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Review and Herald, Vol. 38, No. 9.

Things Miscalled Amusements

Review and Herald

Aug 15, 1871

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 15, 1871

Things Miscalled Amusements.

No QUESTION is exciting more interest in the moral and religious world at the present time than that of amusements. Under this name many things of the most questionable nature are making encroachments even upon the church, bewitching the young, and too often bewildering the aged. The following remarks place this matter in a very just light, by making a proper distinction between amusements and excitements. We recommend it to all. Read carefully, and then rigidly examine everything coming as an amusement—if it is an excitement, scrupulously avoid it, as a step on the way to ruin. J. H. W.
The popular amusements of the day are grievously misnamed. They should be called excitements. The Anglo-Saxons and the Celts, the races that give character to our American civilization and religion, know little of amusement in its proper sense. It does not content them. The dance, the evening party, the card table, the theater and opera, the race course, the billiard saloon and the ten-pin alley, are either in their very nature, or by their almost invariable associations, excitements of the most unwholesome, inordinate, and pernicious sort. Such a party as that given by a prominent New England Representative in Washington last winter, when after the usual gayeties and feasting and drinking had extended to one o’clock in the morning, we are told “the German” was commenced, and kept up till near daybreak, and the whole was finished by a champagne breakfast—could this be rightly called amusement? By no means. It was a piece of real business of the hardest and most trying nature, cruel to body and to soul, as severe a draft upon the nerve-force as a forced march or a total rout and pell-mell retreat of an army. Nay, we believe the downright butchery of a battlefield is less barbarous and more truly amusing than the orgies of such a first class all-night party at the Metropolis. The theater is also the scene of wearying, demoralizing, embruting excitement, more enfeebling and corrupting than a miasm. The fierce passions, the gorgeous lewdness, the unmitigated sensuality of spectacle and costume and situation and plot of the staple performances of the drama—what refreshment is there in all this, what refreshment indeed on the very crater of hell, inhaling the sulphurous fumes of the pit! Men do not go to those places for the innocent and wholesome thing properly called amusement; they go for excitement. They go not to be entertained, but to be inflamed.
So in games, which of themselves are innocent and pure, as billiards and nine pins (we cannot include cards, as the element of chance enters too largely into the game). Americans are not content until, by connecting the excitements of betting, loss and gain of money, and above all, drinks, with the play, they have fairly shut it out of the list of amusements, and made it a snare to character and possessions, a swift path to dissipation and ruin.
Amusement, relaxation, innocent gayety, hilarity, sportiveness, is a gospel duty. There is a time to laugh. But it is one of the gravest mistakes of our age and country, that it knows so little of amusements, and has gone almost exclusively into dissipation in their stead. With that, the true Christian plainly has nothing to do, but to discountenance, and if the way is hedged up against reformation, to withdraw from it utterly. Dissipation is not among things indifferent. Gay parties lasting till past midnight, in which everybody is overdressed, or under-dressed, in which dances handed down from those of the children of Israel around the Golden Calf, are the main attractions; theaters, operas, and races, these are not things indifferent, these are not amusements, but gross abuses, by which, in the false guise of amusement, body and soul, are damaged, spirituality rendered impossible, and our eternal well-being put in jeopardy. Toward all these, a Christian has but one simple duty: Touch not, taste not, handle not. Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.—American Presbyterian.

Genuine Liberality.

By Jos. Clarke

I FIND in the report of the American Missionary Society for missions and schools, among the freedmen, held at Lawrence, Mass., dated Nov. 9, 1870, the following item which I append:—
“Sec. Whipple read a letter from a gentleman, inclosing a check for $5,000, and mentioned the case of another gentleman who had left for the Association the sum of $20,000, in his will, but had decided to become his own executor and to furnish the amount at once. $6,000 of the money has been already received.”
Such gifts as these, from the wealthy, show real liberality and sincerity. Cannot S. D. Adventists take a lesson from this? Such gifts, from the rich, mean business, work, something effected. I speak unselfishly. I pay my own expenses, consequently, have no ax of my own to grind; but I would really like to see some of our rich S. D. Adventists show that they believe the third angel's message; it would be so refreshing to see, once in a while, such donations as the above. It would be like a cool wind upon the desert, or like a glimpse of Paradise.
To see all our donations come in sums from one to ten and twenty dollars, and occasionally a little higher amount, is sad; but I am sorry to think that most, even of these, are from poor men. Sincerely, in view of the day when the rich will throw their silver and their gold into the streets, I would, with respect, ask the rich men, Do you believe, or do you doubt?
JOS. CLARKE.

