect of increased business opportunities, the loyal help of Masonic brothers, and an impressive list of undeniably great former Masons.
After exposing numerous lies put forward by Masonic apologists, the book uses careful biblical analyses to expose the Craft for what it is—a false religion in direct competition with Christianity’s claims and its ministry’s aims. It closes, as it should, with solemn New Testament exhortations directing Christians and non-Christians how to respond.
If men, women, young girls, and boys put faith in Freemasonry’s unveiled promise of salvation by good works—specifically, keeping the Masonic code—they will miss heaven! Could any issue be bigger than this? Any deception darker? Any loss more catastrophic? Any truth-telling exposé more needed?
I passionately desire to liberate Freemasonry’s captives and turn curious non-Masons from its clever deceptions and deadly snares. Only truth can do this.
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