Isn the Knight Rose Croix in the Scottish Rite a Christian Degree?
It is proper to say that the 17th, 18th, 26th, and 27th degrees are inspired by Christian history and thought, just as others are based on Jewish history and thought, or on other times and places. To call them Christian Degrees, though is to violate an obligation that used to be required of candidates at that point in their progress through the Scottish Rite, in which it is imposed on the candidates not to declare that any degree belongs to Masons of a particular religion. I assented to that; I don’t know what became of that obligation in more recent years. I think it is inconsistent with Masonic religious toleration to insist on a particular religious interpretation of any part of Masonry. The 18th Degree, Knight Rose Croix or Knight of the Pelican, teaches us the Scottish Rite lesson that tyrants (e.g., Rome) are always ready to extinguish the Masonic light that teaches morality and good deeds (as represented in that degree by Jesus of Nazareth). The 18th Degree does not teach the di