Convinced, but not Converted.

By E. H. Whitney

The above words were written on the margin of a REVIEW which, with other of our publications, had been loaned a young lady friend and neighbor. The state of her mind was more fully revealed by conversation afterward. She had felt that she had given up all for Jesus; but when this Sabbath truth was presented to her, and had been honestly and candidly investigated, a new cross lay before her—a heavy cross: the scorn of the world, separation from friends to a great extent, increased difficulty perhaps in the struggle for daily bread and raiment. There it lies with its inscription, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” “If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” Will she lift it? The question is one between God and her own soul, whether she will, with David, make haste and delay not to keep all of God’s commandments, or turn again to the traditions of men and the observance of a day which to her has already lost its sacredness. We cannot decide for her. “All has been done for me that can be done. What remains I must do myself,” she has said with reference to the decision, and she understands her own case and the fearful responsibilities involved.
What is this conversion which she so honestly admitted she lacked? What is conversion but a turning away from old courses and carrying out our convictions in our lives? Of what profit is the theory of the truth if not carried into practice? What will it avail us to believe if we do not act? Do not “the devils also believe and tremble”? How shall we escape their fate if we acknowledge truth, but fail from any cause to obey? “But how can I lift this cross situated as I am? Surely in my case God will accept the will for the deed,” say some. Is this conversion? Can there be conversion without obedience? “Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” God accepts no compromises. He will have the whole, and it is but our reasonable service. Saul tried to compromise, and how was his service received? Shall we fare better? Can we in view of eternal life, refuse to give up what we are called upon to yield here, and with open eyes straightway accept death as our portion? Or can we be so blinded by this world’s interests as to believe them to be of greater importance than eternity?
There are many cases like this where conviction comes home to hearts when the truth is heard, though few so honestly acknowledge it, and fewer still have the courage to obey. And not with regard to the main truths of our faith alone, but in our daily experience we who have already accepted these, and profess to be trying to live them out, meet with convictions. Are we converted?
If we are living up to all the light we have, we must needs have a daily conversion as we are daily convicted. And while we see the danger in the case of others, let us realize the perils of our own situation, if when, by the spirit of prophecy, the faithfulness of friends, or the workings of the Holy Spirit in our own hearts, we are convicted of any error in our lives, we refuse to yield to the conviction, and persevere in a course which will surely lead us away from God. Light will come to us no faster than we will walk in it. If we refuse to follow our present clear convictions of duty, we may be sure that no new light will come to us; and the way that leads round the cross ends not in peace.
Let us try to yield to every God-given conviction of duty, be grateful for any means by which our sins may be shown us while we have space for repentance, however humiliating it may be to our carnal natures, seeking for true conversion and submission to God’s will, and he will surely lead us from victory to victory till the last sin shall have been overcome and we shall be pure from every stain of sin, washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
E. H. WHITNEY.
Malone, N. Y.

SELF-SURRENDER

By Wm. O. Stoddard

Lord, one deep trouble of my soul, From which I pray to be set free, Is that I cannot self control And give up all the world for thee.
My weak, corrupt, deceptive heart, Whenever early lusts I flee, Like Ananias, yields a part, But will not give up all for thee.
Sapphira like, false thoughts arise When, penitent, I bend the knee, To hold the world before mine eyes, And say, I gave it all for thee.
Well do I know how small the worth Of all the gains that here may be; But still my fond heart clings to earth, And will not give up all for thee.
Lord, make me victor in the strife! Thou who hast given so much for me, Teach me this parable of life, That I have naught to give for thee. —WM. O. STODDARD, in Independent.

