Paul, Saint, the Apostle , a Freemason
In the Transactions of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati Volume I, page 74) there is a translation by Brother G. W. Speth of a paper by Brother Carl Herman Tendler, a member of the United Lodges, zu den drei Schwertern und Astrea zur grunenden Raute, im Dresden (at the Three Swords and Astrea, and at the blossoming Twig at Dresden). This Brother claims that, "There are many not unimportant grounds of suspicion that Paul was a member of the builder society at Damascus, and a master thereof, perhaps even a Chairmaster." His argument is principally Leased upon certain Significant words found in the writings of Saint Paul. For instance, the following statement is a fair example of his line of thought: The virtue which the builder-societies impressed upon their members as the most edifying the most conducive to edification, and which Saint Paul recommends to Christian builders as the dower and crown of humanity, the highest aspiration of Christian builder-societies, is agape, love, union in love. In his epistle to the Corinthians, amongst whom Saint Paul worked and taught eighteen months, the word is repeated twenty-three times. Most remarkable is the distinction (I Corinthians viii 1) between gnosis, wisdom of the mysteries, and agape, Christian union. "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth, ' i.e., the speculations of the mysteries induce pride, but the Christian union produces amelioration.
The original meaning of agape is not love, charity, but union, unity: thus asapai (usually translated love feasts are originally unions for Christian edification, mutual culture associations. The constant use of all these words points to the supposition that Saint Paul was a member of a builder-society, Mason Lodge. In this sense the fraternity of Masons is thus as old as mankind itself, and the most energetic and active apostle of Christianity was a Mason. The agreement of the principles of Freemasonry with those of Christianity can only be denied by the malevolent or those totally unacquainted with the Craft.