I have contemplated whether or not to become a Knight Templar for quite some time. Ever since I petitioned my Royal Arch Chapter I've been thinking on this subject. It has been hard to find any information or reassurance at all regarding what type of religious sensitivities might be jostled by experience in the Commandery. I thought I would share the information I have been given for the aid of any other Companions who may develop questions similar to my own.
Apparently, a Candidate seeking to be a Knight Templar (at least in the USA?) must be able to answer these questions before being admitted:
- 1) Do you solemnly declare, upon your honor, that in seeking admission to this Valiant and Magnificent Order of Christian Knighthood you are actuated by no mercenary or other unworthy motive?
- 2) If called upon to draw your sword in a religious cause, will you give preference to the Christian Religion?
- 3) Does your conscience accuse you of any crime, unrepented of, which would render you unworthy of becoming a member of an Institution founded upon the Christian Religion and the practice of the Christian Virtues?
I'm unclear whether or not there are "right answers" to these questions. I'm assuming they're looking for "I do", "I will", and "It does not." I don't know how much variation would be tolerated here. :-) Also, it is curious to me that question 3 specifically refers to Crimes. Doctrine does not seem to be the factor here, but whether you've committed a crime contrary to "the Christian Virtues." Which makes me contemplate that I'm not really sure what makes Christian virtues different from the virtues of other faiths.
One point which I'd like to clear up: On the Internet there are some exposes of the Knight Templar ritual floating around which claim the Obligation is made
"in the name of the Holy, Blessed and Glorious Trinity," but I have been assured that this is not the case in the USA, and that the obligation is here made
"in the presence of Almighty God."So, as has been said in many places elsewhere, it doesn't appear that one is required to be a Christian or confess any Christian creed or dogma in order to become a K.T. That being said, I have been told that Hebrews, James, Revelation, and particularly Matthew, Luke and Acts are quoted extensively throughout the ceremony. I am here speaking of the Order of the Temple only -- the third Order which the Commandery confers. I have not studied the other two, but am told that they are not implicitly Christian as the Order of the Temple is.
Personally, I'm still undecided. But I thought I'd share what my research has yielded so far.
Today seems to have been a very interesting day in terms of logos, as Brother M.M.M. over at The North Eastern Corner has also updated his logo. Meanwhile, I was busy updating my high resolution Masonic Logos. There are now .eps versions of each one available for download, and the Knights Templar Cross and Crown logo has been significantly improved.