Preaching Made Easy.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

THIS is an age of improvement. Everything that a man wants in any line he can have ready made, cheap and quick. Who needs anything worse than a dull, cold, stupid minister needs a good sermon ready made? Not one. So a company is started and sermons are now ground out by the hundred for so much apiece. Says the Christian Union:—
“Sermon-manufacture in England appears to be on the increase. A writer in the St. Paul's magazine says that there are now a dozen persons engaged in the trade. They furnish a half-guinea article when great flights of eloquence are desiderated, but the ordinary supply is on much lower terms, averaging 1s. 3d. to 1s. 6d. a sermon, postage paid. Two sermons a week at this rate would amount to £5 4s. a year. In other words, an annual sum of twenty-six dollars in gold would secure to a country parson all needful sermons, without any wear or tear of brain.”
Probably we ought not to find fault with this, as the hearers will get much better sermons than they otherwise would. But, another step is now much needed in this good work, that is, ready-made conversions. These are very much in demand, and would meet a great and growing want of the church. D. M. CANRIGHT.

“Wickedness in High Places.”

By R. M. Kilgore

THE following significant item in going the rounds, appeared in one of the papers of this city on the same day that the “Fall of Babylon” was to be presented, and served well to illustrate that stubborn fact:—
“POLITICAL PRAYING.—From the Keokuk Constitution: As the disgraceful scene which occurred at the late radical State Convention at Des Moines, at which a Methodist minister named Wilson, opened the ball with a political prayer, is the subject of much comment by the press, we republish the following account of the affair given by the reporter for the State Press, the correctness of which, we believe, is not denied. The political preacher said:
“‘O God, send us a radical majority of 40,000 in Iowa,’ when an earnest delegate shouted out, ‘Yes, Lord, double it;’ whereupon Wilson repeated, ‘Yea, Lord, let it be 80,000,’ upon which the convention broke out with applause and cheers, a pious old radical office-holder remarking, ‘Now let the democrats try their God a whack.’ At the end of the prayer there were prolonged and tumultuous cheering and laughter.
“The Gate City, in referring to the blasphemous proceeding, approved of Wilson’s conduct, but thought the cheering ought to have been omitted. To our mind, that’s a strange kind of logic. It’s like condemning sin and praising the devil.”
R. M. KILGORE.
Leon, Iowa.

Befriending Young People.

WHEN John Wesley saw a young man in danger of falling into the snare of evil associates, he did not watch him sharply at a distance, and speak of his shortcomings to others, predicting that he was “on the high road to ruin.” He invited him to his table, and by a gentle, affable manner, sought to give him good subjects for thought, or hints for conduct. Advice thus hospitably enforced was very impressive. He would draw out a young man in conversation, and learn what studies he was most proficient in, which were most essential to his success, and then assist him to acquire the mastery over them. Another most valuable way of aiding a young man whom social danger threatened was to make him acquainted with well-disposed, religious young men, who would lead him into good paths. He watched over their future career with a father’s interest and tenderness, and in a very simple manner accomplished a vast amount of good, besides preventing a world of evil.—Sel.

Bible Hygiene.

