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THE WATCHTOWER & THE MASONS
certain rites and ceremonies of a religious kind. Let it be understood that we are not waging any warfare upon those who hold membership in these various orders, even as we are not waging warfare against the various sectarian religious systems. We place upon one level all of those which have any religious ceremonies, teachings, etc., and consider them all as parts of Babylon, some quarters or wards of which are cleaner, and others less clean, but all, nevertheless, full of confusion, error—contrary to the divine intention, as displayed in the organization of the primitive Church...We admonish the New Creation to have nothing whatever to do with any of these semi-religious societies, clubs, orders, churches; but to "Come out from amongst them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing." (2 Cor. 6:17) Their things, their worship, their teachings, their doctrines, are unclean to us, though they may not be unclean to themselves. The eyes of our understanding have been opened, and now to us all things appear in a new light, so that things which we once loved we hate, and things which we once hated now we love. "But as concerns other orders...which contain nothing of a religious character...which attach signs and passwords merely as a diversion...we have nothing to say against these." (The New Creation, pp 580-581) Russell also suggests in his book The Battle of Armageddon, pp.44-45, that to come out of Babylon means leaving groups like the Freemasons. "To come out of Babylon cannot mean a physical emigration from the midst of the nations of Christendom...The idea of the command is a seperation from all the binding yokes of Christendom—to have no part nor lot in her civil, social, or religious organizations...This implies the withdrawal from the various religious organizations, whose doctrines misrepresent...the Word of God. Principle in some cases, and policy in others, would seperate us from the various social arrangements among men. On principle, it would set free any who are entangled with the oaths and obligations of the various secret societies...it will be the part of wisdom to withdraw from the various social and financial bondages