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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 20, 1993                   TAG: 9303200164
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Short

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BAPTISTS: MASONIC RITES CLASH WITH CHRISTIANITY

Despite the fact that one of every seven Southern Baptist ministers is a member of a Masonic lodge, an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention says many teachings of the fraternity are incompatible with Christianity.

The Atlanta-based Home Mission Board said Wednesday, however, that individual Baptists should decide for themselves whether wearing a Masonic pin imperils their souls.

For nine months the Home Mission Board has been studying whether the signet rings and secret handshakes of the Free and Accepted Masons are superficial signs of an Old World, New Age movement with roots in paganism and the occult.

The board's study of Freemasonry will be placed before the full Southern Baptist Convention in Houston this summer. - Associated Press

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