The definition of hygiene, as given by Webster, is, “That department of medical science which treats of the preservation of health; a system of principles or rules designed for the promotion of health.”
The Bible was given for the well-being of man in this life, as well as a rule by which he may attain to immortal life. And the first grand, hygienic rule given was that which defines man’s diet. To Adam, God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Gen. 1:29. “Of every tree of the garden,” our first parents were to freely eat, excepting one. Gen. 2:16, 17.
Adam’s meat does not appear to have been the flesh of animals, such as beef, pork, mutton, chicken, turkey, goose, duck, and the like. His bill of fare was made up of the wonderful variety of delicious things which grew out of the ground. These were his meat. And we have been surprised with the fact that the very highest authorities give the word meat in the Old and New Testaments the signification it has in this first hygienic rule given to Adam. “Meat in the English Bible,” says the American Tract Society’s Dictionary of the Bible, “usually signifies food.” And the statement of William Smith, Classical Examiner of the University of London, in his dictionary of the Bible, is still stronger. On the word meat, he says: “It does not appear that the word meat is used in any one instance in the authorized version of either the Old or the New Testament in the sense which it now almost exclusively bears of animal food.”
Animal food, then, did not constitute any part of the bill of fare of the holy pair in Eden. It was not the design of God in creation that the life of any living creature should be taken. Death, in man or beast, or wherever it might occur, came in consequence of sin. And this whole mammoth custom of taking the life of God’s creatures to sustain human life, wherever it may be practiced beneath the sun, is simply the fruit of transgression. And after the fall, and the expulsion from Eden, so far as the Sacred Record is concerned, there is no permission given to use flesh of any kind for food till after the flood. Then the use of flesh as food became a matter of necessity.
The waters of the flood were upon the earth, and Noah was in the ark with closed doors, one year and ten days. Compare Gen. 7:11, 12, and 8:14. By this time, we may safely conclude, the patriarch’s stock of provisions was low. And the desolated earth could afford none until it could be produced from the seed preserved in the ark. In this state of things God said to Noah, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Gen. 9:3. Up to this time, during a period of 1656 years, more than one-fourth of the time since creation, man’s diet was the “green herb,” or that which grew out of the ground. But now, in the absence of such food, he is permitted to subsist, very largely at least, upon flesh, until the earth should bring forth again the proper food for man.
And, certainly, judging from the Sacred Record, that was a time of remarkable good health. During the long period of 1656 years of vegetarian life, no mention is made of the sickness and death of children, of feebleness in youth, or at middle age, or of fevers, dyspepsia, gout, or consumption. All lived, in the full enjoyment of health, nearly one thousand years, until the weary springs of life stood still. Obituary notices of that time do not mention local diseases, which in our day are caused by the breaking down of certain organs of the system, while others remain strong, resulting in lingering sufferings, and agony in death. No, they mention the great length of human life, and its cessation, as follows:—
“And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years, and he died.”
“And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years, and he died.”
We notice, as the second hygienic principle in God’s ample provision for the happy existence of man, his glorious surroundings. “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight.” If after the three-fold curse on account of sin—first, that which followed the sin of Adam; second, that which followed the first murder; and, third, the terrible curse of the flood, which left a large portion of the earth’s surface in its present broken and barren condition—if after six thousand years of the blighting, dwindling, and deforming influence of the curse, there remains real beauty in the trees, vines, shrubs, and flowers, far more beautiful than the finest work of art, what must have been the grandeur, beauty, and glory, of the trees, the bowers, and the flowers, of Paradise, fresh from the hand of Infinite Wisdom, before the transgression!
And the Son of God, in addressing the “innumerable multitude” pointed them to the delicate lily, and declared that “Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” The superiority of the works of nature, or of art, was not a matter of debate with the Son of God. A single lily in his day, from the soil which had long felt the blight and mildew of the curse, possessed more glory than Solomon in all his royal array. If this be a fact relative to a single lily of the field, or reposing upon the bosom of the lake, four thousand years from the original glory of Eden, what must have been the delights of our first parents as they stood in Eden before sin had paralyzed their senses, or the curse had touched a single leaf?
Man’s employment, as seen in the original design, is also worthy of notice. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Gen. 2:15. Man was designed for activity in the open light of the sun, and the free air of heaven. These to him constitute the principle joys of existence. The subsequent curse upon Adam was not that he should labor; but that his labor should be attended with difficulties. Gen. 3:17–19. Neither was the curse upon Eve that she should bear children; but in increased numbers and sorrows.
The natural habits of the people for the first generations after the fall were evidently conducive to longevity and health. There is no mention of houses before the flood. Before and long after that event, many of the people at least dwelt in tents. Artificial habits, in closed doors, hiding away from the light of the sun, and the richness of pure air, have well-nigh ruined the race. None should suffer such wretched treatment, only those worthy of death, or the next thing to it, and are doomed to close confinement in prisons. We admire that simple wisdom which saith, “Truly, the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.” Eccl. 11:7.
Proper exercise in the open air, in the light of the sun, ranks among God’s highest and richest blessings to man. This gives form and strength to the physical frame, and, all other habits being equal, is the sure safeguard against disease and premature decay. This, being man’s natural sphere, gives buoyancy and strength to thought, and the mind finds its natural balance, free from the extremes resulting from artificial life.
It is true that artificial and, in almost everything, wrong habits of life have so far perverted and enfeebled our natures that we are ill-prepared to enter at once upon the natural habits of the worthy patriarchs. We cannot go back at once. And it is vain to talk of regaining all that has been lost in size, strength, health, and length of days. Something might be gained. But for this we earnestly plead, that the spirit of reform in habits of life shall get hold of the minds of sensible men and women, and that the rapid downward tendency may be checked.
This downward tendency to feebleness and premature decay in American women, is too evident to admit of a doubt. And in no one thing is this so clearly traceable as in artificial habits in closed doors. The native women in our country are as strong as the men. And why? Simply because their habits are so nearly like those of the men, without ceiled houses. This is also true in a large degree of European women who labor, side by side with their husbands, in the field, in the light of the sun, in the open air.
Every room and every sleeping apartment, in every house, should be ventilated every day and every night in the year. The degree must be governed by the temperature of the atmosphere without, and the ability of the inmates to endure. And every man, and every woman, and every child, should also enjoy as much of God’s good sunshine as the circumstances will possibly admit. Press to the light, friends, press out into the air, and let them into your houses, and let these grand medicines, wisely mixed by our gracious God, make you strong, healthy, and happy.
—Health Reformer.

