THE CLAIMS OF SECRET SOCIETIES.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THERE is no greater deception practiced upon society than that embraced under the above head. And the “uninitiated” are not the only ones imposed upon; the ignorant and the newly “made” of every order bow with reverence to their claims of being “moral,” “benevolent,” or “Christian,” because they themselves are lamentably ignorant of real morality, benevolence, and Christianity. I remember being once assailed for asserting that secret societies had no greater claim to be considered benevolent than any mutual insurance company; but such is the case. And sometimes they will admit as much, though they generally place them on a level with Christianity—sometimes far above it! In reading a back number of the Odd Fellows’ Magazine, recently, I was struck with some remarks by the editor on this point, drawn out by a notice of his Magazine, from which the following is an extract: “In answering the question, ‘What is Odd Fellowship?’ he answers by responding, ‘It is practical Christianity.’ Odd Fellowship is a secret institution, and of course is not quite the sort of Christianity which is indicated in the sermon on the mount, where believers are required to let their light shine by placing it on a candlestick, and not obscure it by secreting it under a bushel. The Christianity of Odd Fellowship, however, may be of a kind that will not bear the light, so it is the best policy to keep it secret under the shield of oaths and penalties.” To these and other remarks the editor replies: “We have no property qualifications or religious tests for the admission of members into the bosom of the lodge. . . . The society being a sort of mutual insurance company, of course the members would not be doing justice to themselves to receive those who would, in all probability, become a burden to them during life. No company would insure a house against damage by fire, when there was a strong probability that it would be burnt to the ground within twenty-four hours. We have no more exclusiveness on this point than have all other associations.” This admission places them where they really stand—on a worldly, selfish basis. But in their writings,211lectures, &c., they claim a moral basis and a moral element which they do not possess; and there lies the deception. But another point strikes us as odd as the order. The editor at one time says it is “practical Christianity,” and at another time, that it has “no religious tests.” Now religion without Christianity is a common—a very common thing, but Christianity without religion is truly a novelty; and they are Odd fellows—every one worthy of the name—if they are possessed of such a rarity. What is true of one secret order is true of all, in this respect; they are destitute of godliness. Especially is this the case with Masonry, which is but a system of useless traditional rites intermixed with some of the forms of the obsolete Levitical law, so perverted as to bring the whole in conflict with the letter and spirit of Christianity. Yet it claims to be a sufficient guide and passport to the “Grand lodge above,” and to the presence of the “Grand Master,” as it impiously styles Heaven and Heaven’s King. The following extracts were copied from the Detroit Post of Nov. 17, 1866, being part of a report of a lecture on Masonry delivered in Chicago by “Rev. Dr. Nicholson.” “In his opinion it comprised all that was good and noble in the world, and its teachings were those that our Lord Jesus Christ had inculcated into the hearts of his disciples.” “The lecturer did not wish to be understood as meaning that Masonry and Christianity, were one: on the contrary they differed widely. While one set forth the great truths of God in undefined terms, and left men in doubt, the other set forth the creed in beautiful symbols and allegories that went strait to the heart, and opened all men to recognize the one God—he that is the Father of all.” “The checkered pavement [pavement?] of Masonry is symbolic of the life of man, that we are here to-day, and there to-morrow; that some people in the world are rich and others poor; [valuable information!] that to-day we may be happy and to-morrow miserable; and that therefore we should exercise charity towards those who are not in the same condition of life or prosperity with us.” All of which, of course, is learned more clearly from the “checkered pavement” than in the teachings of Christ and his apostles! Can impious presumption go further than this? And I will here say there is not one hint in all the “beautiful symbols and allegories” of Masonry that “the one God” gave his Son to die for sinful man, or that there is any way of salvation and eternal happiness but through the Masonic Lodge! Who will deny this? When a Mason is “made” and presented with his working implements, the following instruction is given: “The common gavel is an instrument made use of by operative Masons to break off the corners of rough stones: the better to fit them for the builder’s use; but we, as Free and Accepted Masons, use it for the more noble and glorious purpose of divesting our hearts and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life, thereby fitting our minds as living and lively stones for that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Such “moral and impressive” instruction is given in the lodge. Mark in it the spirit of Antichrist. It professes to accomplish for men without faith in Christ that which the Scriptures say can only be done through faith in Christ; by him, by faith in him, and the virtue of his blood our hearts and consciences are purified, and we as lively stones built up into a spiritual house. See Heb. ix. 1 Pet. ii, &c. But they profess to do the same in the lodge without any reference to Christ. On this point, Eld. David Bernard, who had taken eleven degrees and was well qualified to judge, remarked: “Any system which professedly teaches a way to Heaven is a system of religion; but that which points out a path without a crucified Saviour and without the sanctifying influences of the Holy Comforter, is not only false, but in direct hostility to the true God, and the souls of men. Such a religious system is that of Masonry.” Even the Good Templars, the latest in the unsanctified train, promise everlasting honors and glory to those who prove faithful to their lodge obligations! Such things were not sanctioned by professors of religion when religion was more spiritual and pure than at present, but as the churches have fallen, ministers and members alike swell the rolls of the lodges, preferring the lodge meeting to the prayer-meeting, and impiously exalting the lodge above the church of Christ, and their fanciful symbols above the teachings of the word of God. Let all who love God and his truth beware of their influence.