Report of Committee on Freemasonry

By B. G. Stillman

From the Sabbath Recorder.

Freemasonry.

Report of a Committee appointed for the purpose by the Seventh-day Baptist Church of De Ruyter, N. Y.
Your Committee appointed to inquire into the nature and workings of the institution of Freemasonry, and to report what position, in their opinion, the church ought to take in reference to its fellowship of the order, would respectfully submit the following as their report:—
The institution of Freemasonry appears to be a system of religious rites and ceremonies, claiming to be of divine origin, and founded on the principles revealed in the Bible. In support of this view, we quote from some of their standard works. Salem Town, in his book entitled “Speculative Freemasonry,” says, “The principles of Speculative Freemasonry have the same co-eternal and unshaken foundation, contain and inculcate the same truths, in substance, and propose the same ultimate end, as the doctrines of Christianity.” (See page 13 of said work.) Another author, Charles Scott, A. M., Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Mississippi, in his work entitled “Analogy of Ancient Craft Masonry,” says: “Freemasonry is founded on the truths contained in the Holy Scriptures, and its design is to teach those doctrines which essentially relate to the temporal and eternal destinies of our race.” (See pages 13 and 14.) Again, on page 63, he says: “Masonry is founded on faith in God, hope of immortality, and charity to all mankind; and it is by the practice of these virtues, that the Mason expects to find access to Him who is the subject of faith, the object of hope, and the eternal foundation of charity.” In corroboration of this sentiment, we often find inscribed upon tomb-stones erected in memory of deceased members of the order, without reference to their religious character, words like the following: “Holiness to the Lord”—“Faith, Hope, Charity.”
The ceremonies and sentiments of the Masonic burial-service convey the impression that the deceased, by virtue of his Masonic character and relations, has been transferred from the “Lodge below to the Grand Lodge above.” We also learn from the Masonic Manual, pages 31 and 32, that the Lodges were anciently dedicated to King Solomon; but that, on the plains of Jerusalem, they entered into solemn compact, and agreed that henceforth all Lodges should be dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist, who, it is claimed, were patron saints of the order. Hence the observance of “St. John’s day.” At the consecration of Lodges, they sing, “Hail, Masonry divine,” &c. The rites and ceremonies, as contained in their ritual, are largely interspersed with Scripture readings, and the reading or saying of prayers—equal in sanctimonious mummery to the religious services of the Roman Catholic church.
Now, if Freemasonry is what it claims to be, there is scarcely a need of any other system of religion. If the practice of Masonic virtues will secure the same end proposed to be secured by Christianity, what does it matter which system we embrace—a salvation being the end of both? But to your Committee there seems to be a very wide difference in the two systems. The hope of Masonry is founded on the practice of the Masonic virtues; while the hope of Christianity is founded on the atonement and mediation of Christ. Masonic Lodges are composed of those of all religions, and those of no religion. Masonry embraces in its fraternity the deist, the infidel, the Universalist, and the irreligious of almost every shade. And yet they hope to be saved by the practice of Masonic virtues, and finally take their places in “the Grand Lodge above.” Hence it is that seldom, if ever, is an adhering Mason converted to Christianity. This can be nothing else than a delusion of the devil! And yet professed Christians are giving it countenance and encouragement!
2. We notice that Freemasonry and Christianity are decidedly antagonistic in their character. Freemasons tell us that Masonry is at least the hand-maid of Christianity. If this be so, why is it that so many of them are in love with the hand-maid, and at the same time so much dislike the mother? And how is it that they love Bible truth when incorporated into the system of Freemasonry, and do not love those truths in the system of revelation where they belong? Let those who advocate that Masonry is founded on Christianity, reconcile this thing. Again, if Freemasonry is, as is claimed, a system of religion, is it not a rival system to that of Christianity, and hence anti-Christian? Said the great Author of Christianity, “He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.” Said the great apostle to the Gentiles, “Though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
But let us notice other points of antagonism. Christianity is a public institution, holding forth its blessings, instructions, and obligations, to the entire race of man. Jesus bids his disciples, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” For this purpose are churches organized—to carry out the great commission—to make known to all men the mysteries of his gospel—to be the light of the world—a city set on a hill; and Jesus commands his disciples to let their “light shine before men,” and “not put it under a bushel,” or “under a bed,” or in a secret chamber. On the other hand, Freemasonry is founded on the most profound secrecy, in everything pertaining to what are called the mysteries of the order. Every individual member is under the death penalty to observe this secrecy. To this end is he made to swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that he will “always hail, ever conceal, and never reveal, any art or arts, part or parts, point or points, of the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry, which he has received, is about to receive, or may be hereafter instructed into; that he will not write, print, stamp, stain, hew, cut, carve, indent, paint, or engrave it, on anything movable or immovable, under the whole canopy of heaven, whereby or whereon the least letter, figure, character, mark, stain, shadow, or resemblance of the same may become legible, or intelligible, to himself or to any other person in the known world, whereby the secrets of Masonry may be unlawfully obtained through his unworthiness.” Then comes the penalty in its most terrific form: “To all which I do most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, without the least equivocation, mental reservation, or self-evasion of mind in me whatever, binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, and my tongue torn out by the roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea at low water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.” Language cannot be put together so as to form a more binding obligation to secrecy.
Now look at Christianity and its sacred obligations. All the disciples, from the highest to the lowest, ministers and lay members, male and female, are to do all in their power to make all men see what is the fellowship of this great mystery of redeeming love. Nothing pertaining to this system is allowed to be concealed, not a particle of its light to be put under a bushel, not a precept to be hid, while the poor adherent of Masonry is not permitted to utter one syllable, or letter, or mark, in any shape whatever, whereby any of the so-called secrets of the order shall be made known under the penalty as above stated. What a contrast! On the one hand, the followers of Christ are busily engaged in making known the mysteries of redemption. On the other hand, the members of “Ancient Craft Masonry” are employing their time, talents, and property, to conceal their arts and mysteries in the dark abodes of the lodge room. The Masonic husband receives what is termed sublime and useful knowledge, which he must not impart to his wife even. He passes through ceremonieswhich he must not disclose to her on pain of death. Suppose a Christian church were to form such a league, make its members bind themselves under such penalties, that they will ever conceal, and never reveal, the principles of their religion outside the church. But why would not this course be as justifiable in a church as in a Masonic lodge, if both embrace the same principles? Salem Town tells us that the same system of faith, and the same practical duties taught by revelation are contained in, and are required by, the Masonic institution. Yet they swear that this same system of faith and the same practical duties they will ever conceal and never reveal. Here is perfect antagonism.
The great Teacher hath said, “Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.” He also said, “Thou shalt not forswear thyself,” &c. But the institution of Freemasonry requires its subjects to bind themselves, by solemn oath, to keep, they know not what, but anything that shall be committed to them as such, in Masonic style, under no less penalty than to suffer death in the most inhuman and barbarous manner. Well did the venerable John Quincy Adams say, in his “Letters on Freemasonry,” that “the entered apprentices’ oath, obligation, and annexed penalty is in itself vicious, and such as ought never to be administered by man to man. It is an oath of which a common cannibal ought to be ashamed.”
Further evidence of antagonism between Masonry and Christianity appears in the fact that one half of the human family, or more, are shut out of Masonic Lodges, and are not permitted to participate in the wisdom, and knowledge, and “sublime teachings” there inculcated. The entire female portion of the human race are excluded, to begin with. Then those of doubtful sex; all minors, or “those of non-age;” all “old men in dotage,” however worthy; those who are physically deformed, or are “not upright in body,” are also excluded. Where, then, is the charity about which Masonic books and professions are so loud spoken? It all simmers down to exclusiveness, and ends in selfishness. Every Master Mason is made to swear, that he will “never be at the initiating of a woman,” and “that he will never violate the chastity of a brother Mason’s wife, mother, sister, or daughter, knowing them to be such.” So far Masonry is reformatory. But suppose he don’t “know them to be such”—what then? And why should not the so-called sublime institution bind him to regard with Christian purity all others as well? Dark spots are these, and not in harmony with the religion of Christ. Christianity makes no distinctions. “There is neither male nor female, but ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” The poor, the lame, the halt, the maimed, and the blind, are all eligible to the benefits of Christianity.
Again, Christianity teaches us to “call no man master, for one is your Master,” &c. But Masonry inculcates the opposite sentiment, and adopts the appellation of Master, “Grand Master,” “Most Worshipful Master,” “Sovereign Master,” “Most Puissant Grand Master,” “Thrice Illustrious Grand Master,” &c.; all of which savors strongly of man worship, which is forbidden. Many other points of antagonism might be shown, but the above is sufficient for the present.
Secondly, we are to consider its workings. If we have arrived at a correct knowledge of the nature of the institution, which the foregoing exhibits, its workings and fruits must be apparent. “Men do not gather figs from thistles,” nor “grapes from thorns.” Nor does a fountain that is bitter send forth sweet waters. Observation, research, and philosophy, force us to the conclusion, that all secret societies stand in the way of the world’s progress. A bad institution ought not to be secret, because secrecy is favorable to the abuse of power, and to the perpetration of crime. A good institution need not be secret, because truth challenges the severest scrutiny, and all valuable knowledge is for the world, and hence has no need of curtains of concealment. Evil works instinctively incline to darkness; hence secrecy is always a ground of suspicion. Even a good cause—temperance, for instance—invalidates its claim to the confidence of honest men the very moment it gets into a secret chamber, and attempts to fight in ambush. How much greater would be the triumphs of temperance, if all of its friends would run up their colors without disguise, and march to the contest in open day! But the mania for secret societies, how extensive and fearful it has become! Were it confined to “men of the world,” the evils resulting therefrom would be far less. But, alas! Doctors of Divinity lead the way, and lesser lights follow in their wake. Of course multitudes of the laity feel justified in following in the footsteps of those who claim to be religious teachers. Thus it would seem that Christ and Belial are practically united. But such cannot be the case; for Christ and Belial have no concord. Neither has “righteousness any fellowship with unrighteousness.” But believers may become unequally yoked together with unbelievers. But the command of the Lord, by the mouth of the apostle, is, “Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and I will receive you.” Christians should remember, that they are a peculiar people, and must occupy a high plane of moral purity, or be shorn of their strength.
Again, distraction and difficulty in churches, are among the fruits resulting from this unholy alliance. When a certain portion of the membership become allied by ties of fraternal affection to those not connected with the church, what becomes of that love by which we are to know that we have passed from death unto life? And, how it impairs confidence among brethren for a portion of them to form a league with men outside the church, and many times with irreligious men and enter into compact with an organization for carrying out some unknown project in secret, thus requiring a division of interest, of time, of talents, and means, and all this when the entire energies, means, and talents, are required to carry forward Christian and church enterprises.
In view of these facts, it is unquestionably the duty of the Masonic church member to withdraw from the Masonic alliance, and have “no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” It is, therefore, the opinion of your Committee, that the church should not in any wise become responsible for the perpetuity of so great an evil, by having association with it, or by giving countenance thereto, in any manner whatever. But we recommend that the church cheerfully accept and abide the sentiment of the General Conference, as expressed from time to time, on that question (see History of the General Conference, pages 286, 287, 288, and 289; also minutes of that body published since), and declare open hostility to the practice of evil, however popular, and carry on the warfare against the powers of darkness, however specious the form in which the enemy makes his appearance, whether as an angel of light, or unmasked, exhibiting all his native ugliness. The church cannot take neutral ground on this question and long remain the church of Christ. The prince of demons could not invent a system more at variance with Christianity than is Freemasonry in all its essential features.
B. G. Stillman, Chairman of Committee. DeRuyter, May 28, 1871.
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